Ilonggo

Filipinos are playful and creative by nature, especially when it comes to coming up with children or shop names. Combination of several names with “h” thrown in between the letters or a parody of a controversial personality or issue, and even brand names is one of the favorite techniques.

This playful naming game applies to the specific Philippine ethnic groups too… each stereotyped with a name based on the common characteristics of the people who belong to that society.

Here’s few examples to illustrate:

Ilocanos are known for being stingy (a.k.a. kuripot).

courtesy of: http://www.threethriftyguys.com

piggybank — courtesy of: http://us.cdn3.123rf.com

Kapampangans are known for being extravagant (a.k.a. magastos)
From what I’ve heard, Ilonggo, Pangasinense, and Cebuanos are known for being fond of shopping branded clothes and jewelry.

shopping — courtesy of: popularphotographybiz.com/

There must be a grain of truth to it but I can confirm that not all are like that. My Kapampangan, Ilonggo, Pangasinense, and Cebuano friends are pretty good with their finances and do not shop all the time. Some of them are even thrifty! For my Ilocano friends, some like to splurge on branded clothing, handbags, and jewelry.

Let’s face it, not all people are the same. Whatever ethnic group or country you belong and whatever “name” you are known for… your own principle and belief still rules out! :p

For me, I’m a practical spender. The question that I ask myself when I need to purchase something is, “Is it a luxury or a necessity?”. If it’s a luxury, then no go. However, if it’s a necessity, no matter how expensive that is… it’s definitely a go.

By the way, I’m an Ilocano and proud to be one! 😀 Ta ta for now! 🙂

P.S.
Click here to learn more about the Ethnic Groups of the Philippines.

I’ve always thought that if you have good command of the English language, it will be enough to make you “global”. Hence, I did everything within my mighty power to learn English even though I abhor the intricacies of its “technical” aspect.

A lot of people say I speak and write English well… Hmm.… I might have succeeded in a certain way but I know in my heart that I still have a long way to go.

My accent turned topsy-turvy after communicating with people having various mother tongue such as:

Filipino (Ilokano, Tagalog, Bisaya, Ilonggo, etc)
Dutch
German
French
Singaporean Mandarin
Chinese Mandarin
Cantonese
Hokien
Bhurmese
Bhutanese
Nepalese
Indonesian
Malay
Arabic
Ethiopian Language
Hindi
Tamil

I usually adapt the most prominent accent but my tongue seemed be confused on what accent to follow. Strange huh? Even so, I did manage to improve my accent slowly and it got better when I worked at HSBC. We were dealing with American clients, so, we were taught to neutralize our accent to minimize communication barrier. After a few months, I can already speak English with that American twang.

However, when I went to work in Singapore, I needed to unlearn that American twang and speak English the “local” way inorder to get the message across and minimize receiving blank stares. (See related article -> Singlish).

Now, I need to unlearn the Singlish and bring back the North American way of speaking English. It’s a work in progress and it’s a bit difficult because I’ve also adapted the unresponsive nature of Singaporeans. It’s a total struggle!

Looking at the brighter side of things, I know things will work well in the next couple of months. The naturally bubbly, giggly. and chatty me will soon surface.

How to think English is also added in my to do list. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not removing Ilokano and Tagalog in my system. I’m a Filipino and will always be. I just want to improve myself and make my Mama proud (wherever she is now). (Note: Writing is given. :p)

Thus, my mantra now is:
“I must speak English and think English.”

Why don’t we do this together? Aja! 🙂