Monday, October 12, 2009

BISDAK

When I first moved to Manila a month after college graduation to review for the board exams I refrained from speaking in Bisaya in public. Whenever I and my cousins would meet up I would always speak in Bisaya at a low volume while they would converse in Tagalog. Back then I was feeling inferior to Tagalog-speaking Filipinos, afraid to be laughed at for my accent. I was still a bit shy since I did not have a good command of the language having only visited Manila for 3 days one summer when I was 11, relegating its use only in the classroom during Filipino class.

For seven years I slowly learned my way in Tagalog. It’s no surprise since all of my colleagues and most of my friends grew up in Manila , with only my relatives and a handful of college friends I could speak with in Bisaya. I learned that one should say ‘mahaba ang buhok’ and not ‘mataas ang buhok’, or say ‘mas matangkad ako ng konti’ and not ‘mas mataas ako ng konti’.

I became so accustomed speaking in Tagalog that a few years back my high school friends remarked that I had completely lost my Bisaya accent and now spoke like a true-blue Tagalog. They laughed when they first heard me pronounce tricycle as try-c-kel rather than try-c-kol. They laughed some more when I would forget I was in the Visayas and pronounced a slew of other words whose last syllable should have been spoken as kol instead of kel.

I was cool about it since some people I know in Manila have also observed that a twinge of my Bisaya accent would sometimes manifest itself especially when I talk real fast. Now, if my Bisaya has a Tagalog accent and my Tagalog has a Bisaya accent what does that make me? A crossbreed?

34 comments:

atticus said...

hahaha. confusing nga.

i was similarly situated in grade school. i had this ilocano accent that my cousins won't forgive me for. the letter k was "key." i lost it in time but my ilocano friends thought my ilocano had this manila accent. magulo. anyamet.

WCS Minor Circuit said...

This is interesting to me. I spent the majority of my time in the Visayas or Mindanao, and when I would go to Manila (or any predominantly Tagalog speaking region) I'd sometimes get frustrated by the people there not understanding the way I pronounced certain words (tricycle is a great example) or by me not understanding local idioms ("basa na ang papel niya sa akin" for instance gave me a big question mark if someone did say that). Similarly, after spending time in Manila, I'd go back to the south and I'd get smirks when I'd say something "like a Tagalog". To be honest, I prefer the sound of Bisaya to Tagalog, as does every Bisaya speaker I know, but I've always figured that if I was from Manila it'd be the other way around. I think even though your Bisaya is now "tainted" with Tagalog--and vice versa--if you were to go back to the Visayas for an extended period of time you'd be amazed how much of your Tagalog accent would just make itself disappear.

Also, I've been lurking on your blog since I discovered you also share a distinct love for well made cinema. I added you to my blogroll on two of my own [wordpress] blogs, if that's okay with you.

Photo Cache said...

everyone can relate to this post.

a nephew was born here in the states but grew up listening and conversing to uncles and aunties who are pi born. one time an uncle said how could you have pinoy accent when you are born here in cali :D (yan ang tunay na pinoy :D)

gillboard said...

new look ah...

ako naman, di marunong magsalita ng bisaya (waray), pero naiintindihan ko pag nagsasalita sila.

Skron said...

Try c Kol = Try c Kel, Bukol = Bukel. The famous "Bisaya going to Maynila" joke.

Sonia said...

Bravo..
You HAVE assimilated. ;-) haha.

DRAKE said...

Sorry di ko alam ang BISDAK ano yun?

Medyo okay ka na palang magtagalog ngayon ah! Medyo ako gusto kong matuto magbisaya, kaso di ko alam kung kanino ako magpapaturo, hehehe! Medyo may puntong bisaya daw ako kahit tubong bulacan .Kaya tawag nila sa akin Bisayang Bulakenyo!Heheh Bakit kaya?

