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Showing posts from February, 2018

The Little Prince By Antoine De Saint-Exupéry Is Now Available In Chabacano!

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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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4 Different Ways to Say 'Because' in Chabacano

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There are four distinct ways to say the word 'because' in Chabacano. 1. Porque Origin: Spanish This is the Bien Chabacano  ("Deep Chabacano") way of saying 'because'. I'm not sure how widely used  porque  was in the past but today, it is very rarely heard. I don't think they even use it in news programs or formal situations. This word comes from Spanish but in that language, they make a distinction between porque  (because) and por qué (why). When you hear someone use this word in Chabacano today, it often means 'why' and not 'because'. Most Chabacano speakers probably are only aware of the first meaning (as in porque contigo yo ya escoge  from the famous Maldita song 😀 ). Example: Chabacano: No hay ele conmigo dale cen porque rabiao ele conmigo. English: He didn't give me any money because he was mad at me. 2. Kay Origin: Cebuano or Hiligaynon Kay  is the contemporary way of saying 'because' in Chabacan
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When To Use 'Habla' and 'Conversa' In Chabacano

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I recently became friends with a Chabacano Speaker in Manila. This new friend learned her Chabacano from he r Zamboangue ñ o father. She, however, has never set foot on Zamboanga soil. Growing up in Manila and having only her family to practice her Chabacano with, she speaks the language with some nuances. For instance, I  noticed that she never uses  conversa and would only use  habla . I noticed too that Spanish speakers trying to speak in Chabacano would do the same thing. Chabacano is a complex language with grammar rules that are hard to explain but are imperative when learning to speak the language fluently. 😀 Here is a quick guide on when to use 'Habla' and 'Conversa' in Chabacano. When to use Habla 1. Reported Speech Example: Chabacano: Ya habla si Maria a las cinco daw tu conele encontra na airport. English: Maria said that you would fetch her from the airport at five o clock. Chabacano: Ya habla ya gayod yo contigo ! Ladron aquel gente! Englis
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3 Different Ways to Say 'Again' in Chabacano

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There are three distinct ways to say the word 'again' in Chabacano. 1. Otra Vez  This one, of course, comes from the Spanish otra vez which also means 'again'. If you speak Chabacano, you may be spelling this word as otra bes or even otrabes . 2. Ole The second word for 'again' in Chabacano is ole ( I think some people also say  olet ). The pronunciation of ole may be difficult for foreigners. It is pronounced with a glottal stop on the 'e'. The word ole may come from the Tagalog word for 'again':  ulit . The Camins and Arquiza-Santos Chabacano dictionary spell the word  ole  as  oleh  and  ol é h  respectively. Here is a Chabacano version of an English song where you'll see the word ole being used. 3. Ya Tambien Another way to say 'again' in Chabacano is ya tambien or ya tamen (the latter spelling might look more familiar to you). Ya tambien , I believe, is a direct translation of the Tagalog na naman . Na nam
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9 Signs That Chabacano Is Still Alive And Well in Zamboanga City

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1. Chabacano Graffiti When I was kid, graffiti written in Chabacano were everywhere in Zamboanga city but today, you would be hard pressed to find them anywhere in the city. So when I saw one during my recent trip to Zamboanga city, I had to get off the trycicle and take a photo of it. My mom was very surprised when I asked the driver to stop and was very amused when she saw what I was doing. By the way, could you guess in which barangay  this photo was taken? Post your answer on the comments section below (and no, there are no prizes involved, just bragging rights 😛). HINT: the photo was taken in front of a barangay  hall. 2. Chabacano Books These books were published by the city government in an effort to promote the Chabacano language. I think the Chabacano children's storybooks are really cool. Hopefully, they can create a pdf version soon. 3. Multilingual Employees At Sunflower restaurant, an old one in Zamboanga city, I was so delighted by the cashier
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The Little Prince By Antoine De Saint-Exupéry Is Now Available In Chabacano!

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

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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 Nunca acepta Si tu ay vira por el dolor ya senti Por que contigo yo ya escoge? Ahora mi corazon ta suf
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How To Say 'I Love You' And 'I Hate You' In Chabacano

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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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How to say I Miss You in Chabacano

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In Facebook groups, a lot of people, even Chabacano speakers themselves, seem to be wondering how to say 'I miss you' in Chabacano. Most Chabacano speakers get away with just saying tan miss ya yo contigo . However, the verb miss is still untranslated. The English verb to miss (someone or something) may very well be untranslatable. I googled I miss you in Tagalog  and I nearly fell off my chair when I saw what Google Translate had to say: In very formal Tagalog, one can say nangungulila ako sa iyo although it will probably make you cringe saying it. Most formal Chabacano translations of I miss you  are similar; they will make you cringe saying them. Besides, most people wouldn't understand you anyway, if you use them. In Cebuano, they actually have a translation for I miss you  and that is gimingaw kaayo ko nimo. I'm not sure though if Cebuano speakers actually say this. My friend tells me that it's more common to hear people say namiss na ta ka which if yo
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