“A PRELIMINARY GRAMMAR DESCRIPTION OF THE ZAMBOANGA CHAVACANO LANGUAGE”
Arben Anthony Q. Saavedra Tisha Camille R. Claro
MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology Iligan City, Philippines
CHAVACANO LANGUAGE”
An Undergraduate Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of English
College of Arts and Social Sciences MSU-IIT, Iligan City
As Partial Fulfillment of the Course English 199-Thesis Writing
Arben Anthony Q. Saavedra Tisha Camille R. Claro
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The researchers would like to express their profound gratitude and sincere appreciation to the following people who made this endeavor a success:
Ms. Honeylet E. Dumoran, for the patience in comprehensively editing the drafts, and for the enlightenment which contributed to the expansion and development of this research endeavor, most especially during the formative and final stages of this study;
Dr. Luvizminda dela Cruz, Dr. Mary Ann Sandoval, and Mr. Rabindranath Polito, our panelists, for their time and consideration despite short notices, which nevertheless have not hindered them from giving suggestions and corrections for further improvement of the paper;
The informants and cross-checkers, not only for patiently translating the sentences, but also for allowing us to conduct interviews and also for sparing time in explaining grammatical structures and expressions;
The ABEO fourth year students, for their never-ending support and assistance during the research process and the oral defense;
Kuya March Nuel Chiongson, for the financial support and material resources;
Our families, for their understanding, support and inspiration, which enabled us to do our very best all throughout this research study;
ABSTRACT
This study describes the grammar of the Zamboanga Chavacano language, an ethnic language spoken by people in Zamboanga City, Basilan, and some people in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Sulu Archipelago. More particularly, this paper describes in detail the consonant and vowel sounds, stress, intonation pattern, syntactic patterns and morphophonemic processes in the Zamboanga Chavacano language.
The data were gathered through written and oral communication among native speakers of Zamboanga Chavacano language. The written texts were gathered through letters, which were collected by the researcher to trace, describe and analyze the morphophonemic processes, such as assimilation, deletion, alternation and metathesis. There were forty short sentences in Filipino which the native speakers of Zamboanga Chavacano were made to translate. Conversations with the native speakers were done in order to identify the phonemic sounds present in the language. Certain accent patterns as well as changes in the meaning of words depending on stress were also noted.
The sentences were randomly selected from a linguistic material called “Test Sentences for Philippine Languages” and were extensively used to analyze syntax as well as morphology. Inflectional morphemes were also written down with a huge majority being of Spanish origin. Morphological processes include deletion, alternation and metathesis. The Zamboanga Chavacano writing norm also proved a little inconsistent in the treatment of Zamboanga Chavacano sounds; thus, this paper used a unified a consistent orthography by assigning different sounds to distinct letters.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE i
APPROVAL SHEET ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii
ABSTRACT iv
Chapter I THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING
Introduction 1
Statement of the Problem 4
Scope and Limitation of the Study 6
Significance of the Study 6
Theoretical Framework 7
Conceptual Framework 7
Definition of Terms 8
Chapter II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Grammatical/Morphological Structures 12
Chavacano Orthography 13
Cebuano Grammar 14
Chavacano Grammar 14
Chapter III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Locale of the Study 17
Research Design 17
Instrument Used 17
Data Gathering 19
Analysis of Data 19
Chapter IV PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
Phonology 21
Phonemes 21
Stress 35
Phonological Processes 36
Morphology 42
Word formation processes 43
Word classes 46
Syntax 65
Zamboanga Chavacano sentence 65
Non-verbal sentences 66
Verbal sentences 72
Tense and Aspect 73 Voice 79 Modality 83 Negation 84 Copula 88 Discourse Particles 91
Chapter V SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary 96 Conclusion 96 Recommendation 97 BIBLIOGRAPHY 99 APPENDICES 101 CURRICULUM VITAE 113
Chapter I
The Problem and Its Setting
1.1 Introduction
Philippine Creole Spanish, more familiarly known as Chavacano, is a creole language spoken in the Philippines. It is divided into six geographically estranged dialects: Caviteño, Ternateño, Cotabateño, Davaoeño, Ermitense, and Zamboangueño, but Zamboangueño is the only one far from the verge of extinction (Lipski, 1987). Ermitense had become extinct sometime after the end of World War II. Zamboanga Chavacano is predominantly spoken within the City of Zamboanga, where it is the native language, and in the nearby island of Basilan, where it is the lingua franca (Frake, 1971). It is also used as a second language in Jolo and the Sulu Archipelago as well as by communities in the Zamboanga provinces. Significant Chavacano speaking populations can also be found overseas as part of the Filipino diaspora. In Malaysia, Zamboanga Chavacano has officially been listed as a regional language predominantly spoken by migrant Filipinos in Sempornah in Sabah.
A creole language, such as the Philippine Creole language, is a language that is formed by the mixing of two other languages to form one stable language. The vocabulary of the creole language consists of cognates from the parent languages, though there are often clear phonetic and semantic shifts. On the other hand, the grammar often has original features but may differ substantially from those of the parent languages. One hypothesis about creoles is that the superstrate or lexifier language of a creole contributes to its vocabulary, while its grammar comes directly from its substrate (Crowley, 1997). This
hypothesis is applicable to Chavacano since most of its vocabulary is of Spanish origin while its syntax is basically Austronesian in structure.
Chavacano is the only Spanish creole language in Asia and is one of the world‟s oldest surviving creole languages, having spanned nearly four hundred years. A look at the lexicon and grammar of Chavacano shows that Zamboangueño words are predominantly derived from Spanish. Numbers, words, days of the week, months, and body parts are obviously Spanish derived. Some properties of its grammar, on the other hand, show obvious traces of Austronesian influence, particularly those of Tagalog and Cebuano (Steinkrüger, 2006).
Spanish dictionaries define the word “chavacano” as something coarse, unpolished, and awkward. In reference to a language, Spanish dictionaries define it as “a language characterized by a drastic simplification of its lexicon and syntax, a melange of languages in contact, an interlingual corruption of standard languages”. In a study by Frake, Chavacano is classified into two groups, the Manila Bay Creole (Cavite, Ternate, and Ermita) and the Southern Mindanao Creole (Zamboanga, Davao, Cotabato) (Riego de Dios, 1989). The theories explaining how each dialect of Chavacano was formed vary from one place to another along with the history and culture of each Chavacano variant. Note the differences in spelling conventions as well as the differences in vocabulary. Furthermore, Zamboanga Chavacano possesses a diglossic system wherein the “high” form (used for formal and literary purposes) and the “low” form (used for informal purposes) (Structures and Varieties of Modern Spanish Chabacano 1) which is absent in other dialects. To further illustrate the differences, below is the text of the Pater Noster (Our Father) in the Chavacano dialects:
Zamboangueño (common) De atón Tata que tallí na cielo, bendito el de Ustéd nombre.
Mandá vené con el de Ustéd Reíno; Hace el de Ustéd voluntad aquí na tierra, igual como allí na cielo.
Dále conamón el pan para cada día. Perdoná el de amón maga pecados, como ta perdona también kamé con aquellos
quien ya pecá conamón.
Y no dejá que hay caé kamé na tentación
Zamboangueño (formal)
Nuestro Tata Quien talli na cielo, bendito el de Usted nombre. Manda vené con el de Usted reíno; Hace el de Usted voluntad aqui na tierra,
igual como alli na cielo.
