#  >  > Travellers Tales in Thailand and Asia >  >  > Philippine Forum >  >  From the Cebuano language

## Takeovers

I just came upon a dictionary Cebuano-English.

Cebuano is the language in Cebu and the Visayan islands in the Philippines.

It has a word

"subirbiyu"

which can have different meanings. It can mean 

"female" or

"someone difficult to discipline" or "unmanageable".

No joke, but funny, isn't it?

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## Ceburat1

I just came upon a dictionary Cebuano-English - if it is on the internet can you provide a link?  Thanks.

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## Takeovers

> I just came upon a dictionary Cebuano-English - if it is on the internet can you provide a link? Thanks.


I will, as soon as it will be available. I am presently helping formatting it on the Project Gutenberg.

Unlike most of the books which are very old and the copyright expired, this dictionary was released by the author to be made available free as eBook.

I believe it is a very good format. It is sorted by the Cebuano words with sentences in Cebuano and english translation to clarify the meaning. In the eBook version a search function for the english terms will be available. But it will take some time until release yet. A form that will help learning the Cebuano language unlike other dictionaries which are more aimed at the filipinos to look up english terms.

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## WujouMao

I had a tough time finding an English/Cebuano in National bookstore. You would think they would have it and not tagalog/english in Cebu wouldnt you? I guess the only way to learn more is from your misses.

More can be found looking online at Amazon [UK]

Amazon.co.uk: cebuano dictionary

found this site the other month.
http://www.everlastinglove.com/cebuano.htm

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## geoff

I once read about another rare language from the Philippines, called
"Chabacano",  ( spelling??) Does anyone know anything about it.?????

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## nevets

I think they got that word just about right as far as the female goes. :Smile:

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## Davis Knowlton

> I once read about another rare language from the Philippines, called
> "Chabacano",  ( spelling??) Does anyone know anything about it.?????


Chavacano is a spoken language only. It is commonly known as Philippine Creole Spanish. It is primarily spoken in and around Zamboanga City, in Mindanao, and in Basilan. It is a language developed under Spanish rule, through which laborers brought into Zamboanga from different areas of the Philippines could communicate with each other. About 3/4 of a million Filipinos speak Chavacano.

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## Takeovers

> I think they got that word just about right as far as the female goes.


Finally a comment about my reason to start this thread. :Smile: 




> I had a tough time finding an English/Cebuano in National bookstore. You would think they would have it and not tagalog/english in Cebu wouldnt you?


One would think so but Tagalog is the national language, even if spoken only by a minority. It was chosen only because it is the language of the capital Manila.




> I once read about another rare language from the Philippines,


Cebuano is not exactly rare. As far as I know more people speak it than the national language Tagalog.

Presently part 10 of twelve is in an advanced state and work on part 11 has started. 

BTW that upcoming dictionary is some massive work. 1000 pages filled with examples to clarify the meaning and use of each word. 

A preview for the first of 12 parts. This is only a software generated database, which is presently worked at to get the faults out but gives you an very good idea of the content, if you are interested.

A note




> unlike older dictionaries, this dictionary is not  censored. All vulgar words and expressions the author could collect have  found their place,


It is old. It was assembled in the 1970ies. But still very valuable. Still much newer than most books worked on at Project Gutenberg.

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## ralphlsasser

> I just came upon a dictionary Cebuano-English.
> 
> Cebuano is the language in Cebu and the Visayan islands in the Philippines.
> 
> It has a word
> 
> "subirbiyu"
> 
> which can have different meanings. It can mean 
> ...


There one in the same IMHO. :Smile:

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## WujouMao

I dont know if its true or not as i dont speak the lingo. But i heard this before on the grapevine and then searched for it on google and found a forum where the "said" comment was being discussed.

tagalog - "i dont understand", when spoken in Cebu, means something quite bastos, along the lines of "my privates are shaved". 

Can anyone clarify?

Last year i took a trip out to Batanes. Do you want to know how they say Hello? Its a rather long mouthful.

Hello -  Kapian capa nu dios ci chamavekas aya.

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## Davis Knowlton

Wife speaks both Tagalog and Cebuano. Will ask her when she gets home later this afternoon.

