This "Buwan Ng Wika", I'm Trying to Learn More About the Southeast Asian Influence Found in Various Filipino Languages

Knowing the history of the Philippines means tracing back its ancestors. I saw this video on Youtube where I did manage to do some lucky guesses. When I heard of Tealive's Bryan Loo of Loob Holdings, I wasn't surprised that loob in Malaysian still means inside. This video is of a Filipino woman (Tagalog) and a Malaysian man speaking to each other. If anything, to say that the Philippines can't learn from Malaysia or Indonesia is wrong. It's because of the history of the settlers themselves!

From the Day Translations Blog, I found 10 interesting facts about the Filipino language. I would like to share one aspect of the Filipino language that I find interesting:

6. The precursor of Filipino, the Tagalog language is not a pure language. It developed from various influences.
The early ancestors of the Filipinos were Negritos or Aetas from Asia who came to the Philippines through land bridges. They were small people with wide noses, black skin, thick lips, and slinky hair. Two types of Indonesians followed them. The first to arrive were tall, with thin lips, high noses, large foreheads, and light skin. The second wave of Indonesian immigrants were shorter, with darker skins, heavy jaws, thick lips and large noses. After the Indonesians, Malays migrated to the Philippines as well. It is one of the reasons why it is difficult to define the identity of the Filipino through physical looks, unlike the Chinese or Japanese.
These groups of people influenced the early development of the Tagalog language. Researchers found evidence of Bahasa Indonesia, Malay and even Sanskrit. They later replaced the language with Castilian Spanish. They used it as a medium of instruction for the elite, while the rest couldn’t learn Spanish. Later, Tagalog became peppered with loan words from Spanish as well as loan words from Chinese and English.

I also remembered trying to decode the song "Dayang Dayang" (read here). Often mistaken as an Indian song (probably due to the parody by the late Yoyoy Villame), it's actually a song written in an indigenous language. Some say it's from Mindanao while others say it's from Malaysia or Indonesia. Some say there was a singer named Hainun Pangilan. There was the Indonesian singer Virvina Vica. The Sinama language is found in Southeast Asia. The song "Dayang Dayang" has many versions. I guess the popularized version (which I think is mistakenly attributed to Bollywood actress, Rai Aishwarya) is spoken in another Indonesian language.

I wasn't too surprised to find so many common terms that have the same meaning. Sure, there are some spelling differences like takut and takot for scared. The language of Indonesia and Malaysia can also be found among Taiwanese natives. No surprise that various indigenous dances in Asia are very similar to the indigenous dances in the Philippines. Why should it be surprising that Filipino languages have a lot of things in common with its Southeast Asian neighbors?

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Wrong Assumption: Those Who Wish to Reform the 1987 Constitution are Automatically Marcos Loyalists and Diehard Duterte Supporters

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Hilario Davide Jr.'s Still Quoted by Anti-Constitutional Reform Fools on Social Media

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Are People Who Say Systems Don't Matter Be Willing to Prove Their Claims for a Million Pesos?

People often argue that it's not the system but the people who run it. Some people have their examples like the late former Philippine president Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" C. Aquino III and former Philippine vice president Atty. Maria Leonor "Leni" S. Gerona-Robredo. They would say that both Noynoy and Leni are "prime examples" why charter change isn't needed, just a change of people in power. Some people even say that the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines is "inviolate". If that's so then what happened to Article XVII that makes it open to amendments? Why wasn't that even used? That means even making a new constitution isn't illegal per se--unless one did what Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. did during the martial law era! However, if we understand simple psychological science, we need to look at basic psychology. Please, I don't need a doctorate in certain degrees, in the Greenbelt Universities, to understand that there are mist

The Happy Aborigines Taiwanese Song

While looking for an Aborigine song that gave me an earworm--I found this interesting aboriginal song. By looking at this video, I suspect that this song is actually a love song between a man and a woman,. It does sound very Ifugao-like as well.

