Philippine Spanish

Philippine Spanish, called español filipino or castellano filipino, is the variety of Spanish historically spoken in the Philippines, primarily by Spanish Filipinos, combining features of Peninsular and Latin American Spanish along with vocabulary distinct to the archipelago. It is officially recognized as a minority language in the Philippines and regulated by the Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language, having become established among the Filipino elite during the Spanish colonial period, with speakers adopting more aristocratic Castilian pronunciation by the late nineteenth century. American colonization introduced English as the primary language of education and government, and the language is now endangered: the 2020 census found only 167 households nationwide using Spanish at home and about 4,000 native speakers, although broader estimates of proficient speakers, including second-language users, range from 465,000 to 1 million. Philippine Spanish is a distinct language from Chavacano, a Spanish-based creole, even though the two have influenced each other.