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## WujouMao

I found the "forum" which i joined in 07. Thats when i heard of it. So Davis, can you show your misses this link please.
http://www.livingincebuforums.com/ip...g/page__st__10

Seems my memory is fading badly and i'm only 39. Its not Tagalog. It was Cebuano and Ilongo. [wherever that is]

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## Davis Knowlton

^Have no idea what a blue oyster cap is. Sorry. That picture is in Cambodia. The cap is KPNLF military issue.

Post this responds to appears to have vanished

^Wife also speaks Visayan, which is similar to Ilongo, so she should know. Will ask.

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## WujouMao

^ sorry mate. i was just having some fun, then thought you would be painful offended so i edited my post.

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## Davis Knowlton

Not easily offended. Learned something new, as I looked up Blue Oyster cap.

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## WujouMao

> Not easily offended. Learned something new, as I looked up Blue Oyster cap.


So have i, but i think you need to see the film police academy to understand what i mean. Anyhow..... back to topic

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## geoff

> Originally Posted by geoff
> 
> 
> I once read about another rare language from the Philippines, called
> "Chabacano", ( spelling??) Does anyone know anything about it.?????
> 
> 
> Chavacano is a spoken language only. It is commonly known as Philippine Creole Spanish. It is primarily spoken in and around Zamboanga City, in Mindanao, and in Basilan. It is a language developed under Spanish rule, through which laborers brought into Zamboanga from different areas of the Philippines could communicate with each other. About 3/4 of a million Filipinos speak Chavacano.


Thanks.  Now I know.!!!!

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## beerlaodrinker

> Originally Posted by geoff
> 
> 
> I once read about another rare language from the Philippines, called
> "Chabacano", ( spelling??) Does anyone know anything about it.?????
> 
> 
> Chavacano is a spoken language only. It is commonly known as Philippine Creole Spanish. It is primarily spoken in and around Zamboanga City, in Mindanao, and in Basilan. It is a language developed under Spanish rule, through which laborers brought into Zamboanga from different areas of the Philippines could communicate with each other. About 3/4 of a million Filipinos speak Chavacano.


Davis is bang on the money, it,s from zamboanga

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## Davis Knowlton

> Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by geoff
> ...


Also widely used in some of Manila's slum areas that have a lot of transplants from Zamboanga. I hear it sometimes being used by laborers at the Manila Port - most of them are southern boys and live in the sprawling Tondo slum area.

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## Davis Knowlton

> I dont know if its true or not as i dont speak the lingo. But i heard this before on the grapevine and then searched for it on google and found a forum where the "said" comment was being discussed.
> 
> tagalog - "i dont understand", when spoken in Cebu, means something quite bastos, along the lines of "my privates are shaved". 
> 
> Can anyone clarify?


Wife's Ilongo is only so-so, but she confirmed your basic translation.

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## Ceburat1

What is the difference between Cebuano and Visayan?

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## Davis Knowlton

> What is the difference between Cebuano and Visayan?


I guess you could say that Cebuano is a sub-set of Visayan - kind of. Visayan refers to the language spoken in the middle part of the Philippine Islands (Luzon - North; Visayas - Central; Mindanao - South).

Cebu is part of the Visayas. The local language - Cebuano - is also sometimes called Bisayas by the locals.

Each major island in the Visayan area will have its own language - but they are not really languages, they are local dialects of Visayan - the parent tongue for the Central Philippines Visayan region.

My wife was born in Masbate Province in Visayas, but can understand most dialects from the region, including Cebuano. Bit confusing......

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## WujouMao

> Originally Posted by WujouMao
> 
> 
> I dont know if its true or not as i dont speak the lingo. But i heard this before on the grapevine and then searched for it on google and found a forum where the "said" comment was being discussed.
> 
> tagalog - "i dont understand", when spoken in Cebu, means something quite bastos, along the lines of "my privates are shaved". 
> 
> Can anyone clarify?
> 
> ...


Mmmm, nasty. Learning filipino has just got all the more complex.

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## Davis Knowlton

Not to stress - the Flips screw it up as much as foreigners.

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## Takeovers

> Mmmm, nasty. Learning filipino has just got all the more complex.


