Chavacano

Chavacano is a Spanish-based Creole language and the name of the Six Dialects of Spanish evolved words turned into a Creole language spoken in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. The name of the language stems from the Spanish word Chabacano which means "tasteless", "common", or "vulgar".

Dialects of Chavacano are spoken in Cavite City and Ternate (both in Luzon); Zamboanga, Cotabato and Davao (in Mindanao), Isabela City

Isabela City

Isabela City is a 5th class city and the capital of the province of Basilan, Philippines. The city is located on the northern shore of Basilan. Across the Basilan Strait to the north is Zamboanga City...

 and other part of Province of Basilan and other places. According to a 2007 census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, there are 2,502,185 speakers excluding outside the Philippines. It is the major language of Zamboanga City

Zamboanga City

The City of Zamboanga : is a highly urbanized, independent and a chartered city located in Mindanao, Philippines....

. Chavacano is also spoken in Cavite City

Cavite City

The City of Cavite is a fourth class city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. The city occupies a hook shaped peninsula jutting out into Manila Bay. Cavite City used to be the capital of the province...

 and in parts of Ternate, Cavite and Sabah

Sabah

Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...

, Malaysia nearest to the Philippines, and even in Brunei and Latin America, because of recent migrations.

Most of the vocabulary comes from Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

, while the grammar

Grammar

In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...

 is mostly based on the Austronesian structure. It is used in primary education

Primary education

A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...

, television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

, and radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

. Recently English words are infiltrating the language.

For more information see the article on Chavacano, or the Ethnologue Report

Ethnologue

Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...

 on Chavacano.

Palenquero

Palenquero

Palenquero

Palenquero is a Spanish-based creole language spoken in Colombia. Palenquero is the only Spanish-based creole in Latin America. The ethnic group which speaks this Creole consists only of 3,000 people,...

(also Palenque

Palenque

Palenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date back to 100 BC to its fall around 800 AD...

) is a Spanish-based Creole spoken in Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

.

The ethnic group which speaks this Creole consists only of 2,500 people, as of 1989.

It is spoken in Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, in the village of San Basilio de Palenque

San Basilio de Palenque

San Basilio de Palenque or Palenque de San Basilio is a Palenque village and corregimiento in the Municipality of Mahates, Bolivar in northern Colombia. In 2005 the village was declared Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO...

 which is south and east of Cartagena

Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...

, and in some neighborhoods of Barranquilla

Barranquilla

Barranquilla is an industrial port city and municipality located in northern Colombia, near the Caribbean Sea. The capital of the Atlántico Department, it is the largest industrial city and port in the Colombian Caribbean region with a population of 1,148,506 as of 2005, which makes it Colombia's...

.

The village was formed by escaped slaves (Maroons) and Native Americans

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

. Since many slaves had not been subjected to a lot of contact with white people

White people

White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

, the palenqueros spoke Creole languages from Spanish language and their African ones.

Spanish speakers are unable to understand Palenquero. There are some influences from Kongo

Kongo language

The Kongo language, or Kikongo, is the Bantu language spoken by the Bakongo and Bandundu people living in the tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and Angola. It is a tonal language and formed the base for Kituba, a Bantu creole and lingua franca...

 in Democratic Republic of Congo. As of 1998, 10% of the population of age under 25 years speaks Palenquero. Most common to the elderly.

For more information see the Ethnologue Report

Ethnologue

Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...

 on Palenquero.

Annobonese

The Annobonese language

Annobonese language

The Annobonese language, known to its speakers as Fá d'Ambô or Fa d'Ambu, is spoken by 2,500 in the Annobon and Bioko Islands off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, mostly by people of mixed African, Spanish, and Portuguese descent....

is spoken by 9,000 people on the islands of Ano Bom

Annobón

Annobón may refer to:* Annobón Province* Annobonese language* Annobon people...

 and Bioko

Bioko

Bioko is an island 32 km off the west coast of Africa, specifically Cameroon, in the Gulf of Guinea. It is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea with a population of 124,000 and an area of . It is volcanic with its highest peak the Pico Basile at .-Geography:Bioko has a total area of...

, in Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...

. It is locally called Falar de Ano Bom (Fá d'Ambô or even Fla d'Ambu). It is a Portuguese-based creole

Portuguese Creole

Portuguese creoles are creole languages which have been significantly influenced by Portuguese.- Origins :Portuguese overseas exploration in the 15th and 16th century's led to the establishment of a Portuguese Empire with trading posts, forts and colonies in the Americas, Asia and Africa...

