The Savannah morning news., 1901-05-17
"PIDGIN," A NEW DIALECT.
The Soldier Talk of the Philippines
IL N strange Mixture OF Languages.

ne sOiuter INK OF the FblispphueA
IL Strange Mixture of Languages.
From the Ohio State Journal
The soldier talk, or "pidgin," in use in
the Philippines. must be classed by itself,
as 1t is neither English nor Spanish nor
a mere mixture of the the tow. In some
cases nucleus was furnished by veter-
ans who had served in the Southwest
and knew little Spanish, but this was
of little service In the interior where
the natives do not speak Spanish.
Probably the first think that soldiers
asked the natives for was water. Their
Red Cross handbooks told them to say
aqua" and aqua did very we'll around
Manila. But as the lines extended into
the provinces we had to learn other
words, and in Pampanga we said "tubig."
while in Pangasian we say "dunum."
A new word is taking root and In the
course of time Will prevail-"wate" or
"waty." After water food was of next
Importance, and for lack Of other words
the Chinese English "chow-chow" reigns
supreme. From the same language comes
the universal word for washing. "washee-
washee."
Our English got serves to express all
applications of to have and to be; thus.
got San Fernando" means to be In San
Fernando, and mo got Espanola" means
Il do not understand Spanish"
"Matrimony" being very similar in
Spanish, serves for all phases of the ma
ritaI condition. Thus the state OF mar
riage. the husband or wife, the wedding.
are all expressed by "matrimony'' as a
noun and the act OF marrying by the
same word as a verb. Conversation along
this line, however, so far as soldiers are
concerned, is more theoretical than prac-
teal
Two remarkable words of the vernac-
ular are "upshecomes" and Jaw ones.''
The first OF these was adopted by natives
from hearing the cry Of the chuck-a-luck
man. IAN down--up she comes" and is
the generic and universal name of every
kind OF gambling. "Jawbone" also orig
mated In gambling or betting without
money. but has extended until 1t is used
by every one for every kind of credit or
debt. And the amenities of a "jawbone''
business are very nicely conducted be-
tween paydays.
The average soldier can order an ex-
tehsive dinner al restaurant by using
three or four languages. Thus he asks for
"babuy" (pig. Pangasian). or "manuk'
(chicken); but II his desire extends to
beef or eggs he resorts to Spanish.
These are the staples. II he should re-
quire anything else ne WOniu PROBABLY
have TO draw a picture OF Il. When he
has finished he asks. "Quanto vale?" and
pays so many pesos pesetas or centavos.
The last mentioned coin is copper or iron
and in the province is called "salkle ba-
lug"
"Boom-boom" IS word commonly
heard In this language, and Is applied TO
every appurtenance OF battle-rihes, cam
non cartridges. pistols-or to the battle
itself, although "combate" Is more COM
monty used for the last. Combate also
means fight, personal or even quar-
rel. "Manuk combate" is a chicken fight.
''vamoose" Is probably more used than
and other word. II means TO go or to
come, and, transitivey. 20 bring. take.
remove. steal or carry. Thus CONVEX
sstion between a soldier and native
might run thus:
Donde got you? Where were you?
Me vamoose you ! went TO your
casa habla you house and asked
matrimony donde your wife where
YOU Matrimony your were. She
habla you vamoose said you went to
upshecomes manuk gamble on the cock
combate. Me quire fights. I want credit
jawbone dos pese- for 20 cts. worth OF
tas para tobaccos, cigars, etc.
etc