Jamie Rivera on secret to showbiz longevity: Talent is only secondary

BY ROBERT REQUINTINA

Nov 24, 2023 00:31 AM

  

---

AT A GLANCE

• During the launchof ABS-CBN Music's new record label at the Academy of Rock in Quezon City recently, Jamie unveiled uplifting, fresh tunes fromKapamilya artists Jamie Rivera, Angela Ken, Fabio Santos, Fana, Francine Diaz, Imogen, KD Estrada, and Jed Madela.

---

Jamie Rivera (Instagram)

Inspirational Diva Jamie Rivera wears many hats: a singer, actress, producer, songwriter, executive of a company, and now label head of Inspire Music.

During the launch of ABS-CBN Music's new record label at the Academy of Rock in Quezon City recently, Jamie unveiled uplifting, fresh tunes from Kapamilya artists Jamie Rivera, Angela Ken, Fabio Santos, Fana, Francine Diaz, Imogen, KD Estrada, and Jed Madela.

"We want to generate faith para mas maraming tao ang maniwala sa Panginoon at magkaroon ng hope pati na rin pagmamahal sa kapwa. Iyon ang ultimate goal ng Inspire Music," Jamie shared. 

Jamie takes part in a collaboration with Jed, Francine, and KD for the track "Faith, Hope, and Love,” which seeks to promote world peace amid today’s conflict arising in various parts of the world.

She also offers an exciting revamped remix of the label's first single "3-in-1” which talks about the joys of believing in God and features "It's Showtime" child star Imogen and "The Voice Kids" season 5 contestant Fabio Santos.

Folk-pop artist Angela shows off her sweet side in her upcoming single "Pansinin Mo Naman Ako,” her first release under Inspire Music.  

Up-and-coming singer Fana meanwhile puts a modern twist to Gloc-9’s hit song "Love Story Ko," which highlights the joys of falling in love. Composed by A. Polisco and Christian Martinez, the reimagined version released last Nov. 10 was produced by Jamie.

New role

Jamie revealed that she had never aspired to become a record executive.

"Hindi ko talaga pinangarap na maging label head. Nagulat na lamang ako. But I was told i-mentor ko raw yung mga bata. So sabi nila, 'let's have a new label na bagay sa'yo.' So we called in Inspire Music," she said. "Nakakatuwa ako kasi may mga bata na ako ang una nilang producer. Imogen and Fabio. Sila yung unang-una kong recording artists sa Inspire label."

(I never really dreamed of being a label head. I was just surprised. But I was told that I would mentor the kids. So they said, 'Let's have a new label that suits you.' So we called it Inspire Music. It makes me happy because I am the first producer of some kids like Imogen and Fabio. They are my first recording artists under the Inspire label.)

Jamie enjoys teaching young artists to sing and has no issues with them. 

"Meron din naman challenges pero hindi mahirap dahil magagaling sila. Even si Francine. Sinabi niya hindi siya nakakakanta pero nakakakanta naman siya. First time niya mag recording. Ang challenge lang naman nito is pagna-release na. Kung maghi-hit ba siya sa Spotify, sa ITunes. Other than that, hindi naman kami nahirapan."

(There are also challenges, but they are not difficult because they are good. Even Francine. She said she couldn't sing, but she could sing. It's her first time recording. The only challenge is getting it released. If she's going to be a hit on Spotify, on iTunes. Other than that, we didn't have any problems.)

She explained that their first batch of artists under Inspire Music happened to be young.

"Noong una ako lang mag-isa. Then sabi ni Roxy Liquigan, pasukan natin ng dalawang bata. Si Imogen and Fabio. Nagkataon lang na young artists ang nauna naming kinuha. Pero meron din naman kaming veteran like Jed Madela. Depende sa song na napili ko, doon pa lamang ako maghahanap ng artists.

(At first, I was alone. Then Roxy Liquigan said, 'Let's bring in two kids.' Imogen and Fabio. It just happened that we hired young artists first. But we also have a veteran like Jed Madela. The choice of artist will depend on the type of song.)

