Culinary Caribbean English lexicon in Panamanian Spanish

Abstract

An offshoot of Caribbean Creole English, Panamanian Creole English has been the source of loanwords referring to culinary delicacies of West Indian origin in the officially Spanish-speaking Republic of Panama, whose main language has, in turn, influenced the Creole, though not only with words describing edibles. Most of the Creole English words seemed marginal before the middle of the twentieth century, but, by its end, had integrated Panamanian Spanish, along with lexical items from other languages, of which culinary forms are presented here side by side with patrimonial Spanish foodstuff terms of use in Panama.