"Give Up Tomorrow" Deleted Scene: The Safehouse Where the Crime Supposedly Took Place

Give Up Tomorrow has been an interesting documentary. Why I was fascinated by it because of how it shook my mind. It turned out that it was a trial by publicity . It was also at that time when The Calvento Files aired a dramatization of Davidson Rusia's testimony. As Cebu City Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said, it was a very unpopular move. People already thought Juan Francisco G. Larrañaga aka Paco (and the seven others) were guilty. People thought Davidson's story was worth believing. Some deleted scenes never made it into the final cut This deleted scene talks about the owner of the place where the crime allegedly happened. David Gurkan now recalls his experience. According to Davidson, this was the story as recorded by the Supreme Court of the Philippines: From the evidence of the prosecution, there is no doubt that all the appellants conspired in the commission of the crimes charged. Their concerted actions point to their joint purpose and community of intent. Well se

The Curious Case of Dayang Dayang, Not Dayang Daya

I remembered the song "Dayang Dayang" which had a parody cover called "Dayang Daya". Some people wondered if it was from India. Some say it was a Muslim song which makes more sense. It's because the beats almost sound like one from Filipino Muslim dances. Granted, a lot of Filipinos descended from either Malaysian or Indonesian settlers then it would make sense if Dayang Dayang is danced to the Pakiring. The song I just share comes from an Indonesian singer who probably popularized the song. Many words from the Filipino language match up with Malaysian language or Indonesian language. The Filipino word for help (tulong) is tolong in Indonesian and Malaysian. The Malaysian (or Indonesian) term Dayang is said to mean a noble lady. It would make sense of the song "Dayang Dayang" would've come from Indonesia, Malaysia, or from Mindanao in the Philippines. This was the most common version heard. I think the video maker wrongly attributed it to Bollywo

The Chiong Sisters Case Muddled by the Philippines' RAMBUNCTIOUS PRESS?

Here's a clip of the late Carlos P. Celdran and Teddy Boy Locsin Jr. from Michael Collins' YouTube channel. Until now, I still wonder if the director of that awful film Animal (2004) namely Federico "Toto" Natividad Jr. was also there during the Cinemalaya premiere. The film Animal (2004) was once entitled Butakal: Sugapa sa Laman in 1999, meaning Male Pig: Drunkard in Body . This clip talks about just how the whole media frenzy caused a double miscarriage of justice. Celdran, a known reformist and vocal anti-Duterte critic, voiced out the unethical making of a Maalaala Mo Kaya episode. Did I miss something back in the 1990s? All I remember was broadcasting an episode in The Calvento Files. Until now, the ABS-CBN YouTube channel hasn't uploaded it. How both Marty Syjuco and Collins got some clips of the film isn't specifically said. I believe Marty and Michael went to the late Tony Calvento, asked for his permission, and were given permission. I believe tha

The Late Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino Should've Remained a National Symbol of Unity Even After EDSA 1986

Well, it's time for another today in history entry, right? I was trying to set up a WordPress site (which might be experimental at best, for now) and it's in. WordPress is that hard to use for someone like me. Back on topic, I was tagged to a post on Facebook on ABS-CBN News Facebook page. It's no surprise that I read people's comments can be very stupid . Some keep talking like, "The 1987 Constitution is the best in the world." or "Change the people. Not the constitution." Please, if that were true why was it that the defective 1973 pseudo-parliamentary government of the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. (and I wrote a rebuttal why it isn't ) had to be replaced with another constitution . Sadly, the 1987 Constitution was written almost in such a hurry which created a lot of mistakes. The events of EDSA reveal this detail about the late Maria Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino. It was that Mrs. Aquino was hiding in a convent in Cebu at that time . In short, M

Very Easy to Say, "I'm Sure!' and Be Wrong, Am I Right?

I guess that foolish old man did the right thing to block me on social media. The old man remained incorrigible while having his toga display, apparently getting a doctorate. An earlier post I wrote was about the misuse and abuse of CTTO . I even wonder who in the world is Merkado CTTO? It's very easy to use CTTO to look smart. However, real studies need more than CTTO but several sources. It should be several valid sources and not just sources you agree with. I was laughing at this old man in a toga (who has thankfully blocked me after I tried to refute his errors as a nobody ) who tends to use CTTO. I think he was also fond of saying, "I'm sure!" and then it ends up with several stupid claims. Such people would be in what might be best called the MARITES Pyramid of Learning (read here ). These people's best sources can be summarized as "Trust me bro" or "Just trust me". In the case of the meme I made, the peak of the pyramid is, "Jus

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