"Pinipili din namin yung mga bata na maraming followers. Kailangan din naman kumita ng Star at Inspire because this is business.

(We also choose the kids who have a lot of followers. Star and Inspire need to earn money because this is business.)

"Tulad nga ng sinabi ko kanina, ang pinipili ko yung madaling katrabaho. Hindi yung papahirapan ka sa schedule, sa recording. Ayoko ng ganun," Jaimie said.

(As I said earlier, I chose the easy one to work with. Not the one who will make you suffer in the schedule, in the recording. I don't want that.)

Jamie Rivera (center) and the young artists of Inspire Music

Secrets to showbiz longevity

According to Jamie, having a good attitude is more important than talent in the entertainment industry. She said that's one of the secrets to showbiz longevity.

"Ang talent secondary lang yun eh. Sa totoo lang yung attitude ang number one. Importante sa akin yung attitude. Ang singing natututunan yan, naaayos sa recording, puwedeng ayusin yan eh. Pero yung pinahihirapan ka, yun ang mahirap. Sa edad kong ito, ayoko na ma-stress," she said.

(Talent is only secondary. Honestly, attitude is number one. Attitude is important to me. You can learn how to sing, which can be fixed in the recording. But if the artist will make you suffer, that isn't easy. At my age, I don't want to be stressed.)

Jamie also encouraged young artists to reinvent themselves to sustain their careers.

"Reinvent yourself all the time. After recording nag-uusap usap kami, sinasabi ko sa kanila na you have to be able to sustain your career. So you need to reinvent. For example ako, una pop music ako eh under Octoarts. I sang 'I've Fallen for You,' 'Mahal Naman Kita,' 'Hey, It's Me,' mga ganyan. After that nag-Miss Saigon ako. So napunta naman ako sa Broadway songs. Then inspirational naman. Eto na yung mga Heal Our Land. Now label head na ako. Lahat yun nagre-reinvent. Kailangan mong ma-sustain. Kailangan mong makisabay sa panahon."

(Reinvent yourself all the time. After recording, we talk, and I tell them that they have to be able to sustain their career. So you need to reinvent. For example, I did pop music first under Octoarts. I sang 'I've Fallen for You,' 'Mahal Naman Kita,' 'Hey, It's Me,' and things like that. After that, I did Miss Saigon. So I went to Broadway songs. Then it was inspirational. Now I'm the label head. Everything is reinventing. You have to be sustained. You have to keep up with the times.)

Jamie found it easy to shift from pop to inspirational music because she's a religious person. Many people hold the misconception that her concerts or shows are preachy. However, this is not the case.

"Hindi naman ako nahirapan kasi noong pop singer ako and naging Broadway singer ako, yung attitude ko naman maka-Diyos talaga ako from the start. So noong pinakanta ako ng mga inspirational songs, lahat ng mga yan hindi ako natakot kasi it's all about God yan eh. Right from the start, religious naman ako at maka-Diyos. It became my niche. Mas natuwa nga ako eh kasi ngayon may kakapitan na ako si Lord. Siya na yung niche ko. If God is with you, who can be against you?" she said.

(I didn't have a hard time because when I was a pop singer and I became a Broadway singer, my attitude was really for God from the start. So when I sang inspirational songs, all of them did not scare me because it's all about God. Right from the start, I was religious and godly. It became my niche. I was even happier because now I have the Lord to cling to. He is my niche. If God is with you, who can be against you?)

"When I do concerts, or shows, I incorporate everything. Mag-uumpisa muna ako ng Broadway, tapos pop songs tapos inspirational. Pero may mga fast songs kami. Baka magulat kayo kapag nagconcert ako, it's a happy concert. May dance rin ako. Akala nga nila preachy ang mga shows ko. Paglabas nila, hindi pala preachy. Tuwang-tuwa naman sila."

Writing songs

Jamie said she still finds time to compose songs despite the busy schedule. She's writing a new song for Regine Velasquez-Alcasid and aspires to collaborate with younger group artists.

