Chavacano (as a proper noun, as a derivative of the Spanish adjective "chabacano," and as it is generally accepted in literature, the broadcast media, and Zamboangueños) or Chabacano (as the Spanish adjective) is the common name for the several varieties of the Philippine Creole Spanish spoken in the Philippines. The word chabacano - which the name Chavacano is derived from - is Spanish for "poor taste," "vulgar," "common," "tasteless," "tacky," or "coarse." The City of Zamboanga is a 1st class, highly urbanized city in the Philippines and one of the first chartered cities in the country. ... REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES Province of Zamboanga del Norte Region: Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX) Capital: Dipolog City Founded: June 23, 1635 and June 6, 1952 Population: 2000 census—823,130 (27th largest) Density—124 per km² (27th highest) Area: 6,618. ... Zamboanga del Sur is a province of the Philippines located in the Zamboanga Peninsula region in Mindanao. ... Zamboanga del Sur is a province of the Philippines located in the Zamboanga Peninsula region in Mindanao. ... Basilan is an island province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). ... CAVITE is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. ... Cotabato, formerly North Cotabato, is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao. ... Davao refers to several places in Mindanao in the Philippines. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Current distribution of Human Language Families Most languages are known to belong to language families. ... A number of Creole languages are based on the Spanish language. ... A number of Creole languages are based on the Spanish language. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2:1998 Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 2: Alpha-3 code Twenty-two of the languages have two three-letter codes: a code for bibliographic use (ISO 639-2/B) a code for terminological use (ISO 639-2/T). ... ISO 639-3 is in process of development as an international standard for language codes. ... For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words see here. ... Phonetics (from the Greek word φωνή, phone meaning sound, voice) is the study of sounds and the human voice. ... Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... This chart shows concisely the most common way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is applied to represent the English language. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... This article refers to the people of Zamboanga City. ... A number of Creole languages are based on the Spanish language. ...

Chavacano speakers are concentrated mostly in Zamboanga City, in the provinces of Zamboanga, Basilan, Cavite, and in some areas of Davao and Cotabato. According to the 2000 census, there are 607,200 speakers. Speakers are also found in Semporna, Sabah in Malaysia -- not surprisingly -- because this northern part of Borneo is close to the Sulu islands and Zamboanga Peninsula, and it was once part of Spanish Philippines until the late 19th century. Some people of the Muslim ethnic tribes of Zamboanga such as the Tausugs, the Samals, and of Basilan such as the Yakans also speak the language. In the close provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi areas, there are muslim speakers of the Chabacano de Zamboanga. The City of Zamboanga is a 1st class, highly urbanized city in the Philippines and one of the first chartered cities in the country. ... Zamboanga was one of the provinces of the Philippines. ... Basilan is an island province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). ... CAVITE is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. ... Davao refers to several places in Mindanao in the Philippines. ... Cotabato, formerly North Cotabato, is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Semporna is a town located in Tawau Division, in the east of Sabah, Malaysia on the island of Borneo. ... State motto: Sabah Maju Jaya State anthem: Sabah Tanah Airku Capital Kota Kinabalu Ruling party Barisan Nasional  - Yang di-Pertua Negeri Ahmadshah Abdullah  - Ketua Menteri Musa Aman History    - Brunei Sultanate 19th century   - British North Borneo 1882   - Japanese occupation 1941-1945   - British control 1946   - Accession into Malaysia 1963  Area  - Total 76... Borneo (left) and Sulawesi. ... Sulu is an island province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). ... Zamboanga Peninsula is both a peninsula and an administrative region on that peninsula in the Philippines. ... Tausug is spoken in Sulu province in the Philippines It is a member of the Visayan language family. ... Sama or Samal is an Austronesian language in the Sulu Archipelago. ... Binomial name Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC. Belamcanda chinensis (Leopard flower; syn. ... Tawi-Tawi is an island province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). ...

