Showing posts with label chavacano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chavacano. Show all posts

Monday, February 11, 2008

ABS-CBN NOW finally adds three more

ABS-CBN's on-demand service has finally added more regional programming from Bicol, Zamboanga, and Cagayan Valley!

http://now.abs-cbn.com/index-tvpreg.aspx

As someone of Bicolano heritage, I've been wanting to see programming in Bikol for a very long time. Not only is TV Patrol Bicol available but also Bikol Espesyal and Marhay na Aga, Kapamilya.

For Chavacano, there is also Zambowow which seems to talk about cultural happenings around Zamboanga.

I am very disappointed about Cagayan Valley's TV patrol. It's in Tagalog. I know media in Ibanag is a long shot, but at the very least it should've been in Ilokano. But I suppose they have their reasons.

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Playing around with making movies...

Back in 2004 I wrote an entry about a Spanish news report about Chavacano.

Anyway, I have been playing with Windows Movie Maker and decided to make a video with subtitles. So I chose that report.

At the end, though, I couldn't resist putting commentary in English and Spanish about the newscast. I basically corrected some inaccuracies in the video. I wish I had a camera to do so, so I had to stick with text.

Enjoy the video.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Chavacano pronouns

Before summer started, there was a proposal to start a Wikipedia for Chavacano. My vote was in conditional support; the condition was that the type of Chavacano had to be specified (in this case, Zamboangueño). It passed sometime thereafter. One of the reasons why I had conditional support was that the three varieties of Chavacano are different from each other. And to illustrate this, I showed the pronouns in each of the three main living Chabacano varieties, Zamboangueño, Caviteño, and Ternateño. A chart of which is below (and now in the Chavacano article on Wikipedia):

 ZamboangueñoCaviteñoTernateño
1st person singulariyo
yo
yo
2nd person singularevo(s) (common)
vo(s) (common)
tu (familiar)
uste(d) (formal)
tu
vo
uste
vo
uste
3rd person singularel
ele
eli
1st person pluralkami (exclusive)
kita (inclusive)
nosotros (formal)
nisosmijotro
motro
2nd person pluralkamo (common)
vosotros (familiar)
ustedes (formal)
vusosustedi
tedi
3rd person pluralsila (common & familiar)
ellos (formal)
iloslojotro
lotro


Zamboangueño evidentally has the most complex pronoun system out of the three. Not only does it retain the inclusive and exclusive distinction in "we" which is characteristic of many Philippine languages but there are also various levels of formality.

In more polite speaking, the Spanish pronouns are used; tu, usted, nosotros, vosotros, ustedes, and ellos. Since nosotros is used, the inclusive/exclusive distinction is loss.

In more casual speech, not only Visayan pronouns are used (kami, kita, kamo, and sila) but also Spanish-based innovations (evos & ele).


Caviteño and Ternateño seem to the more Spanish-based innovations than Zamboangueño does. Vo seems to come from Spanish vos, which is an old way of saying "you" that survives in some South American (especially Argentina) and Central American dialects of Spanish.

The Ternateño mijotro (we) and lojotro (they) appear to based on the Spanish mis otros (my others) and los otros (the others). Ustedi and tedi are based on Spanish ustedes (plural "you"; you guys, you all).

As far as Caviteño nisos, busos, and ilos are concerned, I'm somewhat puzzled. I could be wrong, but they appear to be from nosotros, vosotros, and ellos but I'm not sure where the -os ending came from. It's most likely to mark the plural.

To end this entry, below is a photo taken by Guillermo Gomez Rivera on his trip to Ternate a few years ago. In English, it says "We receive all of you with all our hearts."

Monday, October 02, 2006

Two new Wikipedias in two Philippine languages

Hi folks, I am pleased to announce the opening of two new Wikipedias in two Philippine languages.

The first one is the Pangasinan Wikipedia at http://pag.wikipedia.org . In my previous entry, someone left a message in Pangasinan asking for volunteers to contribute to Pangasinan. So now that it's up, I hope the word gets out.

The second one is in the Zamboanga variety of Chavacano, which is now available at http://cbk-zam.wikipedia.org . I voted in support of this Wikipedia provided that "zam" be included as part of the domain name. There are three types of Chavacano (the other two in Cavite & Ternate), and each is different so it wouldn't really make sense to have three varieties in one Wikipedia. Of course, I still foresee the problem of Caviteños and Ternateños making edits in their respective tongues there.

So in addition to the two Philippine languages above, there are Wikipedias available in (along with number of articles as of now): Cebuano (1,366), Ilokano (2,003), Kapampangan (1,420), Tagalog (4,840) and Waray-Waray (1,645).

And also, two other Philippine Wikipedias are also on incubator status. This is usually the final step before becoming a full-fledged Wikipedia. I am not fully up to speed on the creation process, but I think they need more articles and more contributors before making that very step. These two languages, spoken on Panay Island, are Hiligaynon (aka Ilonggo) and Kinaray-a. So spread the word.