Ingat pre

Raft3r said...

i love the new look!!!
=)

may bisdak sa blogger community, ah
kasali ka ba don?

pusangkalye said...

when we were in Cebu 2 weeks ago, I learned that they hardly answer back in tagalog when you talk to people. even in Jollibee...well, at least, if you are from Luzon, or Manila, you really get the feeling that you are in a new place.lol

wait said...

i love the new look of your page : )
Bisaya din ako : )
I mean -

FBI

Full
Blooded
Ilonggo

: )

Sinful Organic Cook said...

hahahaa. nice one! pre, sakay tayo next time sa space shatol ha ;)

The Scud said...

atticus, natawa ako sa 'key'. ganyan di ba pag kinanta ang alphabet?

The Scud said...

wcs, thanks for visiting. i have added your blog to my blogroll. i scanned over your posts awhile back. will read the rest within the week.

btw, bisaya really sound better than tagalog. and we speak better english. haha.

The Scud said...

photo cache, astig! i wish my cousins were brought that way too.

The Scud said...

gillboard, salamat! ngano kasabot ka ug binisaya?

The Scud said...

skron, guilty lahat ang bisaya dyan. my classmates say the bisaya version is closer to how it should be pronounced in english. ang layo ata. hehe.

The Scud said...

sonia, you should stay longer in manila. mag-assimilate sad ka. :p

The Scud said...

drake, meron similarity ang punto ng bisaya at bulacan. bisdak means bisayang dako (someone who grew up in the visayas).

The Scud said...

raft3r, nagpuyat ako para sa new look na yan. di ako member dun. mahiyain ako. :D

The Scud said...

pusang-gala, ayaw ng mga bisaya mag-tagalog. naiilang. we would rather speak in english kahit mali-mali ang grammar.

The Scud said...

woogie82, sige ba. pagkatapos inom tayo ng one batol of coke. hehe.

gillboard said...

kay bisaya man ang akin parents... hehehe... di ko alam kung pano itranslate... hehehe

The Scud said...

gillboard, ayos! marunong ka pala mag-binisaya. hehe. subukan ko nga mag-post ng bisaya. translate mo. :D

Random Student said...

nakakainggit nga ang may iba pang alam like a dialect. ako tagalog and english lang hehe

theLastJedi said...

' quite interestingly, you guys from the visayas have a longer learning when it comes to acquiring the so-called tagalog accent.. but damn it, you guys are the best english apeakers i have heard.. iba ang accent ng spoken engligh ng mga bisaya.. ehe
- cross-breed? how about multi-lingual? ehe

WCS Minor Circuit said...

Interestingly enough, I don't know how it is for speakers of other Philippines' languages, but most Bisaya speakers I know would rather speak in English than Tagalog. I can't say this for everyone, but for most of the Bisaya speakers I know, keeping their native accent is a point of pride for them, especially in an ever growing Manila-centric Philippines. Which only makes sense, considering the Visayas and Mindanao typically get the short end of the stick in Philippines' politics.

And about Bisaya speakers speaking better English than Tagalogs, I agree 100%. One of the reasons might come down to how English is perceived. Bisaya doesn't seem as "accented" as Tagalog, and so maybe one of the reasons might just be English sounds less diluted coming from a Bisaya. I don't know. People should really do a study on that.

The Scud said...

random student, tumira ka sa visaya para matuto ka. meron cebuano, ilonggo, at waray. mamili ka. :D

The Scud said...

last jedi, magaling nga kami mag-ingles. walang sinabi mga tagalog. :D

The Scud said...

minor circuit, agree! agree! :D

Jerick said...

bisaya diay ka. haha!

ako, nahuhuli ko rin kung sino yung bisaya. mahilig kayo sa prefix na "mag".

i love visayans although tagalog ako. i lived in cebu kasi for 2 years.

The Scud said...

jerick, mabilis lang "mag-determine" ng bisaya. most of us say singko instead of lima, baynte instead of bente. :D

Visual Velocity said...

My mom is from Dumaguete, kaya mejo nakaka-intindi ako ng Bisaya, Cebuano, at Ilongo. Hindi nga lang ako marunong mag-salita, ehehe.

The Scud said...

andy, hindi ka pala pwede ibenta. nyahaha.

len said...

I grew up in a Tagalog-speaking environment and I must admit that you guys speak good English and is a fast-learner in speaking Tagalog. :p