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Showing posts from January, 2015

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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The Chabacano Expression 'Ya Tambien'

The Chabacano expression ya tambien is very interesting. This expression looks to me like it is a direct translation of the Tagalog word nanaman . In the English language, ya tambien does not have any equivalent, the closest translation I could think of is ' again '. I am not sure if ya tambien is found in Philippine Spanish, but I have heard someone who comes from a Spanish speaking family in the Philippines use this expression when speaking in Spanish. If you speak Chabacano, you probably know this expression as ya tamen . This is how most Chabacano speakers will pronounce and spell the expression ya tambien . Here are some sentences using the Chabacano expression ya tambien . Chabacano: No hay ya tambien entra escuela si Vincent? Tagalog: Hindi nanaman pumasok sa eskwela si Vincent? English: Was Vincent absent from school again? Chabacano: Tiene ya tambien bomba ya rebenta na pueblo. Tagalog: Meron nanamang bombang sumabog sa pueblo. English: Another bomb had ...
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How to say About in Chabacano

A lot of young Chabacano speakers out there use the English word 'about' and not its Chabacano equivalent when speaking in Chabacano. I, too am guilty of this. It's not that we don't know the Chabacano word for 'about'. In fact, everyone who has had exposure to Chabacano news, either on TV or on the radio will certainly know that the Chabacano words for 'about' are  sobre and acerca . But if you're like me, you probably find these words so formal that you cringe just thinking of using them. A friend of mine shared with me a book that is being used in schools to teach Chabacano and I was amused that they translated 'about me' (on a page which contained information about the author) as porcausa conmigo . My friend told me how it was incorrect Chabacano and I found myself agreeing with him but when I asked another friend, she told me that some people do use the word  porcausa to say 'about'. When I thought about it again. I fond mysel...
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How to say 'Spoiled Food' in Chabacano

In the Philippines, we have Misa De Gallo which is celebrated every nine nights before Christmas day. In Manila, it is very common to see food stands selling Bibingka and Puto Bumbong and they are very popular among churchgoers. A few days ago, I bought a Bibingka and to my surprise, it was sour. I told my friend about how the Bibingka was probably already malo and he told me that when golosinas  (Chabacano word for sweets) turn sour, it is a definite indication that it is already ranso  (this probably comes from the Spanish rancio ). In my family, we don't use the word ranso so this word was new to me although I immediately understood its meaning. Anyway, all that inspired me to write about other ways we say 'spoiled food' in Chabacano. I think the word that is used by the majority is malo to refer to spoiled food. For example,  malo ya el pan (the bread has gone stale). I actually use this word almost all the time. My dad likes to use the wor...
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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