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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 ...

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 myself remembering that there are indeed people who do. An example of this is yan cuento kame porcausa contigo ayer (we talked about you yesterday).

Though if you ask me, using the word porcausa doesn't work all the time. For example, if you'll say porcausa na mga pato ese libro (that book is about ducks), it would just sound super weird.

So what do you do when you don't feel like sounding too formal when speaking Chabacano and don't want to mix English words in your speech? Well, in some instances, you could probably get away with just omitting the word 'about' altogether. What about you? What words do you use to say 'about' in Chabacano? Do you find yourself using the English word instead? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Comments

  1. Yan cuento kame por causa contigo ayer.
    (We've talked about you yesterday.)

    Hmmmm...
    What I know about "por causa" is the "cause".
    Its like saying...
    Ya caé yo na examen por causa no hay yo estudià bien por cuantos noches.
    (I've failed in the exam because I did not study well.)

    Porque is also mean because but not the cause but the effect or result.
    Por ejemplo:
    Dormí ya kita temprano porque necesita kita despiertá luego madruga para atendé el misa de aguinaldo.
    (We need to sleep early because we need to wake early later at dawn to attend the Misa de Aguinaldo.

    Therefore, the us of "sobre" is far recommended, as follows: "Yan cuento kame sobre contigo ayer."

    ReplyDelete
  2. About Me, It is more right to say "Acerca de Mí" or "Acerca Conmigo".

    The first time I've encountered about this "Por causa de Mí", is from a blog of Prof. Yap when I was still in College . though I've confronted him that his usage is wrong and it is right to use "acerca" which is also differebt from "acercá". I also explain my sidr that "Por causa conmigo" may interprete as "Because of me". Therefore you're the reason of a, e.g. razón del quema, razón del estruendo o calandracas na pueblo. :-)

    (This is just my opinion and I will stick to the use of Acerca de Mí 《》 About me.)

    ¡Buenas noches, Jerome! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. If I was a native in Chabacano I certainly wouldn't use "about". It doesn't sound or fits well.

    ReplyDelete

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