Dale con nosotros el pan para cada dia. Perdona el de nuestro mana pecados, como nosotros ta perdona con aquellos quien ya peca con nosotros.
Y no deja que nosotros hay caé na tentacion
sino librá conamón de mal.
Caviteño Chabacano Niso Tata Qui ta na cielo, quida santificao Tu nombre. Manda vini con niso Tu reino; Sigui el qui quiere Tu aqui na tierra, igual como na cielo!
Dali con niso ahora,
niso comida para todo el dia. Perdona el mga culpa di niso,
si que laya ta perdona niso con aquel mga qui tiene culpa con niso.
No dija qui cai niso na tentacion, pero salva con niso na malo.
sino libra con nosotros de mal.
Ternateño Chabacano
Padri di mijotru ta allí na cielo, quidá alabaó Bo nombre.
Llevá cun mijotru Bo trono; Viní con mijotru Bo reino;
Siguí cosa qui Bo mandá aquí na tiehra, parejo allí na cielo!
Dali con mijotro esti día,
el cumida di mijotro para cada día. Perdoná quél mgá culpa ya hací mijotro con Bo,
como ta perdoná mijotro „quel
mga culpa ya hací el mga otro genti cun mijotro.
No dijá qui caí mijotru na tintación, sinó hací librá con mijotro na malo.
In the recent years, native speakers of Chavacano have become alarmed of the Philippinization of Chavacano. Urban Migration and Language shift has been blamed for such changes. In places like Cavite, Cotabato, and Zamboanga, local governments, foreign individuals as well as private individuals have been promoting the preservation of the language with yet undetermined results.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
It has been a common layman‟s misconception that Chavacano is a corrupted or ungrammatical form of Spanish. This study therefore intends to describe and analyze
Chavacano phonology, morphology and syntax. The main objective of this study is to present a descriptive analysis of Chavacano morphosyntax and phonology, particularly on specific grammatical categories and phonological processes by collecting data through test sentences and interviews with native speakers. Specifically, this research seeks to answer the following questions:
1. What are the phonemes and the phonological processes found in the Zamboanga Chavacano language?
2. What are the morphological processes that may be found in the Zamboanga Chavacano language?
3. How are the following realized in the Zamboanga Chavacano language? a. Case
b. Copula verb c. Definiteness
d. Degrees of Comparison
e. Grammatical Person, Number and Gender f. Negation
g. Tense and Aspect h. Voice
4. How are the following types of sentences expressed in Chavacano? a. Verbal sentences
b. Non-verbal sentences b.1. Equational sentences
b.2.Existential sentences b.3.Locational sentences b.4.Descriptive sentences b.5. Interrogative sentences b.6. Possessive sentences
1.3 Scope and Limitation of the Study
This study presents an analysis of Zamboanga Chavacano morphosyntax and phonology. The sociolinguistic and historical differences in utterance and vocabulary are beyond the scope of this study. The study focuses only on the modern colloquial language and not on the written or literary form. Although there are many varieties of the Chavacano language throughout the Philippines, the Zamboanga dialect was chosen because it is the dialect with the most number of native speakers. The study is limited to the inquiry of the native speakers of the language who were made to translate sets of sentences in Filipino and Cebuano into Chavacano.
1.4 Significance of the Study
This study will be of significant contribution to the study of Philippine languages especially the Chavacano language. It will serve as a supplementary material for a better understanding of the Chavacano syntax and phonology. The study will hopefully serve as an aid in teaching Chavacano to the younger generations in order to preserve and/or maintain the heritage as well as culture of the Chavacanos and to counteract the ongoing threat of language extinction and moribundialism. It will also be a key for a better
understanding of Chavacano culture and for the enlightening of the lay man‟s mentality of Chavacano being a plain, grammar-less and corrupted Spanish. This will be a very good contribution to the growing body of ressearch which will aid future studies specializing on Philippine languages. This study shall significantly benefit those who are of interest in the Chavacano language as well as those campainging for its instruction in schools for language preservation.
1.5 Theoretical Framework
This study deals mainly on grammar and phonological analysis of the Zamboanga Chavacano language. A prior study on the said topic has been made by Semorlan. In Semorlan‟s study, the phonology of Zamboanga Chavacano is introduced first with brief descriptions and few examples. The phonological elements discussed in the paper included the phonemes, consonant clusters, and dipthongs. After this, Semorlan proceeds in giving a bird‟s eyeview of the Zamboanga Chavacano morphology by introducing the word classes and giving examples from a Pilipino teacher‟s grammatical point of view. Explanations and examples come for each and every item discussed. No discussion on word formation and derivation is present. In syntax, there is a brief description of the simple tenses and word order.
1.6 Conceptual Framework
The research is descriptive qualitative in nature. It describes and presents an analysis of morphosyntax and phonology of the Zamboanga Chavacano language. Morphosyntactic analysis is divided into two areas: morphology and syntax. Morphology
deals with the word classes, derivational morphemes as well as morphological processes. Syntax includes the sentences which has two types: verbal and non-verbal. It shall also include a discussion on specifically selected grammatical categories and on discourse particles. Discusses under phonology are the phonemic inventory of the language, its stress patterns, and its phonological patterns.
1.7 Definition of Terms
Copula. A copula is a morpheme, usually a verb but sometimes a particle or pronoun that “couples” to noun phrases. (Payne, 2006) In Chavacano, different copulas link predicates or complements. Chavacano has three types of copula verbs: Locative, Existential, and Descriptive
Taquí si Carlos COP-LOC NOM Carlos „Carlos is here.‟
Ya tiene un accidente de auto ayer. PT COP DET accidente GEN car yesterday. „There was a car accident yesterday.‟
Descriptive copulas in Chavacano are more often than not omitted in colloquial speech:
Padre di mío el prestamista. Father GEN my DET money-lender „My father is a moneylender.‟
Creole language. A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable language that has originated from a pidgin language that has been nativized (that is, acquired by children). The vocabulary of a creole language consists of cognates from the parent languages, though there are often clear phonetic and semantic shifts. On the other hand, the grammar often has original features but may differ substantially from those of the parent languages (Steinkrüger, 2006).
Endangered language. An endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use (Kindell, 2010).
Evidentiality. Evidentiality is a conceptual category that express the source of the information contained in an utterance (Payne, 2006).
Grammatical categories. Grammatical catergories, throughout this paper is used to identify constructions involving voice, tense, aspect, etc. which are expressed by inflectional morphemes in other Philippine languages.
Grammatical case. Grammatical case refers to morphosyntactic marking (“case markers”) of nouns or noun phrases that expresses something about the relationship of the noun or noun phrase to its syntactic context (Payne, 2006).
Grammatical Person. Grammatical person, in linguistics, is a paradigm or conceptual category in the participant reference system of a language. It includes first person (speaker), second person (audience), third person (other participants not involved in the communicative act) (Payne, 2006).
Identifiability. Identifiability or Definiteness is a pragmatic feature of participants in the message world, as presented by a speaker. Participants are identifiable if the speaker assumes that the hearer can uniquely identify the referrer (Payne, 2006).
Language extinction. Language extinction is a process that affects speech communities where the level of linguistic competence that speakers possess of a given language variety is decreased, eventually resulting in no native and/or fluent speakers of the variety (Ethnologue, 2006).
Language shift. Language shift, sometimes referred to as language transfer or language replacement or assimilation, is the progressive process whereby a speech community of a language shifts to speaking another language. The rate of assimilation is the percentage of individuals with a given mother tongue who speak another language more often in the home (Schiffman, 1998).