It depends on what you want to achieve. If it is getting around in most parts of the country, english is still your best bet. 

The Philippines was once counted as an english speaking nation. That changed, after Tagalog was introduced as a national language, to promote the idea of a Filipino nation. I believe it was introduced by Marcos. He did not succeed in spreading Tagalog as the national language but it succeeded partly in reducing the capacity to speak english. But still at least basic english is very common, probably more so than Tagalog.

I remember quite well problems to communicate my ideas to some craftsmen working on the house through my BIL. Until they admitted to speaking english, at least a little. :Smile: 

I am sure Davis knows more about it than me.

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## Davis Knowlton

^Not really. I admit to great lethargy when it came to learning Tagalog. I was bi-lingual in French, could speak, read and write Hindi, and could function in Thai and to a lesser degree Khmer. Tagalog was just too easy not to do, given that a lot of Filipinos spoke English which, while not great, was certainly better than my poor effort at Tagalog. My wife speaks English, Tagalog. Visayan, and some Thai. Basically, I pretty much leave the local language stuff to her. I also only speak English in the house and elsewhere to the twins - they get plenty of local language exposure outside, even though their schools are 'English only', and don't need more Tagalog/Visayan at home.

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## WujouMao

> Originally Posted by WujouMao
> 
> Mmmm, nasty. Learning filipino has just got all the more complex.
> 
> 
> It depends on what you want to achieve. If it is getting around in most parts of the country, English is still your best bet.


I was sort of taking the piss out of myself mate. Seeing how in Cebuano its Wala ko kasabot and the same said just a few islands over means i have no public hair. 

I'm always putting me foot in it.

Some girls have said before why dont you speak with an american accent. Fuck that!
I'm proud to be British and there's many accents in America that i'm sure that filipinos would just not understand let alone a posh accent like mine.

One word which ive learnt in Cebu last year was Istoryahe. I hear it everywhere and to break the ice in front of a group of filipino you have just met and say Istoryahe, really makes them laugh.

"you're so handsome - istoryahe!

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## Takeovers

I have found this online  Cebuano-English dictionary. 


It is old, from 1934. But maybe it is interesting for someone.

The one presently worked at by Project Gutenberg is progressing but will take a while.

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## WujouMao

> I have found this online  Cebuano-English dictionary. 
> 
> 
> It is old, from 1934. But maybe it is interesting for someone.
> 
> The one presently worked at by Project Gutenberg is progressing but will take a while.


Thanks mate, but like olde English, it changes over time and i'm sure at least some of the words might be out of use now. 

I do however like the other dictionary links the site has to offer. [i couldnt post the link on page 1 as i had forgotten the web address. thought it was living in cebu.com]

A Handbook of Cebuano by Anssi & Nida Räisänen (Paperback) - Lulu - taken from The Boholano Language in the Culture, Language tab.

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## Takeovers

The Project Gutenberg dictionary Cebuano-English is now online. It is the one I had a very small part in converting into an eBook. I still have to find out if it is usable as an eBook but sure the searchable version I linked to is usable.

It is far less old than the previous one. It is from 1972, not new but much more useful than the older one I am sure. It already has Tupperware as entry. :Smile:

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## WujouMao

While playing around with my phone and it add on dictionary pack from the apps market, i discover that there was a Filipino alphabet used for the Tagalog language of its time before the Spanish came to the Philippines. 

Its called Baybayin and here's a few links to show you what the characters look like. 

Baybayin - Intro

Indio:Bravo// &bull; Baybayin: The Lost Filipino Script (Part 1) The...

Baybayin, How to Write the Ancient Script of the Philippines




I wanted to see how James is written using this script, but that didnt take long as 1, at the time there was no "James" in tagalog language, 2nd, the J sound doesnt even exist, not even in Spanish. 

I think its quite cool, sadly though, if i show these characters to a Filipino, they sadly wouldnt even know it was Tagalog script.

* Writing Foreign Words  * 

    Writing non-Filipino words in the baybayin script can be difficult. Many sounds do not have letters in the baybayin and clusters of consonants, especially in English, cannot be written without modifing either the baybayin script or the English words. Strategies for writing non-Filipino words are discussed on the page entitled, How do I write _my_ name in baybayin?

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