An essential aspect to the consolidation of their new identity was the learning and use of the Portuguese language. Since the fifteenth century, especially in cities, the 'language of black people', that is, a Portuguese language with important African phonetic, syntax and semantic innovations, was devalued and ridiculed. The fixation of this language was due to its use in the sphere of sixteenth century plays, having consolidated over the centuries, and translating the reductive and patronizing way in which Portuguese society classified Africans.