Felino Santos
I was listening to radio and television broadcasters referring to the celebration of All Saints and All Souls Days,, and local media in radio and TV using the word Campo Santo in translating Cemetery to Chavacano. Where did they get the word “Campo Santo”
Campo Santo.. could mean Camp for Saints. The place where the dead is buried is not a camp for saints.
So why the invention of a new word for a simple word with simple translations.
The word “cemetery” in Spanish and related languages has several variations, generally rooted in Latin and retaining similar forms across Romance languages. Here are some common translations:
- Spanish: cementerio
- Portuguese: cemitério
- Italian: cimitero
- French: cimetière
- Catalan: cementiri
- Romanian: cimitir
In Tagalog and other Philippine languages, the word for “cemetery” varies but generally refers to a burial or resting place. Here are a few examples:
- Tagalog: sementeryo (from the Spanish cementerio)
- Ilocano: campo santo or sementerio (also borrowed from Spanish, “holy field”)
- Cebuano: sementeryo or lubnganan (derived from lubong, meaning “to bury”)
- Hiligaynon (Ilonggo): sementeryo or ulutangan (also related to the word lubong)
- Kapampangan: sementeryu or pantion (from the Spanish panteón, meaning “pantheon” or “burial place”)
- Chavacano (Zamboanga): cementerio
In many cases, Philippine languages adopted terms like sementeryo or pantion directly from Spanish, while native terms like lubnganan are also used, especially in more rural or traditional contexts.
e be guided accordingly
