Afro-Bolivian Spanish

John Lipski.

Highland Bolivia, known in colonial times as Alto Perú, was the site of the earliest massive importation of African slaves in Spanish America. Despite the hardships of colonial slavery and demographic assimilation, a small but identifiable Afro-Bolivian population known as Yungas remain in that area today. In a few isolated Yungas communities, a restructured Afro-Hispanic language survives alongside contemporary Spanish, evidently representing a survival of the pidginized Spanish once spoken by African-born slaves (bozales) in colonial Spanish America. Based on extensive fieldwork in the Afro-Bolivian communities, this book provides a detailed description of this unique and fascinating Afro-Bolivian dialect. In so doing, it highlights the importance of Yungas speech to Spanish dialect as well as creole studies.