Unlike the official language, which is Dutch, the Curacao vernacular is Papiamento. The name Papiamento is probably derived from the Portuguese word papear which means to speak, and -mento is the suffix used to form a noun. A translation of the word Papiamento would render something like speaking. It is a Creole language taken from Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, Dutch and West African, that is believed to have originated in the 17th century to enable slaves from different regions in Africa and their masters, and the slaves among themselves to communicate with one another.

The Guene-language, the precursor of Papiamento, is presumably the first independent language to have developed from the lingua franca. In the 15th century lingua franca grew into a means of communication along the African West Coast between Portuguese merchants and the different African tribes with each a language of their own. Papiamento is also spoken on the other Leeward Islands, with a different accent.