Tan-awa ra! Iho! (Look out! A shark!)
With these few words I will be able to save an unsuspecting Filipino from a certain death in the jaws of a vicious shark :) Don't you just love introductory guides to a new language? They presume people carry them around and start looking up the appropriate phrases while being held at gunpoint. One of the requirements for my work in the Philippines is that I learn a local language, 'Cebuano', and I must say that is no easy task. Apart from a few words that have clear Spanish or English roots ('tsikin' means 'chicken'), Cebuano is nothing like your average European language. Fortunately an intensive Cebuano course takes place shortly after my arrival in the Philippines. I bought a handbook of Cebuano on Amazon just to get an idea of what I can expect. Just to give you an idea of what Cebuano sentences look like: "Ang akong pinaka-maayong amigo ikaw" means "you are my best friend", but the literal translation is "the my most good friend you". Makes sense, no? By the way, if anyone asks you "kumusta ka?" ("how are you?"), the most appropriate reply would be "gwapo pa" ("handsome as always"). Back to my books!
With these few words I will be able to save an unsuspecting Filipino from a certain death in the jaws of a vicious shark :) Don't you just love introductory guides to a new language? They presume people carry them around and start looking up the appropriate phrases while being held at gunpoint. One of the requirements for my work in the Philippines is that I learn a local language, 'Cebuano', and I must say that is no easy task. Apart from a few words that have clear Spanish or English roots ('tsikin' means 'chicken'), Cebuano is nothing like your average European language. Fortunately an intensive Cebuano course takes place shortly after my arrival in the Philippines. I bought a handbook of Cebuano on Amazon just to get an idea of what I can expect. Just to give you an idea of what Cebuano sentences look like: "Ang akong pinaka-maayong amigo ikaw" means "you are my best friend", but the literal translation is "the my most good friend you". Makes sense, no? By the way, if anyone asks you "kumusta ka?" ("how are you?"), the most appropriate reply would be "gwapo pa" ("handsome as always"). Back to my books!
3 comments:
Zitten er überhaupt wel haaien in de Filipijnen? Anders is het wel helemaal bij het haar getrokken.
Na je curus cebuano is het Spaans een peulenschil vermoed ik.
namaskaaram pieter,
bagunaaraa? koncem telugu maatlatunnanu, kaani miiru artham kaadu oftewel
dag pieter,
alles goed? ik spreek een beetje telugu, maar dat versta jij toch niet,
dus, een niet indo-europese taal leren is wellicht een van de moeilijkste dingen om te doen, gelukkig voor jou is ons imperialisme ook in de taal terug te vinden en heeft telugu heel wat engels klinkende woorden en cebuano heel wat spaanse. veel succes er mee, ik krijg het stilaan onder de knie, maar het vergt vooral veel spreken en op je bek gaan. tot groot jolijt van de omstaanders, maar hun hinglisch of tenglish is ook niet wat je noemt vlotjes. thank you, come again!
marius
Handsome as allways? Tom Waits? Look up "Hi, I am handsome and I love Tom Waits." I know, I can only give stupid comments. If there was a shark behind me you'd probaply never warn me...
Post a Comment