Skip to main content

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

When To Use 'Habla' and 'Conversa' In Chabacano

I recently became friends with a Chabacano Speaker in Manila. This new friend learned her Chabacano from her Zamboangueño 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!
English: I told you so! That person was a thief!

2. To Ask Someone to Repeat Something

Example:

Chabacano: Cosa tu ya habla?
English: What did you say?

3. Command (specific *there is something specific that the speaker wishes someone to say)

Example:

Chabacano: Habla tu si cosa tu quiere.
English Translation: Tell me what you want.

Chabacano: Habla tu con tuyo tata no mas ya le vene aqui.
English Translation: Tell your father not to come here anymore.

When to use Conversa

1. To Refer to the Act of Speaking

Example:

Chabacano: Ya conversa conmigo ayer si Maria.
English: Maria spoke to me yesterday.

Chabacano: Otra clase man ese mujer ta conversa.
English:  That woman speaks differently.

Chabacano: Sabe tu conversa Tausug?
English: Do you know how to speak Tausug?

2. Command (General)

Example:

Chabacano: Conversa daw tu mas suena.
English: Could you speak louder?

Chabacano: Conversa tu con tuyo nana.
English Translation: Talk to your mom.


Most people pronounce and spell this word (especially young Chabacano speakers) as kumbersa. Instead of the word conversa, one can also use man cuento.

I'm not sure about the Chabacano languages in Cavite city and Ternate, but I think both of them use platica instead of conversa.

For Spanish speakers trying to learn Chabacano, just remember to use habla whenever you would say decir in Spanish and conversa whenever you would say hablar in Spanish.

Comments

  1. Mi comento: The use of "plática" (platicar) is the lingua franca term used in general Mexican Spanish, used when one is having deep, meaningful conversations (al nivel de 'tener un polémica', por ejemplo) or when troubleshooting non-material, usually emotional, matters.
    And it makes sense, since the old Philippine Spanish is considered as a sub-dialect of Mexican Spanish mismo by linguists, and most Spanish terminologies absorbed and currently being used by the the indigenous Filipinos languages are mostly of Latin American dialectal varietyies, but more specifically, from Nueva España's querido México.
    So for both Ternate and Caviteño, both of which had also been influenced by the Portuguese language, to use "platicar" is already amazing by itself.
    Other than that, I realize that el chabacano heavily uses more Spanish verbs than the usual dale or entende. I have been reading some more Chabacano text samples lately, and they really use Spanish verbs, even heavy "big words"; it's like Chabacano speakers know them innately, without having a real exposure to a physical hispanohablante person or from a form of Spanish-language media. Seriously, this creole language has managed to preserve all of that, even after most of the archipelago (meaning "Filipinas") has managed to distance itself away from the rest of the Spanish-speaking world. (even Timor-Leste has managed to salvaged its Portuguese roots after the wars and isolation.)
    'Yun lang.
    Keep on posting, Mister blogger, sir. ¡Mantenga la fe!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alli na Caviteño Chabacano, cuando ta mangplaticahan yo con mga genti que ta platica na Caviteño, ta hablá nisos "platica" para "speak" (we say "platica" for "speak") mientras "conversa" y "charla" para "converse" y "chat" respectivamenti. si el palabra "habla" naman, el que quiere habla dequel "say". Dimas, pudi rin "bisa" tambien, pero el palabra "bisa" pudi ta significa rin "inform" or "dale sabe" na Idioma Caviteño. Buenas!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

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

How To Say 'I Love You' And 'I Hate You' In Chabacano

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

The Chabacano Expression 'Todo Bagon'

That’s a load of Crap! B*ullsh*t! These are expressions in the English language that are used to mean nonsense, foolishness or hogwash (which is another expression). In the Chabacano de Zamboanga, we say lasang or lasangan . Lasang or lasangan came out during the early 2000s (I think) and was in use for about a decade. Previously though, the favored word was tonterias, pendejadas or locuras . All these words are actually falling into disuse. Today, the favored word is todo bagon.   Todo means 'all' and bagon means shrimp paste (from  bagoong ). So literally, it means all shrimp paste. When you say that a person is todo bagon , it means that that person is not making any sense. One may also say todo vos bagon or you are all shrimp paste. A word of caution though, this sounds very offensive. I heard that this expression is very popular among the people who live in the rural areas or on the outskirts of Zamboanga city. It is quickly gaining popularity though in main