Some varieties based on the nearby regions are Davaoeño spoken in Davao and Cotabateño spoken in Cotabato. There are three known varieties of Chabacano which have Tagalog as their substrate language: Caviteño, Ternateño, and Ermitaño (extinct). The other varieties have Cebuano as their substrate language. Zamboangueño is the variety with the most number of speakers, being the main language of Zamboanga City. Tagalog (pronunciation: ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... In linguistics, a substratum (lat. ... Cebuano, also known as Sugboanon, is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 20,000,000 (ethnologue) people and is a subgroup or member of Bisaya, Visayan and Binisayâ. The name came from the Philippine island of Cebu, with the Spanish suffix -ano meaning native, of a place... In linguistics, a substratum (lat. ... The City of Zamboanga is a 1st class, highly urbanized city in the Philippines and one of the first chartered cities in the country. ...

The vocabulary is predominantly derived from the Spanish language, while grammar is mostly based on other Philippine languages such as Tagalog and Cebuano. It is used in education, print media, television and radio. This article is about the international language known as Spanish. ... Grammar is the study of rules governing the use of language. ... There are over 170 languages in the Philippines; almost all of them belong to the Austronesian language family. ... Tagalog (pronunciation: ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... Cebuano, also known as Sugbuanon, is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 18,000,000 people and is a subgroup or member of Bisaya, Visayan and Binisayâ. The name came from the Philippine island of Cebu, with the Spanish suffix -ano meaning native, of a place, added... Print media includes newspapers, magazines, and the like. ...

Chabacano? Chavacano? Chabakano?

Zamboangueños usually (but not always) spell the word as Chavacano in reference to the language or to themselves as chavacanos, and they spell the word as chabacano referring to the Spanish meaning of the word and also to the language itself. Thus, Zamboangueños generally spell the word in two different ways. Caviteños, Ternateños, and Ermitaños spell the word as it is spelled originally in the Spanish language - chabacano. Davaoeños, Cotabateños and especially those from Basilan province (de Basilan) tend to lean more on the Zamboangueño spellings. It is important to take note that the varieties of the language are geographically-related. Thus, Ermitaño, Caviteño, and Ternateño are very similar to each other having Tagalog as their substrate language while Zamboangueño, Davaoeño, and Cotabateño are very similar having Visayan or Cebuano as their substrate language. Also, a Zamboangueño would call his variety Zamboangueño or Chavacano de Zamboanga, a Caviteño would call his variety Caviteño or Chabacano de Cavite, and etc. to emphasize the difference from one another using their own geographical location as point of reference. Basilan is an island province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). ... Tagalog (pronunciation: ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... In linguistics, a substratum (lat. ... The Visayan languages of the Philippines, along with Tagalog and Bikol, are part of the Central Philippine language family. ... Cebuano, also known as Sugbuanon, is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 18,000,000 people and is a subgroup or member of Bisaya, Visayan and Binisayâ. The name came from the Philippine island of Cebu, with the Spanish suffix -ano meaning native, of a place, added...

There are also other alternate names and spellings for this language depending on the varieties and context (whether hispanized or native). Zamboangueños also sometimes call and spell their variety as Chabakano. Caviteño is also known as Caviten while Ermitaño as Ermiteño and Ternateño as Ternateño Chabacano. Davaoeño is also Davaweño, Davawenyo, Davawenyo Zamboangenyo, Abakay Spanish, or Davao Chabacano/Chavacano. Cotabateño is also known as Cotabato Chabacano/Chavacano.

Speakers from Basilan consider their Chavacano as Zamboangueño or Chavacano de Zamboanga. Basilan is an island province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). ...

Historical development

Zamboangueño

On June 23, 1635, Zamboanga became a permanent foothold of the Spanish government known as San José Fort. Bombardment of Muslim attackers, harassments of Muslim pirates and the determination to spread Christianity forced friars to request Spanish reinforcements. Zamboanga or San José Fort was also a crucial strategic location. June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... Events February 10 - The Académie française in Paris is expanded to become a national academy for the artistic elite. ...

