Appendix:Chavacano–Spanish relations
This appendix discusses the relations between the Chavacano and Spanish languages.
Chavacano is a Spanish-based creole language spoken in the Philippines. Spanish, the ancestor of Chavacano, is a Romance language spoken in Spain and most of its former colonies. While most of Chavacano vocabulary are inherited from Spanish, it also have many borrowings from Philippine languages (Hiligaynon and Tagalog in particular) and some from English and Portuguese. Aside from borrowings, Chavacano also had retained archaic Spanish vocabulary.
Phonology
[edit]Broadly speaking, Chavacano and Spanish have almost identical phonological inventories, but there are some key differences. Following the Spanish dialect spoken in the Philippines, Chavacano features seseo and lleísmo, as well as these features:
- /j/-coalescence following /d/, /s/ and /t/: A /j/ following a /d/, /s/ or /t/ is normally coalesced in Chavacano to create a palatalized consonant, so for example the words tiene is pronounced [ˈtʃene].
- /x/ pronounced as [h]: Chavacano /x/ is retracted to an [h], so that hijo is pronounced [ˈiho]. This is also shared with Andalusian, Canarian, Caribbean and Central American Spanish.
- Retention of voiced consonants. The hard consonants /b/, /d/ and /g/ are pronounced as they are, and not lenited.
Orthography
[edit]Chavacano, as a mostly spoken language, did not have a standardized spelling until its introduction into the basic education curriculum in 2012. There were three major orthographic norms:
- Spanish-based orthography
- Tagalog-based orthography
- mixed etymological orthography
Since 2013, a mixed etymological orthography has been adapted for Chavacano, which promoted by the Zamboanga City government and used for teaching material for the language from kindergarten to grade 3. This orthography follows Spanish rules for Spanish-derived terms, while loans from Philippine languages are spelled according to local rules. Wiktionary also observes this system.
With the exception of the tilde in Ñ, written Chavacano except dictionaries and formal texts usually do not utilize accents such as the acute and trema. The circumflex and grave can also be used in Chavacano to indicate a glottal stop following a vowel as found in Hiligaynon and Tagalog borrowings (the other one is a final H). Punctuation for written Chavacano also tend to align with English, which is also the basis for punctuation in most Philippine languages.
Grammar
[edit]As a creole language, Chavacano features a much simplified grammar and influences from its Austronesian substrate.
For personal pronouns, Chavacano usually has the same pronouns as Spanish, but some possessive pronouns especially those spoken in basilectal variants are borrowed from the Philippine languages. For the common second-person singular pronoun, Chavacano tends toward vos (Philippine Spanish, in contrast, tends toward tú).
Verb conjugations also differ drastically. Chavacano has a simpler conjugation system, using particles to indicate tense instead of altering the endings. Infinitives of Chavacano verbs are usually the Spanish infinitive minus the R (and final stress retained), but this is not always the case (e.g. Chavacano dale vs dar, both meaning "to give").
Vocabulary
[edit]Chavacano inherits most of its vocabulary from Spanish, but it also retained some Spanish archaisms or developed its own usages. In addition, it has loanwords from the Austronesian languages, English and occasionally, Portuguese (especially the Cavite Chavacano varieties spoken in Ternate and Cavite City).
Vocabulary also differ depending on register. Formal (acrolectal) forms of Chavacano tend to use more Spanish terms, while informal forms tend to borrow more from Austronesian languages and English.