Bien Chabacano

In the Chabacano language, the word menta  typically means to accuse someone of something. Although the word acusa (from the Spanish acusar ) does also exist in Chabacano, the word menta is employed more often. In a book about the Chavacano de Ternate written by Esteban De Ocampo, it appears that the verb menta also exists in the Chavacano de Cavite and it also means to accuse. In his book, De Ocampo says that this word comes from the Spanish mentar . What is interesting is that in Spanish, mentar doesn’t mean to accuse. In Spanish, mentar means to mention someone’s name. Here are some examples of how we use the Chabacano word menta . Chabacano: Ta menta man vos conmigo? English: Why are you accusing me? Chabacano: No tu conmigo menta. No hay yo cosa ya hace. English: Don’t accuse me. I didn’t do anything. Chabacano: Ya menta conmigo aquel gente na ladron daw yo. English: That guy accused me of being a thief. I posted this article on the Facebook group Zamboan...

The concept of courtship is mostly lost in today’s youth. Only a few people today go through the stage of courtship. Courtship is the phase in a relationship wherein two people get to know each other, go out and watch movies, or have dinner. People nowadays mostly just “hook up”. The word for courting (someone) in Chabacano is enamora . This word comes from the Spanish enamorar which also means to win somebody's love. Here are some examples of how to use this word in Chabacano: Chabacano: Tiene quien ta enomara conmigo. English: Somebody is courting me. Chabacano: Masquin quelaya de tarda ele conmigo enamora, hinde yo conele ay contesta. English: No matter how much time he spends in courting me, I won't answer him. *literal translation Chabacano: Ya enomara conmigo ese viejo antes. English: That old guy courted me in the past. Chabacano: Por que tu ta dale conmigo flores? Ta enomara ba tu conmigo? English: Why are you giving me flowers? Are you courting me? ...

In my short existence on this planet, I have come to realize that one of the most important tools of diplomacy in this world is language. If you speak the language of a certain group of people, that makes forming a relationship with them much easier. Forming friendships with someone is also easier if you speak a common language. It has come to me as a surprise to know that Zamboangueños and Caviteños speak a (almost) mutually intelligible language. I have known for a long time that the cities of Cavite and Zamboanga are sister cities however what surprises me is the apparent lack of fondness between the two groups of people. I have recently come into contact with some Caviteños in a Facebook group called Chabacano Siempre and I feel a strong connection with these people that it made me want to write an article encouraging Zamboangueños to mingle more with Caviteños who we can practically call our brothers in the far north. Below are some conversations that I've had with some C...

My friend who spoke Chabacano only with her relatives at home and would mix Tagalog and English with it thought that the future tense in Chabacano is indicated by the word man . I would hear her say man anda kame na iglesia mañana . In this post (which I dedicate to her), I aim to clarify the Chabacano man , and explain how to form the Chabacano future tense. In most books about the Chabacano language, it is explained that to form the future tense, one has to put the word ay  in front of the sentence. For example: Chabacano: Ay anda yo na tuyo casa. English: I will go to your house. However, what most books about the Chabacano language will not tell you is that you can also NOT put the word ay and it will still be the future tense. Thus, in the above sentence, if we remove the word ay, it will still have the same meaning. Note that this word is also spelled as hay. Chabacano: Anda yo na tuyo casa. English: I will go to your house. Here are more examples: Chabacano: M...