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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 Vira

Since I don’t speak much Spanish, I’m afraid I can’t explain very well how the word virar is used in Spanish. My Spanish dictionary though says that it means to turn or to go back (vehicle). I guess if a vehicle makes a U-turn, that would be virar. Or maybe, if a ship is heading to Manila from Zamboanga and decides to turn around and head back to Zamboanga, that is virar.

In Chabacano, this word is pronounced and spelled by most as bira. It means to return or go back (not to be confused with the Chabacano volve). Here are some examples of how to use the word vira in Chabacano.

Chabacano: Vira yo na Zamboanga despues de diez anos.
English: I will go back to Zamboanga after ten years.

Chabacano: Vira kame otra vez na Manila algun dia.
English: We will go to Manila again someday.

Chabacano: Cuando tu vira na oficina?
English: When will you go back to the office?

An expression that we can derive from this word is vira cara meaning 'to look back'. Here are some examples of this kind of usage:

Chabacano: Vira anay tu cara kay ta muda pa yo.
English: Turn around because I'm getting dressed.

A common expression in Chabacano is vira-vira (can also be viray vira or vira que vira). This means 'someone going back again and again' or 'something happening repeatedly'.

Here is an example using this.

Chabacano: Vira-vira man ese perro aqui?
English: Why is that dog always coming back here?

Chabacano: Vira-vira lang man el salida na TV.
English: The shows on TV are just replays.

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Comments

  1. PrinsOctober 22, 2012 at 6:13 PM

    My curiosity toward the chavacano language keeps me reading your blog. Keep posting! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Andrew AlmazanSeptember 2, 2021 at 9:29 AM

    Just wanted to add that, at least according to the RAE's Diccionario de americanismos, "virar" can be used in Cuba to mean:

    "Regresar, volver al lugar del que se ha partido."

    DeepL's translation of it into English:

    "To return, to return to the place from which one has departed."

    Source: Diccionario de americanismos - virar - https://lema.rae.es/damer/?key=virar

    Not sure if it's still used though

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jerome HerreraSeptember 2, 2021 at 12:56 PM

      Oh, wow! That is fascinating information, indeed! Thanks for sharing, Andrew! :)

      Delete

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