Milford chronicle., 1901-05-24
''PIDGIN," A NEW DIALECT.
Soldier Talk of the Philippines a
Strange Mixture of Languages.

Strange Mixture of Languages.
The soldier talk, or "pidgin," in use in
the Philippines must be classed by itself,
as it is neither English nor Spanish nor a
mere mixture of the two. In some cases
a nucleus was furnished by veterans who
had served in the southwest and knew
little Spanish, but this was of little serv-
ice in the interior, where the natives do
not speak Spanish.
Probably the first thing that soldiers
asked the natives for was water. Their
Red Cross handbooks told them to say
"agua," and aqua did very well around |
Manila. But as the lines extended into /
the provinces we had to learn other
words, and in Pampanga we said ''tu- |
big" while in Pangasian we say "du-
num-"
A new word is taking root, and in the
course of time will prevail-"wate" or
"watty." 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 mar
ital condition Thus the state Of mar
rage, 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
j IL, Il Il
teal
Two remarkable words of the vernac-
ular are ''upshecomes" and "jawbone."
The first Of these was adopted by natives
from hearing the cry of the chuck-a-luck
: man, GAN down? Up she comes" and is
: the generic and universal name of every
kind of gambling. "Jawbone" also origi-
mated in gambling or betting without
money, but has extended until it is used
by every one for every kind of credit oil
debt. And the amenities Of a "jawbone'
business are very nicely conducted be
, tween paydays.
The average soldier can order an exten
> sive dinner at a restaurant by using three
y or four languages. Thus he asks fol
$ 'babuy" (pig, Pangasian) or 'manuk'
: (chicken); but if his desire extends to bee
n or eggs he resorts to Spanish.
These are the staples. If he should re
Quire anything else, he would probabl.
:, have to draw a picture of it. When h
Il has finished. he asks, "Quanto vale?
Il and pays so many pesos, pesetas or centG
is vos. The last mentioned coin is cope
h or iron and in this province is Gale
ID 'salIkle balug"
N "BoOmboom" is a word commonl
&c heard in this language and is applied t
every appurtenance of battle-riAes, car
, non, cartridges, pistols-or to battle i
SELF although "combate" is more con
monty used for the last. Combate ais
means fight personal, or even a qua
lie rel. "Manuk combate" is a chicken figh
er ''Vamoose" is probably more used tina
sy any other word. 1t means to go or I
~ come, and, transitively, to bring, tax
20 remove, steal or carry. Thus a conyers
- ton between q soldier and native migl
run thus:
- Donde got your Ne Where were your
III vamoose you casa, habla went to your house al
n you matrimony donde asked your wife whe
as you. Matrimony habla you were. She said y,
you vamoose upshecomes went to gamble on t
- manuk combate Ne cockights ! want ere
ct quire iawbone dos pese- it for 20 cents worth
ng tas para tobaccos, ETC. cigars, etc.
TX, Ohio State Journal.