Linguistic modality. Grammatical mood (also mode) is a set of conceptual categories that express various speaker attitudes or perspective on an event (Payne, 2006). An example sentence would be:
Man vené le si jendeh ya ele ocupado. MOD 3-S NOM NEG already 3-S busy She would come if she is not busy anymore.
Moribund language. A moribund language is a language whose native speakers consist mainly of older generations and very few, if at all existent, younger generations (Kindell, 2010).
Substrate. A substratum or substrate (plural: substrata or substrates) is a language that influences an intrusive language that supplants it. The term is also used of substrate interference, i.e. the influence the substratum language exerts on the supplanting language (Holm, 2000).
Superstrate. A superstratum or superstrate is the counterpart to a substratum. When one language succeeds another, the former is termed the superstratum and the latter the substratum (Holm, 2000).
Voice. Voice is constructions that adjust the relationship between semantic roles and grammatical relations or sometimes referred to as voices (Payne, 2006).
Chapter II
Review of Related Literature
This chapter focuses on the selected lexical items and morpho-syntactic analysis on the Zamboanga-Chavacano language as compared to the Sebuano language (Steinkruger, 2006). Zamboanga-Chavacano is one of the different varieties of the Spanish Creole in the Philippines. Philippine Creole Spanish, also known as Chabacano, is spoken vestigially in the Manila Bay enclaves of Cavite and Ternate, but the major speech community is found in Zamboanga City. Zamboangueño Chabacano is the native language of the majority of the population of Zamboanga del Sur province. (Lipski, 1987)
Grammatical/Morphological Structures
In comparison with Cavite and Ternate, Zamboanga words taken from Spanish are almost uniformly representative of more standard, relatively modern items. Phonologically, very few Zamboanga items show the neutralization of syllable-final /l/ and /r/ that is so common in Caviteño and Ternateño (cf. Zamboangueño puerco; Caviteño puelco „pig‟). Reduction/elision of syllable-final /s/ does occur in Zamboanga, as in the Manila Bay Philippine Creole Spanish dialects, but at a rate which is low enough to suggest initial contact with varieties of Spanish in which the process had only begun (Lipski, 1987).
Zamboanga contains a few rustic/archaic Spanish lexical items, but they are words which are still found in nonstandard or rural Spanish even at the present time, and are not usable in dating the formation of Zamboanga. However, the majority of the Zamboanga
lexicon is neutral with respect to the chronology of input Spanish dialects, since most of the major indicators of marginal/archaic status within Spanish involve verbal morphology, which is totally absent in Philippine Creole Spanish. The more modern-sounding nature of Zamboanga could conceivably be attributed to the heavy presence of native Spanish speakers in the late 19th century (v. infra), but even in remote areas of the province where there was never more than a sprinkling of Spaniards, the speech differs from urban Zamboanga more in terms of intonation, and in the retention of Spanish-based words, as opposed to the heavy Visayan incursions in Zamboanga City.
Chavacano Orthography
Practitioners of written Chavacano cannot agree among themselves on what alphabet to use. Similarly, pronunciations differ as they greatly depend upon the ethnical intonations of the vowels a,e,i,o,u and the use of the Pilipino alphabet b,k,s,p,ny for the original Spanish v,c,z,f,ñ in certain words (Camins, 1999). The simple rule is that local words, that is words of Philippine origin, and their variants are to be spelled as in Pilipino and words of Spanish origin and their variants are to be spelled according to their original spellings. However, this writing norm is not always followed since some words have divorced from their original Spanish pronunciations, example the word escoger “to choose” is written more frequently as iscují or iscugí instead of escogé since it is closer to the actual modern pronunciation than the original Spanish.
Cebuano Grammar
Howard McKaughan‟s “Cebuano Grammar Notes” presented a detailed yet complex explanation of the Cebuano phonology, word classes, derivational and inflectional morphemes classified according to various categories. McKaughan listed all existing phonemes as well as phonological processes found in the Cebuano language with corresponding examples and their glosses. In morphology, he presented the word classes with examples as well as the derivational morphemes under such classes. As for the inflectional morphemes, McKaughan merely listed them, organizing them into lists without giving further examples or explanations. McKaughan‟s work is naturally a preliminary presentation of the Cebuano language. Also, he did not specify which type or dialect of Cebuano he was working on.
Chavacano Grammar
Semorlan (1983), in her paper entitled “Gramatika ng Wikang Chavacano”, presented a brief yet concise grammatical description of Zamboanga Chavacano. Semorlan first presented the distinct phonemes of the language, of which she included the archaic voiceless dental fricative /ɵ/, voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate /ʨ/, and the diagraph /hɾ/. She did not discuss on the phonological processes found in Zamboang Chavacano. In morphology, Semorlan only discussed word classes, focus, as well as the tenses and the aspects. In syntax, Semorlan presented the main elements of the Zamboanga Chavacano senteces. All discussion throughout Semorlan‟s work contained brief yet concise descriptions and examples within the limited scope of her study.
Zamboangueño Creole Spanish by John Lipski and Salvatore Santoro (1986) sought to compare the structure of Zamboanga Chavacano creole with the common syntactic patterns found in other creole languages. They did not study phonology and morphology since they only focused on investigating whether creole grammatical elements such as the negative concord, negation, and many others are found in the Zamboanga Chavacano language. Lipski and Santoro listed several grammatical phenomenas found in Zamboanga Chavacano including those of vestigial Spanish origin which may no longer be in use in the modern day. Explanations were very brief and not all grammatical phenomenas had clear explanations as to their occurrences and how they are constructed. They merely presented the grammatical structures without really discussing them thoroughly.
Chapter III
Research Methodology
This chapter presents the description of the informants, the locale of the study, research design, the instruments used, the gathering of data, and its analysis.
INFORMANTS
The informants of this study were native Zamboanga Chavacano speakers aged 56 and 16 years old from the city of Zamboanga City. The informants came from the Metropolitan Zamboanga City and from the countryside or urban area of Vitali. The two informants were chosen due to their accessibility on the part of the researchers and the fact that they are native speakers of the language.
The first informant, Francisco Pablo Arcillas, aged 54, resides in Limaong in the suburb area adjacent to the Zamboanga Sibugay provincial border. He is a businessman. The second informant, Laoreen Saavedra Roxas, 16, resides in the metropolitan area of Zamboanga City. The geographical factor was considered in this research since according to several studies, the speech of the Chavacanos living in the metropolitan area and the other areas differ. This difference is attributed to the fact that the speech of those living outside the metropolitan area tend to contain vestigial Spanish grammatical elements no longer existent in metropolitan speech. Several minor informants were also made to give their feedback on this research and to act as crosscheckers to the gathered data.
LOCALE OF THE STUDY
The setting for this study was in Zamboanga City at the residences of the native speakers. Zamboanga city is located at the tip of the Zamboanga peninsula with a population of nearly two million people and one of the top ten largest cities in the Philippines in terms of land area. It is the traditional homeland of the Zamboanga Chavacano people
RESEARCH DESIGN
The research is descriptive qualitative in nature since it aims to present specific grammatical notions in the Zamboanga Chavacano language. Furthermore, it seeks to explore and understand the structure of words and sentences as well the phonological processes in Chavacano.
