Ternateño

Chavacano is a Spanish-based creole language and known in linguistics as Philippine Creole Spanish. Spaniards who settled in the Philippines intermingled with the natives and even married Filipinas. To be able to communicate, both sides had to learn each other’s languages. To express themselves, the natives mixed Spanish with their particular language — Tagalog in Cavite, Ternate, and Manila; and Cebuano, Hiligaynon, and Moro languages in Cotabato, Davao, and Zamboanga. As such, there are six varieties of Chavacano: Caviteño, Cotabateño, Davaoeño, Ermiteño, Ternateño, and Zamboangueño.

The Ternateño Chavacanos are found in the municipality of Ternate in Cavite. There are an estimated 3,000 speakers of the language at present.