Bien Chabacano

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Donde tu Barriga

Is the word 'barriga' used in Spanish to refer to the stomach as a body part? For example, can you use the word 'barriga' when saying that your stomach hurts? Based on what I can read online about this topic, the term 'barriga' in Spanish is used like the term 'belly' in English. In Chabacano, the term 'barriga' is used when referring to the stomach. So you can definitely say duele el de mio barriga . While the term 'estomago' also exists, barriga is more commonly used. Since following the Pinoy in Equatorial Guinea and Cinco Filipinos channel in Youtube, I have noticed several instances wherein the characters tend to speak Spanish using Tagalog grammar. Sometimes, the words that they use seem to sound like Chabacano and not Standard Spanish. In this episode of Pinoy in Equatorial Guinea, Kuya Rowel visits the house of one of his friends in Equatorial Guinea. At the 3:05 mark, he plays with the baby Ilan and asks him, "donde tu ba...

Tiene Coche, Tiene Tricycle

In the Tagalog language, the manner in which we say 'I have/you have' and 'there is/are' is through the same word: mayroon . In Chabacano, we use the word 'tiene'. For example, the sentence 'I have a cat' and 'there is a cat' are translated as 'tiene yo gato' and 'tiene gato'. In Spanish, the word used would have been tener ( tengo ) and hay , respectively. Since following the Pinoy in Equatorial Guinea and Cinco Filipinos channel in Youtube, I have noticed several instances wherein the characters tend to speak Spanish using Tagalog grammar. Most of the time, their Spanish tends to sound like Chabacano. In this episode of Cinco Filipinos, the entire cast visits a church and at the 08:10 mark, Kuya Jose tells the African kids to be careful as they were crossing the street. He tells them, "Espera ha, tiene coche, tiene tricycle." If they were in Zamboanga city, people would think he was speaking in Chabacano. The Pinoy ...

The Chabacano Picadillo

A few days ago, someone from Spain who purchased a copy of El Diutay Principe sent this article about a Filipino dish called Picadillo . I never knew that this dish was called Picadillo (although a quick search online will confirm this). Since coming to Manila, I have only heard this dish being called Giniling in carenderias which means something that is ground. The article also says that this dish is similar to the Spanish dish called jardinera . Interestingly, I found out that there is also a Filipino dish called hardinera . When I was growing up in Zamboanga city, the dish I knew as Picadillo consisted of ground beef with cubed white squash which we called calabaza blanco . Today, I chanced upon a post from the Lutong Cavite Facebook page talking about the Caviteño dish called Picadillo. The reason that I decided to write this article was because it was very similar to the Picadillo in Zamboanga city ...

The Chabacano 'Firme'

Prior to finding out that the same word existed in Cebuano and Hiligaynon, I have always thought that the Chabacano word 'firme' came from the Spanish language. However, upon learning that the same word (with the same definition) existed in Cebuano and Hiligaynon, I concluded that this word most probably came from either one of these two languages. I mean the Cebuano and Hiligaynon languages most probably got it from Spanish but if a certain word existed in all three languages, I am more apt to think that it came from either Cebuano or Hiligaynon rather than Spanish. This afternoon, I was very surprised when I came across this word in a Facebook post written in Caviteño Chabacano . I was even more surprised when I asked a Ternateño speaker about it and found out that this word also existed in their Chabacano! While this word is pronounced as 'pilmi' in Caviteño, it is pronounced as 'pirmi' in both Chabacano languages in Ternate and Zamboanga as well as Cebuano ...

El Nuevo Santo Rosario

I just got my hands on a rosary guide book in Chabacano. I have had my eye on this book since forever but the shipping costs always discouraged me from buying it. I was finally able to buy a few copies online when I received a voucher which covered the entire shipping costs. Surprisingly, the online shops in Manila do not have this in stock. I was talking about this book with an online friend a few days ago. During our conversation, he mentioned that he wanted to buy a Chabacano bible from Amazon. He told me that the Chabacano found in the bible produced by the Claretians had a Chabacano that was too easy or too simple to understand. Right away, I knew what he was driving at. I guess because Spanish is a novelty for most Chabacano speakers my age, we tend to appreciate a Chabacano translation that is more Spanish-like. But what most people do not know is that translating into simple Chabacano that makes minimal use of Spanish words and phrases is actually much more difficult. For Chaba...

