Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Uncle

My nephews and nieces call me Uncle, Tito, Ninong, or Dadad.
In the Visayas where I grew up, uncles are called Tiyo (pronounced tee-yo or cho).
Tiyo is reserved for the elder uncles – those born on or before the 60s.

There’s another term which I think is only endemic from where my father grew up.
Uncles are called Ti.
I would have been called Ti Scud if I was born decades earlier.

Ti is actually short for something.
That something is Titi.
Ti Scud now becomes Titi Scud.

Now imagine relatives talking loudly.
Within hearing distance of Tagalog-speaking Pinoys.
Funny? Hilarious? Embarrassing?

Parang makalibog lang ba?

29 comments:

R. said...

"TI"? For real?
Stig! I learned something new today.

Eloisa said...

'Bii, Tyo.

princess_dyanie said...

ay ako naman tita ninang ang tawag sakin ng pamangkin ko :)

gillboard said...

di ako nagpapatawag ng tito... kuya lang...

tapos sa mga tiyuhin ko, tawag ko sa kanila, uncle o angkol.

The Gasoline Dude™ said...

Kapag daw auntie, "KI" ang tawag. O kaya "PI". Ampf.horre

Photo Cache said...

my niece calls my brother, her uncle 'ong' short for ninong, because that's how she used to call him when learned to talk.

now that's a new term i haven't heard before :D

WCS Minor Circuit said...

hahahaha I'm glad my girlfriend's nephew and nieces just call me "uncle" (under the assumption that someday I will be their real uncle).

Which part of the Visayas was your dad from?

atticus said...

bakit iyon ang root word? saan galing iyon?

len said...

You mean that word means uncle in your father's dialect? Or it was just a coined term? :p

DRAKE said...

Para kang isang naglalakad na....TITI!hahahhaha

Ingat bro

Visual Velocity said...

Haha, good grief! :D

theLastJedi said...

i think it's somethin' interesting about where you came from.. but im not sure if it's somethin' to be proud of,, ahahahahahaha!!!!

im back scud.. =)

Raft3r said...

nyahaha
try mo syang gawin chat name
hehe

Anonymous said...

now that would be very interesting indeed! LOL

The Scud said...

russ, for real yan. i'm not kidding.

The Scud said...

sonia, bii pod tya. :p

The Scud said...

princess dyanie, ayos yan ah. my niece calls my mom ma lo (short for mama lola). nice.

The Scud said...

gillboard, alam ko na kung bakit ayaw mo ng tito. ayaw mo tumanda. hehe.

The Scud said...

gasoline dude, ulitin mo ng dalawang beses ang ki. may ibang meaning yan sa bisaya. :D

The Scud said...

photo cache, nice one. baka ang mga susunod na pamangkin ong na tawag sa kanya.

The Scud said...

wcs minor circuit, negros area. only a few towns use that term. you won't usually hear it in the city.

The Scud said...

atticus, di ko alam. pag nakausap ko si papa tanong ko. :D

The Scud said...

len, the first one. not everyone uses that term though.

The Scud said...

drake, ayos ka rin mag-comment. hehe.

The Scud said...

andy, hindi ba ganun sa valencia?

The Scud said...

the last jedi, aba. you're back nga. for good na ba yan?

The Scud said...

raft3r, turn off yan. unless sa adult chat rooms. hehe.

The Scud said...

prinsese musang, interesting talaga. kaiba ang pinoy culture. :D

random student said...

now you completely ruined it for me tsk-tsk haha