Thursday, June 18, 2009

Words we need to integrate into the English language

When we finally return from our long hiatus in the Philippines we will have to learn to adjust back to the quicker pace of life, not eating rice at every meal and the weather. We will probably ease into these things like spending a month hanging out on a family member's couch instead of finding a job or eating rice twice a day instead of going cold turkey or hiding under a heap of blankets instead of wearing summer attire in a snow storm. Then there will be other things that have become a part of us. I hope that skills like being able to eat every grain of rice off of my plate with my hands or hand washing my clothes will never disappear and that I have acquired some of the friendly and hospitable spirit of the Pilipino people. One of the things that Rebeka and I discuss frequently is language because Rebeka (BA in French) is nearly obsessed with it and I have a healthy interest in it. One of the conversations we have frequently is about adding Tagalog words to the English language to make it more efficient and fun. The one Tagalog word that most US Americans know is boondock (English) or bundok (Tagalog). The US American meaning of this is a rural, remote place and the Tagalog meaning is mountain. While bundok wouldn't make our list of best Tagalog words to integrate into English it is a starting place. So I expect everyone to study this list and be ready by the time we return to the States so you don't miss a beat.

5 comments:

Emily said...

who said?

daw.

i was perfectly glad to see that kasama & daw were the first two words you put up. i am going to geat so angry at people when they dont understand those two words. i mean. they are so beautiful! ::sigh:: ingat kayo. the philippines miss you na. oh man, im never dropping the "na" either!

Emily said...

ah!

what about kwan?!

astronesian said...

hi, sorry for spamming you, I'm a Cebu native obsessed with Western civilization and wishing to meet up or speak with Peace Corps Volunteers for language and knowledge exchange. I'm a native speaker of BinisaYA' (Cebuano), and I'm fluent in Tagalog and English. I speak English almost like an American, and I speak the basics of French, German, Italian, Lithuanian, Mandarin, Minnan (Taiwanese), Polish, Russian, and Spanish. I'm 1 of the 2 authors (the only Filipino author) of Pimsleur Tagalog, a Tagalog audio course for English speakers. I'm trying to learn how to speak English fully like an American and also how to teach non Filipinos how to speak Philippine languages almost like a native speaker. I'm interested in Anthropology, Evolutionary Psychology, Population Genetics, Prehistory, Fitness, Nutrition and Poverty Alleviation. I enjoy sprinting, kayaking, mountaineering, boxing, stickfighting, archery, playing basketball and tennis, cooking and traveling. If you'd like to meet up or talk, please call me at 916 338 3807. Please also feel free to forward my message to your colleagues. Thank you. -IYU'

Philwebservices said...

thank you for posting...very informative..keep it up

from makati greenbelt said...

Very helpful post especially for those people who wants to stay longer here in the Philippines.