july.lullalove's recent topics

Back in my elementary years, Peter Piper was the most common tongue twister that my English teacher taught us. She's so eager to get our attention, have fun learning English and help us practice proper pronunciation. 

In our local language, there are some tongue twisters that you can also try. ( If you'd like.)

1. Bumili ako ng bituka ng butiki sa botika. ( I bought a lizard intestine from the pharmacy). Sounds weird, right?

2. Ang relo ni Leroy ay Rolex. ( Leroy's watch is Rolex ) The person is referring to a watch brand.

3. Minekaniko ni Monico ang makina ng manika ni Monica. (Monico fixed the machine in Monica's doll)

One of my professors in college taught us about language deaths. It is sad to know that it does exist. Although the Philippines has lots of local dialects, I know there are some languages dying but I can't name one. 

Tongan. I never thought I would love the language but I did. I think it was because of the people and their songs.

Magandang Umaga- Good morning.

Magandang Tanghali - Good noon.

Magandang Hapon - Good afternoon.

Magandang Gabi - Good evening. * We don't have a direct Tagalog translation of Good evening, but ..

"Sana ay mahimbing ang tulog mo" is I wish you'll have a sound sleep.

Kamusta - Asking someone a status

Kamusta KA? - Ka here means YOU. Kamusta ka means HOW ARE YOU as an individual. 

Kamusta KAYO? - KAYO here means YOU with other people. It can be your family, friends, group, etc. How are you with your ____?

Kamusta SILA? - SILA here means THEY. How are they?

Kamusta TAYO? - TAYO means WE. How are we?

**The Philippines has been colonized by Spaniards for years so the Kamusta has been associated with the Spanish greeting " Como Esta?"

Responding to KAMUSTA:

Ayos lang ako. - AYOS means OKAY / WELL / GOOD. 

                                LANG means JUST. 

                                AKO means ME / I. 

                                Ayos lang ako means - I'm (just) okay. 

Hindi masyadong maayos. - Hindi means NO / NOT.

                                                      Masyado means QUITE

                                                      AYOS means OKAY / WELL / GOOD.

                                                      Hindi masyadong maayos means Not quite good. 

I prefer picking up vocabulary first. It makes you feel excited to construct sentences and use them. When you focus more on grammar, sometimes the grammar rules make you stagnant in learning. For me, there are rules that are hard to be remembered. 

It went a little rough as I am still a beginner but it is good to keep on trying. 

I agree to this one because language is really part of culture and society. When you explain things, you expand and apply your knowledge and reasoning. So if you do that while learning a language, it gives you an advantage. 

I believe it always better to start young while our brains are absorbing things quicker than adults. 

If you have visited Asia or at familiar with the countries around it, you will surely notice that countries such as Japan, Korea, China, Thailand, or even India have their own writing system.

But did you know that the Philippines has its own ancient writing too? Yes, you have read it right. And we call it - BAYBAYIN. 

For more info, you may visit the link below. 

https://www.bayaniart.com/articles/baybayin/

I haven't yet but I am planning to that in the future. :) 

Hoy por ti, mañana por mí. This expression is about reciprocity and the golden rule. “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” might also resemble it in meaning, but “Hoy por ti, mañana por mí” has a bit more of a positive meaning. It’s like paying the bill at the restaurant and saying to your friend, “Let me get this one. You get the next one.”

We were colonized by Spain for 333 years so why not try to learn Spanish. :) 

I was once teaching Tagalog to a Tongan friend ( from Tonga, one of the Polynesian Islands). I have tried to use Tongan words to them but they corrected me and said that I was referring to their genital part. It was awkward. 

I haven't finished college yet but I wanted to earn a degree in teaching English. After graduating from high school, I have tried my best to learn English as much as I can. I have tried summer jobs before working for an after-school tutorial center for kids for a year. 

The salary was not enough as it was just a part-time job. I have tried my luck working in a call center company and I got hired.

I may not have the perfect English yet but I am glad that trying your best to learn a language can really help you earn money decently. 

*** Tagalog is the Philippines National Language, it is mostly used in formal settings and documents. Over time, the Tagalog language was influenced by how we insert or add borrowed words and adjust to our daily conversation as it is more convenient for those non-native speakers who speak a different dialect. 

Example: 

Dictionary - English

Talatinigan - Tagalog ( formal)

Diksyunaryo - Filipino ( widely used in daily conversation, less formal, more convenient)

Washroom - English

Palikuran - Tagalog ( formal)

Banyo - ( derived from an Indonesian word, same meaning)

Ballpen or Ballpoint pen - English

Panulat - Tagalog

Bolpen - Filipino

In short, you can think of Filipino language as an upgraded form of the Tagalog language. 

I know. There are languages that sound interesting for us to learn but no matter how hard we try, there is this problem with learning that language. 

I always wanted to learn Chinese and Thai, but I don't know if the problem was my way of hearing how they pronounce words but I really find it hard to grasp learning those languages. 

My silliest fear is the embarrassment that I might feel if I mispronounced a word or I might end up getting a wrong idea when a native speaker speaks to me in idiomatic expression, worst, I might give an incorrect response.

However, that changed when most of the native speakers I have dealt with told me that my English is good and that I just need to continue working on the challenges I might have while learning.

I think the most taboo question that a person not native in my country can ask us natives is to ask whether a lady is a virgin or not. 

In my opinion, the words such as tattoo, drug addiction, teenage pregnancy, abortion, rape. and mental illness are considered to convey negative thoughts but now, people are becoming open to discuss these topics openly and awarely. 

In my country, Filipino / Tagalog is a gender-neutral language but gender is usually differentiated in certain Spanish loanwords by way of the suffixes -a (feminine) and -o (masculine). It is more obvious with how we name kids and mention occupations. 

Here in the Philippines, we have acquired most of our Last Names from Spanish. Our mother's maiden last name becomes our middle name. 

From time to time, our English school teachers are asking us to present a report or discussion in front of the class, it is really making me anxious whenever I don't know that topic and if I had only studied it in a short amount of time. 

Hello guys, it has rained heavily earlier this evening. I was awakened by loud thunderings that continued to shock me every few minutes. I have never experienced those kinds of thunder that made me feel like it's going to be the end of the world soon. 

I fear that I might die early without preparation. I am afraid of the silence and the dark. 

I hate to watch suspense movies because I feel that what I can see in the movies can really happen in actual life. 

How about you?  

Hello everyone! I have been on this website for a while. I am happy to meet new folks here and be able to learn from one another. I have met a few friends internationally thru chatting, however, I have seen lately that only a few people are available to chat with. I strongly agree with the idea that exposure to a target language really helps, so if you are done reading and listening to an audio, feel free to chat! :) 

Nice to meet you! 

Anyone here using the language rooms or have found a friend to chat with using the target language you are learning?