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
I got excited when I found a post on a blog regarding a Chavacano de Ermita poem. It is written by Jesus Balmori.
At this point, my comprehension of the Chavacano in Cavite and Ternate is somewhere between 4 and 6 on a scale of 10, so I know basic stuff like the fact that de is a future tense marker. I somewhat understood the poem, mostly with the help of a speaker of the Chavacano de Ternate. I think that the Chavacano de Ermita is very similar to the Ternateño variant which is the oldest of all the Chabacano languages.
Quilaya Bos
Si de jablá yo bueno quilaya el bos pigura
No de encontrá yo plores para bisá ele cómo;
Bos como un talde blanco, ta lleno de dulsura;
Bos como el plores de oro que ta na sinamomo
Si bos ta caminá ta sintí yo que todo
Ta llená de perfume, resplandor y colores
Como si de pasá un procesión na lodo
Y el lodo ta queda de repente hecho plores
Na todo el nisós pueblo no de encontrá más una
Mujer cual bos, tan bella, tan blanca como el luna
Cuando ta aparesé na pondo del bahía
Bos único el hermosa, bos único el grasiosa,
Ni más ni menos como el ángeles de rosa
Que ta na pies del Nuestro Señora de la Guia. . . . .
This poem is basically describing the beauty of a woman, very exaggeratedly so if I may add. But then again, it is a poem.
If you are a speaker of the Chabacano de Zamboanga, I'm curious to know whether you understood the poem above. Tell me about it in the comments section of this post. 😀
At this point, my comprehension of the Chavacano in Cavite and Ternate is somewhere between 4 and 6 on a scale of 10, so I know basic stuff like the fact that de is a future tense marker. I somewhat understood the poem, mostly with the help of a speaker of the Chavacano de Ternate. I think that the Chavacano de Ermita is very similar to the Ternateño variant which is the oldest of all the Chabacano languages.
Quilaya Bos
Si de jablá yo bueno quilaya el bos pigura
No de encontrá yo plores para bisá ele cómo;
Bos como un talde blanco, ta lleno de dulsura;
Bos como el plores de oro que ta na sinamomo
Si bos ta caminá ta sintí yo que todo
Ta llená de perfume, resplandor y colores
Como si de pasá un procesión na lodo
Y el lodo ta queda de repente hecho plores
Na todo el nisós pueblo no de encontrá más una
Mujer cual bos, tan bella, tan blanca como el luna
Cuando ta aparesé na pondo del bahía
Bos único el hermosa, bos único el grasiosa,
Ni más ni menos como el ángeles de rosa
Que ta na pies del Nuestro Señora de la Guia. . . . .
This poem is basically describing the beauty of a woman, very exaggeratedly so if I may add. But then again, it is a poem.
If you are a speaker of the Chabacano de Zamboanga, I'm curious to know whether you understood the poem above. Tell me about it in the comments section of this post. 😀
I understood Jerome.
ReplyDeleteBut i am only wondering if the Ermitens Dialect is using the pronoun "nisós" (we) of the Caviteñ dialect.
El Chavacano na Ermita dao semejante gaha na Ternateno. Mihotru gaha aquel na Ternateno. Hehe.
ReplyDeleteTalvez, esta poema es ta discribi el Nuestra Senora de Guia, polqui Patrona ela de Ermita y ta ama ela de su devotos. Talvez rin, ya escribi esta de Jesus Balmori polqui tiene ele un devocion para la Virgen.
ReplyDeleteBuenas! Yo platica/habla Chabacano de Cavite =)
Hi Kahlil. Thanks for your comment. It's very nice to hear your comment written in Caviteno. :D
ReplyDeletePor lo que puedo leer el chabacano de Ermita es casí similar a Castellano porque puedo entiendo casí todo de palabras que basado de Castellano. Hablo Castellano y un poquito de Zamboangueño.
ReplyDeleteI speak spanish and I can understand it almost completely
ReplyDelete