Skip to main content

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 ...
12 comments

The Chabacano Masiao

As a kid, I remember my dad saying that he rarely hears the word demasiao and/or masiao being used anymore. I actually have never encountered this word until a few moments ago in an online forum.


Blando masyaw si Ma'am Beng (the current mayor of Zamboanga city), this is what somebody posted on a forum. Judging from how the word masyaw is used, I am guessing that it is the equivalent of bien or 'very'. Other examples of this word being used (that I have found online) seem to point that it means 'too much'.


This word most probably comes from the Spanish demasiado which means 'too'. Masiao does not appear in Spanish dictionaries but in an online forum, I saw it being used in Spanish (maybe colloquially).


Here are some examples of the Chabacano masiao being used along with its translation (taken from the book: a Composite Dictionary of Philippine Creole Spanish and La Lengua Espanola en Filipinas):


In Chavacano de Cavite, this word is also used.


Here is a post on Facebook which is kind of funny and cute. It translates to: don't go out too much, well fine, go ahead, just be careful, the dog might find you on the street.


What about you, do you still use this word?

Comments

  1. יאן סבייסקי דייוטFebruary 25, 2014 at 6:12 AM

    ¡Hola, Jerom!
    ¿Qué tal?

    Aquel si Si!Chavacano tamen yo ya escribí le "de masiao", para conmigo debe ese un palabra lang como "demasiado o demasiao".

    Pero fuera verdad, ralo lang gat yo ta usa ese palabra "demasiao" sino mas acostumbrao yo usa con el "demasiado". Y ese tambien gat yo firmi ta podé oí con mi nana ta regaña ya con amon mientras hablanda "Demasiado ya gat camo... jendeh mas yo ta gusta timora hay recibi ya lang camo un soco estaba conmigo." ^_^

    Que ver un soco . . . Jajana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jerome HerreraMarch 1, 2014 at 7:18 AM

      Si amo tu. Debe ese demasiao. :D

      Delete
    2. Jerome HerreraMarch 1, 2014 at 7:20 AM

      Mi tata, amo tamen ele ya habla el usada de ese palabra... para regana...

      Delete
  2. יאן סבייסקי דייוטFebruary 28, 2014 at 2:17 PM

    Este pa gale acerca la palabra "Masiao", primer vez yo ya puede oí con ese palabra all na Canción de Zamboangueño que ya canta el Major Chords - "Mama Yo Quiero". ^_^

    Habla pa na Canción:

    El mujer dao es "masiao embustero" (uber lier)
    y
    El hombre dao es "masiao paliquero". (Uber playboy)

    Jajajajaja ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 7, 2014 at 1:04 PM

    Very common in Caviteño, I've heard various forms: demasiado, dimasiao and masiao.

    JPS

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMarch 22, 2014 at 4:08 PM

    As far as I understood, it is equivalent to filipino of spanish origin word "masyado".

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jerome HerreraMarch 24, 2014 at 9:28 PM

    That is right.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Porque by Maldita Lyrics (Original Chabacano and Translated Spanish version)

Here are the original lyrics of the song Porque by Maldita as well as a rough Spanish translation below. 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 Nunc...
17 comments
Read more

How To Say 'I Love You' And 'I Hate You' In Chabacano

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...
98 comments
Read more

A Chabacano Christmas Song + An Interview in Spanish With A Former Zamboanga Mayor

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 ...
9 comments
Read more