Wikapedia: Fall in love with the Filipino language all over again
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Linggo na naman. Nagbihis si Lolo para magsimba. Eskosesa ang kanyang polo na binili sa ukay-ukay. Ang pantalon nyang maong ay gawang-yari. Isputing ang porma, ‘ika ng nila.Nagmumurang kamyas daw, puna ng ilan. Dedma na lang akez sa hanash ng iba. Ang mahalaga ay masaya siya. Marami-rami nang naranasan sa buhay si Lolo. Napalaki niya nang maayos ang aking tatay. Mahal na mahal niya kaming mga apo. Tanging kaligayahan niya ang hangad namin para sa kaniya.
Has your Filipino gotten a little rusty? Have you been confusing the use of “ng” and”nang” when writing in our national language? Odds are you’re not alone. Scan through the comments in your Facebook timeline, and you’ll see how our beloved language is butchered and maimed, however unintentionally, with alarming regularity. We’ve all, at some point, committed our share of Filipino language atrocities. Clearly, we needed to brush up on our Filipino language skills.
I’d like to think that the Presidential Commissions Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) had understood where we were coming from, and that’s why it came up with the Wikapedia e-booklet on the occasion of Buwan ng Wika 2015. The 100-page Wikapedia e-booklet is filled with handy hints on the proper writing of our national language, as well as vocabulary words that can help improve the way we express ourselves in Filipino.
The illustrations and examples are clever and fascinating. For a long time, the meaning of “eskosesa” in Joey Albert’s Christmas song “Kumukuti-kutitap” had eluded me. I was rather chuffed to see the word’s English translation in Wikapedia and its reference to the use of “eskosesa” in the same song. Did you know about the folkloric creature that is believed to be responsible for “bangungot”? Neither did I, until I learned about the “batibat” on Wikapedia. We all like to greet each other a “Manigong Bagong Taon” when the new year rolls around. It was embarrasing to find out that the meaning of “manigo” is not at all what I’d always assumed it to be.
Wikapedia is free to download from the PCDSPO site. Aside from the e-booklet, the Wikapedia Facebook page hands out interesting language tidbits like candy that you’d wish they’d make a second volume. Give their Facebook page a like and fall in love with our beautiful language all over again.
