A country with a unique geographical location, Panama attracts not only with beaches on two oceans at once, but also with an ingenious technical structure, the construction of which opened a new era in the history of commercial navigation. Seeing the Panama Canal with your own eyes and in just a couple of hours get from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean and vice versa - that's what a trip to Panama is all about. For the trip, you will need some knowledge of Spanish, because it is he who is adopted as the state language of Panama. However, for comfortable communication with Panamanians, it is enough to learn only a few greeting phrases, because most of the locals working with tourists are fluent in English.
Some statistics and facts
- Panamanians can be safely attributed to the nation of polyglots. Foreign languages are used here by a fairly significant part of the population. So English is spoken by about 14% of Panamanians, and French is spoken by 18%.
- Before the colonial invasion of the Spaniards, a tribe of the Cueva Indians lived in eastern Panama. They were completely destroyed in the first third of the 16th century, like their language. The language of the Cueva Indians, according to the researchers, was part of the Chokan language family. Today in Panama and Colombia there are no more than 60 thousand of their carriers.
- The state language of Panama first sounded on its shores in 1501, when the ships of Rodrigo de Bastidas moored them.
Spanish in Panama
The Spaniards founded the first settlement in what is now Panama in 1510. The geographic location of Portobelo was very favorable. The city was located on the shores of the Atlantic and served as a ferrying place for Inca gold to the Old World.
The Spaniards exploited Panama for three hundred years and enforced their own customs. The Spanish language was only part of colonial politics, along with the Christian religion and way of life.
The Spanish language in Panama is less influenced by the languages of the local population than in other Latin American countries. The reason for this was the rapid extermination of the Indians immediately after the beginning of the colonization of the country.
Tourist notes
Going on vacation to Panama, you should not worry about communication. Most Panamanians in tourist areas are fluent in foreign languages. But in the outback, it is better to travel with a local guide-translator. This will save the guest not only from misunderstandings, but also from unforeseen problems: Panama, alas, is not the safest country on the planet.