INSTRUMENT USED
This study made use of test sentences for the syntax analysis of the Zamboanga Chavacano language. Camins and Riego de Dios‟ published dictionary was utilized for identifying affixation and the actual morphological data gathered. Actual interviews were done also to determine the phonological processes present in the Zamboanga Chavacano language.
The test sentences used were composed of 40 randomly selected Tagalog sentences from different categories taken from the Test Sentences for Tagalog and Ilukano, where the informants were to translate each sentence in to Chavacano. The sentences found in “Test
Sentences for Tagalog and Ilukano” were originally taken from a monograph entitled Batanic Languages: Lists of Sentences for Grammatical Features by Tsuchida Shigeru, et al. published by the Unoiversity of Tokyo, March 1989. These interviews and test sentences will serve as the main sources for the study‟s analysis of the grammatical categories, morphosyntax and phonological processes of the Zamboanga Chavacano language.
Bernardino Silva Camin‟s dictionary, published in 1999, is a trilingual Spanish-English-Chavacano dictionary consisting of several thousand entries of the most common words used in the Chavacano language. It also includes a brief grammar summary of Chavacano as well as songs, poems, and the Chavacano refranes. An approximate pronunciation is given for each article but the consistency of the notation used to indicate pronunciation is uncertain. The entries are arranged alphabetically but some typographic errors are evident and the spellings are rather inconsistent. Camin‟s dictionary is currently used by the Zamboanga City Government as an official souvenir given to all dignitaries and honored guests of the City of Zamboanga.
Maria Isabelita Riego de Dios‟ dictionary (1976), part of her dissertation on Philippine Creole Spanish to the Ateneo de Manila University, is perhaps the largest known dictionary of the Chavacano language. It has an estimated number of 7,000 entries of the Cotabato Chavacano language with their respective equivalents in the Cavite, Ternate, and Zamboanga dialects. Pronunciation for each dialect is given using an older version of the IPA. Prior to the dictionary, there are brief historical accounts on the historical development of the Chavacano dialects. There is also a phonological and
derivational affixation section of the Cotabato dialect. It should be noted that Riego de Dios‟ work is purely on Cotabato Chavacano.
DATA GATHERING
In obtaining the data needed for the study, the researchers wrote a letter requesting permission from the two informants for an interview and for the distribution of the test sentences where they were to translate Tagalog sentences in to Chavacano. The informants were randomly selected from the metropolitan areas and the suburbs.
Upon the approval of the request from the informants, the researchers started the interview and handed on the test sentences. The informants were given enough time to answer the test sentences composing 40 Tagalog sentences. The researchers then collected the translated Chavacano sentences after each informant had finished answering all of them. After the collection of the gathered data the researchers started analyzing the data gathered.
During the conversation and interview session, the informants were made to discuss some simple topics relating to their daily lives such as the Chavacano language, daily activities, family members, and academic life. This is done to facilitate the conversation on the part of the informant and to reduce possible lexicon related problems or code-switching to English if the conversation topics are of complex nature.
ANALYSIS OF DATA
The translated sentences were then analyzed and also served as instruments for cross checking. The phonological data, obtained from actual interviews and conversation,
are presented in diagrams and tables with several examples illustrating the occurrences of phonemes and the phonological processes. Morphological data were obtained from a set of words taken from Riego de Dios‟ and Camins‟ dictionary where words are arranged according to their roots. This arrangement facilitated in the listing down of derivational morphemes and their meanings. They are presented in tabular form. All examples given are expressed in the common-masculine gender but feminine patterns are also indicated. Data on syntax were obtained from the test sentences and they are presented with their glosses and English translations. Explanations were made as detailed as possible in the simplest form of language.
Chapter IV
Presentation and Analysis of Data
This chapter shall present the results of test questions given to native speaking Chavacanos as informants to gather information on Chavacano grammar. Below are the data on the aspects of phonology, morphology, syntax, as well as their explanations and examples.
The presentation shall begin with phonology, followed by morphology and syntax.
I. Phonology
This section shall discuss Zamboanga Chavacano phonology. First, we presented an overview of the phonology of Zamboanga Chavacano and later discuss each pertinent item on its phonology.
I.A. Phonemes
The section on phonemes shall include the discussion of the vowel sounds, consonant sounds, diphthongs, allophonic sounds, consonant clusters, and the diagraphs.
Vowels. Zamboanga Chavacano has five vowels /a, e, i, o, u/. However, the vowel sounds /e, o/ tend to become /i, u/ via vowel assimilation and stress.
Phoneme Initial Medial Final /a/ aguanoso „swampy‟ alajero „jeweler‟ hablá „to speak‟
alimatok „leech‟ alabá „to praise‟ quedá „to become‟ alquiler „rental‟ alcanzá „to overtake‟ quemá „to burn‟ alamadrina „safe haven‟ almareo „vertigo‟ quebrá „to break‟ /e/ educá „to educate‟ encabezá „to lead‟ dulce „sweet‟
ejemplo „example‟ detrás „behind‟ balde „bucket‟ eliminá „to eliminate‟ deverasan „truth‟ alcalde „mayor‟ empezá „to begin‟ llevá „to carry, bring‟ devolvé „to return
sth‟ /i/ iglesia „church‟ imitá „to imitate‟ abrí „to open‟ imut „to be frugal‟ sufrimiento „suffering‟ sufrí„to suffer‟ ingreso „receipts‟ juyáin „timid‟,
„bashful‟
huí „to elope‟, „to escape‟, „to run away‟
inquilino „tenant‟ idayvuelta „roundtrip‟ escupí „to spit‟ /o/ oyente „listener‟ ocasión „opportunity‟ mentiroso „liar‟
orejas „ears‟ manok „chicken‟ mojo „moss‟ orgullo „pride‟ ojos „eyes‟ mucho „much‟ ofrecé „to offer‟ olor „scent‟ grueso „thick‟ /u/ uva „grape‟ upus „cigarette butt‟ ñgusu „snout‟
uclat „to uproot‟ tubugan „wallowing pool‟ uliji „last place‟ tucap „to patch‟ usik „waste‟ tujud „knee‟
Consonants. The Zamboanga Chavacano officially has 17 distinctly sounded consonants /m/, /p/, /b/, /n/, /t/, /d/, /s/, /k/, /g/, /h/, /l/, /ʔ/, /ʨ/, /ʥ/, /ɲ/, /ʎ/, /ŋ/, /ɾ/ and two semi-vowels /j/ and /w/ . Semorlan (1983) cites that there are 19 Chavacano consonants which included the voiceless-alveolopalatal affricate /ʨ/, as in chongo „monkey‟ and the diagraph sound /hɾ/ represented by rr as in perro „dog‟ which we have listed under the diagraph category. Furthermore, Semorlan (1983) included the Standard Spanish pronunciation of the letters z and c (followed by e and i), /ɵ/. The voiceless dental fricative /ɵ/ in modern Zamboanga Chavacano is virtually replaced by /s/ (/ɕ/ when followed by e and i). /ɵ/ survives only as an affected Hispanized pronunciation and is used mainly in reading literature or old writings.
The sounds /f/, /v/, and /z/ are variant phonemes which are not traditionally used in Zamboanga Chavacano. According to Riego de Dios (1976), these phonemes are usually retained in proper names and in certain word borrowings. Camins (1999) cites that the articulation of the sounds /f, v, z/ depend entirely on the speaker‟s ethnical intonations. R.O. Ing, in his study “Sources and Variants of Chabacano Consonants (1976), cites the existing variants of Zamboanga Chavacano. These variants are either classified as archaic, affected (or overacting), rare, lazy, and the common pronunciation. However, the difference between the variant pronunciations is not very distinct and is partly influenced by etymological (i.e. Standard Spanish/English vs. Chavacanized pronunciations) or ethnical pronunciation (i.e. /b/, /k/, /s/, /p/ for /v/, /c/, /z/, /f/). These consonantal variations shall be further discussed in the allophone section.
