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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 Entra

While the literal meaning of the word entra in Chabacano is the same as its Spanish counterpart (to enter), it has several figurative meanings which are unique in the Chabacano language.

The Chabacano entra can be used to mean to go to work or school.

Chabacano: Entra ba tu escuela este dia?
English:  Are you going to school today?

Chabacano: Entra ba na oficina si mama este dia?
English: Is mom going to work today?

The word entra in Chabacano can also mean 'to join'. Here are some examples.

Chabacano:  Entra ba tu na juego?
English: Ar you joining the game?

Chabacano: Entra yo na raffle.
English: I am joining the raffle.

A very useful usage of the word entra is when saying the English word 'include'.

Chabacano: Puede ba tu hace entra ya con el drinks?
English: Can you include the drinks too?

Chabacano: Entrao ya ba el parking slot si compra yo con el condo?
English: Is there a parking slot included if I buy the condo?

Chabacano: Entrao ba mio nombre na lista?
English: Is my name included in the list? 

Here are some examples of the Chabacano entra being used with its literal meaning.

Chabacano: Entra tu adentro.
English: Come in or go inside.

Chabacano: Manda entra con el perro na casa.
English: Let the dog enter the house.

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