Chavacano
Spanish-based creole
Chavacano (also Chabacano, "broken Spanish") refers to the family of Spanish-based creole varieties of the Philippines, of which Zamboangueño is by far the largest and most vital. Spanish lexical superstrate (~85%) overlays Hiligaynon, Cebuano, and Tagalog grammatical and prosodic substrate, producing distinctive features: SVO order (vs. Philippine VSO/VOS), no Spanish noun-verb agreement, plural marker "manga" (from Tagalog mga), perfective "ya" / future "ay" / progressive "ta" preverbal aspect markers. Chavacano is the only surviving Spanish-based creole in Asia (others — Ternateño, Caviteño — are nearly extinct). Major literary tradition since the 19th century, including newspaper El Tiempo de Zamboanga.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Chavacano
Water
agua
/ˈaɡwa/
Fire
fuego
/ˈfweɡo/
Sun
sol
/sol/
Moon
luna
/ˈluna/
Mother
nana
/ˈnana/
Father
tata
/ˈtata/
Eat
come
/koˈme/
Drink
bebe
/beˈbe/
Love
ama
/ˈama/
Heart
corazón
/koraˈson/
Tree
árbol
/ˈaɾbol/
House
casa
/ˈkasa/
Dog
perro
/ˈpeɾo/
Cat
gato
/ˈɡato/
Hand
mano
/ˈmano/
Eye
ojo
/ˈoho/
Hello
buenas
/ˈbwenas/
Thank you
gracias
/ˈɡɾasjas/
One
uno
/ˈuno/
Good
bueno
/ˈbweno/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Spanish-based creole languages
| Meaning | Chavacano | Spanish (Europe) | Golden Age Spanish (Siglo de Oro) | Old Spanish | Extremaduran | Aragonese | Asturian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | agua /ˈaɡwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | augua /ˈawɡwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ |
| Fire | fuego /ˈfweɡo/ | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ | huegu /ˈweɣu/ | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ | fueu /ˈfweu/ |
| Sun | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sɔl/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ |
| Moon | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | lluna /ˈʎuna/ |
| Mother | nana /ˈnana/ | madre /ˈmaðɾe/ | madre /ˈmadɾe/ | madre /ˈmaðre/ | mai /mai/ | mai /maj/ | ma /ma/ |
| Father | tata /ˈtata/ | padre /ˈpaðɾe/ | padre /ˈpadɾe/ | padre /ˈpaðre/ | pai /pai/ | pai /paj/ | pa /pa/ |
| Eat | come /koˈme/ | comer /koˈmeɾ/ | comer /koˈmeɾ/ | comer /koˈmeɾ/ | comel /koˈmel/ | minchar /minˈt͡ʃaɾ/ | comer /koˈmeɾ/ |
| Drink | bebe /beˈbe/ | beber /beˈβeɾ/ | beuer /beˈβeɾ/ | bever /beˈveɾ/ | bebel /beˈβel/ | beber /beˈβeɾ/ | beber /beˈβeɾ/ |
| Love | ama /ˈama/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amol /aˈmol/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ |
| Heart | corazón /koraˈson/ | corazón /koɾaˈθon/ | coraçón /koɾaˈt͡son/ | coraçón /koɾaˈt͡son/ | curaçón /kuɾaˈsɔn/ | corazón /koɾaˈθon/ | corazón /koɾaˈθon/ |
| Tree | árbol /ˈaɾbol/ | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ | árbor /ˈaɾβoɾ/ | arbol /ˈaɾβol/ | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ |
| House | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkaza/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ |
| Dog | perro /ˈpeɾo/ | perro /ˈpero/ | perro /ˈpero/ | can /kan/ | perru /ˈpɛru/ | can /kan/ | perru /ˈperu/ |
| Cat | gato /ˈɡato/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | gatu /ˈɣatu/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | gatu /ˈɡatu/ |
| Hand | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | manu /ˈmanu/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ |
| Eye | ojo /ˈoho/ | ojo /ˈoxo/ | ojo /ˈoʃo/ | ojo /ˈoʒo/ | oju /ˈohu/ | güello /ˈɣweʎo/ | güeyu /ˈɡweʝu/ |
| Hello | buenas /ˈbwenas/ | hola /ˈola/ | Dios os guarde /djos os ˈɡwaɾde/ | salud /saˈlud/ | salú /saˈlu/ | hola /ˈola/ | hola /ˈola/ |
| Thank you | gracias /ˈɡɾasjas/ | gracias /ˈɡɾaθjas/ | gracias /ˈɡɾat͡sjas/ | mercedes /meɾˈt͡seðes/ | gracias /ˈɣɾasjas/ | gracias /ˈɡɾaθjas/ | gracies /ˈɡɾaθjes/ |
| One | uno /ˈuno/ | uno /ˈuno/ | uno /ˈuno/ | uno /ˈuno/ | un /un/ | un /un/ | ún /un/ |
| Good | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bono /ˈbono/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bonu /ˈbonu/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.