A Mañanita in Chabacano (Chabacano Mañanita Lyrics)

Several years ago, my Mexican friend asked me on my birthday: te cantaron las mañanitas? I had very little knowledge about what a Mañanita was back then but now I know that we actually also have this tradition in the Philippines. In fact, there are recent videos in Youtube where they are serenading someone celebrating their birthday in different parts of the country. A few hours ago, I stumbled upon a video in Youtube where they are serenading the birthday celebrant in Chabacano. I remember encountering a similar video a few years ago but when I asked the owner for the lyrics, they couldn't provide them to me. This one is a different song but the audio quality is much better so I decided to transcribe it and provide the lyrics here. Chabacano Mañanita Lyrics Ahora taqui kame para lleva y dale alegria Con corazon sincero este dia cumpleaño Sigui kita ejemplo del Señor ya deja kanaton Ansina ay vivi kita con harmonia aqui na mundo Felices cumpleaño ya lang Ojala...

The Chabacano 'Crece'

A week ago, I met someone who was originally from Zamboanga city but has lived in Manila for most of her life. When I spoke to her daughter in Chabacano, she told me: no sabe ese man Chabacano kay aqui ese sila ya crece . Even though I understood her perfectly, I immediately noted how she used the word crece incorrectly (at least for me) in Chabacano. This word comes from the Spanish crecer and is usually pronounced as crici or creci in Chabacano. In Chabacano, we normally use this word for plants or things that grow on skin like warts or hair. For example: no hay crece el de mio maga siembra. When talking about people, we usually use 'queda grande' as in 'na Manila yo ya queda grande'. In my experience, the only time we use this word on people is when referring to their height but this is not very common. At first I attributed it to her having lived in Manila for such a long time already but later I thought that maybe she used the word in the same way that it was b...

The Chabacano Planchador

My mom is visiting me again in the city and during one of our phone calls, she asked me if the Airbnb we are going to stay at had a planchador . Even if it had been years that I have not heard and/or used this word, this piece of vocabulary had always been in my subconscious. I googled up the word and found out that it means a different thing altogether in Spanish . In Spanish, the word planchador means a person who irons clothes. The same definition is given for the Tagalog word plantsador . In Chabacano, the word planchador means an ironing board. You can imagine how this word will probably vanish from our vocabularies one day. Due to technology (emergence of steamers which do not need an ironing board), clothes that don't need ironing and the current generation's attitude towards wrinkles in clothing, ironing boards will probably be soon a thing of the past. An ironing board was one of the first things that I bought when I came to Manila because I grew up in a house wher...

Using 'te' instead of 'tu' in Chabacano

In Spanish, 'te' is a reflexive pronoun that is used when conjugating reflexive verbs like 'acostarse'. While this pronoun does not behave similarly in Chabacano grammar, it is possible that it is being used as a synonym of 'tu'. The first time I heard this was at the annual family reunions we had on my mother's side of the family every Christmas. It has been almost fifteen years since I attended one so I wasn't even sure at first if indeed I heard my uncles use 'te' instead of 'tu'. But recently, I came across a comment on social media which confirms this. Here are other examples: Based on the examples above, we could theorize that the people who use 'te' are also people who use 'uste' (usted). This makes sense because I frequently heard it from my uncles who spoke to my mom (the eldest sibling). My uncles use 'uste' whenever they speak to my mother. But are there people who use 'te' exclusively? One thin...

