skywatcher

"Boom Panis" is a growing meme similar to the "Push mo yan, 'te" phenomenon (they were birthed nearly at the same timeframe, right?). It's a growing term used after punchlines and supposedly "funny" moments. (It's harder to explain it than to actually get used to the phenomenon.) I honestly believe this started with the "Boom Vanness" meme that originated when Meteor Garden aired again in the Philippines (after quite some time), being a play on Vanness Wu's name (Vanness) sounding closely like "Panes." In this context, "Panes" is not the same as "Panis" (spoiled). In the "Boom, Panis!" phrase, "Panis/Panes" is taken more as "Owned!/Pwned!" when we use videogame wording. In essence, the main thought of "Boom! Panis!" in the meaning it wants to convey is, "Boom! It's too awesome you couldn't resist the urge to feel its awesomeness, yes?" (Of course, the meaning varies, but this is the general message that it gives me). It's not practically that bad, though. To be fair, it's funny and entertaining (irritating perhaps for others who noticed/can't appreciate the rather mellow taste of other Filipinos when it comes to comedy), but I have to say it's not as hurtful as the Jejemon Phenomenon language-wise. Changing the last word sometimes makes it funnier, though. "Boom, Galit!" "Boom, Panot!" and other words. It doesn't get funny when it's taken too out of the context, though - but when the timing gets itself right, it can become something that's really entertaining. I still don't get why Vice Ganda had to make a song about "Push mo yan, 'te," though. It just says "Push mo yan, 'te," right? The "Boom, Panis!" one had a more entertaining vibe to it.

I do agree somehow, because even the Philippines, it's been a growing issue that the time learning general education subjects (including the native language, Filipino) will be lessened to make room for Mandarin, which is one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world. Given this, I think Mandarin will somehow dominate in the future - but not in the near future. At most, I see Mandarin to be "paired" with English when it comes to global communications, seeing as China is growing as an economic powerhouse and English still being widespread and is technically almost the secondary language of a lot of countries (if not most) around the world. Of course, this depends on how the Chinese language will further influence the language scene in the times to come.

Hm, I have this book that's a compilation of a lot of stories (it's the art that really captivated me). Unfortunately, I have been exposed more to stories than actual books, huhu. When it comes to stories, "The Stone Soup" really makes my day all the time. Aside from this, though, "The Little Prince" is also one of my favorites. "Hansel and Gretel" introduced me to sweets, and I really liked "The Little Red Riding Hood."

Oh, can I post an update? I'm starting to get the hang of it, haha! But I can only do it for a few times each day (sometimes luck), so I can't really guarantee that I'm getting there. But your tips really worked! Thanks, guys!

I love Night Vale! Though for me, I also tend to zone out while listening to audio books - but sometimes, depending on the audio books, they could really bring life to the book it was based on. Take World War Z, for example. Although I've already read the book, when I discovered an audio book available, I really wanted to try and see how they would depict the situations - because unlike other books that are either in pure first person or third person in narrative, World War Z is a collection of "interviews" regarding stories during the zombie apocalypse. For me, this was the most interesting aspect of the audio book - because somehow, I actually really felt the characters make a mark.

Though I haven't been an ESL tutor or teacher before, I do have some friends who've been ESL tutors before. The one piece of advice they always tell me (should I want to be a tutor) is that we should always take into consideration the kind of culture the people we're teaching have, because with this, we can easily identify their interests, their hobbies, and effectively find a teaching method that is effective for them. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten the chance to ask them for examples, but this was the biggest advice they gave me regarding their short experiences both abroad and with foreign students.

That book must probably be Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. It's not the best novel out there, but it's certainly one of the best I've read. It taught me that just because Armageddon is happening in a week doesn't mean things can't get awkwardly hilarious. And just because "God said so" doesn't mean we don't have the right to at least wonder about things. As much as it's not a religious work, Good Omens is the funniest account of the Apocalypse that I've ever read. Perhaps the inspiring part wasn't the comedy part, it's how they're able to integrate something funny in a story so filled with witty remarks and, in a way, passages that would really make you think.

I think this is rather unfair. Everyone should be able to write about anything if they (the writers) think it's going to help add more life to their story - including things like races and geographical differences. The only catch here is that, of course, the writers in question should also study and do research before writing these things because there can be a lot of misconceptions and things to consider when trying to depict different races (not that I'm being racist, but I think we should do more research when dealing with other races just so our works couldn't appear racist.)