"I find time to compose kahit na may trabaho ako sa office namin eh. CEO rin ako ng mga business namin. Nagagawa ko pa rin mag compose ng songs. On weekends, kapag patulog na ako, kapag nag slow down na ako, nagsusulat pa rin ako. Last night, I was trying to finish a song for Regine Velasquez. Depende sa mood ko eh. Kung meron akong naiisip, sinusulat ko agad.

(I find time to compose even though I have work in our office. I am also the CEO of our businesses. I still manage to compose songs. On weekends, when I go to sleep, when I slow down, I still write Me too. Last night, I was trying to finish a song for Regine Velasquez. It depends on my mood. If I think of something, I write it right away.)

"Gusto ko makatrabaho ang groups like BGYO and BINI because gusto ko ng group singing eh. Yun ang challenge sa akin ngayon, kung kaya ko gumawa ng songs for a group. Isa yan sa mga goals ko ngayon," she also said.

(I want to work with groups like BGYO and BINI because I want group singing. That's the challenge for me now if I can make songs for a group. That's one of my goals now.)

Asked about her Christmas wish, Jamie said: "Sana hindi ako magkasakit. Aalis kasi ako papunta ng US dahil ikakasal yung pamangkin ko. At pupuntahan ko rin yung anak ko. I'll come back in January. Hindi ko na pinauwi yung anak ko at ako na lang ang pupunta roon. My only child works in New York. And then minana ko sa husband ko yung kanyang mga trabaho. Nagretire na siya so ako ngayon ang nagpapatakbo ng business niya. We are into chemicals and real estate. We're into leasing also. So we have properties being leased by other companies."

(I hope I don't get sick. I'm leaving for the US because my niece is getting married. And I'm also going to visit my daughter. I'll come back in January. My daughter works in New York. And then I inherited the businesses from my husband. He has retired so now I run his businesses. We are into chemicals and real estate. We're into leasing also. So we have properties being leased by other companies.)

When it comes to music, Jamie is unstoppable. She is thrilled about the future prospects with Inspire Music. "More music from Inspire in 2024."

Incandescent lava flow observed from Mayon Volcano

BY LIZST TORRES ABELLO

  

---

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said a "weakening effusive activity" created a short incandescent lava flow from Mayon Volcano's summit crater.

Weakening effusive activity producing a short incandescent lava flow from the summit crater of Mayon Volcano at 7:30 p.m. of Nov. 22, 2023. (Phivolcs)

Phivolcs observed the lava flow at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 22.

Meanwhile, the Mayon Volcano Network had recorded one volcanic earthquake and 111 rockfall events on Thursday, Nov. 23, it said.

Phivolcs said the lava still flows at approximately 3.4 kilometers along Bonga gully, 2.8 kilometers along Mi-isi gully, and 1.1 kilometers along Basud gully.

Moreover, the volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission had an average of 1,623 tons per day as of Nov. 22.

Phivolcs advised the public to refrain entering the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone and be vigilant against the risks from pyroclastic density currents, rockfalls, lahars, and sediment-laden streamflows among other volcanic hazards.

Hazardous eruption may still be expected in Mayon Volcano as Alert Level 3 is maintained, which means that it is currently "in a relatively high level of unrest,” it added.

Where did the word Germany originate if Germans called themselves Deutsch?

 

Susanna Viljanen

From Latin.

“Deutsch” and “Teutonic” are cognates, and Teutonicus is the synonym from Latin Germanus.

The old Germanic demonym appears to have been thiudisk (Frankish/Old Franconian) / thiudisc (Old Saxon) / Þēodisc (Old English/Anglo-Saxon) / diutisc (Old High German). This was latinized as Teutonicus (Cimbri et Teutones, anyone). The stem word is the proto-Germanic Þeudā (“people”). This was recorded as the Gothic king Theodoric as Þeudārik (“ruler of the people”).

Due to 2000 years of linguistic evolution, this demonym has evolved into High German Deutsch, Low German düütsch, East Frisian düütsk, West Frisian dútsk, Sölring North Frisian dütsk, Öömran North Frisian tjüsch, Scandinavian tyska...) The Englisn demonym for the Netherlands, Dutch, Dutch duits/diets, is from the same stem, as is Italian tedesco.

