12. Zamboangueño Chavacano and the potentive mode

This paper presents a feature of Zamboangueño unfamiliar to creole languages outside the Austronesian language area, the potentive mode. The potentive mode is a verbal mode common to neighboring indigenous languages that is used to designate abilitative actions and actions that are brought about accidentally, coincidentally, or without volition or instigation. The paper details the morphology associated with the stative and potentive modes in neighbouring Visayan languages, and illustrates the restricted uses of the same affixes in Zamboangueño. Finally, it gives a detailed account of a periphrastic construction, involving the abilitative verbpuede ‘can, able to’ to show how this unique creole language has faithfully preserved the semantics of the potentive mode by a rather innovative means.