Try it anywhere, any time. Any place on earth with human beings. You’ll likely bump into a Filipino. And if you are one yourself, try asking the inevitable question, Filipino ba kayo? An engaging grin comes on, and both of you forget that you have just met for the first time.
We first thought of writing something like this when reminiscing about life back home (meaning the Philippines). Food is a favorite topic. And so are childhood pranks and escapades.
Often the offsprings participate in this exercise, as they try hard to remember the times they were in the homeland.
What really propelled us to start and this project was when our five-year old asked us to teach her Filipino because she didn’t want to become a “stinking isda”. It turned out she had heard Florante’s version of Ako’y Pilipino where he quotes Jose Rizal’s chastisement that Filipinos who don’t speak their own are worse off than a smelly fish.
I can’t possibly teach her how to speak the language the way my grandmother tried her best to save me (my maternal lola was pure Tagala) In fact, I grew up when the nuns fined us ten centavoes every time anything but English was spoken.
But then I thought of putting together things Pinoy--a hodgepodge of words, nuances, memories and yes--even prejudices--that makes us truly the people that we are.
So browse, bring it to the bathroom, or brood on it while standing still in trapik. Then tell us what you think. Add stuff we’ve missed or forgotten.
The idea is Pinoy cultural literacy. These 200 or so pages won’t make you fluent in Filipino. We are attempting only to add to what you already know or remember, that has been buried by too much American Idol or People magazine.
We’ve arranged the words in alphabetical order (just like Cultural Literacy ). We’ve also arranged the entries by years when they initially appeared on the scene.We know we’ve failed to include several more that should be here, while printing some that shouldn’t (blame it on our angst).
So we mean it when we expect you to get in touch with us, to add your favorites or delete your pet peeves.
Filipino, thanks to the 333 year domination of Spain, uses a stylized version of the Western alphabet. We’ve kept the basic 26 letters, but as far as spelling the words are concerned, Pinoys remain as innovative as ever.
For example, the word taxi becomes taksi; while sometimes the Spanish familia becomes pamilya. It’s confusing, but one gets the hang of it in a while.
Remember to spell phonetically--or the way it sounds--and it’s okey. Pinoys are so easy-going and ad hoc--we’re pleased that anyone is even trying.