I do this a lot, because I don't keep track of all the grammar terms being thrust at me in school - because I've kind of learned what I know most about grammar from my constantly writing and kind of "getting the hang of things." This means, I can "write" properly, but I can't "teach" how I write, haha. This means I always have to research the terms I've been hearing, only to realize that I've been doing the exact same thing. Or I can search for a term I've never heard before, and then realize that I've been doing something wrong. The hard part is that people expect us to keep on remembering all these terms and concepts when in fact, we're not even sure as to what extent are we going to use all the lessons we've been learning.

I'm more inclined to study a single language first, because I'm afraid I'm not that keen into being able to focus on two things at once. As much as this is a bit easy when it comes to multitasking with school works and other duties, language-learning is a completely different matter.

I think this depends, and I'm not exactly sure how "accurate" my "mistake-spotting" is, but I do admit that not all subtitles fit right with the actual definition of the terms being said. However, I also believe this depends on how dedicated and how much time the ones who make the subtitles (I'll call them subbers) put in constructing the translations. The more accurate the translations, the more time it takes for them before they release the translated subtitles, so I guess the real question is if the viewers could wait for more accurate subtitles (which really take time, depending on the length of the thing being subbed) or if they could settle with speed-subbed works. When settling for speed-subbed works, this really depends on the staff and their dedication to work on translation and proofreading of the material being subbed. Then again, the effectiveness of their translations depend on 1.) the scope of the knowledge of the Translator to the language being subbed, and 2.) how good is the Proofreader/Grammar Checker in spotting mistakes in the grammar/etc. Not only that, but "context" also has to be observed. Are the subtitles being created in context of what's actually happening (this means, in the anime/Japanese subbed context, a foreigner viewer in the world of anime - this means the "-sans" and the "-kuns" could be added and some terms have to be explained via translation notes), or are the subtitles created in the context that everything is happening around the vicinity (this means, in the anime/Japanese subbed context, the story is happening in our language context, this means the "-sans" and the "-kuns" are eliminated, and some terms are simply subbed into their nearest English counterpart).

Whoa, cool! I did this when I wanted to improve my English for a bit (as in, stories - I delete the files right away when I realize my work isn't that worth reading HAHA), but I'm not sure if I could do this just as easily when it comes to foreign languages. We're going to have Spanish as a class soon in college (as in, by July), so I think I'll have to try this tactic, haha.

I agree with the others, not everyone's grammar is "perfect" and we all make mistakes. Though if I were to be asked what makes "poor grammar," I do agree that consistency is part of it. It's okay if we make mistakes once in a while, but I think it gets to be "poor" when we do it all the time to the point of not even getting to notice the mistakes. But as for what you've just written, your grammar isn't "poor." It's actually fine for me - but I guess it all depends on the kind of output expected from you. In my case, style is also a factor as to whether or not my editors call my work "poor" or not. I've only learned quite recently that other publications follow their style seriously, and as much as someone's writing is good, if it can't follow a certain style no matter how many times you teach it, the writing can be considered "poor" - so I think context is also something to be considered.

I have this problem, too, and I'm nervous now that we have a Spanish class. It's something I've had ever since I was a child, and the problem is that my R's are sometimes turning into W's ("train" becomes "twain"), and it really bothers me. I could handle it better by being able to speak R on words with no rolling R's, but when it comes to the rolling R's, I'm really having an issue.

>Japanese - primarily because I'm heavily interested in Japanese culture, and there's a different "feel" whenever I encounter new sets of kanji >French - I'm, uh, 1/16 French, so I think it's a miniature obligation for me to learn the language. However, I also found the language interesting - especially the way speakers say words. As much as I don't want to see French solely as a "romantic language," the way the words are spoken are really good to the ears >Latin - not because of things like using them in science, music and other things, but primarily because I'm simply interested with the way phrases and sentences are formed. It's interesting because, as much as it's a dead language, I at least could get an opportunity to learn how life was like when Latin was still a living language >German and Russian - these languages have their certain appeal to me, a certain "beauty" of sorts that I couldn't describe. It's like, when I get to hear words spoken in German or in Russian, I get this pleasant feeling and a tendency to want to really learn how to speak the language. It's kind of more of a natural interest than actually having some sort of reason.

I only have those thick dictionaries with a few instances of images/pictures/sketches being associated with some words, but aside from that, I've been used to those thick volumes with a lot of words. This is mostly what I've been using when I have to use the dictionary for personal purposes. For professional purposes, though, and if there isn't a big one available, I always make sure I have a portable version and an app on my phone, just to be safe.

I like the idea, but I've never read works from either authors. Not that I don't like their works, but I don't like getting too emotional. However, basing from some accidental instances (having cheesy parts in other works I've read), it's really something, well, good. It really makes me feel good. Not really "too good," but good enough to feel satisfied reading and feeling the characters. Kind of a way of "connecting" with the characters more.