On a related noted, I think it's sad the first time these languages have an encyclopedia is only online.

PS: Hoy, sa sakuyang mga kahimanwang Bikolnon - naghahalat pa ako nin Wikipedia para sa tataramon na Bikol. Noarin maabot? :-) (translation: Hey! To my Bicolano kababayans - I'm still waiting for a Wikipedia in Bikol. When's it coming?)

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Languages of the Southern Gateway

This entry is the seventh and last in a series of articles in the first annual Seven-Day Salita Blogathon. For more information, please see this entry.

The third book I bought from SIL was Languages of the Southern Gateway. It is basically a polyglot phrasebook intended for those going to western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago.

Since this book was first printed in 1979 and reprinted two times in the 1980's, I am not going to review it. Instead, I am just going to publish excerpts so you guys can get an idea on how the languages spoken in this area are like.

The languages are:

Tagalog - we all know this one.
Chabacano - the Philippine Creole Spanish spoken in Zamboanga, in particular.
Sinama (Samal) - A Sama-Bajaw language spoken in parts of Borneo and the Sulu Archipelago. This book focuses on the Siasi (Central) dialect.
Yakan - Another Sama-Bajaw language spoken mainly in Basilan province.
Tausug - A Southern Visayan language; genetically closer to Tagalog than any of the languages in this region but heavily influenced by them.

What I found particularly interesting in this book is that the apostrophe in Sinama has two uses. First, it represents the glottal stop. And second, it represents the "schwa" vowel (actually high back unrounded). It's easy to tell them apart, according to the book. If the apostrophe is between two vowels, then it's the glottal stop. if it's between two consonants, then it's the vowel. I wonder if there are any occasional disambuguities? For example, is there a word that consists of BOTH the glottal stop and this particular vowel consecutively?

Here are some examples of its use in Sinama. It makes clear the schwa vowel is /o/ in northern dialects so it offers that alternative for foreigners who cannot pronounce it.

b'ttong - stomach
d'nda - woman
d'ppa - fathom
l'lla - man
a'a - person
kello' - crooked
magka'at - ruined
ta'u - know

Eng: What place are you from? I live in Malaybalay, in Bukidnon.
Tag: Taga-saan kayo? Nakatira ako sa Malaybalay, Bukidnon.
Cha: De donde lugar tu? De Malaybalay, na Bukidnon.
Sin: Maingga lahatnu? Iya lahatku ma Malaybalay, Bukidnon.
Tau: Dayn diin kaw? In hula' ku ha Malaybalay, Bukidnon.
Yak: Antag lahatnun? Lahatkun la'i si Malaybalay si Bukidnon.

Eng: I do not understand.
Tag: Hindi ko nauunawaan.
Cha: Hende you ta entende.
Sin: Mbal aku makahati.
Tau: Di' aku makahati.
Yak: Ga'i tasabutku.

Eng: Open the door. Close the window.
Tag: Bukisan mo ang pinto. Isara mo ang bintana.
Cha: Abri el puerta. Cerra el ventana.
Sin: Ukabun lawang. Tambolun tandawan.
Tau: Ukaba in lawang. Tambula in tandawan.
Yak: Lukahun ko' gawangin. Dindingun tendewanin.

Eng: Have you just recently arrived? Yes, I came just yesterday from Zamboanga.
Tag: Bago ko lamang dumating? opo, kahapon lamang ako dumating galing sa Zamboanga.
Cha: Ahora lang ba tu ya llega? Si, ayer lang yo llega de Zamboanga.
Sin: Baha'u kat'kkanu? Aho', iyampa aku at'kka di'ilaw min Sambuangan.
Tau: Iyan pa kaw dimatung? Huun. Dimatung aku kahapun dayn ha Zamboanga.
Yak: Ba'ahu du tekkanun? Awe', d'ilew du tekkakun amban Sembuwangan.

Eng: Your child is beautiful. So healthy.
Tag: Maganda ang iyong anak. Malusog.
Cha: Bonito di tuyo anak. Bien gordo. (WHAT??)
Sin: Alingkat anaknu. Al'mmok isab.
Tau: Malingkat in anak mu. Matambuk tuud (this one means fat too)
Yak: Hap anaknun, lemmek.

Eng: May I borrow your pen for a moment?
Tag: Pahiramin nga ang ball pen ninyo sandali?
Cha: Puede yo presta tu bolpen un rato?
Sin: Makajari aku angindam bolpennu dai'dai'?
Tau: Makajari aku mamus sin bulpin mu hangkarai'?
Yak: Indamanun ku ko' bolpen.

Eng: She is upstairs but her mother is downstairs.
Tag: Siya ay nasa itaas, ang nanay niya ay nasa baba.
Cha: Talla le na arriba'y casa, pero su nana taqui abajo.
Sin: Wa'i iya mariyata', bo ina'na wa'i mareo'.
Tau: Yadtu siya ha taas ba sa' in ina' niya yaun ha baba'.
Yak: La'i iye diyata' luma', sa'inen tu'u diyawa'.

