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Showing posts from December, 2013

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

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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 Temora

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The definition of the word temora is a bit tricky. It is a word that we use to denote fear that something MIGHT happen. Here are sentences using the Chabacano temora . Chabacano: Lleva tu payung. Temora cae ulan. English: Bring an umbrella. It might rain. Chabacano: No quiere yo dale presta cen kay temora hinde conmigo paga. English: I don’t like lending money because I might not get paid. Chabacano: Temora ta hace lang contigo loco ese hombre. English: That guy might just be fooling you. Here is a sentence (using the word  temora ) that the  bien chabacano  friend of my uncle gave me. Chabacano:  Agarra enbuenamente con el baso, ultimo hora cae ese y quebra.. English: Hold the glass well (or tightly), it might fall and break. Another example that he gave was  bien bueno su costumbre hasta su ultimo hora aqui na mundo  (he was very kind until his last hour in this world). The meaning of  ultimo hora  in this sentence is literally last hour or last moment. If we’re
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Origins of the Chabacano Sopas

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The word sopa in Spanish means 'soup' and this was most probably how the Chabacano sopas  came about. In Chabacano, the word sopas  is the name of a dish. This dish is a soup made of corn with sausages (normally chorizo ), onion, and bits of pork. My uncle likes his sopas with lots of pepper. I am not sure if this same dish is known in other parts of the country but in Manila, there is also a dish called  sopas . However, in Manila, sopas is a soup made of macaroni noodles, milk, carrots, bell pepper, and bits of chicken. Camins’ Chabacano dictionary does not list the words sopas or sopa . The more recent dictionary of Rolando Arquiza Santos does list the word sopa and defines it as soup. I have not, however, heard anyone use this word so this is probably one of those Chabacano words falling into disuse. What about you? Which dish are you referring to when you say the word sopas?
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The Chabacano Regorda

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I have always thought that the word regorda in Chabacano has Spanish origins. Upon checking my Spanish dictionary however, it seems that this is not true. The Chabacano regorda means to burp or to belch. This word is not included in the Chabacano dictionary of Camins. It does appear however in the more recent Chabacano dictionary of Rolando Arquiza Santos. Santos defines this word as 'to belch' or 'to have stomach acid reflex'. Here are some sentences using this word. Chabacano: Hinde bueno mira na un mujer ta regorda. English: It’s not polite for a woman to burp. Chabacano: Si ta regorda el un gente, quiere decir busug ya le. English: When someone burps, it means that he is already full. Chabacano: No tu bastus. No regorda en frente de mio. English: Don’t be rude. Don’t burp in front of me. A month after I published this article somebody was able to solve this puzzle.  Eduardo Tobar posted a comment below in which he says that regorda comes from the
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A Chabacano Christmas Song + An Interview in Spanish With A Former Zamboanga Mayor

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It’s that time of the year again when we all feel generous and kind towards one another. For most of us, Christmas is a very busy time of the year with family reunions and Christmas dinners to think about. But there was a time in the not so distant past when Christmas was a quiet holiday. This is what is being described in the song that is featured in this blog post. Noche sagrao, brillante maga estrellas oh noche que el Salvador ya nacé. Por largo tiempo el mundo ya esperá se que aquí canaton el Dios hay vené. Ta gozá el mundo por este esperanza, un día nuevo hay podé llegá. Todo hincá y oí voces del ángel, oh noche divino, el Cristo ya nacé ! Divino noche, oh noche de amor! Ta llevá el luz de fe sereno y claro, y adorá con el Niño Jesús. Ta llevá el luz del cielo bien ardiente, ya llegá Magos de lejos lugar. Na un pesebre el rey de los reyes, amigo diaton, Ele ahí quedá. Sabé el Señor hacé lo que se debe, mirá con el rey y na su presencia incá. Ta aquí el
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Porque by Maldita Lyrics (Original Chabacano and Translated Spanish version)

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Original Chabacano Version: Solo-solo na mi cuarto Hinde ta puede dormi Vira-vira na cabeza El dolor yo ya senti Por que pa contigo yo ya quiere? Como bula lang tu ya perde Por que contigo yo ya escoge? Ahora mi corazon ta sufri Bien simple lang yo ta pedi Era senti tu el cosa yo ya senti Ta pedi milagro, vira'l tiempo El mali hace derecho Na de mio rezo ta pedi yo Era olvida yo contigo Todo-todo yo ya dale Ahora ta arrepenti Sobra-sobra el dolencia Tormento para vivi Por que pa contigo yo ya quiere? Como bula lang tu ya perde Por que contigo yo ya escoge? Ahora mi corazon ta sufri Bien simple lang yo ta pedi Era senti tu el cosa yo ya senti Ta pedi milagro, vira'l tiempo El mali hace derecho Na de mio rezo ta pedi yo Era olvida yo contigo No tu distorba Y no atraca kay baka palmadea yo contigo Nunca acepta Si tu ay vira por el dolor ya senti Por que contigo yo ya escoge? Ahora mi corazon ta suf
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How To Say 'I Love You' And 'I Hate You' In Chabacano

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Saying I love you in Chabacano is a bit tricky. Most people just say 'I love you' (pronouncing the word love as lab ). But in songs or formal occasions, Chabacano speakers say 'I love you like this': ta ama yo contigo . Let’s dissect this sentence. Ta= Present tense indicator Ama= love Yo= I Contigo= you Again, you’ll only hear this in songs. You really won’t hear people saying to each other  ta ama yo contigo. Saying I hate you in Chabacano is also a bit difficult. In the dictionary of Santos (2010), the word hate in Chabacano is rabia or odia . However I’m not really sure how to use these two words in a sentence because to me ta rabia yo contigo or ta odia yo contigo just doesn’t sound natural. Rabiao yo contigo (which is something people frequently say in Chabacano) just doesn't convey the correct emotion because it means something like I am angry at you (milder than hate). So how do we say the English 'I hate you' in Chabacano? One of
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How to say I Miss You in Chabacano

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In Facebook groups, a lot of people, even Chabacano speakers themselves, seem to be wondering how to say 'I miss you' in Chabacano. Most Chabacano speakers get away with just saying tan miss ya yo contigo . However, the verb miss is still untranslated. The English verb to miss (someone or something) may very well be untranslatable. I googled I miss you in Tagalog  and I nearly fell off my chair when I saw what Google Translate had to say: In very formal Tagalog, one can say nangungulila ako sa iyo although it will probably make you cringe saying it. Most formal Chabacano translations of I miss you  are similar; they will make you cringe saying them. Besides, most people wouldn't understand you anyway, if you use them. In Cebuano, they actually have a translation for I miss you  and that is gimingaw kaayo ko nimo. I'm not sure though if Cebuano speakers actually say this. My friend tells me that it's more common to hear people say namiss na ta ka which if yo
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