I've met many people from the Philippines over the years that have
a Spanish accent and I've always wondered why. The answer is simple; one of the
languages spoken, along with Tagalog, is Chabacano or Creole Spanish.
The word "Chabacano" is derived from the Spanish word
meaning vulgar or rude, so native speakers often refer to it as “Chavacano” or
according to the location where it is spoken-Zamboangueño,
Caviteño, Ternateño and the like.
This language is the only Spanish based Creole language spoken in
the Philippines and has six dialects. Like all languages, these dialects were
formed out of necessity. Today, the
speakers of Chabacano speakers are a small minority usually found in Ternate,
Cavite and Cavite City.
Chabacano is a type of Creole (a language that is
formed when two or more languages mix together). It contains a large
amount of Spanish vocabulary but does not follow Spanish gender rules and is
also influenced by the local Filipino languages. The Chabacano grammar is based
largely on Tagalog and Cebuano.
On June 23, 1635, Zamboanga
became a permanent foothold of the Spanish government known as San José Fort. Language and cultural differences made it impossible
for intertribal communication. To add to this, work instructions were issued
in Spanish.
Since the majority of the natives did not speak
Spanish, a lingua franca (a language that is adopted as a common language between speakers
whose native languages are different) developed and became a full-fledged language still in use
today, mainly in Zamboanga City.
Differences and similarities between Spanish and
Chabacano can be seen below (thanks to Wikipedia):
Donde tu
hay anda?
Spanish:
¿Adónde vas?
(‘Where are you going?’)
Ya mirá
yo con José.
Spanish: Yo vi a José.
(‘I saw José.’)
Ele ya
empezá buscá que buscá con el sal.
Spanish: El/Ella empezó a buscar la sal en todas
partes.
(‘He/She began to search everywhere for the
salt.’)
Ele ya
andá na escuela.
Spanish: El/Ella se fue a la escuela.
(‘He/She went to school.’)
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