The phonemes /p, t, k, ʨ/ are voiceless aspirated stops unlike in English. Their voiced counterparts are /b, d, g, ʥ/ respectively. These sounds occur mostly
in the initial and medial positions in Zamboanga Chavacano words. The sound /ʥ/ is articulated in limited situations particularly when unstressed /di/ become [ʥ] before a, u, e, and o.
Phoneme Initial Medial
/p/ pâuluguin „ill-manered person‟ zapatos „shoes‟
pensá „to think‟ vísperas „night before a festivity‟ pillerías „rougish tricks‟ sumpit „blowgun‟ postizo „artificial‟ esposa „wife‟ /t/ talîti „gentle
rainshower‟
vomitá „to vomit‟ tecasin „cheater‟ zapatero „shoemaker‟ tibíjon „person affected
with tuberculosis‟
victima „victim‟ toko „large headed lizard‟ viento „wind‟ /k/ calzoncillos „undershorts‟ vaca „cow‟
quebrá „to break‟ porque „because‟ kinilao „raw fish dish‟ taquí „to be here‟ comé „to eat‟ tacon „heel of a shoe‟ /ʨ/ chamba „fortunate chance‟ sospechá „to suspect‟
tiene „to have‟ provecho „benefit‟ chismes „gossips‟ mucho „much‟
chocolate „chocolate‟ borrachón „habitual drunkard‟ /b/ bajo „low‟ acabá „to finish‟
ventajoso „someone who takes advantage‟
balibad „excuses to avoid participating in an activity‟
bichung „a pet pig‟ aburrido „annoyed‟ buguy „idler‟ bubut „immature fruit‟ /d/ dâan „old (things)‟ falda „skirt‟
desanimáo „discouraged‟ comida „food‟, „cuisine‟ dolor „sorrow‟ empleado „employee‟ duro „hard‟, „firm‟, „stubborn‟ marido „husband‟ /g/ gallina „hen‟ juego „game‟
guerra „war‟ pagá „to pay‟ guia „guide‟ jogá „to play‟
gusano „worm‟ regla „ruler‟, „menstruation‟ /ʥ/ diez „ten‟ odia „to hate‟
Phoneme Final /-p/ sorcap „mother‟
sorcop „father‟
sakop „to be included‟ /-g/~/-k/ itlog „egg‟
manok „chicken‟ bilog „pieces‟ sagsag „to stab‟ sijag „transparency‟ sugsug „to force in‟ /-d/~/-t/ jatud „to send off‟ jitad „to expand‟ pilit „to stick‟ /-d/ humilidad „humility‟
abilidad „ability‟ enfermedad „illness‟
The phonemes /m, n, ɲ, ŋ/ are voiced nasal continuants.
Phoneme Initial Medial Final
/m/ matá „to kill‟ cama „bed‟ --- mentá „to mention‟ quema „conflagration‟ --- morí „to die‟ quisame „ceiling‟ --- mucho „much‟ racimo „a cluster‟, „a
bunch‟
---
/n/ naranjita „orange‟ troná „to thunder‟ ladrón „thief‟ nubláo „clouded‟ vení „to come‟ kumpayán „hay
field‟ ninety-nine „idiotic‟ tronco „trunk of a tree‟ nipalán „nipa
grove‟ nena-nena „easily and
gracefully‟
ventana „window‟ truán „young rascal‟ /ɲ/ ñor „sir‟(familiar) mañana „tomorrow‟ ---
ñora „madame‟ (familiar)
España „Spain‟ --- compañía „company‟ --- puñal „dagger‟ --- /ŋ/ ñgusu „snout‟ sañga „branch of a tree‟ únpoquiting
„a very little bit‟ ñga-ñga „open-mouthed
imbecile look‟
uñgul-uñgul „to grumble‟ únratiting
time‟ ñgut-ñgut „beating pain‟ tañgâ „to look upward
by pushing back one‟s head‟
usang „to chew‟
ñgasá „to wish for someone´s death‟
The phoneme /l/
Phoneme Initial Medial Final
/l/ ladronicia „theft‟ redoblá „to redouble‟ real „real‟ labut „concerned‟ „to
have sth to do with‟
ralador „grater‟ cual „which‟ lagong „uninvited guests‟ recelá „to distrust‟,
„to daunt‟
sal „salt‟ lansa „smell of fish or
decay‟
regla „ruler‟, „menstruation‟
igual „equal‟
The phoneme /ɾ/
Phoneme Initial Medial Final
/ɾ/ rachada „period of great luck‟
quiere „to want‟ rumor „rumor‟ regañadas „scoldings‟ recupera „to recover‟ pecador „sinner‟ risadas „guffaw‟ suerte „chance‟ comidor „dining area‟ rodillas „knees‟ soltero „bachelor‟ matador „butcher‟
The phonemes /j/ and /w/ are semi-vowels because of their similarity with the vowels /i/ and /u/.
Phoneme Initial Medial Final
/j/ yerno „son-in-law‟ tayada „bet‟, „wager‟ kumpay „hay‟ yugo „yoke‟ sulaybaguio „name of a
varietyof banana‟
yunque „anvil‟ saya „ancient ankle-length skirt‟ sigay „small seashell‟ yawat „unexpected bonus‟
rayo „thunderbolt‟ rukay „to call
chickens to feed‟ /w/ waras „to havoc‟ agua „water‟ rabiáo „angry‟
enaguas „inner skirt‟ aguáo „watery‟
The phoneme /s/ is a voiceless spirant.
Phoneme Initial Medial Final
/s/ cebollón „onion‟ parásitas „orchids‟ cochinadas „dirty‟ cenizas „ashes‟ lastima „pity‟,
„compassion‟
regaños„scolding‟
sabacan „lap‟ guisáo „stewed‟ „sautéed‟
polís „policeman‟
sapa „creek‟ gruesor „thickness‟ polvos „dust‟, „powder‟
The phoneme /h/ is a glottal aspirant. This phoneme occurs mostly on the initial and medial. Whenever it occurs in the final position, it is usually not written except in some words of Philippine origin. The final /h/ is epenthetic in most words (especially those of Spanish origin) since they never occur in the parent language.
Phoneme Initial Medial Final /h/ jendêh „no‟, „not‟ abajo „below‟ gajah „maybe‟,
„perhaps‟ junto „together‟ desventaja „disadvantage‟ jendêh„no‟, „not‟ jorguesa „toy‟ gajah „maybe‟, „perhaps‟ frente „forehead‟ jardín „garden‟ cajon „wooden box‟ vaso „drinking glass‟
The phoneme /ʔ/ is a full glottal stop characterized by the momentary stopping of the air passage at the glottis. By convention, glottal stops in the Zamboanga Chavacano language are not marked. Sometimes the /-h/ is used. For purposes of standardization, this paper shall use the circumflex sign above vowels â, ê, î, ô, û borrowed from the Abakada Orthography of the Filipino Language to indicate the glottal stops found in the medial and final positions. Initial glottal sounds are not indicated since they are epenthetic.
