The official book where I, the almighty Xinfenix, rant and discuss my countryhumans universe, headcanons, and AU's!
NOTE: Please do not use any of my headcanons without direct credit! I'm allowing people to use it, you just need to tag or credit me...
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Credit: timetravelerjerrick・Very blurry screenshot of Zamboanga from a user generated Philippine Polandball map・https://www.instagram.com/p/CbhF3p4rvoP/
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Background Info:
The Philippines over the years has slowly let Spanish, the past lingua franca of the country, disappear as it gets replaced by English. Nowadays Spanish is barely taught and classes are mostly taught in English.
Also PH-09 is the Alpha-2 code for Zamboanga peninsula
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So who translates Spanish for Philip when he interacts with cityhumans and statehumans who exclusively speak Spanish or can only express simple thoughts in English?
Philip usually brings along one of his cityhumans, Zamboanga (mainly him, but also Cavite). Zamboanga has been with him since colonial times and he is pretty much one of the last very noticeable and distinct examples of Spanish influence over the country. Zamboanga can speak a Spanish-based creole language called Chavacano. Chavacano, which very roughly translates to 'vulgar Spanish' or 'poor tasting Spanish', was used to interact with friars that resided in the town's fort, San José Fortress.
The problem with using Zamboanga as a translator is that Chavacano is a bit different to actual Spanish and can sometimes create misunderstandings between exchanges. And when Zamboanga tries to speak it to Mexico, he's sometimes a bit confused due to word order. Here's some examples taken from the Wikipedia for Chavacano:
English: Where are you going? [Zamboangueño] Chavacano: Donde tu ay anda? Spanish: ¿A dónde vas?
Here's a longer example:
English: Bunguiao, a small village, thirty four kilometers from the city of Zamboanga, was once a wilderness. No people lived here. The place abounded with wild animals such as pigs, wildcats, deer, and still others. The place was visited only by bird hunters. [Zamboangueño] Chavacano: Treinta y cuatro kilometro desde el pueblo de Zamboanga el Bunguiao, un diutay barrio que estaba un desierto. No hay gente quien ta queda aquí antes. Abundante este lugar de maga animales particularmente maga puerco 'e monte, gatorgalla, venao y otro más pa. Solamente maga pajariadores lang ta visitá con este lugar. Spanish: El Bunguiao, a treinta y cuatro kilómetros desde el pueblo de Zamboanga, es un pequeño barrio que una vez fue un área salvaje. No había gente que se quedara a vivir ahí. En este lugar había en abundancia animales salvajes tales como cerdos, gatos monteses, venados, y otros más. Este lugar era visitado únicamente por cazadores de pájaros.
Spain is a bit repulsed when Zamboanga speaks Chavacano. He still loves him (in my headcanon Zamboanga is Spanish Empire's son), but when the chance arises, he lectures him to learn actual Spanish.
"Some of the worst butchery of my beautiful language that I have ever heard." - Spain
But Chavacano gets the job done between language barriers, so who's to complain?
