Origins of the Chabacano Mareng
Have you ever wondered how the Chabacano word mareng came about?
In Chabacano, the term used for homosexual men is mareng. At first sight, people with some knowledge of Spanish would probably connect it with the Spanish word for gay men which is maricon.
I also used to think that mareng came from maricon. However, I think the more plausible candidate for the origins of the Chabacano word mareng is the term rengo. This word means to be physically worn out, tired or exhausted according to my Chabacano dictionaries (a bit similar to the Spanish definition of rengo).
A variation of rengo is the word marengo. Marengo may be an adjective that was formed from the noun rengo similar to the adjective masucio (from sucio). To be honest, I only heard the word marengo used once in my life when I was young, from somebody who is from Basilan so it isn't a very common word but I very much believe that mareng developed from the word marengo.
Another variation of the word mareng is the term marengol. This word in Arquiza-Santos' dictionary means effeminate, or a homosexual man. This word may have developed recently from the word mareng and in fact has already gone into disuse especially among young people.
Surprisingly, my Chabacano dictionaries do not list the word masucio but instead list the word sucio as an adjective meaning dirty (similar to Spanish). As far as I know, in modern Chabacano, nobody uses the word sucio as an adjective anymore. Instead, it is normally used as a noun to mean dirt or sometimes feces.
In Tagalog, the term for a homosexual man is bakla. According to some people, the term bakla was a Tagalog verb meaning to be confused and later came to denote a homosexual man.
What about you? How did the word for gay men came about in your language?
In Chabacano, the term used for homosexual men is mareng. At first sight, people with some knowledge of Spanish would probably connect it with the Spanish word for gay men which is maricon.
I also used to think that mareng came from maricon. However, I think the more plausible candidate for the origins of the Chabacano word mareng is the term rengo. This word means to be physically worn out, tired or exhausted according to my Chabacano dictionaries (a bit similar to the Spanish definition of rengo).
A variation of rengo is the word marengo. Marengo may be an adjective that was formed from the noun rengo similar to the adjective masucio (from sucio). To be honest, I only heard the word marengo used once in my life when I was young, from somebody who is from Basilan so it isn't a very common word but I very much believe that mareng developed from the word marengo.
Another variation of the word mareng is the term marengol. This word in Arquiza-Santos' dictionary means effeminate, or a homosexual man. This word may have developed recently from the word mareng and in fact has already gone into disuse especially among young people.
Surprisingly, my Chabacano dictionaries do not list the word masucio but instead list the word sucio as an adjective meaning dirty (similar to Spanish). As far as I know, in modern Chabacano, nobody uses the word sucio as an adjective anymore. Instead, it is normally used as a noun to mean dirt or sometimes feces.
In Tagalog, the term for a homosexual man is bakla. According to some people, the term bakla was a Tagalog verb meaning to be confused and later came to denote a homosexual man.
What about you? How did the word for gay men came about in your language?
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