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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 ...
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3 Usages of the Word 'Cerca' in Chabacano

The word cerca in Chabacano obviously came from the Spanish word 'cerca' but did you know that it can be used in three different ways in Chabacano?


1. Close physical distance of an object or location



This usage is similar to the Spanish cerca. Here is an example:

Chabacano: Cerca lang el de mio casa na oficina.

English: My house is near the office.


Chabacano: Cerca lang ba tu ta queda na de tuyo hermano?

English: Do you live near your brother?


2. Close proximity of a date or an event

English: I am going to give birth soon.

Tagalog: Malapit na akong manganak.

Chabacano: Cerca ya yo pari


3. To express that something almost happened (but did not)

The third usage of cerca came from Tagalog (I am not sure if it can also occur in Cebuano/Hiligaynon). It is a direct translation of the word muntik/ malapit. In Tagalog, whenever you say that something almost happened (but did not), you use the word muntik or malapit. Here are some examples:


English: I almost tripped.

Tagalog: Muntik na akong matumba.

Chabacano: Cerca ya yo tumba.


English: I almost won in the lottery.

Tagalog: Muntik/malapit na sana akong manalo sa lotto.

Chabacano: Cerca ya gayod era yo gana na lotto.


English: I almost failed the exam.

Tagalog: Muntik na akong 'di pumasa sa exam.

Chabacano: Cerca ya era yo cae na exam.


In spoken Chabacano, you can definitely get away with the sentences above without the particles. However, since this is written Chabacano and most people are not used to reading in Chabacano, I decided to bring out a number of particles in my arsenal to make the sentences more readily understandable.

I guess you could also say that the third usage occurs in English. For example you could say: I nearly tripped, I nearly won in the lottery, and I nearly failed the exam.

Common variations in spelling this word include: serca and serka. In fact, they are more popular than the Spanish spelling.

The versatility of the word "cerca" in Chabacano showcases the language's rich linguistic heritage. By exploring the different meanings of "cerca", we gain a deeper appreciation for the intricacies and beauty of the Chabacano language. Can you think of other ways to use the word "cerca" that I missed?


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