VERNACULAR SHIFT: LANGUAGE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT IN BASTIMENTOS, PANAMA

Abstract

This article examines the connection between language shift and architectural shift in the Panamanian village of Old Bank on the Western Caribbean island of Bastimentos. The process of shift from Creole vernacular forms—both linguistic and architectural—to “prestigious” Panamanian forms is analyzed through an ethnographic lens focused on the spatial coordinates of social interaction. Language choice and the restructuring of communicative practices are shown to intersect in vital ways with architectural choice and the restructuring of the built environment. This essay suggests that vernacular shift in Old Bank is presently being held in check by the emergent covert prestige of Creole forms in a region where international tourism is fast supplanting the banana industry as the primary economic activity.