The language referred to in the title is a local patois that was spoken 400 years ago by Chinese merchants and settlers in Manila. A vivid snapshot of this early overseas Chinese vernacular is preserved in the Arte de la lengua chio chiu, a grammar compiled in the early 1600s by Spanish missionaries in the Philippines. The Arte manuscript may be the oldest surviving document presenting an extensive grammar of a Chinese language. In this solid and detailed study of the Arte, which includes a transcript and translation of the missionary text, together with a full set of beautiful color facsimile plates of the original manuscript, Henning Klöter has produced a useful volume that will allow many to explore this fascinating document.
The Hokkien (Fujian) vernacular recorded in the Arte was spoken in Manila by the population the Spanish called the “Sangleys.” It is a variety of Chinese...