Phoneme Initial Medial Final
/ʔ/ aretes „earrings‟ dâan „old‟ malatâ „soggy‟
espiritu „spirit‟ talîti „gentle rainshower‟ jendêh „no‟, „not‟
Dipthongs. A dipthong is defined as any vowel followed be either /j/ or /w/ in the same syllable. The following are the dipthongs found in the Zamboanga Chavacano language with corresponding examples:
/ai/ kumpáy „hay‟ subáy „ant‟ /ao/ rabiáo „angry‟ aguáo „watery‟ /eja/ taréa „task‟ pajareá „to hunt‟ /ei/ rei „king‟
/ejo/ video „video‟ /ia/ odiá „to hate‟
/ie/ ciento „hundred‟ viento „air‟ /io/ cancion „song‟ traicion „betrayal‟ /iu/ viuda „widow‟ triunfo „triumph‟ /uo/ instituo „institute‟
/ua/ guardá „to guard‟ buaya „crocodile‟ /ue/ puede „to be possible‟ viruelas „smallpox‟ /ui/ cuidá „to care‟
/oji/ oi „to hear‟
Allomorphs. Allomorphs are systematic variants of a morpheme (Payne, 2007). Zamboanga Chavacano attests the following allomorphs.
Phoneme Final
/b/~/-p/ Bob „Bob‟ (personal name) /-g/~/-k/ itlog „egg‟
manok „chicken‟ bilog „pieces‟ sagsag „to stab‟
sijag „transparency‟ sugsug „to force in‟ /-d/~/-t/ jatud „to send off‟ jitad „to expand‟ pilit „to stick‟ /f/~/p/ fuerza „force‟ [fweɾsa]~[pweɾsa] fuerte „strong‟ [fweɾte]~[pweɾte] /v/~/b/ varadero „shipyard‟ [varadeɾo]~[baradeɾo] valiente „brave‟ [vaʎente]~]baʎente] /z/~/s/ Zamboanga „Zamboanga‟ [zambwaŋga]~[sambwaŋga] zakate „grass‟, „hay‟
[zakate]~[sakate]
Consonant Clusters. Consonant clusters may occur in the initial and medial forms only. They are summarized below. A check mark ( ) indicated the presence of a cluster while a dash mark (-) indicates the absence of a cluster combination. Below is a revised and expanded table of consonant clusters from the earlier work by Semorlan (1983).
/r/ /l/ /w/ /y/ /r/ /l/ /w/ /y/ /r/ /l/ /w/ /y/ /b/ /g/ /m/ - - /k/ /n/ /s/ - - /d/ /p/ /t/ - - -
The following are the consonant clusters with their examples:
Cluster Example 1 Example 2
/br/ broma joke‟ cabrón „cuckold‟, „he goat‟ quebrá „to break‟ sombra „shade‟, „shadow‟ /bl/ blanco „white‟ habla „to speak‟
blando „soft‟ población „town‟
/bw/ buenas „luck‟ bueno „good‟
buaya „crocodile‟ vuelta „return‟
/by/ bien „good‟ viento „air‟
vientre „abdomen‟ viejo „old(person)‟, „ancient‟
/kr/ croquis „plan‟, „design‟ crítica „criticism‟ cruzada „crossing point‟ crudo „fuel oil‟ /kl/ clima „climate‟ mezcla „mixture‟
clavo „nail‟ claro „clear‟ /kw/ cuarto „room‟ Pascuas „Christmas‟
cual „which‟
/ky/ quiere „to want‟, „to be fond of‟ quieto „still‟
/dr/ drogas „cheating‟ drogasin „cheater‟
piedra „stone‟ madre „mother‟
/dw/ duele „pain‟ dueño „owner‟
/dy/ diez „ten‟ Dios „God‟
/gr/ grifo „faucet‟ suegra „mother-in-law‟ grandor „size‟, „magnitude‟ grosor „thickness‟ /gl/ gloria „glory‟
/gw/ guardá „to guard‟
/mw/ muebles „movable furniture‟ muecas „grimace‟
muerte „death‟ muelas „molar tooth‟
/my/ miedo „fear‟ mientras „meanwhile‟
miembro „member‟ miedotin „a frightful person‟
/nw/ nueve „nine‟ nuestro „our‟
/ny/ nieve „snow‟ nieto „grandchild‟
/pr/ presa „irrigation dam‟ prevení „to prevent‟ sorpresa „surprise‟
/pl/ plastic „plastic‟ pluma „feather‟ contemplá „to contemplate‟
/pw/ fuerza „force‟ despues „after‟
fuerte „strong‟ fuerza „force‟
/py/ pierna „leg‟ piedra „rock‟
fiador „guarantor‟ fiesta „festivity‟ /tr/ traidor „traitor‟ travesuras „mischiefs‟ /ty/ tiene „to have‟ tiange „market‟
tierra „land‟ tiempo „time‟
/sw/ suerte „luck‟ suegra „mother-in-law‟ /sy/ ciento „hundred‟ cielo „sky‟, „heaven‟
Diagraphs. Diagraphs in the Zamboanga Chavacano language include /ʨ/, /hɾ/, and /ŋg/. The diagraphs /hɾ/ and /ŋg/ occur only in the medial position.
Diagraph Example 1 Example 2
/ʨ/ chongo „monkey‟ chocolate „chocolate‟ borrachón „habitual drunkard‟ provecho „benefit‟
/hɾ/ perro „dog‟ corré „run‟ almarriá „to get dizzy‟
/ŋg/ Zamboanga „Zamboanga‟ sangre „blood‟ manga „mango‟ mangas „sleeve‟
The next section will discuss stress and the phonological processes found in the Zamboanga Chavacano language.
I.B. Stress. Stress is phonemic in the Zamboanga Chavacano language. Below are the three basic stress patterns in Chavacano.
In words ending in vowels and /s/, stress most often falls on the penultimate syllable. i.e. cochinadas [koʨinádas] „dirty‟ ; almareo [almaréjo] „vertigo‟
In words ending in all other consonants, the stress more often falls on the last syllable. i.e. kumpayan [kumpaján] „hay field‟; jatod [hatút] „to send someone off‟
In Type I Zamboanga Chavacano verbs the accent falls on the last syllable vowel. i.e hablá „to speak‟ comé „to eat‟ sufrí „to suffer‟
Stress in Zamboanga Chavacano can also be irregular, thus, an accent mark is placed in this situation.
I.C. Phonological Processes
The following are the regular sound changes found in the Zamboanga Chavacano language. These changes do not affect the meaning of the words.
1. Contractions. Contractions with the /-y/
Ida y vuelta > idayvuelta [idaibwuelta] „round trip‟ Muerto y hambre > muertoyhambre [mwertojambre] „starving‟ Cada y cualan > cadaycualan [kadaikwalan] „to each his
own work‟ 2. Assimilation.
a. Nasalization. Nasalization is a pattern wherein a nasal consonant takes on the place of articulation of the sound that follows (Payne, 2006).
triunfa „triumph‟ [tɾijumpa] enfermedad „illness‟ [empermedad] manpa „to pretend‟ [mampa] encogé „to contract‟ [iŋkují]
In the given examples above, the nasal consonants change into /m/ when followed by /p/. This is a very common example of nasal assimilation found in other Philippine languages.
b. Devoicing. Devoicing refers to sound changes, whereby a consonant changes its type of voicing from voiceless to voiced, or vice versa. Devoicing in the Zamboanga Chavacano language occurs in the final sounds /-b, -g, -d/ which tends to be articulated as /-p, -k, -t/. This occurrence is most of the time arbitrary although an evident pattern, when the immediate preceding consonant is voiced the final consonant tends to be voiced, is noticed.