Germania is Latin, and means “land of the brethren” (Latin germanus, "siblings with the same parents or father"), which has cognates in Catalan, germà, Spanish, hermano and Portuguese irmão, meaning "brother". The tribes were united with blood oaths, hence “brethren”.

“German” superseded “Almain” (Latin Alemanni, one of the Frankish tribes) in English in the Late Middle Ages. This name still survives in France (Allemagne), Spanish (Alemania) and Portuguese (Alemanha). The Alemanni lived in the territory where both Danuvius (Danube) and Rhenus (Rhine) originate.

---

We Finns call Germany as Saksa. It is the cognate for Sachsen (Saxony). The Hanseatic merchants which arrived to Finland in the Middle Ages were primarily Saxons.

What is the oldest written Germanic language?

 

Ludo Mineur

How many more Germanic languages are there that we don't have texts from?

The oldest attestation of a Germanic language is the Wulfila Bible, written in Gothic language. Unlike English, Dutch and German (West Germanic), and Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish (North Germanic), Gothic belongs to the East Germanic subbranch. All East Germanic languages are extinct.

The Gothic language was (much) more inflecting than modern Germanic languages: it featured at least 4 cases (nominative, genitive, dative and accusative) and possibly a 5th one (instrumental). As Latin and Greek (but unlike most modern Germanic and Romance languages) Gothic had a synthetic passive voice and verbs were conjugated in indicative, subjunctive and even optative (as Old Greek).

Besides Gothic, the East Germanic subbranch contained other Germanic languages - Vandal, Burgundic… - of which there are no attestations.

Till the 18th century, a Gothic dialect used to be spoken on the Crimea: the so-called Crimean Gothic. However, linguistically Crimean Gothic shares a lot with West Germanic (particulary with Low German), and some linguists consider Crimean Gothic a West Germanic languages with some older Gothic (East Germanic) influences. Today, Crimean Gothic is completely extinct as well.

Philippinische Märchen - Philippine Fairy Tales (III)

 

How seahorses came into being...

Wie die Seepferdchen entstanden...

In alten Zeiten lebten in der Gegend von Cavite zwei schöne Pferde, das waren die Lieblingstiere Amanikables, des Herrn der Meere.

Eines Tages weideten sie unweit des Meeresstrandes and genossen die Wärme der Morgensonne. Plötzlich hörten sie Hundegebell. Sie schauten sich um und erblickten in der Ferne mehrere Menschen, die ihnen entgegen liefen.

"Die Pferde scheuen. Folgen sie uns nach?" fragte einer von ihnen,

"Ich weiss es nicht. Sie nähern sich uns und sehen sehr verärgert aus." "Was haben wir nur getan?" "Laufen wir fort!" sagte das eine Pferd. Sie fingen an zu laufen. Sie liefen und liefen... .

Die Hunde und die Menschen waren schon in ihre Naehe gekommen. "Sicher verfolgen sie uns", sagte eines der Pferde. Das andere antwortete nicht und lief wortlos weiter.

Die Verfolgung dauerte lange, die Pferde waren schon sehr ermattet und auch sehr verstört. Sie liefen über Ebenen, sie liefen bergauf und dann hinab ins Tal. Aber die Menschen und Hunde verfolgten sie überall hin.

Schliesslich gelangten die Pferde an einen weiten sandigen Strand und plötzlich konnten sich nicht weiter. Vor ihnen war das blaue Meer, hinter ihnen die wütenden Menschen.

In seiner Angst hob eines der Pferde den Kopf und bat Amanikable: "Mächtiger Herr, hilf uns in unserer Not!"

Die Hunde und die Menschen kreisten sie schon ein. 

"Herr, ich bitte dich, tu etwas! Diese Menschen beabsichtigen, uns zu töten!"

Amanikable hörte in seinem unter dem Meer gelegenen Palast den flehenden Ruf seiner Lieblingstiere. Er sah zum angelaufenen Fenster hinaus und sah die Jäger, sah, wie sie die Pferde einkreisten.