, similar to Forro

Forro language

Forro is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in São Tomé and Príncipe.The name means "freed slave" in Portuguese. The language is also called crioulo santomense. It should not be confused with the dialect of Portuguese spoken in São Tomé and Príncipe.- History :São Tomé is an island of the...

, with some borrowings from Spanish. In fact, Fá d'Ambô is derived from Forro as it shares the same structure (82% of lexicon). In the 15th century, the island was uninhabited and discovered by Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 but, by the 18th century, Portugal exchanged it and some other territories in Africa for Uruguay with Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. Spain wanted to get territory in Africa, and Portugal wanted to enlarge even more the territory that they saw as the “New Portugal” (Brazil). Nevertheless, the populace of Ano Bom was against the shift and was hostile toward the Spaniards. This hostility, combined with the isolation of mainland Equatorial Guinea and the proximity of São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about apart and about , respectively, off...

 — just 400 km from the island — has assured the maintenance of its identity.

Fá d'Ambô has gained some words of Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 origin (10% of lexicon), but some words are dubious in origin because Spanish and Portuguese are closely related languages.

See also: History of Equatorial Guinea

History of Equatorial Guinea

-Pre-colonial history:The first inhabitants of the region that is now Equatorial Guinea are believed to have been Pygmies, of whom only isolated pockets remain in northern Rio Muni. Bantu migrations between the 17th and 19th centuries brought the coastal tribes and later the Fang...

Nigerian Pidgin

Nigerian Pidgin

Nigerian Pidgin

Nigerian Pidgin is an English-based pidgin and a creole language spoken as a lingua franca across Nigeria. The language is commonly referred to as "Pidgin" or "Brokin". It is often not considered a creole language since most speakers are not native speakers, although many children do learn it early...

is a pidgin language spoken in Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, based on English. The Spanish influence can be seen, as Spanish slave ships traded off the coast of Nigeria. One example is the Nigerian word "sabi", which means "to know", which comes from the Portuguese and Spanish words "saber", which have the same meaning.

Papiamento

Papiamento

Papiamento

Papiamento is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands, having the official status on the islands of Aruba and Curaçao. The language is also recognized on Bonaire by the Dutch government....

or Papiamentu is a creole language spoken by 359,000 people.

Primarily spoken in Curaçao

Curaçao

Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

 and Bonaire by 179,000 people and Aruba

Aruba

Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...

 by 100,000 people .

The Proto-Afro-Portuguese theory is the most widely accepted hypothesis about the genesis of Papiamentu.

This Creole is reportedly becoming more similar to Spanish as the time passes due to extensive contact with the Hispanophone countries (particularly Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

), but it was originally Portuguese-based.

Because of the similarities between these Iberian languages

Iberian languages

Iberian languages is a generic term for the languages currently or formerly spoken in the Iberian Peninsula.- Pre-Roman languages :The following languages were spoken in the Iberian Peninsula before the Roman occupation and the spread of the Latin language.* Aquitanian * Proto-Basque* Tartessian*...

, it is difficult to ascertain whether a certain feature is derived from Portuguese, Spanish or Ladino, after the adaptation to Papiamento rules.

For more information see the Ethnologue Report

Ethnologue

Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...

 on Papiamentu.

Pichinglis

Pichinglis

Pichinglis

Pichinglis, commonly referred to by its speakers as Pichi and Fernando Poo Creole, is an Atlantic English-lexicon Creole language spoken on the island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea Pichinglis, commonly referred to by its speakers as Pichi and Fernando Poo Creole, is an Atlantic English-lexicon Creole...

 is spoken in the Bioko island, Equatorial Guinea.
It originates in the arrival of Krio

Krio

Krio may refer to:*Sierra Leone Krio people*Krio language, language of the Sierra Leone Krio people*Krio Dayak people, an ethnic group in West Kalimantan, Indonesia*Krio Dayak language*Keriau River, in West Kalimantan, Indonesia...

 speakers from the mainland.
Krio is an Creole that derives most of its vocabulary from English, but the Spanish colonization of Guinea

Spanish Guinea

Spanish Guinea was an African colony of Spain that became the independent nation of Equatorial Guinea.-History:The Portuguese explorer, Fernão do Pó, seeking a route to India, is credited with having discovered the island of Bioko in 1472. He called it Formosa , but it quickly took on the name of...

exerted Spanish influence in lexicon and grammar.

External links

• RAE: Real Academia Española.
• Association for Portuguese and Spanish Lexically Based Creoles (ACBLPE)