My response:
I know I will get some flack for posting this picture, but I think it will help to illustrate my point. You see, I commented on one blog regarding Filipino and spelling. In this comment, I mentioned that we should try our very best to speak and spell either "proper Filipino/tagalog" or "proper English," and to avoid overuse of Taglish, Englog, Carabao English, Barok Tagalog, cono, blah blah blah or any form of vernacular language. I simply suggested that speaking the right usage of English and Tagalog will be more helpful in certain fields, especially now that we are facing globalization, increasingly.
The arguments to be made against the aforementioned statement is whether or not speaking "proper English" or "proper Tagalog" will help or not. (Note, I do not intend to define proper English or proper Tagalog, as that is another debate altogether). I am not arguing that we shouldn't use some English words and spell them as Filipino. I know that there are some English words that cannot literally be translated into Filipino. For example, I don't even know how to say "computer" in Filipino. I know it in Spanish, since I took three years of Spanish (computadora). But in Filipino. Computer? Is it Kampyuter? Kumpyoter? Kompyuter? I have no clue. This is the exception. I don't mind at all that we can take the spelling of Computer and "Filipinize" it to make it our own. Heck, every language borrows from another.
But for words like People, the transformation into Pipol gives me the eevy jeevies. Makes my hair stand up. Why, because I know that there is a word in Filipino for People. Isn't it Tao? Mga Tao? Something like that. How about Picture? Isn't it Larawan in Filipino? Or Retrato in Ilocano. Foto en Espanol? Pipol, I mean People, please correct me if I'm wrong. I am in the learning process of understanding Tagalog. One day, I will learn it. One day, my friends will no longer laugh when I speak Filipino. Isang araw, hindi na sila tatawa. One day, they will not find my Filipino cute anymore. (Note, I separated the Filipino sentence and not made it Isang day, hindi na sila will laugh.) I would have been roasted by Taglish experts.
From the quote above is the newly spelled word kwestson. I believe that is question, if I am not mistaken. So here's a perfect example. I learned enough Filipino/Tagalog that there is a tagalog word for question. It's tanong. If we were to respell question into a Filipino one, will it be kwestson, kuwestyon, kwistyon, kuwistiyon; In this case, it will take me years, maybe even decades to learn it well.
I repeat, I don't mind new spellings, as long as there isn't a Filipino word for it. But if there is already a Filipino word for it, why do we re-spell it? Are we uneducated? Are we rebellious? Are we uninformed? Are we careless? Is it our way of saying, look, I'm not that smart, so I'm going to spell the best way I know how and i don't care if you don't understand it, because I do, and that's all that matters, so my way is the better way and I'm so smart for respelling it.
Before this post gets so long, I will just close with remarks regarding the picture above. I am even more confused than the rabbit when I see English words being respelled into the so-called Filipino spelling. Is it whayt rabeet? The kendy? Or is it white rabbit, the candy? Note, I'm not as horny as that rabbit, looking to do whom or whatever; I'm just as confused, if not even more.
Perhaps I'm like the chicken; like someone just screwed me over when I see Filipinized things. Should I just accept? I probably won't accept now, because I'm still trying to learn about it; for now, the best thing to do is discuss, and try to understand why. There's that word again, why?
Maybe someone will explain to me, so I will no longer be the confused rabbit, or the screwed chicken. I digress again.
NOTE: I do not know what these words mean, but silly me, I commented on that quote anyway: pilipit, pagbigkas, banyagang. Help!
