Spanish Language in The Philippines - Influence On The Languages of The Philippines

Influence On The Languages of The Philippines

See also: Old Spanish language and Linguistic history of Spanish

There are approximately 4,000 Spanish words in Tagalog (between 20% and 33% of Tagalog words), and around 6,000 Spanish words in Visayan and other Philippine languages. The Spanish counting system, calendar, time, etc. are still in use with slight modifications. Archaic Spanish words have been preserved in Tagalog and the other vernaculars such as pera (coins), sabon, the voiceless postalveolar fricative or the "sh" sound; (soap)], relos, kwarta (Old Spanish: cuarta; money), etc. The Spaniards and the language are referred to as either Kastila or Katsila (mostly Visayan languages) after Castilla (Castile), the original Spanish Kingdom under which Spain was unified in 1492, which later became a Spanish region.

Chavacano, also called Zamboangueño, is a Spanish-based creole language spoken mainly in the southern province of Zamboanga and, to a much lesser extent, in the province of Cavite in the northern region of Luzon. Chavacano became the main language in the Zamboanga City and some parts of Zamboanga Peninsula as a result of the migration into the area of a large number of workers who came from different linguistic regions to build military and other Spanish establishments.