The military authorities decided to import labor from Luzon and the Visayas. Thus, the construction workforce eventually consisted of Spanish soldiers, masons from Cavite-who comprised the majority, sacadas from Cebu and Iloilo, and those from the various local tribes of Zamboanga like the Samals and Subanons.

Differences in dialect and culture made it difficult for one tribe to communicate with another. To add to this, work instructions were issued in Spanish. The majority of the workers were unschooled and therefore did not understand Spanish but needed to communicate with each other and the Spaniards. A lingua franca developed and became a full-fledged language still in use today, mainly in Zamboanga City. Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. ... The City of Zamboanga is a 1st class, highly urbanized city in the Philippines and one of the first chartered cities in the country. ...

From then on, constant Spanish military reinforcements as well as increased presence of Spanish religious institutions and educational institutions have fostered the Spanish creole.

Caviteño / Ternateño

The Merdicas were a tribe of Malays of Ternate in the Moluccas which was a small Spanish colony. Before this Ternate was a Portuguese colony. In 1574, the Merdicas volunteered to come to Cavite to support the Spanish against the threat of invasion of the Chinese pirate, Limahong. The invasion did not occur but the community of Merdicas settled in a place called Barra de Maragondon at a sandbar at the mouth of the Maragondon River. Today, the place is called Ternate and the community of Merdicas continued to use broken Spanish which came to be called Ternateño or Ternateño Chavacano. A 1720 depiction of Ternate. ... A 1720 depiction of Ternate. ... Year 1574 was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... Limahong or Lim Ah Hong was a notorious Chinese pirate of the 16th century. ... Maragondon is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines. ...

Samples

(Zamboangueño)

Donde tu anda?

( ‘Where are you going?’)

Ya mirá yo con José.

( ‘I saw José.’)

Ele ya empezá buscá que buscá con el sal.

(‘He/She began to search everywhere for the salt.’)

Ele ya andá na escuela.

(‘He/She went to school.’)

Si Mario ya dormí na casa.

(‘Mario slept in the house.’)

El hombre, quien ya man encuentro tu, amo mi hermano.

(The man [whom] you met is my brother.)

El persona con quien ta conversa tu, bien bueno gayot.

(The person you are talking to is very nice indeed.)

Another Sample of Chavacano de Zamboanga

Trenta’y cuatro kilometro desde'l pueblo de Zamboanga, el Bunguiao que un barrio chico estaba como un desierto. No hay gente quien ta queda aqui. Abundante este lugar de maga animal particularmente como puerco, gatorgalla, venao y otro mas pa. Maga pajariador lang ta visita con este lugar.

'Bunguiao, a small village, thirty four kilometers from the city of Zamboanga, was once a wilderness. No people lived here. The place abounded with wild animals like pigs, wildcats, deer, and still others. The place was visited only by (bird) hunters.'

(Caviteño / Ternateño)

Nisós ya pidí pabor cun su papang.

(‘We have already asked your father for a favor.’)

Another Sample of Chavacano de Cavite

Puede nisos habla: que grande nga pala el sacrificio del mga heroe para niso independencia. Debe nga pala no niso ulvida con ilos. Ansina ya ba numa? Debe haci niso mga cosa para dale sabi que ta aprecia niso con el mga heroe. Que preparao din niso haci sacrificio para el pueblo. Que laya? Escribi mga novela como Jose Rizal?

Translation in Zamboangueño:

'Quiere decir, puede nosostros habla cay el que grande sacrificio gale ya ofrece nuestro maga heroe para obtene nosotros con nuestro independencia. Entonces, no debe nosostros olvida con ellos. Ancina gane, hende ba? Necesita nosotros manda sabe con todos que nosotros ta aprecia con nuestro maga heroe y nosotros preparado tambien sacrifica para con el nacion. Quemodo ese nosotros hace? Maga clase de novela como ya escribi si Jose Rizal, el nosotros hay escribir tambien?'

In English:

'We can say what great sacrifices our heroes have done to achieve our independence. We should therefore not forget them. Is it like this? We should do things to let it be known that we appreciate the heroes; that we are prepared to make sacrifices for our people. How? [should we] write novels like José Rizal?'

