Língu di gente antigo di Macau
屬於舊時澳門人的語言
The language belonging to the people of Macau in the olden days
Lô disparecê tamêm. Qui saiám!
很快也會消失。多可惜！
will soon disappear as well. What a pity！
Unga dia, mas quanto áno,
多年後的一天，
One day, after some years,
Quiança lô priguntá co pai-mai
小孩問父母：
A child might be asking their parents
Qui cuza sã afinal Dóci papiaçám di Macau?
到底甚麼是澳門甜美的語言？
What is, afterall, the sweet language of Macau?
— poem by José dos Santos Ferreira
In mid-May, I attended first Kristang Festival in Singapore to share about our Macanese culture and language – Patuá. I heard children from Malacca speaking Kristang and when these children held Patuá flashcards in their hands at the language workshops, and started speaking in Patuá, I held my tears. It was an emotional moment, how I wish to see small children in Macau doing the same? It is vital for preservation work to start early, i.e. with children – quiança-quiança! Quiança is the Patuá word for child, with repetition you’ll get the plural form of child, i.e. children – quiança-quiança.
Examples:
Quiança-quiança chomá êle Títi Chai.
Quiança-quiança chomá êle Títi Chai.
Children call her Títi Chai.
Vai panhâ, quiança! Bô-quiança, azinha vai panhâ!
Go get it, child! Good child, go get it immediately!
五月中旬, 我在星加坡參與了一個 Kristang語論壇活動，與當地人分享土生文化和語言 – 土生土語. 我聽到來自馬六甲的小孩說著Kristang，在其中一個語言工作坊他們拿著土生土語學字卡說著土生土語，當時我感動得需要強忍淚水。我也很希望有一天看到澳門的小孩也可以這樣！讓文化傳承，必需要教育小孩開始！今天我們學的土生土語字就是小孩 quiança. 早前提過，眾數為複字式便可，即小孩們寫成quiança-quiança.
例句:
Quiança-quiança chomá êle Títi Chai.
Quiança-quiança chomá êle Títi Chai.
小孩們都稱她 Títi Chai.
Vai panhâ, quiança! Bô-quiança, azinha vai panhâ!
去拿吧，小孩！好小孩，快點去拿吧！
belamaquista 