What scares you the most?
For as long as I can remember, I never did like speaking in Tagalog. Maybe I did up until I was 10 years old and still very confident, but somewhere along the way, I felt self-conscious. I never could get the accent right, and I lacked the necessary speaking vocabulary.
Someone asked me once, “Can you understand what I’m saying?”
(I’m even too chicken to write the question in Tagalog, which was the original language by the speaker.:-p)
My reaction to that was just to smile and say, “Yes, don’t worry, I can understand everything you’re saying to me…”
Now, listening to and understanding is quite simple, really. Tagalog is a fairly easy enough language to understand, certain words are lifted from dialects I’m familiar with.
Talking, and speaking it? Now, that’s a different story. Being expected to converse in Filipino makes me break out in a cold sweat. Lol… It gives me a bit of anxiety, and more often than not, what happens is that I talk back in English, or I start thinking in Hiligaynon (which is totally far out, I know. haha) OR…I just nod my head and smile. :-p
Trust me, the possibility of embarrassing myself weighs heavy in my case. Maybe it’s not my fault, maybe it’s just the way circumstances have presented themselves. My father and his siblings studied in Manila…they can speak Tagalog without any accent… But we don’t speak the language at home. Most of the time, of course, the lingua franca of my home is basically, Cebuano and English. Ask anyone from here, speaking in English is more common than speaking the national language, almost.
And I don’t watch a lot of Tagalog movies.
Don’t get me wrong, though. I love the language. My anxiety is from a deep-rooted fear of making a mistake and embarrassing myself in front of people. Admittedly, the way they portray Cebuanos, or people from the provinces speaking Tagalog is that of a very coarse, not highly educated individual speaking in a rough tone, butchering all the words. In short, it becomes funny slapstick for some (even if it isn’t) and I don’t want to be labeled as someone who talks like that.
And so, I shut up most of the time. Or if I don’t, I speak in English, which feels like more comfortable and familiar.
I like listening to people who can speak Tagalog flawlessly. It is almost as melodious as Hiligaynon… It’s fairly amusing, actually. It is pretty simple a language, and is considerably more familiar, which is quite funny that I am more keen on learning French and Japanese, when in fact, I can’t even master my own.
I remember: first year college, first month. Sabi ko sa kaklase ko, "Maari ko bang hiramim ang iyong kuwaderno?" And my entire blockmates go "Huwaatt?" sabay taas ang mga kilay at lakihan ng mga mata.
ReplyDeleteUlk! Mali ba ang sinabi ko? Hindi naman. Kaya lang, ang tamang katanungan ay, "Ah, ken I make borrow ur notebook?"
Ganoon.
haha. is that post in preparation for your review here in manila? and now i know why you made a comment why i first switched to blogging in filipino. practice lang yan S. practice. :p
ReplyDeleteoooh, i can relate!! it's the sounding-like-anabelle-rama-phobia! ganyan talaga day, mahirap talaga day :-P
ReplyDeletebitaw...hmmm...i agree...practice lang gyud siguro... that's what i did, like, with twinkle i often conversed with her in tagalog (because i knew she was too nice to laugh hahaha!) then, um, maybe to avoid your tagalog sounding really gahi^, maybe you could go the other way, and try to speak tagalog in a ya^ya^ way :-)
doc ness, i think i would have a hard time. my working vocabulary is not very good, hence the nodding. :-p When i was in Iloilo, for the first couple of months, I had to write everything down so i could remember it. it helped that i had an ilongga housemate who was really helpful (Precky).
ReplyDeleteMarley: yes. i had to make that comment.haha.
gaya: True. Twinkie was super nice. she didn't mind at all. :-p
Maituturing na ang paghihinagpis ng maga kapwa Bisaya ay bunga ng pagkahawig ng mga wikang Bisaya at Tagalog sa kabila ng laganap na palagay na ang mga salitang ito ay magkasalungat o banyaga sa isa't isa sa baralila o gramatika. Samantalang kung ihahambing natin ang Tagalog sa Kapampangan o Ilokano, masmalayo na magkahawig ang mga ito. Puwes, ang pagkakahawig ng Bisaya at Tagalog ay siyang nagdudulot ng pagkatamad magsalita ng mga tubong Bisaya sa wikang Tagalog. Sa madaling salita, ang hilig ng mga nakakaraming Bisaya ay ang pagpahayag ng mga Tagalog na salita at pahiwatig gamit ang mga elementong halos hawig, tulad, pareho o katumbas ng mga ito sa wikang Bisaya.
ReplyDeleteBituin, bitoon, bigas, bugas, pamangkin, pag-umangkon, kanin, kan-on, aray, agay. Alam nyo ba na maraming salitang Tagalog tulad ng "katarungan" kung saan ang mga salitang ugat ay 'di na ginagamit sa kasalukuyang wikang Tagalog?
Mapamangha kayo sa pagkakaalam na ang salitang ugat ng "katarungan" na "tarung" ay ginagamit pa rin ng mga Bisaya.
Hehehehehe!
Nosebleeeeeed, Meloinks!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletehaha...good one, doc mel, you remind me of Jose Rizal. "Ang taong hindi nagmahal sa sariling wika ay mahigit pa sa hayop at malansang isda."
ReplyDeletenatch. like "Marley" said...i might have to practice practice practice...:-)
Do as the artistas do... read Pinoy komiks! =)
ReplyDeleteSome tips:
ReplyDelete1. Watch national talk and variety shows in Taglish. That's how Manilenos usually talk.
2. Practice "thinking in Tagalog." We usually think (or talk to ourselves) in our first language or in our lingua franca. Go out of your comfort zone this time.
3. When conversing with a Manileno, keep your quips short and "slangy" (which is why you should watch Manila-made TV shows). Example: Don't say, "Saan ka pupunta mamaya?" Instead, just say, "Sa'n ka mamaya?"
4. Do a monologue in Tagalog and record the audio using your cellphone, and then listen to it. If you sound like Annabelle Rama, don't despair. Change doesn't happen overnight. That's why you need to perform Nos. 1-3.
5. Always think that you need NOT sound like a real Manileno if ever you decide to converse in Tagalog. Bringing with you your accent is natural. Didn't Bob Marley sound cool and sexy with his Jamaican accent? If you'd sound funny to them, so what? They, too, will sound ridiculous if they'd try to speak your language. Parehas lang, so why worry?
Thanks for the practical tips, "Mummi"(or would you prefer foreskin? or M.F.?).:-) Our accents identify us, and depending on what we have been identified with, it is something some people, myself included, are "anxious" about. :-p I don't want to sound like a manileno (well, not yet,anyway), I just want to be able to talk without getting sweaty palms and palpitations everytime i want to buy something trivial, like, cellphone cards, for instance.haha :-p
ReplyDelete