About Page Eight

How nice that you want to know more about Page Eight!

The idea for Page Eight grew slowly but surely from my personal environment. My partner, in-laws, and friends speak Papiamentu. Their children have a dual cultural background and are growing up speaking two languages: Dutch and Papiamentu.

I wanted not only to understand Papiamentu but to actually learn it, so I could connect with the people I love and the culture that comes with it.

At the same time, I noticed that, just like me, there are many other people who want to learn Papiamentu. For example, because of family connections, friends, or because they encountered it during a holiday, at school, or in the neighborhood.

I realized I already had all the materials I could find in the Netherlands to learn Papiamentu. So I came up with a way to make it easier for myself and the people around me: an accessible way to learn the language.

How valuable is it when language and culture are shared in an accessible way? With Page Eight, I want to support this by offering materials that bring together the Papiamento and Dutch languages.

Lauren Maas