Analysis Of The Chavacano Language Phonology: Understanding Its Structure For The Development Of Language Theory In A Multicultural Setting

Abstract

This study is a descriptive study of the native Zamboangueño, particularly in the phonology of the Chavacano language. This study was conducted in the city of Zamboanga. The data were collected from native Zamboangueño informants belonging to seven domains: at home, at school, in the church, at the bus terminal, in the market, at the internet café, and at the mall. The Chavacano de Zamboanga handbook by Camins (1999), Chabacano de Zamboanga compedenio y dicionario by Santos (2014), and Alfabeto chavacano by Mangaser (2012) were used as guides for pronunciation and spelling, along with three native validators. It was discovered that there are two types of diphthongs in the Zamboanga Chavacano language, which differ from other native languages: the arising diphthongs or rising diphthongs /ya/, /ye/, /yi/, /yo/, /yu/, /wa/, /we/, /wi/ and falling diphthongs or descending diphthongs /ay/, /ey/, /oy/, /uy/, and /aw/ in the Chavacano language. It is noteworthy that words in the Zamboanga Chavacano language contain digraphs. The digraph /ŋ/ is derived from the native language, and the digraphs derived from Spanish are ch/ts/, ll/ly/, and ñ/ny/. The study found that although the sounds /b/, /d/, and /g/ are significant in this language, they are not pronounced when they appear at the end of a word. They are pronounced as final /p/, /t/, and /k/. The sound that is significant in Zamboanga Chavacano is the glottal stop. This is derived from Filipino and other native Philippine languages. It is not present in the Spanish language. Chavacano language of Zamboanga is a complete language with its own characteristics and essence that is different from other native languages in the Philippines. This contradicts the view of others that Zamboanga’s Chavacano is not a language.