-nan

Etymology
The third person plural pronoun and the overall plural noun suffix  are unique for Papiamentu and cannot be found in any other language. According to Clements and Parkvall the pronoun and its derived suffix  were introduced into the language just in the 1700s because of the grown need for a plural marking. Apparently before the introduction the need for a plural marking was not felt. Just like in other South American languages the suffix originated in the form "kas-nan" literally "house-they" (ac Lenz).

Compare the Curripaco Arawak suffix and the Dutch suffix.

Searches are being undertaken to find the African connections with the words "iran", "ene", "na", "nan", "inen" and "ane" in the languages Bini, Kwa, Anabonese, Bantu, Kimbundu, Angolar, Fa d'Ambu, Edo and Saotome in the African countries of Sao Tomé, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria (see Bartens and Schuchardt). All very improbably.

Usage notes

 * Normally, is inserted before  when the root word ends with a vowel that is not followed by a glottal stop. In some cases, phoneme change can occur and  becomes.
 * Sometimes, the final vowel of the root word disappears when the suffix is added.
 * Sometimes, the final vowel of the root word disappears when the suffix is added.
 * Sometimes, the final vowel of the root word disappears when the suffix is added.
 * Sometimes, the final vowel of the root word disappears when the suffix is added.