Papiamento is an official language of the (former) Netherlands Antilles along with Dutch, which is the main written language used on these islands. Papiamento is primarily a spoken language, though does appear in writing in some newspapers and magazines.

There is currently no standard written form of Papiamento and there are some differences in the way the language is written and spoken on the different islands. The spelling system used in Aruba is closer to Spanish then the systems used in the other islands.