Chabacano Jokes and Memes

Chabacano Green Jokes "Este ulan, ulan este de viejo, kay hende ya ta para!" "Basta ulan-ulan, mojao gayod el leña." "Favorito daw de suyo el Adobo, pero conmigo 'le quere-quere come." "Habla sila, chupa daw gayod para hende busca otro. Por que yo ya lambe ya hasta el bola-bola, pero ya busca lang siempre otro?" "Nariz ya lang gane el virgin contigo, yan finger pa tu." "El cen, igual na pututuy lang ese. Sabroso agarra si grande." Chabacano Jokes on Love and Relationship "Basta frio ya 'le contigo, ta callenta ya 'se na otro." "Por que na Math puro X and Y puede man era U and I ya lang." "Ahora yan blackout manada reclamo, pero cuando ya lleva con ele hui na buuk no hay reclama!" "Lord, masquin cen ya lang, no mas ya love life, dolor de cabeza lang 'se." "Bien caro ahora el arroz pati diaper, bue...

Cooking in Caviteño Chabacano

Well, this is interesting! A cooking video in Caviteño Chabacano (Cavite city)... Apparently, they also have the word 'saborea' in Caviteño although I don't think we use it in the same way as they do. In the Chabacano in Zamboanga city, we usually use 'saborea' to mean 'tasting (or feeling *figurative) something strongly'. For example you can say 'no hay yo saborea el cheese na pizza' which means I didn't taste the cheese in the pizza. It also looks like they have a different way of saying 'half' when mentioning measurements in recipes. I think the girl said 'mita' (which probably comes from the Spanish 'mitad' while in the Chabacano in Zamboanga city, we say 'media' (e.g. uno y media cuchara). While they also say 'ajos' for 'garlic', it seems that their word for 'onion' is different. In Caviteño Chabacano, onion is cebollas (sebulyas) *based on the video while in Zamboanga Chabacano, it is ...

Zamboanga Hermosa

My friend who used to work in Guatemala (and learned his Spanish there) was quite amused when he saw deliciosa ciudad in the lyrics of the song Zamboanga Hermosa. I also felt that it was weird since we often only use the word delicious for food in English. Upon researching the word deliciosa however, it seems that this word can also mean pleasant, charming, or lovely in Spanish . This is the same in the French language wherein the French word for delicious ( délicieux ) can also apply for people (and yes, in this case, a city). Who can forget the time the French president called Australian Prime Minister Thornbull's wife delicious ? Another peculiar word in this Spanish song is the word dalaga but a quick search in the DRAE will tell us that this also is a Spanish word! dalaga 1. f. Filip. Mujer soltera, doncella y joven. I'm not sure if it's true but I've read that they used this song as the national hymn during the short-lived Republic of Zamboanga...

The Chabacano 'Besa Mano'

Depending on where you live in the Philippines or the family that you were born into, this practice may have different applications or perhaps it isn't practiced at all. When I stayed over a friend's house in Bataan for Christmas twelve years ago, we attended a midnight mass and I was very surprised when I saw people falling in line to take the priest's hand. They also practiced this at home with their parents and visitors were expected to do it as well. It felt very strange to take the hand of my friend's father whom I have only met a few days ago and place it on my forehead. My friend in Tarlac told me that this was not practiced at all among Ilocanos. She said that this was a Tagalog tradition. I have always associated this practice as a manner of greeting and showing respect to aunts and uncles who lived far away. For some reason, my parents never asked me to do this with my paternal grandmother and aunt and uncles who lived next door. Normally, we kiss them as a f...

What Makes a Good Chabacano Speaker?

My late aunt never failed to let me know that I did not speak Chabacano well. But what defines a good Chabacano speaker? In my case, I'm not very good at articulating my thoughts in whatever language especially when speaking, so I actually consider myself as unable to speak well in any language. Does using Tagalog pronouns mean you don't speak Chabacano well? I have Chabacano-speaking friends who say things like donde kayo anda ? Does that make their Chabacano bad? Not necessarily. In my opinion, these people speak Chabacano very well and are able to articulate their thoughts so well in Chabacano even though they love using these Tagalog pronouns. Most of them have a more expansive Chabacano vocabulary than I do. And I do not use Tagalog pronouns. My elementary school classmate who loves to use ka and ikaw , upon meeting my friend's boyfriend, told him manda aprende Chabacano con ese . Such pride in the Chabacano language! This suggests that using Tagalog pronouns does not...

