The Portuguese of Malacca, 500 Years of Memories (III)

 "Papiá Kristang" is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken for over 500 years by the Eurasian community in Malacca, Malaysia. This language emerged after the conquest of Malacca in 1511 by the Portuguese fleet commanded by Admiral Afonso de Albuquerque. Portuguese merchants and sailors mixed Portuguese vocabulary with Malay grammar and local terms (such as Hokkien and Tamil) to facilitate trade and coexistence. "Papiá" comes from papear/to speak, and "kristang" derives from Christian.
With the loss of Malacca to the Dutch in 1641, the Portuguese community became isolated from its homeland, keeping the Catholic faith, the festivities of the saints, traditional dances, and the language from generation to generation. This community concentrated in the "Kapong Portugis," known, in touristic and cultural terms, as the "Portuguese Settlement." The community is reduced today to only a few thousand speakers of "Papiá Kristang" and is located about five or six kilometers from the city center."