Pacman vs.Jose Rizal

I have been writing on another website called Kamusta.com and had fun joining their essay contests. Nevertheless, there are comments that I am not particularly happy about and it was about writing in the pilipino text. But then what is pilipino? Eh! bisaya man ta...anyway, here is the content of my article:

Pacman vs. Jose Rizal

Kamusta.com, in my understanding is a website that seeks overseas Filipino workerswishing to communicate and express themselves in whatever and however they feel comfortable in. Excellent Pilipino is better than awkward English is a suppression of ones personal expression because it dictates how one is to relay a message, like a teacher instructing to write a sanaysay.

I opined that people who write their essays, comments, or reviews in English though not proficient are not aspiring to become Pulitzer prize winners or "authors of the week', but basically are just expressing the best way they can. And to control the freedom of expression is a violation of a personal human right.

Wikepidia describes the Philippines as having 172 dialects. According to the Philippine National Statistics Office, among the 18 major dialects, Cebuano speaking Filipinos top the list of spoken dialects comprising 22 million as against tagalogs with only 20 million. And the list goes down to Bicoloanos, Chavacanos, Hiligaynons (Illonggos) etc... Based on these facts, shouldn't we consider cebuano as the base of the pilipino language. Mang Jim said pwedeng isulat sa Pilipino, sabi din ni Mang Jim pwede ring Inggles. So then what is Pilipino?

When a filipina writes to her employer a resignation letter stating, "I wish to resignate my position because my work is many and my pay is few of which my boss makes a little loving loving to me and I say Oh not! Oh not!"--- anyone teaching the essentials of English will consider this REALLY AWKWARD. But the filipina had made her point...to be understood. And understand, we did!

If the truth be told, all languages are crazy. As Walt Whitman might proclaim that languages contradict themselves in someway. That's because language is invented, not discovered, by everyone and not by computers. As such, language reflects the creativity and fearfulasymmetry of the human race, which of course isn't a race after all.

And the pilipino language is as crazy as the English language.

Whoever heard of women's underwear (panties) as salungguhit. (to catch or salo a guhit? is that what women's private parts are called?)
Or men's brief is called salungganisa (would the men want theirs to be compared to a longganisa?) hmmm...
If salumpuwet is for a chair, is salungmgapuwet for a sofa?

Or let's widen our horizons to more islands.

When someone screams "LANGGAM!", a tagalog would look down, while a bisaya will look up. Why? because langgam for a tagalog means ant, and for a visayan means bird.

And if a tagalog in cebu goes to a sari-sari store and buys cigarettes, and the tindera says, "pila", wouldn't that tagalog be pissed off why he is told to line up when he is the only customer. That's because 'pila' in visayan means, 'how much' or 'how many'.

But then, isn't English a crazy language in itself.?

English is the most widely spoken language in the history of our planet. Half of the world's books are written in English and the majority of international calls are made in English. More than seventy percent of international mail is written and addressed in English, and eightypercent of all computer text is stored in English...however, we should also come to realize that English can become as messed up as those that speak or read it.

In this crazy language, the blackbird hen is brown, blackboards are green or blue, and that blackberries are really green that turn red when they ripen. Or isn't blackberries considered cellphones as well. And even if blackberries were really black, and blueberries reallyblue, what do you think strawberries, cranberries, gooseberries suppose to look like.?

And if that's not bad enough, we Filipinos contribute to that craziness. Why do we say, 'open the light?' Should we dissect the bulb? Or did we mean to turn it on? Or closing the faucet really meant that we should shut it off.?

If we conceive a conception and receive a reception, why don't we grieve a greption and believe a beleption? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? If a firefighter fights fire, what does a freedom fighter fight? If pro and cons are opposites, is congress the opposite of progress?

Many filipino blogs use English as their medium of expression because of its global exposure. If the scope of a website should limit itself just to be understood by a special breed of people, so be it. And if the website should cater to a much larger scale, then let it beas well.

For as long as one can be understood..that is the bottomline.

And so my friends, this is it? Or is it that is?
It is it, that is!