Letters to the Editor: Spanish man finds Chavacano language interesting

Dear Sir,

I am a language teacher and researcher living in Spain. I find Chavacano a very interesting creole language, so I am studying it, and, knowing Spanish, I have the satisfaction of progressing quite fast.

When I was in Zamboanga City recently, I “discovered” The Mindanao Examiner, and I just thought that, having finished (and had reviewed by a Chavacano expert) a one-page research into the many meanings and uses of the “mysterious” Chabacano word ERA, maybe you would like to publish it in your newspaper. Here it is, as an attached PDF file. I hope to hear from you… Vaya con Dios.

Juan Valverde

Barcelona, Spain 

(jvalverdeg@hotmail.com) 

The Chabacano word ERA: a bilingual Spanish-English explanation. The Chabacano era is one of the many words that will tell you that the speaker is very fluent in Chabacano. This word has multiple uses.

1-To make some subjunctives and conditionals, especially polite ones:

Quiere era yo (DO) = Quisiera / Querría... I would like... // Cortesía: Quiere era yo saca el de ustedes consentimiento. = (Yo) quisiera (querría) obtener su consentimiento. // El propio manera que conviene era sila toma amo el temprano publicacion. = La decisión adecuada que les convendría tomar es la pronta publicación.

2-(There / S) should (have + part.) = debiera / debería haber + part.... Ya visitá era tu con éle. = Deberías haberle visitado. // Era ya hace tu acaba tuyo estudio. = You should have finished your studies. // Ya dormi era anay yo. = I should have slept first / before...

A note on word order: the word era (when it means 'should have') can come at the beginning of
the sentence or after the verb root. To put these sentences in the negative (i.e. should not have), put no hay at the beginning, followed by era. Now let’s put the two above sentences in the negative:

No hay era yo hace acaba mio estudio.= I should not have finished my studies. No hay era anay yo dormi. = I shouldn’t have slept first / before...

3-"Ay, Jesus...! Cerca ya era yo man ipit... cosa ya esos maga militar dao hende man ta mira gente?" -Here, (YA) ERA means that it nearly happened... casi, por poco (no)... a punto de... almost... about to... -Ya olvidá ya era le andá na escuéla. = He almost forgot to go to school.

Note that you only use the word era to mean almost (nearly, por poco) when you mean that you almost (por poco!) were or weren't able / about to do something, but still ended up not doing or doing it (respectively).

4-In this song...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH2B2SCuPAg

Bien simple lang yo ta pedi \
ERA sinti tu el cosa yo ya sinti. \ (I) hope I wish, ojalá
Na dimio reso ta pidi yo / hopefully que + pres. subj
ERA olvida yo contigo. /
Era gusta tu (DO). = (I) hope you like (DO). = Esperando que te guste (DO). = Ojalá te guste (DO).

5-For attenuation. Ta habla lang man era yo... = I was just / only saying...Of course, this sentence is also correct without era in it.

Regarding the Spanish origins of Chabacano ERA: it comes from the ending of the 1PS and 3PS of the subjunctive imperfect past simple: If I went... = Si yo fuera... / If he wanted... = Si él quisiera... -BUT that subjunctive is also used (incorrectly, in Spain) as a conditional, so instead of saying “Querría carne”
(I would like some meat), you hear “Quisiera carne”... That’s why Chabacano “era” is also used to make conditionals: “Quiere era yo carne” = I would like some meat. (And remember: “should” and “could” are also conditionals).

Keeping that in mind helps a lot to interpret sentences with ERA, but this word has many other tricky “non-Spanish” meanings, as you can see.