/-g/~/-k/ itlog „egg‟ bilog „pieces‟ sagsag „to stab‟ sijag „transparency‟ sugsug „to force in‟ /-d/~/-t/ jatud „to send off‟ jitad „to expand‟ pilit „to stick‟ /-b/~/-p/ Bob „Bob‟ (personal
name)
c. Vowel Shifts. Zamboanga Chavacano exhibits vowel shifting that affects the vowel sounds /o, e/. The change is assimilative.
escogé „to choose‟ [iskují] someté „to submit‟ [sumití] jatód „to send off‟ [hatút]
itlóg „egg‟ [itlúk] encogé „to contract‟ [iŋkují]
mucho „much‟ [múchu]
mundojin „bandit‟ [mundúhin] TBjon „a person with
tuberculosis‟
[tibíjun]
guló „trouble‟ [gulú] libod „to walk around‟ [líbot] olvidá „to forget‟ [ulvidá]
As illustrated in the examples above, we are able to come up with two generalizations:
a. Whenever /e/ or /o/ is accented it shifts into /i/ and /u/ respectively
guló [gulú] mundojin [mundúhin] escogé [iskují]
b. Whenever /e/ or /o/ fall in an unaccented syllable, they also shift into /i/ and /u/ respectively
escogé [iskují] someté [sumití] encogé [iŋkují]
d. /-ue-/~/-o-/ Alternation
Another Zamboanga Chavacano phonological change is the /-ue-/~/-o-/ phenomenon. In this situation, the medial diphthong /-ue-/ is reduced to being articulated as a single vowel sound /-o-/ especially in colloquial speech. This phenomenon is arbitrary.
buenamente „well‟ [bwenamente] ~ [bonamente] gruesor „thickness‟ [gɾwesoɾ] ~ [gɾosoɾ]
e. Epenthesis. Epenthesis is a phonological or morphophonological in which a segment is inserted (Payne, 2006). In the Zamboanga Chavacano language, epenthesis is exhibited mainly during affixation:
TBjon „person with tuberculosis‟ TB „tuberculosis‟
mundojin „bandit‟ mundo „world‟
nipalan „nipa grove‟ nipa „nipa‟
Here, an epenthetic sound /h/ is inserted between the root morpheme and the suffix. Another epenthetic process found in Zamboanga Chavacano is the insertion of the glottal stop. Glottal stops are normally inserted when a prefix is affixed into a root beginning with another vowel sound or when a word ending in a vowel is followed by another word beginning with a vowel sound.
ta aceptá „accepts‟ > [taʔaksepta] ya aceptá „accepted‟ > [jaʔaksepta] mâamo „tamed‟, „docile‟ > [maʔamo] pâafuera „outward‟ > [paʔapweɾa] pâatrás „backward‟ > [paʔatras]
In Zamboanga Chavacano, word beginning with vowels may not have a preceding glottal sound unlike in other Philippine languages. An example is the participatory verb acabá.
ya acabá pará el maga bata. [jakába páraʔel maga bata]
There is also an epenthetic final /-h/ sound which occurs in most words ending in accented or glottalized vowels.
f. Palatalization in /CjV/ and /CwV/
In the Zamboanga Chavacano language, the cluster /CjV/ affects the articulation of the initial consonants. This is most especially true for the combinations /tj/, /sj/, and /dj/ which turn into /ʨ/, /ɕ/, and /ʥ/ respectively. Furthermore, /CjV/ clusters alternate with /CijV/.
/sy/ ciento „hundred‟ [ɕjento] [sijento] cielo „sky‟, „heaven‟ [ɕjelo] [sijelo] paciencia „patience‟ [paɕjenɕja] [pasijensija] distancia „distance‟ [distanɕja] [distansija] /ty/ tiene „to have‟ [ʨjene] [tijene]
tiange „market‟ [ʨjaŋge] [tijaŋge] tierra „land‟ [ʨehɾa] [tijehɾa] /dy/ diez „ten‟ [ʥes] [dijes]
Dios „God‟ [ʥos] [dijos]
odiá „to hate‟ [oʥá] [odijá]
Alteration. /CwV/ clusters are also altered to /Cuw/ /sw/ suerte „luck‟ [suweɾte]
suegra „mother-in-law‟ [suwegɾa] /gw/ guardá „to guard‟ [guwaɾdá]
/mw/ muebles „movable furniture‟ [muwebles] muecas „grimace‟ [muwekas] muelas „molar tooth‟ [muwelas]
muerte „death‟ [muweɾte]
/nw/ nueve „nine‟ [nuwebe]
nuestro „our‟ [nuwestɾo]
g. Deletion. Deletion is a very common morphophonemic rule often motivated by the need to simplify overly complex word structures that result when morphemes come together. In Zamboanga Chavacano, there is no pattern for deletion making the process arbitrary but it is evident in the following examples from the colloquial speech:
Original form Deleted form
usted„you‟ uste
rabiado „angry‟ rabiáo aguado „watery‟ aguáo nipalan „nipa grove‟ nipal cancelado „cancelled‟ canceláo
evos „you‟ vos
ele „he‟ le
Another example of deletion in Zamboanga Chavacano involves the verbalizing particle man which changes into –n when occurs after a case markers. (i.e. ta man ulan „It is raining‟ becomes ta-n ulan.)
This ends the phonology discussion. We have presented the phonemes and other pertinent phonological elements found in the Zamboanga Chavacano language with examples and explanations. The next section will discuss morphology and word formation. The section shall begin with the morphological processes to be followed by the word classes. Included in the word classes are the derivational affixes.
II. Morphology
Morphology is the study word formation. In linguistics, morphology is the study of the shapes of words, or, more specifically, how words are constructed out of smaller meaningful pieces in order to express variations in meaning (Payne, 2006).
The bases given herein are nouns, adjectives, verbs, and particles. To facilitate the analysis we have designated the following symbols:
1. A hyphen after an affix implies that the affix is a prefix: man- 2. A hyphen after an affix implies that the affix is a suffix: -jan
3. A hyphen between two affixes implies that double affixation (suffixation-prefixation):
ma-dad
4. V signifies that the root morpheme is a verb. 5. N signifies that the root morpheme is a noun.
6. Adj signifies that the root morpheme is an adjective.
7. Adjf signifies that the root morpheme is an adjective in its feminine form. 8. Nf signifies that the root morpheme is a noun in its feminine form.
9. HON signifies honorific form 10. FAM signifies familiar form 11. COA signifies coarse form
II. A. Word Formation Processes
Zamboanga Chavacano exhibits the following morphological processes: a. Affixation
a.1. Prefixation a.2. Suffixation
a.3. Double Affixation b. Stem Modification c. Autosegmental Variation d. Reduplication
e. Compounding
Affixation. Affixation in Zamboanga Chavacano consists of three type: prefixation, suffixation and double affixation. Double affixation in Zamboanga Chavacano involves the prefixation of the already suffixed root morpheme. Affixation shall be thoroughly discussed on the sections on word classes.
