Chavacano – A Spanish Creole Dialect in the Philippines?

Chavacano is a name derived from the Spanish term “Chabacano”, which means vulgar, common or low-quality. The Chavacano language is the Creole Spanish language spoken and developed in the Philippines. The Chavacano language is the only Spanish Creole in Asia that has survived for more than 400 years, and it is only language in the Philippines that is not a member of the Austronesian language family. Chavacano is one of the oldest Creole languages in the world; because of the declining numbers of speakers of this language, it is considered as one of the endangered languages in the world today. There are estimated 607,000 speakers of Chavacano in the Southern part of the Philippines, particularly in the provinces of Zamboanga Del Sur, Zamboanga Del Norte, Basilan, Cotabato, Davao, as well as a few speakers in a Northern Island of the Philippines, in Cavite.Thus, does this mean that maybe in few years time this language will be eliminated or not be spoken by any Filipinos any longer? If that’s so, what are the impacts of saving this language in the speaker community?One of the important facts about the Chavacano language is that it is not only a Creole based on the Castellan Spanish language but also on Mexican Spanish and Portuguese languages. Chavacano has been primarily spoken in the Philippines over the years. However, due to the decreasing number of native speakers of this language, Filipino linguists are among those people that are worried and concerned about how to keep, save, and to standardize the Chavacano language.Some linguists and native speakers of today are still not convinced that Chavacano is really a Spanish Creole or just a false friend of the Spanish language? Can Spanish people and Mexicans, for example, understand this language?False friends terms refer to two words in two languages that look the same and sound exactly similar, but differ in meaning. In Philippine languages in general, it is sometimes surprising for foreigners that Filipino dialects consist to a considerable extent  of Spanish words and phrases.Spaniards and Mexicans can definitely understand the Chavacano language, but only if it is spoken properly and slowly. There are may be some Chavacano and Spanish words that are spelled differently, however, the thoughts and meanings are the same, and there are some terms that exist in the Chavacano language that are not used in the Spanish language. Thus, these two languages may indeed be called mutually intelligible, at least in a limited way.Chavacano is the only Filipino language that doesn’t belong to the Austronesian language family. The uniqueness of the Chavacano language only shows that it deserves to be preserved and kept by Filipinos, most especially by the native speakers of the language. Chavacano is one of the important languages of the Philippines that symbolizes the rich culture and history of the Filipino people. The most essential people to save it are the native speakers and the entire Filipino race.