Tagalog

Should You Learn Cebuano or Filipino? {6}

Should You Learn Cebuano or Filipino?

Nov 16, 2013

For most of those moving to the Philippines and desiring to learn a new language, the choice is fairly clear. Depending upon where you will live, either Cebuano or Filipino (Tagalog for the purposes of this article) is more prevalent. This is especially true in the larger cities. If you wish to live in a remote province, then you very possibly have other choices. I wish you luck with that. Unless you are one of those talented people that picks up languages without trying, you aren’t likely to get much in the way of reference material with anything but Filipino or Cebuano.

If Davao is your intended destination, then the the river gets a little muddy.
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By Category: Cultural Adjustment, Davao, Langauge Tags: , , ,

Communication Breakdown {12}

Communication Breakdown

Sep 28, 2013

It’s been about 8 years since my initial visit to the Philippines, and therefor my introduction to the people here. It didn’t take very long for me to conclude that even though English is taught in schools, it was often quite difficult to communicate with others using it here.

I’ve since come to the realization that what I had thought was a foreigner to Pilipino issue is much more complex than that. It has become apparent to me that Pilipinos often have great difficulty communicating with each other as well. As I see it, the problem is twofold.
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By Category: Cultural Adjustment, Davao, Langauge Tags: , , ,

Restarting Bisaya Lessons {2}

Restarting Bisaya Lessons

Sep 10, 2012

I paused my Bisaya Lessons earlier this year. The pause was longer than anticipated, almost seven months. The reality is that I hadn’t been having steady lessons even up to that point, so it may be the better part of a year since I have been active with them.

For the most part I didn’t study during that time. Nearly all I did was some back and forth with my asawa in our correspondences prior to my move. That certainly was a help, but didn’t serve to move me ahead in my studies. As it turns out, I would need to wait until I made my move, part of the reason for pausing, before I would be able to continue again.
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By Category: Cultural Adjustment, Davao, Langauge Tags: , , ,

Filipino-American Christmas Party {0}

Filipino-American Christmas Party

Dec 5, 2010

The FAAIE (Filipino-American Association of the Inland Empire) had their annual Christmas party last night. I attended for the first time in a couple of years, and observed some expected and some unexpected results.

The first observation was that the function started on time. I was late, but I expected that this was at least a mostly Filipino function, so I assumed many late arrivals. Guess I was wrong on that one. It seems it doesn’t take long to pick up some of the US customs, though I know many Americans that have trouble with the time thing, too.
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By Category: Food, Langauge Tags: , , , , , , ,

Bisayan or Tagalog? {4}

Bisayan or Tagalog?

Apr 15, 2008

I don’t know if this is a common dilemma or not, but since I’ve decided to try to learn some of the language of the Philippines before I retire there, I’ve got to make a decision. Do I learn the national language or the native dialect in the area I will live? You might say, “learn both”. Well that would be ideal but I think I will have plenty of difficulty learning one, so I’m going on the assumption that both won’t happen.

I hadn’t really given it any thought previously. I just assumed that I would learn Tagalog. After all that’s spoken everywhere in the Philippines, right? Well I guess the answer is yes and no. I’ve been informed that many areas, Davao and Cebu for instance, are not happy about Tagalog being forced upon them. If you want to fit in, then you will learn the native dialect.
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By Category: Langauge, Samal Island Tags: , ,