Chavacano language

Chavacano
Chavacano
Native to	Philippines
Region	Zamboanga
Ethnicity	Zamboangueño people Filipinos in Indonesia Filipinos in Malaysia
Native speakers	1.2 million (1996)
Language family	Spanish Creole Chavacano
Writing system	Latin (Spanish alphabet)
Official status
Official language in	Recognized regional language of the Philippines Zamboanga City (official language) and Basilan (lingua franca)
Recognised minority language in	Malaysian state of Sabah (Zamboangueño).
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottolog	chav1241
Linguasphere	51-AAC-ba
Area where Chavacano is spoken
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Chavacano or Chabacano [tʃaβaˈkano] is a Spanish-based creole language spoken in the Philippines. The word is derived from Spanish, meaning "poor taste", "vulgar", for the Chavacano language, developed in Cavite City, Ternate, Zamboanga and Ermita.

Six different dialects have developed: Zamboangueño in Zamboanga City, Davaoeño Zamboangueño / Castellano Abakay in Davao City, Ternateño in Ternate, Cavite, Caviteño in Cavite City, Cotabateño in Cotabato City and Ermiteño in Ermita.

Chavacano is the only Spanish-based creole in Asia. It has survived for more than 400 years, making it one of the oldest creole languages in the world. Among Philippine languages, it is the only one not an Austronesian language, but like Malayo-Polynesian languages, it uses reduplication.

This creole has six dialects. Their classification is based on their substrate languages and the regions where they are commonly spoken. The three known dialects of Chavacano with Tagalog as their substrate language are the Luzon-based creoles of which are Caviteño (spoken in Cavite City), Bahra or Ternateño (spoken in Ternate, Cavite) and Ermiteño (once spoken in the old district of Ermita in Manila and is now extinct).