Im gleichen Augenblick schickte er den Wind, damit dieser grosse Wellen an den Strand wehe. Eine von ihnen schnellte am Gestade empor, packte beide Pferde und trug sie fort ins Meer.

Die Pferde trieben auf den Wellen, sie rangen nach Atem, sie ermatteten. Amanikable tat ihnen leid, deshalb verwandelte er sie in Seepferdchen. Und damit sie etwas hatten, wovon sie leben konnten, verwandelte er das am Strand wachsende Gras in Meeresalgen.

So entstanden die Seepferdchen in der See.

(Nacherzählt von Jozef Genzor, aus dem Slowakischen übersetzt von Dr. Anna Fialova, herausgegeben und gedruckt in der CSSR; deutsche Ausgabe: Verlag Werner Dausien, Hanau/Main, 1978).

 In ancient times, there lived in the area of ​​Cavite two beautiful horses, which were the favorite animals of Amanikable, the lord of the seas.

One day they were grazing not far from the seashore and enjoying the warmth of the morning sun. Suddenly they heard dogs barking. They looked around and saw several people running towards them in the distance.

"The horses are shy. Are they following us?" asked one of them,

"I don't know. They're approaching us and looking very upset." "What have we done?" "Let's run away!" said one horse. They started running. They ran and ran...

The dogs and people had already come near them. “Surely they are following us,” said one of the horses. The other didn't answer and kept walking without saying a word.

The chase lasted a long time; the horses were already very tired and very disturbed. They ran across plains, they ran uphill and then down into the valley. But the people and dogs followed them everywhere.

Finally the horses reached a wide sandy beach and suddenly they couldn't go any further. In front of them was the blue sea, behind them the angry people.

In his fear, one of the horses raised its head and begged Amanikable, "Mighty Lord, help us in our time of need!"

The dogs and people were already circling them.

"Lord, I beg you, do something! These people intend to kill us!"

Amanikable heard the pleading calls of his favorite animals in his palace under the sea. He looked out the broken window and saw the hunters, saw them circling the horses.

At the same moment he sent the wind to blow large waves onto the beach. One of them shot up the shore, grabbed both horses and carried them away into the sea.

The horses floated on the waves, they gasped for breath, they became exhausted. Amanikable felt sorry for them, so he turned them into seahorses. And so that they would have something to live on, he turned the grass growing on the beach into seaweed.

This is how seahorses emerged in the sea.

(Retold by Jozef Genzor, translated from Slovak by Dr. Anna Fialova, published and printed in the CSSR; German edition: Verlag Werner Dausien, Hanau/Main, 1978)

Geneva Cruz is proud to be green

 BY MANILA BULLETIN ENTERTAINMENT

Nov 22, 2023 00:19 AM

  

---

AT A GLANCE

• Geneva’s citation is a well-deserved reward for her decades of championing environmental awareness.

---

Geneva Cruz

The multi-platinum singer was chosen as one of the distinguished awardees of the recently held Green Gala Awards, held last Nov. 8 at the Fiesta Pavilion, Manila Hotel.

The Green Gala Awards, organized by the Climate Change Commission in partnership with the Rotary Club of Makati Business District, served as one of the culminating festivities capping Climate Change Week (Nov. 4-8) —a fitting prelude to the month-long celebration of climate change awareness.

Geneva’s citation is a well-deserved reward for her decades of championing environmental awareness. Even during her younger years, as a member of the seminal quartet Smokey Mountain, Geneva and her cohorts were already invoking environmental awareness through their green-themed songs including “Paraiso,” “Earth Song,” “Better World,” and even her solo single, “Anak ng Pasig.”

In more recent years, Geneva had also taken part in other environmental advocacies, such as tree-planting projects in Cavite earlier this year with her fellow Philippine Air Force reservists, as well as beach clean-ups around the country.

She says, “I am humbled and grateful for the recognition of my efforts to make a difference in preserving the planet, and I look forward to continuing to represent the philosophy and spirit of other earth warriors to make the world a greener and more sustainable place.”