I do these things a lot! I get to memorize words effectively by using mnemonics and associating them with day-to-day affairs. Though I mostly do these things by actually finding opportunities to use the word in any occasion, just so I can be sure that I really understand the word correctly and get its meaning accurately. I guess it's really effective if we make the phrase "practice makes perfect" literal and much more brutal (as in, almost an endless affair, HAHA).

When I text, I try writing everything in full sentences. But this depends, because I try to keep my texts on a "one texting load" limit - when I go further it should be because it's a long message, or I try to shorten them to keep the "one texting load" limit. If this happens, this is the time I'd use shortcuts. But then again, because I also use Filipino during texting (and a lot of Filipino verbs are based on syllable repetition), I only tend to use shortcuts for words with the same pronunciation and spelling - but aside from that, even if they're used with shortcuts, I try to keep the grammar intact.

I do these things all the time, especially when it comes to amazingly descriptive scenes and provocative dialogue. This is why I'm often disappointed when my "imaginary depiction" of a place or a person couldn't be completed because a certain paragraph wouldn't give enough descriptions. I love doing these things when it comes to dialogue - especially in confrontational scenes where the writing is just as exciting as imagining what's happening. I especially loved these encounters while reading Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens, haha.

It's kind of a requirement because while Filipino is our native language (as in, the one Filipinos native to the Philippines use), and English is our official language (as in, the one in the Constitution that should be used as a major medium in education, businesses, etc. except in subjects dealing with the native language). So I guess it's been with the student ever since he or she begins studying, because from nursery to university education, English is somewhat a requirement for the students to be tackled. Of course, English proficiency depends on how much every student is willing to improve and learn.

This is a hard thing to do, and I don't think there's a "correct and polite" way of correcting someone's pronunciation. What I usually do is (after waiting for my friend to finish), I always ask him/her (in the kindest voice I could possibly muster) that, "I thought (this word) is pronounced as, (this pronunciation)?" Or, if we're basing them from a book, I might borrow the book afterwards and pretend I didn't know where that part came from. And then that's the time I'd read the piece with the correct pronunciation. That's the usual way I do these things. But I think if your friend is really willing and eager to learn another language, he/she wouldn't mind being corrected right after he/she speaks. I think (deep inside), he/she would want you to interrupt him/her as soon as possible - to "quickly mend the injury," so to speak.

I think it's alright for me so long as it's in the proper context. After all, as the others said, language is constantly evolving, so I guess we'd really reach the point that adapting these things become commonplace. For example, you could just easily laugh instead of screaming "LOL" (not /el-oh-el/, but, as in, /lohl/). That's something I really couldn't get. I also don't think "WTF" (as in, /double-u-tee-eff/) is more appropriate in the context of the conversation than the actual "what the eff." We also use other Internet terminologies in our conversations. Not just for computer-related discussions, but for some parts of our daily lives. For example, when someone we make fun of in the clique wears something we didn't expect, we usually say, "oh-no-TD" (a play on the OOTD). We also commonly use the "hashtag" remark when we're about to say something funny. We typically say names of memes whenever we try making fun of someone within our own group (which we commonly do to each other). We even make up memes from what we're So I guess unless it's not appropriate for the occasion, Internet terminologies are fine - just not to the point that people would recklessly use those things just for the sake of getting a term out of their mouths (we'd really get to sense those instances).

It's difficult to suggest books based solely on age, hehe. I agree that a lot of the books suggested by the others are really good books (I recommend them, especially the classics! Catcher in the Rye, too), but it still depends on what you want to read. You have to assess your interests, and even the things you're disinterested in, and you have to start from that. What are the sort of books you want to read? Does it depend on the mood, the day, the situation? We can't force you to read things that you might not enjoy. The best we could do is give suggestions, but the best thing for a reader like you to do is understanding that a lot of genres offer amazing works, and most of the time, you'd have to find them for yourself because it's more of a, uh, "journey of self-discovery". For a recommendation, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens. It's a worth read, haha. It's really funny but still thought-provoking. If you want an Apocalypse-with-a-(funny)-twist, this is for you.

I began reading (as in the serious kind) when I was in sixth grade when I bought this Dragonlance: Dragons of Winter Night book on a booksale. It was a difficult read for me (my language proficiency lacking and all), but it really made me have fun reading. This was the start of my reading journey. Eventually, this was the one that pushed me to try writing, haha. I will always be in debt to the Dragonlance staff for their introducing me to the wonderful world of reading and writing and, eventually, the wonderful universe of Dungeons and Dragons.