The Chabacano Expression 'Tampa Caro'

This Chabacano expression is actually made up of four words: ta , man , pa , caro ( tampa being a contraction of three words: ta , man , pa ). Very interesting right? This is an expression which means to feel self important or to play hard to get . If you ask me, I think it originally meant to play hard to get and then later on evolved to include the other meaning. Tampa in Chabacano means to pretend or to feign while caro is from the Spanish term caro meaning expensive . This expression was probably coined by my generation. As far as I can remember, I have not heard anybody from my grandparents' generation use this term. There are some from my parents' generation who would but probably only because they were influenced by my generation (their kids). Here is a sentence using this Chabacano expression: No mas ya man tampa caro. Ele ya gane ta atraca contigo. This sentence can mean several things depending on the context. It could mean don't play hard to get when som...

Origins of the Chabacano Word "Karahay"

Is "karahay" a Spanish word? Today, we are going to investigate whether the Chabacano word "karahay" came from Spanish. "Karahay" is a word we use for "wok", "pan", or "skillet" in Chabacano. No distinctions are made in Chabacano between these things, they are all called "karahay". I was doing research for an article when I accidentally found out that the word "karahay" also existed in the Caviteño Chabacano. I was very surprised by this discovery because all this time, I thought that it came from Cebuano! What is a Cebuano word doing in the Chabacano language in Cavite? When I was still working, I remember a Cebuano-speaking colleague from Davao recognized the word "karahay" when I spoke in Chabacano with my Chabacano-speaking colleagues and this confirmed my suspicion that it was a Cebuano word. My friend from Cebu though, wasn't familiar with this word so it's probably more popular in ...

Queridas and Muchachas

It was an afternoon that I would never forget. I don't recall how old I was at that time but young enough to get the names of my relatives wrong. I was at my grandmother's house and a man showed up at the door. I told my grandmother that it was my uncle, her son who lived in Manila. But it turned out to be my grandfather who at that time was no longer with my grandmother. Unlike that afternoon's timeline, the words they exchanged in what looked like a heated argument will not be etched in my memory. Except for one word. Querida . That's what my grandfather called her. It was a strange word for me. I have never heard it in any other time in my life before that event and after. Until I reached high school. In high school, we were asked to memorize a poem (I think) in Tagalog which had the word 'querida' in it. A non Chabacano speaking classmate made a fuss about that word. Our teacher placated him saying that it didn't mean what he thought it meant. This was ...

A Contemporary Essay in Chabacano Caviteño

Why is the 'H' in some Chabacano words of Spanish origin pronounced like in English?

Do we Pronounce the 'H' in Spanish words like in English? A long time ago, a linguist asked me this question. While we do pronounce the 'H' in words that aren't from Spanish similar to English, I told him that in words of Spanish origin, we pronounce the 'H' just like in Spanish. In fact, I was baffled why he would ask that question. But later, I realized that we DO pronounce the 'H' like in English even in certain words that are from Spanish. Here are some examples: moho , almohada , harta , hinca , hermosa , haragan , and harina . In last names beginning with a 'H' like mine, the 'H' is pronounced like in English by Filipinos, in general. In fact, when I heard a teacher in high school pronounce my last name with a silent 'H', I remember being perplexed by it. At that time though, there were still many people who were acquainted with Spanish pronunciation so I have heard other family names beginning with a 'H' sometim...

Are Zamboangueños Influencing the Chabacano in Ternate?

Lately, I have been noticing that more and more Chabacano (Zamboanga) speakers in Facebook use the Tagalog kung instead of si when saying 'if'. What's interesting about it is that some of them are spelling it as con . But what's even more interesting is that today, I saw in a Facebook post by Debahraknows that this also occurs in the Chabacano spoken in Ternate! As far I understood it, the text on the photo says that politicians, once elected tend to forget about the people but will be the ones to go to you if elections are already near. In the past, I have commented that more and more, the Chabacano in Zamboanga city is sounding similar to that of its Luzon counterparts because of the shift in preference for Tagalog conjunctions and particles instead of the usual Hiligaynon/Cebuano as well as Spanish. But seeing this particular phenomenon happen in both languages is quite an awesome coincidence. Of course, we can't conclude right away that this took place on i...