Eng: You're late; the ship has gone.
Tag: Huli na kayo! Umalis na ang bapor!
Cha: Atarasao ya tu; ya sale el barco.
Sin: Atrasaw kam. Wa'i na kappal.
Tau: Natarasaw kaw. Timulak na in kappal.
Yak: Tarasaw kew. Patulak ne kappalin.

Eng: Show me the way to the market.
Tag: Ituro mo sa akin ang daan patungo sa palengke.
Cha: Enseña conmigo el camino para na tiangue.
Sin: Panduin aku kono' lan tudu ni tabu'?
Tau: Haunu in dan pa tabu'?
Yak: Panoanun ku ko' lan hap tiyanggihin.

Eng: Where are you going? To the market. I am going to buy fish.
Tag: Saan po kayo pupunta? Sa palengke. Bibili ako ng isda.
Cha: Donde man tu anda? Na tiangue. Ay compra yo pescao.
Sin: Piinga ka ilu? Ni tabu' aku. Am'lli aku daing.
Tau: Pakain kaw? Pa tabu'. Mami aku ista'.
Yak: Tungan kew? Hap tiyanggi ku. Tiya'ku melli kenna.

Eng: You speak English well!
Tag: Mahusay kayo magsalita ng Inggles!
Cha: Ta conversa tu Ingles buenamente!
Sin: Ata'u toongan ka amisala Ingglis!
Tau: Matu'lid kaw magbissara bahasa Anggalis!
Yak: Ta'u kew teed magininglis!

Monday, July 26, 2004

News about Chabacano / Chavacano

I participate (read: debate) on a mailing list dedicated to the Philippines' Spanish heritage. Many of the members favor reviving it there. Anyway, back in March a member living in Spain saw a report on Chavacano on channel TVE. Another Spain-based member taped them and were ultimately made available on a website.

The following three links have the video. It's mostly the same; the report itself does not differ it's just that the report was shown three different times and so the people at newsdesk changed.

One Two Three

I personally thought the report was interesting. It was nice to see the extent of Chabacano used in Zamboanga - to the point that it's used in newscasts and in radio.

However, the report had some inaccuracies.

The reporters prefaced the report with: "Chavacano no es sólo algo de mal gusta. Es también un idioma criollo del español que todavía se habla en una zona de Filipinas en la isla de Luzón. El chavacano mantiene las palabras del español y las sostiene con una gramática prestada del tagalo. Es un idioma que está a punto de desaparecer." (Translation: Chabacano is not only something of bad taste. It's also a creole language of Spanish that's still spoken in a part of the Philippines on the island of Luzon. Chabacano maintains words from Spanish and sustains them with a grammar borrowed from Tagalog. It's a language that is going to disappear.)

So far, there really is nothing really wrong. When I first encountered this, I thought they were refering to the Chabacano spoken in Cavite. Or perhaps that of Ermita - which some say is extinct or has only one speaker left.

But then, the person actually presenting the report, Rosa María Calaf, begins the report by saying: "La bienvenida no es a un barrio en España o Hispanoamérica. Es en la ciudad de Zamboanga. En Filipinas." (The welcome is not for a town in Spain or in Latin America. It's for a city in Zamboanga. In the Philippines.)

Totally wrong.

First, Zamboanga is not on the Luzon (in the north) instead it's in western Mindanao which is hundreds of miles away.

Second, since Zamboanga is not in Luzon, then the bulk of its grammar and vocabulary does not come from Tagalog. Instead, it comes from Visayan languages like Cebuano & Hiligaynon and perhaps other languages indigenous to Mindanao.

Third, Zamboangueño will not be disappearing anytime soon. The 2000 census says there are about 358,729. From my understanding, it's widely used as a second language.

On the other hand, In Luzon, there are 7,044 speakers of Ternateño (not the Portuguese creole) and 202,312 speakers of Caviteño. These languages are probably threatened by Tagalog according to this dissertation.

On Mindanao there are 20,545 Cotabateño speakers. There are 327,802 Davaweño speakers. Davaweño refers to both the creole and an Austronesian language so there may be confusion there. Though 17,873 are reported to speak the creole (listed as Davao-Chavacano) specifically.

Lastly, Rosa María Calaf says "... [N]i el tiempo ni otras lenguas alejaron al chabacano del castellano perfecto sino que los españoles no se lo enseñaron bien ..." (Neither time nor other languages distanced Chabacano from perfect Castilian but it's the Spaniards who didn't teach it [their language] well to them.)

Perhaps, in reality, the Spanish did not teach the language well. But creoles are the products of pidgins. Pidgins are created when two diverse linguistic groups strip their language to the bare essentials and try to communicate with each other. No formal teaching involved. The pidgins turn into creoles when the children & subsequent generations speak the pidgin as a native language.

In any case.. ¡Viva el chavacano!