DAVAO CITY, Davao, Philippines

DAVAO CITY

Things that you would love to know about Davao ...

The City of Davao
—  Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Dabaw
—  Tagalog: Lungsod ng Dabaw
→   is the largest city in the island of Mindanao in thePhilippines. Its international airport and seaports are among the busiest cargo hubs in the Philippines.

Davao City 
→ is also one of several cities in the Philippines that are independent of any province. The city serves as the regional center of Davao Region (Region XI) and the metropolitan center of Metro Davao. It has a population of 1,464,301 according to 2010 LGPMS Census, making it the country's largest city outside Metro Manila and the second overall with the cities of Metro Manila combined. In recent years, Davao City has emerged as the business, investment and tourism hub for the entire southern Philippines. The City Mayors Foundation ranks Davao City as the 87th fastest growing city in the world, and it has been listed by the Foreign Direct Investment Magazine as the 10th "Asian City of the Future".

City's Name History

Local historians of Davao claim that the word davao came from the phonetic blending of the word of three Bagobo (Lumad) subgroups when referring to Davao River, an essential waterway which empties itself into Davao Gulf near the city. The aboriginal Obos who inhabit the hinterlands of the region called the river, Davoh; the Clatta or Guiangans called it Duhwow, or Davau, and the Tagabawa Bagobos, Dabu. To the Obos, the word davoh also means a place "beyond the high grounds", alluding to the settlements located at the mouth of Davao River which were surrounded by high rolling hills. When asked where they were going, the usual reply is davoh, while pointing towards the direction of the town. Duhwow also refers to a trading settlement where they barter their forest goods in exchange for salt or other commodities, and the rest  as they say.. is history.

Language

Davaoeño, a dialectal variant of Cebuano, is the most widely spoken language in the city, while the Tagalog itself comes a distant second. English is the medium of instruction in schools and is widely understood and spoken especially in the business community and for all official documents. Bistaglish, an informal mixing of the above languages, is spoken as well.

A variant of the Chavacano language is the Chavacano de Davao or  Castellano Abakay. The language was first recorded by Keith Whinnom in 1956, at which the said language was spoken around 1900 and he considered it as "offshoot" of Chavacano language (see link here: 1). The creole is spoken in 2 styles: (1)"Chino" - Chinese style, because it is spoken in Chinese accent; (2)"Japon" - Japanese style, because it is interspersed with Japanese words. As of today, there is no exact data about its total speakers read more..

source: Wikipedia