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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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A Case of Hypercorrection?

In a recent Facebook post from IFM Zamboanga, the word empeza was spelled as en feza. This immediately caught my attention. Could this be a case of hypercorrection?

Ancient astronaut theorists say YES.

But seriously, there is a pattern behind this.

1. The M/N shift in Chabacano

Chabacano speakers often pronounce the middle n as m, especially before certain consonants.

Examples:

un poco → umpoco

en frente → emprente

This pronunciation habit might lead speakers to assume that the spelling should also change accordingly.

2. F/V/Z vs. P/B/S confusion

Another common feature among Chabacano speakers is the shifting of F → P, V → B, and Z → S in actual speech. Because of this, some people tend to reverse the process when writing, thinking the “correct” form must be the opposite.

Examples:

gobierno → govierno (very common!)

pesca → fesca (observed a long time ago in a  TV Patrol Chavacano post)

These spellings come from the idea that “F and V sound more Spanish,” so people insert them even where they don’t belong. This is a classic example of hypercorrection.

3. The CHAVACANO vs. CHABACANO debate

This might also help explain why many people spell our language as Chavacano, despite Chabacano being historically attested and linguistically supported.

Because the B/P sound often shifts in speech, some writers mistakenly think the “proper” or “more Spanish-looking” version must use a V.

So yes, “en feza” is very likely a case of hypercorrection.

It reflects how Chabacano speakers navigate the blurry line between spoken habits and written forms, sometimes inserting letters that “feel” more correct than they actually are.

It’s a small detail, but one that reveals a lot about the living, evolving nature of our language.

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