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 ...
Do we Pronounce the 'H' in Spanish words like in English?
A long time ago, a linguist asked me this question. While we do pronounce the 'H' in words that aren't from Spanish similar to English, I told him that in words of Spanish origin, we pronounce the 'H' just like in Spanish. In fact, I was baffled why he would ask that question.
But later, I realized that we DO pronounce the 'H' like in English even in certain words that are from Spanish. Here are some examples: moho, almohada, harta, hinca, hermosa, haragan, and harina.
In last names beginning with a 'H' like mine, the 'H' is pronounced like in English by Filipinos, in general. In fact, when I heard a teacher in high school pronounce my last name with a silent 'H', I remember being perplexed by it. At that time though, there were still many people who were acquainted with Spanish pronunciation so I have heard other family names beginning with a 'H' sometimes pronounced with a silent 'H'. So I concluded that it was simply a different preference of saying things.
Today though, if I say my last name with a silent 'H', most people can't recognize it. I think this shift merely reflects the fact that people today no longer have any knowledge about Spanish and hence we tend to pronounce the 'H' in last names like mine like in English.
But is this also the reason why the 'H' in certain Chabacano words from Spanish is pronounced like in English? We have to remember that people today are no longer exposed to the Spanish spelling of these words unlike the spelling of surnames which constantly appear in everyday life activities such as watching the credits of a movie or browsing your social media newsfeed.
It is also noteworthy to remember that this phenomenon occurs in ONLY a limited number of Spanish words in Chabacano. I think majority of the Spanish words in Chabacano with a 'H' still follow Spanish pronunciation.
A few examples are habla and hasta. There is a tendency at times for the 'H' in these words to be pronounced like in English but I don't think it's being consciously done.
Interestingly, the word harina is said with a silent 'H' in Chabacano however in Tagalog, the 'H' is pronounced like in English.
In an incredible twist of fate, our tendency to spells words in Chabacano the way they are pronounced using Tagalog spelling is the only reason why most people will spell these words correctly with a 'H'. Chabacano words from Spanish that contain the English 'H' pronunciation and spelled with a 'J' or 'G' in that language will ironically be spelled with a 'H' by Chabacano speakers.
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