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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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An Easter Message in Chabacano

I was browsing a forum about Zamboanga city when I happened upon the local government’s Easter message. I must say that I really like how the Easter message was written in simple but formal Chabacano.


It’s sad however that a number of young Zamboangueños probably wouldn’t understand fully this Chabacano text. So here’s a vocabulary guide to make this Easter message more understandable. I actually picked out the words which in my opinion would not be known to Zamboangueños who don’t speak Chabacano well or those that speak it as a second language.

En calor de (on behalf of)

Felicita (to greet)

Culminacion (culmination)

Amediante (amid)

Mejor (better)

Ama (to love)

Muerte (death)

Guia (to guide)

Bendici (to bless)

Rezo (prayer)

Domingo De Pascua (Easter Sunday)

Dificultad (hardship)

Fe (faith)

If you watch or listen to Chabacano news or attend public school, you probably wouldn’t have a hard time understanding the message above as Chabacano is very much alive in these institutions.

Here is my attempt to translate the mayor's message to English:

In behalf of the local government of Zamboanga, I wish you all a happy Easter Sunday! The culmination of the Holy Week reminds us of the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus for our salvation. Amid the hardships, Jesus continues to guide and bless us. Hopefully, after several days of reflection, prayer, and penitence, our trust and faith in God will be stronger and inspire us more to work together for a much better Zamboanga. We love you, Jesus! 
May God be with you! 
Beng Climaco and the local government of Zamboanga

Happy Easter everyone!

Comments

  1. יאן סבייסקי דייוטApril 28, 2014 at 4:32 AM

    If we only have a proper education in our own Language, 100% surely many of us can read it.
    The only problem among those who might not understand it is because they "don't know how to read" in the Zamboangueño Chavacano Language.

    Igual lang ese masquen cosa clase de Lenguaje pero si no hay formal educación y no sabe leé y pronuncía bien se entonces hay jendêh también puede entende el cosa ta acaba escribí aunque simple ya el contenido del mensaje.

    Por eso necesita kita ayudá y soportá a uno otros para declará el Idioma Chavacano en particularmente el Dialecto Zamboangueño como la Lengua Oficial de La Ciudad de Latina Zamboanga para en ese asunto tiene bastante ley que hay promové su uso que no solo en la calle sino en la escuela también y sobre todo mas puede mejorá, desarollá y Ebriquecé con el Lenguaje Zamboangueño Chavavano.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jerome HerreraApril 29, 2014 at 12:04 AM

    Amo. Pero ya oi yo, algunus mga escuela ta principia ya man dao ensena Chabacano. De veras ba aquel?

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMay 1, 2014 at 12:19 PM

    En calor de → On behalf of

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jerome HerreraMay 2, 2014 at 11:00 PM

    I've already changed it to on. Thanks for the correction.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMay 4, 2014 at 7:21 PM

    Hola desde el sur de Espana! Me alegra que el gobierno de Zamboanga,emita mensajes de este tipo en lenguaje chabacano.He visto tambien,que se han puesto o esa es la idea,carteles en los organismos publicos,calles etc en esta lengua,creo que como indica arondayot,hay que promocionar la lengua en la escuela.Con la visualizacion por escrito de la lengua,creo que se fomenta la "normalizacion" de la lengua.El chabacano es un tesoro del pueblo filipino.Adelante Zamboanga!.Un abrazo,Joaquin

    ReplyDelete

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