Chavacano
Chavacano or Chabacano ([tʃabaˈkano]) is a group of Spanish-based creole language varieties spoken in the Philippines. The variety spoken in Zamboanga City, located in the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao, has the highest concentration of speakers. Other currently existing varieties are found in Cavite City and Ternate, located in the Cavite province on the island of Luzon.[4] Chavacano is the only Spanish-based creole in Asia.[5] The 2020 Census of Population and Housing counted 106,000 households generally speaking Chavacano.
"Chabacano" redirects here. For the Mexico City Metro station, see Chabacano metro station.Chavacano
Zamboanga City and Basilan (Zamboangueño and Basileño), Cavite City (Caviteño) and Ternate, Cavite (Ternateño/Bahra)
- Chavacano
Regional language in the Philippines
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The responsible for this Spanish creole was Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, then governor of Panama, and also responsible for settling Zamboanga City by employing Peruvian soldiers and colonists. There was an Asian-American route, which led to traders and adventurers carrying silver from Peru through Panama to reach Acapulco, Mexico before sailing to Manila, Philippines using the famed Manila galleons.
The different varieties of Chavacano differ in certain aspects like vocabulary but they are generally mutually intelligible by speakers of these varieties, especially between neighboring varieties. While a majority of the lexicon of the different Chavacano varieties derive from Spanish, their grammatical structures are generally similar to other Philippine languages. Among Philippine languages, it is the only one that is not an Austronesian language, but like Malayo-Polynesian languages, it uses reduplication.
The word Chabacano is derived from Spanish, roughly meaning "poor taste" or "vulgar", though the term itself carries no negative connotations to contemporary speakers.
Vocabulary[edit]
Forms and style[edit]
Chavacano (especially Zamboangueño) has two registers or sociolects: The common, colloquial, vulgar or familiar and the formal register/sociolects. Broadly speaking, the formal register is closer to Spanish, and the colloquial register to the local Austronesian languages.
In the common, colloquial, vulgar or familiar register/sociolect, words of local origin or a mixture of local and Spanish words predominate. The common or familiar register is used ordinarily when conversing with people of equal or lower status in society. It is also used more commonly in the family, with friends and acquaintances. Its use is of general acceptance and usage.
In the formal register/sociolect, words of Spanish origin or Spanish words predominate. The formal register is used especially when conversing with people of higher status in society. It is also used when conversing with elders (especially in the family and with older relatives) and those in authority. It is more commonly used by older generations, by Zamboangueño mestizos, and in the barrios. It is the form used in speeches, education, media, and writing. The formal register used in conversation is sometimes mixed with some degree of colloquial register.
The following examples show a contrast between the usage of formal words and common or familiar words in Chavacano:
Grammar[edit]
Simple sentence structure (verb–subject–object word order)[edit]
Chavacano is a language with the verb–subject–object sentence order. This is because it follows the Hiligaynon or Tagalog grammatical structures. However, the subject–verb–object order does exist in Chavacano but only for emphasis purposes (see below). New generations have been slowly and vigorously using the S-V-O pattern mainly because of the influence of the English language. These recent practices have been most prevalent and evident in the mass media particularly among Chavacano newswriters who translate news leads from English or Tagalog to Chavacano where the "who" is emphasized more than the "what". Because the mass media represent "legitimacy", it is understood by Chavacano speakers (particularly Zamboangueños) that the S-V-O sentence structure used by Chavacano journalists is standardized.