TAGA DavAo ako

Adopted from Sir Rex of Ateneo de Davao University, Philosophy Division

(Here's one essay I wanted to write but didn't. I'm glad somebody else did. I received this essay as a forwarded email. I'm posting it for your reflection.) GALENGA TALAGA NIYA GYUD, UY! How can one distinguish a Davaoeno from a Cebuano? Or from a Cagayanon?

Difficult? Easy. Davaoenos are one of the most

unique people in the world. We can easily stand

out if we are placed in a crowd of Filipinos from

other parts of the country. And how, you say?

Language. Davao City, aptly called the melting pot of

cultures, is home to many dialects. Tagalog,

Cebuano, Ilonggo, Ilocano, Chavacano, Moslem,

Bicolano. Name it, we'll speak it. If the Filipino

language is a composition of all the dialects and

languages in the Philippines , you might as well

say that the language we speak in Davao City is

the real Filipino language, and not Tagalog. However, since it is a hodgepodge of different

tongues, it is sometimes funny to hear our

language 'bastardizing' , for lack of better word,

the other dialects. Strangely, that distinguishes us

from the rest. Try these. In stating a fact, Manilenos say, 'Talagang mabait

si Weng.'

In Davao , we say. 'Mabait bitaw gyud si Weng'.

Too assertive?

One asks, 'Ano nga `yong pangalan mo?'.

In Davao we say, 'Ano gani `yong pangalan (or

worse, "ngalan") mo?'.

When somebody commits a mistake or surprises

someone, we always never fail to say, 'Halaka!'.

Duh..? We are fond of re-constructing the language.

There's the GI+ verb, such as, 'Gisabi kasi ni Helen

na mag-absent si Bernard bukas', or 'Ginanon ni

Lalai si Belinda sa mukha'. You'll never find

'ginanon' in any dictionary, I swear to God!

There's the KA+ adjective, as in, 'Kaputi gyud ng

mukha ni Yang-yang' or 'Kapayat gyud ni Jason

ngayon.'

The MAKA+ verb form, such as, 'Maka-inis talaga

si Albert, uy!' or 'Maka-uwi talaga ako ng matagal

ngayon'.

The NAG+ verb, as in, 'Nagsabi kasi si Tita Precy

na pupunta daw tayo ng airport' or 'Hindi pa man

siya nagdating, uy!'

Adding new words or new meanings to old words

to the dictionary is one of our favorite past time.

NAKIN: 'Alam man nakin `yan ba!', 'Saan nakin

kita nakita gani?'.

KU-AN: 'Ku-an daw ang gawin mo', 'Si ku-an kasi

ano masyado'. (No sense at all.)

ANO: 'Na-ano ka diyan, Bryan !', 'Ano man yan si

Van, uy!'.

HA: 'Lake-ha na ng tiyan ni Lulu uy!', 'Gwapa-ha

niya uy!'

BEH: 'Sige daw beh, dare!', 'Pakipasa daw ng

ballpen ni Tzaris beh'.

KAY: 'Huwag na, Wowie, kay nandito naman si

Norma', 'Umupo ka muna kay nasa-CR pa si Elma.'To express disgust over someone, we utter, 'Gago

kaba diay para maniwala sa kanya', or 'Ano man

yan siya uy!', or 'Maka-inis man yan siya, uy!', or

when pestered when doing something, you'd

quip,'Huwag lagi ba!'

On the other hand, when we praise somebody's

extra special deed or talent, our Davaoeno tongue

slips words like,'Kuyaw lagi `yan siya!', 'Galenga

niya uy!', 'Ayusa niya uy!', 'Kuyawa ni Orly uy!' or

'Hindi ako makatu-o sa ginawa niya!' .

Hay, makatawa talaga. (Ooops!)There are just so too many words to mention. Just

check out the words you spew everyday.

Sometimes you just laugh at yourself when you

realize that you've just said those very words.! No

matter how long you stay in Manila or in the

States, the moment you're back to Davao , your

tongue feels as at home as you do.

Language is the very soul of every being. You just

can't do anything about it. Or as how we say

it,'Anohin man natin yan?'