Volume 5 (2014)
Folk perceptions of variation among the Chabacano creoles
Marivic Lesho (Ohio State University) & Eeva Sippola (Aarhus University)
Abstract
This study provides the first account of the perceptual dialectology of the
Chabacano creoles, focusing on the three varieties spoken in Cavite City, Ternate,
and Zamboanga, Philippines. It examines Chabacano speakers’ metalinguistic
awareness and attitudes about each other’s varieties based on qualitative analysis
of sociolinguistic interviews, interviews from a perceptual map task, and an
online survey. The results show that the speakers consider the three varieties to be
separate but mutually intelligible languages, differing mainly in terms of lexical
and phonological differences. These linguistic differences are attributed to each
variety’s perceived closeness to Spanish or the adstrate Philippine languages. The
responses also show that local and traditional identities are important in shaping
perceptions about language use. These findings contribute to research on
language attitudes and ideologies in the Chabacano-speaking communities, and
more generally, demonstrate the potential of using perceptual dialectology
(Preston 1999, Preston 2002) to explore the social dynamics of creole and other
contact situations.
Keywords: Chabacano, perceptual dialectology, variation, folk perception,
language attitudes