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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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How To Say 'Today' in Chabacano

How does one say ‘today’ in Chabacano?

Do we use the Spanish ‘hoy’?

Guess again.

To say the word 'today' in Chabacano, we simply say este dia or literally ‘this day’.

Here are some examples of how it is used in Chabacano:

Chabacano: Anda yo na banco este dia.
English: I am going to the bank today.

Chabacano: Que hora tu sale este dia?
English: What time are you leaving today?

Chabacano: Este dia ba el casamiento de Pilar?
English: Is Pilar’s wedding today?


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

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 4, 2012 at 12:40 PM

    i'm a davaweño and i find it interesting to speak chavacano. And i'm falling inlove with this language. Well thank u for this blog. :) gracias!

    ReplyDelete
  2. EmilyAugust 10, 2012 at 10:05 AM

    buenas dias. :) taga-Davao ako and learning Chavacano.I am confused with the words casao y casado. casao means "nagpakasal", right? then "casado" means tired?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jerome HerreraAugust 11, 2012 at 12:22 AM

      Hi Emily. Thansk for taking interest in our language. Casao is married or kasal. Nagpakasal is ya casa. For example:

      Nagpakasal na ang kapatid ko
      Ya casa ya mi hermano/hermana

      Kasal na ang aking kapatid
      Casao ya mi hermano/hermana

      I don't believe the word casado exists in Chabacano. Tired is cansao.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 3, 2013 at 1:22 PM

    Hello,

    I think casado is the "married" word in spanish.
    i.e.
    Spanish: ¿está ya casado?
    Chavacano: casao ya usted?
    English: Are you married?

    ReplyDelete

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