Translation of the Lord's Prayer

Zamboangueño

Tata de amon talli na cielo,
bendito el de Uste nombre.
Manda vene con el de Uste reino;
Hace el de Uste voluntad aqui na tierra,
igual como alli na cielo.

Dale kanamon el pan para cada dia.
Perdona el de amon maga culpa,
como ta perdona kame con aquellos
quien tiene culpa kanamon.
No deja que hay cae kame na tentacion
y libra kanamon na mal.

Caviteño

Niso Tata Qui ta na cielo,
quida santificao Tu nombre.
Manda vini con niso Tu reino;
Sigui el qui quiere Tu aqui na tierra,
igual como na cielo!

Dali con niso ahora,
niso comida para todo el dia.
Perdona el mga culpa di niso,
si que laya ta perdona niso con aquel
mga qui tiene culpa con niso.
No dija qui cai niso na tentacion,
pero salva con niso na malo.

Ternateño

Padri di mijotru ta allí na cielo,
Quidá alabaó Bo nombre
Llevá cun mijotru Bo trono; Viní con mijotru Boh reino;
Siguí cosa qui Bo mandá aquí na tiehra
parejo allí na cielo!

Dali con mijotro esti día
el cumida di mijotro para cada día;
Perdoná quél mgá culpa ya hací mijotro con Bo,
como ta perdoná mijotro ‘quel mga culpa ya hací el mga otro genti cun mijotro;
No dijá qui caí mijotru na tintación,
sinó hací librá con mijotro na malo.

Vocabulary

Forms and Style

Chabacano (especially Zamboangueño) has two levels of usage for words: The common or familiar and formal.

In the common or familiar form, words of local origin or a mixture of local and Spanish words predominate. They are used ordinarily when conversing with people of equal or lower status in society and in the family, with friends and acquaintances. Their use are of general acceptance and usage.

In the formal form, words of Spanish origin predominate. They are used when conversing with elders and those in authority. They are also used especially when conversing with people of higher status in society and family. They are used in speeches, education, media, and writing.

The following examples show a contrast between the usage of formal words and common or familiar words in Chabacano:

Legend

Formal - Common/Familiar - English

• Resbaloso - Malandug - Slippery
• Morisqueta - Kanon (from local word 'kanin') - Rice
• Aguacero/Aguasero- Ulan - Rain
• Vianda - Ulam - Dish
• Orgulloso - Hambugero/Bugalon - Braggart/Boastful
• Coche - Auto/Awto- Car
• Muchacho/muchacha - Ayudante/Ayudanta - Housemaid (However, in Zamboanga, the term "Muchacha" is the one most used.)
• Papa - Tata - Father
• Mama - Nana - Mother
• Abuelo - Lolo - Grandfather
• Abuela - Lola - Grandmother
• Chico/Chiquito - Diutay - Small
• Fastidio - Malihug - Nuisance or one who cannot stay still
• Testaduro - Duro Cabeza/Duro Pulso - Hard-headed
• Chancla/Changcla - Chinelas - Slippers

Grammar

Pronouns

Chavacano pronouns are based on native (Tagalog and Cebuano) and Spanish sources; many of the pronouns are not used in either but may be derived in part.

In Chavacano de Zamboanga, there are three different levels of usage for certain pronouns depending on the level of familiarity between the speaker and the addressee, the status of both in family and society, or the mood of the speaker and addressee at the particular moment: common, familiar, and formal. The common forms are, particularly in the second and third person plural, derived from Cebuano while most familiar and formal forms are from Spanish. The common forms are used to address a person below or of equal social or family status or to someone is who is acquainted. The common forms are used to regard no formality or courtesy in conversation. Its use can also mean rudeness, impoliteness or offensiveness. The familiar forms are used to address someone of equal social or family status. It indicates courteousness, and is commonly used in public conversations, the broadcast media, and in education. The formal forms are used to address someone older and/or higher in social or family status. It is the form used in writing.

