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The Little Prince By Antoine De Saint-Exupéry Is Now Available In Chabacano!

While Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) written by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry in 1943 now has over 300 translations in different languages worldwide and is now considered the world’s most translated book (not counting religious works), there have been surprisingly only two translations of his book in the Philippines (Filipino and Bicol). El Diutay Principe is only the third edition featuring a Philippine language. The Little Prince is a classic French novella about a pilot who gets stranded in the desert after a plane crash and encounters a little fellow who asks him to draw a sheep for him. Through the course of their meeting, the pilot rediscovers the true meaning of life and what people should value the most. When I came across the book in 2013, I found that I could relate very well to the negative image given to “growing up” in the book. When the idea to translate the book into my mother tongue was presented to me, I didn’t think twice. I thought, ‘a lot of people my ...
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Origins of the Chabacano Señor

In Chabacano, people do not say !Dios mio¡ when they say 'my God' as one would in Spanish. When we say 'my God', we say Señor!

Here are some situations wherein you would use the Chabacano señor and sample sentences along with their rough English translation:

In frustration

Chabacano: Señor, yo ya daw hace conese!
English: My God, let me do it! (let me be the one to do it)

When shocked

Chabacano: Señor! Cosa ese?
English: My God, what is that?

In fright

Chabacano: Ay señor, tiene ladron na otro lao casa.
English: Oh my God, the house on the other side is being robbed. (literally, there's a burglar at the house at the other side)

In Chabacano, one says el otro lao casa to mean your neighboring house

In relief:

Chabacano: Señor! Bueno ya lang ya llega ya tu.
English: My God! It's a good thing that you have already arrived.

The way you say señor would tell the emotion you are conveying.

This article was also published in the International Year of Indigenous Languages Philippines website.
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