(L-R) OPM icon/jukebox king Darius Razon, Geneza, Jeffrey Hidalgo and event host RJ Ledesma

Looking back at some of her green-themed songs, she reminisces, “Singing those songs at an early age made us aware enough to make a stand for the environment.”

As a musical artist, Geneva believes that her talent, along with her massive social media influence, is more than enough to create a ripple of awareness for climate change and its harsh realities.

She remarks, “I can only help spread awareness by constantly reading and learning about it, and maybe singing about it because music has a way of communicating with people beyond language, but on a deeper level. And of course, by being a walking, living, breathing example of somebody who cares about the planet.”

Her dreams, however humble, should also inspire like-minded eco warriors like her to mount their own eco initiatives.

She discloses, “My dream is to keep planting trees beginning next year. People don’t know that trees are important because they give us fresh air to breathe, food to eat, and shelter/shade from sunlight and rainfall. Aside from these, many medicines on the market are made from tree extracts. Forests also provide jobs to millions of people. I also plan to grow my own vegetables.”

“I have saved enough money from doing teleseryes and live shows and bought my dream land facing a small river in Tanay, where I will be planting trees before I build a sustainable and eco-friendly rest house. My 9-year old daughter is over the moon and loves the environment as much as me.”

In keeping with the event’s ‘green theme,’ for the awards night, Geneva flaunted a recycled outfit made of plastic starts and plastic sando bags, meticulously crafted by the inmates of the Correctional Institution for Women as their show of support for the environment as well.

Geneva also extends her gratitude to the organizers and reaffirms her support to all their future endeavors.

She exclaims, “My sincerest thanks to Ms. Marichelle Torres-Ackerman, Chairperson of Climate Change Commission Week and Chairperson/Founder of the Green Gala Awards, as well as Mr. Albert dela Cruz, Sr., Commissioner, PH Climate Change Commission. Noble causes like these should be celebrated as an annual event and as often as possible. With so many emerging media platforms nowadays, much can be done to promote and inspire environmental awareness, especially for our youth.”

Among the other Green Gala Awards recipients were her fellow Smokey Mountain co-member Jeffrey Hidalgo, National Artist/sculptor Ramon Orlina, Gov. Tony Leviste, Ernie Lopez, Joyce Hufton and San Miguel Corporation.

Philippinische Märchen/Philippine Fairy Tales (II)

WIE DIE SONNE, DER MOND UND DIE STERNE ENTSTANDEN...

(How the sun, the moon and the stars came into being...)

Es geht die Mär, in alten Zeiten, als die Welt eben erst erschaffen war, sei alles anders gewesen. Der wunderschöne blaue Himmel war ganz niedrig, so niedrig, dass man ihn mit der Hand berühren konnte. Und, es gab weder die Sonne, noch den Mond und noch die Sterne, die jetzt im unendlichen Raum des Himmels strahlen und gleissen.

Auch auf Erden war alles anders. Es gab viel Land, aber wenige Menschen. Die Tiere waren zahm, und die Voegel flogen hin und her zwischen den Baeumen, die sich mit ihren frischen, gruenen Kronen an den niedrigen Himmel lehnten.

Unter den wenigen Menschen, die damals die Welt bevölkerten, waren ein Mann und seine Frau. Sie waren sehr arbeitsam. Kaum blinkte ein schwaches Licht, das wer weiss woher kam - sie hatten ja die Sonne nie gesehen -, eilten Mann und Frau auf Feld, wo sie ohne Rast so lange arbeiteten, bis ihnen vor Hunger der Magen knurrte. Ihre Tage vergingen in Gleichförmigkeit, aber sie lebten einträchtig und glücklich zusammen.

Jeden Tag, wenn sie vom Feld heimkehrten, bereiteten Mann und Frau ihr Essen zu. Der Mann zerstiess Reis im Moerser, und die Frau kochte ihn  mit verschiedenen Zutaten.