Additionally, Zamboangueño is the only variety of Chavacano which distinguishes between the inclusive we (kita) - including the person spoken to (the addressee) - and the exclusive we (kame) - excluding the person spoken to (the addressee) - in the first person plural except in the formal form where nosotros is used for both. Inclusive we is a pronoun or verb conjugation that indicates the inclusion of the speaker, the addressee, and perhaps other people, as opposed to exclusive we, which specifically excludes the addressee. ... Inclusive we is a pronoun or verb conjugation that indicates the inclusion of the speaker, the addressee, and perhaps other people, as opposed to exclusive we, which specifically excludes the addressee. ...

Below is a chart comparing the personal pronouns in three varieties of Chavacano.

Archaic Castillian words and False Friends: Spanish words that have changed in meaning

Chabacano has preserved plenty of archaic Spanish words in its vocabulary that modern Spanish no longer use for example: False friends are pairs of words in two languages or letters in two alphabets that look or sound similar but differ in meaning. ...

En denantes - a while ago (Spanish: hace un tiempo)

Take note that "En denantes" is an archaic Spanish phrase. Modern Spanish would express the phrase as "poco antes de hoy" or "hace un tiempo," but Chabacano still retains this archaic Spanish phrase and many other archaic Spanish words.

On the other hand, some Spanish words have evolved or have acquired totally different meanings in Chavacano. Hence for Spanish speakers who would encounter Chavacano speakers, some words familiar to them have become false friends. False friends are pairs of words in two languages or letters in two alphabets that look or sound similar but differ in meaning. ...

Some examples of false friends are: False friends are pairs of words in two languages or letters in two alphabets that look or sound similar but differ in meaning. ...

Cerilla means 'earwax'. (In Spain, cerilla means 'match'; Although in Latin America its meaning is 'earwax'.)

Siguro/Seguro means 'maybe'. (In Spanish, seguro means 'sure', 'secure', or 'stable'.)

Siempre means 'of course'. (In Spanish, siempre means 'always'.)

Firmi means 'always'. (In Spanish, firme means 'firm' or 'steady'.)

Masquen means 'even (if)'. (In Spanish, más que means 'more than'.)

Trivia

Chabacano is apricot for Mexican Spanish speakers. Although apricot is albaricoque in Spanish, in Mexico 'chabacano' is an apricot variety, to be exact.

See also

• Spanish in the Philippines

Spanish is a language of historical and cultural significance in the Philippines. ...

Codes

SIL code: cbk

ISO 639-1: none

ISO 639-2: none

ISO 639-3: cbk

SIL International is a non-profit, Christian, scientific organization with the main purpose to study, develop and document lesser-known languages for the purpose of expanding linguistic knowledge, promoting world literacy and aiding minority language development. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2:1998 Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 2: Alpha-3 code Twenty-two of the languages have two three-letter codes: a code for bibliographic use (ISO 639-2/B) a code for terminological use (ISO 639-2/T). ... ISO 639-3 is in process of development as an international standard for language codes. ...

References

• McKaughan, Howard P. Notes on Chabacano grammar, Journal of East Asiatic Studies 3(1954) 205-26.
• Chambers, John, S.J. (2003). Wee, Salvador, S.J., editor,: English-Chabacano Dictionary. Ateneo de Zamboanga University Press. OCLC 61254160. 

OCLC Online Computer Library Center was founded in 1967 and originally named the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC). ...

External links

Chavacano language edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• Early History of Chavacano de Zamboanga A Perspective on Chavacano de Zamboanga's Evolution
• Chavacano: Ethnologue Report on Chavacano.
• Chavacano information
• "Jesus" A two-hour religious film in RealVideo, dubbed in Chavacano
• Chavacano samples More Samples of the Chavacano language
• FilipinoKastilaThe Spanish and Chabacano Situation in the Philippines
• Saavedra's speech at UP
• El Chabacano en español
• Austronesian Elements in Philippine Creole Spanish (pdf)
• Spanish world-wide: the last century of language contacts (PDF)
• Chavacano of Cavite
• Swearsaurus - Chabacano
• Simple grammar