City holds ‘Chavacano’ Orthography Congress

ZAMBOANGA CITY (ZNS) -  Language experts in Zamboanga have agreed on major rules in the development, preservation and propagation of Chavacano.

Meeting as the Chavacano Orthography Council (COC) at the Centro Latino last Friday, the council agreed and decided on several points that will be institutionalized in Zamboanga in the coming months and years.

Among their main agreements are :

·        Etymological approach will be used for spelling of words.

·        “Chavacano” must be spelled with “V”.

On the matter of spelling Chavacano words this means “that words of Spanish Origin should be spelled in Spanish and words from other dialects, that became a part of Chavacano, should be spelled in the particular local dialect of origin)

There is a growing controversy on how the word Chavacano should be spelled. The council members spent hours discussing the issue but eventually decided on a vote.

As a result, the word Chavacano should be spelled with the letter “V” and not “B” as practiced by some sectors.

In the case of the Department of Education, Language Supervisor Victoria Mangaser admitted that the department will have to change the spelling of Chavacano in their instructional materials.

Mangaser said that initially the department spelled Chavacano with a “V” but changed the spelling to “B”upon the urging of some officials.

“And now we will have to revert to our original spelling of Chavacano with a “V” she said.

DepEd English Supervisor Dr. Valeria Corteza was also there to assist in the discussion on the Chavacano Orthography.

Last week, the city government and the School of Arts and Sciences, Language Department of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU)  conducted the Chabacano Orthography Congress at Centro Latino, Paseo del Mar.

Leading the activity was Dr. Jose Genano Yap-Aizon, executive assistant to the mayor for Education, Culture, Arts and History, who welcomed the participants and explained the mechanics of the congress.

Dr. Shieldred Angeles of ADZU gave an overview of the Project and Methodology of Research, while Dr. Minda Santos, also of ADZU, discussed the “Chabacano in the Government Domain”.

Mayor Beng Climaco underscores anew the importance of conserving and preserving the chabacano language, as she formally opens the Chabacano Orthography Congress, jointly organized by the city government and the Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Nov. 19.

Mayor Beng Climaco said the congress hoped to enrich the city’s creole Chabacano language in line with the local government’s sustained efforts to preserve the Spanish-derivative language.

She urged the participants to give their support to coming up with a Chavacano orthography or the method and style of speaking and writing the Chavacano words and the language itself.

For instance, she said, many are confused as to the correct spelling of the word “Chabacano” whether spelled with “b” or “v”. Thus, the need for the Chabacano orthography on rules of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, wordbreaks and emphasis, among others, in accordance with the accepted usage and practice.

“We have to come up with our own style and usage of our own language from rules of spelling, punctuation marks, capitalization and emphasis.”

As a creole language, the mayor said, Chavacano lends its roots with other languages. (Vic Larato)(112514)