Eines Tages kehrten sie vom Feld in ihre Hütte heim, sie waren sehr müde und sehr hungrig, und gleich machten sie sich daran, das Mittagessen zu kochen. Der Mann nahm Reis, schüttete ihn in den Moöser und zerstiess ihn. Die Frau schachtete ein fettes Huhn, tat es in einem Topf und heizte im Herd ein. Als die Flammen aufloderten und sich aus dem Herd der Rauch wälzte, kam es der Frau in den Sinn, ihren Kamm und ihre lange Halskette ans Firmament zu hängen.

Der Mann fuhr fort, den Reis zu zerstossen. Er war hungrig, er beeilte sich, und wie er so flink mit dem Stössel hantierte, stiess er jedesmal mit dem oberen Ende ans Firmament. Das erboste ihn, er stampfte auf und rief dem Himmel zu: "Warum bist du so niedrig? Du könntest dich weiten, damit du mich nicht immer bei der Arbeit störst!"

Kaum hatte er das ausgesprochen, da begann sich zu ihrer grössten Überraschung der Himmel sich zu erheben und mit ihm auch der Kamm und die Halskette, die daran hingen, ja sogar der Herd, in dem schon das Feuer loderte, erhob sich mit ihm. Seither strahlt jede Nacht, hoch oben am Himmel, der Mond, der einem Kamm gleicht; seither gleissen dort die Sterne, die den Perlen einer zerrissenen Halskette gleichen, und am Tag brennt die Sonne wie das Feuer von einem glühenden Herd.

Mehr philippinische Maerchen demnaechst hier!

More Philippine fairytales coming up soon and only here!


(Nacherzählt von Jozef Genzor, aus dem Slowakischen übersetzt von Dr. Anna Fialova; herausgegeben und gedruckt in der CSSR; deutsche Ausgabe: Verlag Werner Dausien, Hanau/Main, 1978).

There is a myth that in ancient times, when the world was just created, everything was different. The beautiful blue sky was very low, so low that you could touch it with your hand. And, there was neither the sun nor the moon nor the stars that now shine and shine in the infinite space of the sky.

Everything was different on earth too. There was a lot of land, but few people. The animals were tame, and the birds flew back and forth between the trees, which leaned with their fresh, green crowns against the low sky.

Among the few people who populated the world at that time were a man and his wife. They were very hardworking. As soon as a faint light flashed, which came from who knows where - they had never seen the sun - the man and woman hurried into the field, where they worked without rest until their stomachs rumbled with hunger. Their days passed in sameness, but they lived together harmoniously and happily.

Every day when they returned home from the field, the husband and wife prepared their food. The man pounded rice in a mortar and the woman cooked it with various ingredients.

One day they returned home from the field to their hut, they were very tired and very hungry, and they immediately set about cooking dinner. The man took rice, poured it into the moose and pounded it. The woman slaughtered a fat chicken, put it in a pot and heated it up in the stove. As the flames flared up and smoke rolled out of the hearth, the woman thought of hanging her comb and her long necklace on the firmament.

The man continued to pound the rice. He was hungry, he hurried, and as he handled the pestle so nimbly, each time he hit the firmament with the top end. This made him angry, he stomped on his feet and shouted to the sky: "Why are you so low? You could expand yourself so that you don't always disturb me at work!"

As soon as he had said this, to her greatest surprise, the sky began to rise and with it the comb and the necklace that hung on it, and even the hearth in which the fire was already blazing, rose with it. Since then, every night, high up in the sky, the moon shines like a comb; Since then, the stars have shone there like the pearls of a torn necklace, and in the daytime the sun burns like fire from a glowing hearth.

How often do Germans say "nee" or "nej" instead of "nein"?

  By Günter Neessen

Does it depend on the state?

In literature and higher register, “nein" is the word of choice. Regarding everyday speech, I can't answer for whole Germany, but where I come from, the west of the northern lowlands, “nee” is much more often used than “nein". Common people in their own peer group would only use “nee".

The reason is of course that “nee" is the Low German/Low Saxon word for “nein"/”no", and while Low Saxon tends to decline in favour of Standard German, the people integrate traits of it into something one might call “Northern Standard German”.

Edit: Regarding the reactions, it seems that “nee" is widespread within the German realm, not only in the north, but even at least in Central Germany.