Stem Modification. Stem modification refers to the change in shape of a morpheme without involving the addition of any affix (Payne, 2006). The main
purpose for modification is nominalization. This is evident in the following examples:
Root Modified Stem
morí „to die‟ muerto „dead‟ forzá „to force‟ fuerza „force‟
esfuerzo „effort‟ acordá „to remember‟ acuerdo „accord‟ respondé „to respond‟ respuesta „reply‟
Autosegmental Variation. Autosegmental Variation refers to the change in shape in a morpheme that does not involve consonants and vowels but rather consists of adjustments in features such as stress, tone, and nasalization (Payne, 2006). In the Zamboanga Chavacano language, this is exhibited by the stress shifts in some noun-verb minimal pairs as shown in the examples below:
reserva „reserves‟ reservá „to reserve‟ corre „fast‟ corré „to run‟
desgracia „mishap‟ desgraciá „to meet mishap‟ condena „condemnation‟ condená „to condemn‟ amenaza „threat‟ amenazá „to threaten‟
The Zamboanga Chavacano Type I verb has its stress on the end vowel of the ultimate syllable. During the nominalization process, the stress moves to the penultimate syllable.
Reduplication. Reduplication involves the repetition of the part or all of a root. It has two type: Partial, wherein only a part is repeated and Complete, where
the entire root is repeated (Payne, 2006). In the Zamboanga Chavacano language, only complete reduplication is evident. Reduplication in Zamboanga Chavacano fulfills only two functions: intensification in meaning and pluralization. Intensification frequently leads to derivation while pluralization using reduplication is relatively rare. A hyphen is placed between two reduplicated morphemes.
cosa „thing‟ cosa-cosa „things‟
gente „person‟ gente-gente „people‟ (uncommon) batâ „child‟ batâ- batâ „children‟ (uncommon) casa „house‟ casa-casa „houses‟ (uncommon) quiere „to want‟ quiere-quiere „fond of‟
llanta „wheel without tire‟ llanta-llanta „barefoot‟ tilam „to taste food while
cooking‟
tilam-tilam „to taste food while cooking‟
santo „saint‟ santo-santo „a person pretending to be a saint‟, „hypocrite‟ putóg „to explode‟ putóg- putóg „heartthrob‟
However, it should be noted that there are Zamboanga Chavacano words which are always reduplicated in form but are meaningless when not reduplicated. Examples include timih-timih and tilam-tilam both meaning „to taste a little bit of food‟
Compounding. Compounding involves the combination of roots to form new stems. The following are examples:
Nochebuena „Christmas eve‟ noche „night‟ + buena „good‟ piedecabra „crowbar with nail puller‟ pie „foot‟ + de „of‟+ cabra „goat‟ bañomaría „double broiler cooking‟ baño „toilet‟ + maría „Mary‟ medianoche „midnight‟ media „half‟ + noche „night‟
pasatiempo „pastime‟ pasá „to spend time‟ + tiempo „time‟ tapafalta „a person used as cover up
for another‟
tapá „to cover‟ + falta „lack‟
sobrecargo „supervisor of cargoes in a ship‟
sobre „upon‟ + cargo „cargo‟
Zamboanga Chavacano has a total of six morphological processes. The next section will discuss on word classes.
II.B. Word Classes II.B.2. Articles.
Zamboanga Chavacano uses articles to indicate definiteness and indefiniteness. Definiteness in Zamboanga Chavacano is indicated by the article el „the‟. The plural form is el maga.
El pobre mujer ya perdé su camino. DET poor woman PAT lost 3-POS way The poor woman lost her way.
PT lost 3-SIG 3-POS way LOC DEF land foreign He lost his way in the foreign land.
Proper names of persons are introduced by the definite article si and never with el. Si Carlos es un bueno estudiante.
DEF Carlos COP DET good student. Carlos is a good student.
When a noun phrase is unmarked in Chavacano, it connotes the idea of an entirety of a given noun thus indefiniteness. The definite article is omitted after the locative marker na.
Jendeh yo ta comé gulay.
NEG 1-SGPROG eat vegetable
I don‟t eat vegetables. (anykind of vegetable)
Jendeh yo ta comé carne . NEG 1-SG PROG eat meat I don‟t eat meat. (any kind of meat)
Indefiniteness in Zamboanga Chavacano is also expressed by un. It is not conjugated in number and gender.
Ya viajá le na un país na Europa. PT travel 3-SING LOC IND country LOC Europe He traveled to a country in Europe.
Ya perdé le su camino na un tierra extranjero. PT lost 3-SIG 3-POS way LOC IND land foreign He lost his way on a foreign land.
Proper names of persons are indicated by un tal in the indefinite form.
Ta buscá le con un tal Juancho.
PROG search 3-S DAT INDEF Juancho He is looking for a certain Juancho.
Canda is used to convery a sense of plural indefiniteness for proper names of persons.
No hay anda canda si Carlos na pueblo ayer.
NEG-PAST go INDEF NOM Carlos LOC town yesterday Carlos and his company did not go to town yesterday. II.B.1. Nouns
Zamboanga Chavacano nouns are predominantly of Spanish origin with a sizeable number of native Philippine origin. These nouns are rarely saddled with intricacies of grammatical gender and number (Camins, 1999).
maestro „teacher‟ borrachón „regular drunkard‟ país „country‟ ciudad „city‟
Gender inflection is commonly used. Chavacano distinguishes three genders: masculine, feminine, and common. The masculine gender is most of the time used to refer to general classes. The common gender is usually associated with word of native Philippine origin. The feminine gender is only used if the referred noun is also feminine. Nouns of Spanish origin are femininized by adding –a or by using a separate word. Words of Philippine origin do not have feminine forms.
Common Masculine Feminine
bata „child‟ niño niña
manok „chicken‟ gallo „rooster‟ gallina „hen‟ maestro „teacher‟ maestro maestra
babuy „pig‟ puerco puerca
nieto „grandchild‟ nieto „grandson‟ nieta „granddaughter‟ abuelo „grandparent‟ abuelo „grandfather‟ abuela „grandmother‟
primo „cousin‟ primo prima
Zamboanga Chavacano has a relatively fewer affixes. Though it may seems that Chavacano uses many of Spanish and Philippine affixes in its vocabulary, majority of the words bearing such affixes are actually direct borrowings with their roots completely meaningless in Zamboanga Chavacano. The following are the nominalizing affixes with their corresponding feminine forms. Feminine forms are those ending in the –a, -osa, -da, -cion.
a. N-ero, N-era signifies occupation
cocina „kitchen‟ cocinero „chef‟ compañía „company‟ compañero „companion‟ hambug „to brag‟ hambuguero „a show-off‟ mensaje „message‟ mensajero „messenger‟ usura „usury‟ usurero „usurer‟ b. N-ista signifies occupation or adherence to the given noun
presta „to borrow‟ prestamista „moneylender‟ sabado „Saturday‟ sabadista „Adventist‟ oportunidad „opportunity‟ oportunista „opportunist‟ comunismo „Communism‟ comunista „communist‟
c. N–ito, N-ita, andN–illo, N-illa signifies dimunitive function
cuchara „tablespoon‟ cucharita „teaspoon‟ plato „dish, saucer‟ platillo „small saucer‟ jeringa „syringe‟ jeringuilla „little syringe‟
d. V-oso, V-osa, N-oso, N-osa
ventaja „advantage‟ ventajoso „someone who takes advantage‟ celos „jealousy celoso „zealous
person‟
amargo „bitter‟ amargoso „bitter gourd‟ poder „to be capable‟ poderoso „mighty‟ condiciá „to covet‟ codicioso „greedy‟,
