esennyhc

Wow, there are so many Filipinos on this forum!! I wouldn't have expected it, given that our country's main languages are only English and Filipino, but it's a great thing to find out. I wish you luck on your Spanish language endeavours, and even more with Chinese and Korean!!

I can't seem to get behind audio books. I get the appeal for some people, especially the multitaskers and busybodies, but as a very visual person, I can't seem to concentrate on what I'm listening to without being distracted by what I see around me. That's why I love reading--my eyes focus on nothing but the words on the page, and the lack of distractions better helps me get absorbed by what I'm reading.

What are your thoughts on what the language of instruction of schools in the Philippines should be? I see the merits of using both Filipino (mother tongue, encourages new generations to be more fluent, better appreciation of the language) and English (some science/math concepts are best explained in English, used by public and private institutions, more international), so I was hoping to hear people's thoughts on the matter.

There's also the word hiya and its many forms: nakakahiya (embarrassing), "wala ka bang hiya?" (shame), nahihiya (shy), etc. It can be used multiple ways, and while yes, technically, these words all have translations, there's no one meaning/translation of just "hiya." Also, something I remembered from grade school: palay, bigas, kanin--all different words, one translation: rice.

The "z"->"s" thing is probably the only aspect of British English that I don't incorporate into my English habits, if only because they look so wrong whenever I look at them! I'm all for "centre" over "center" and "honour" over "honor," but I could never get myself to use "apologise" instead of "apologize." I'm curious though--has anyone figured out which came first, the "s" or "z" spellings?

Nothing beats a good, old-fashioned hard copy in your hands! I feel like I stare at my computer and phone screens too much throughout the day, so it's great to give my eyes a break while still doing something that I love. I just make sure that I'm reading with a good light source so as not to ruin my eyesight by reading in the dark. The book smell always gets me as well, and it just feels different having something to hold and pages to flip.

I find British English to be so much more sophisticated, even if the differences are mostly just one additional letter or two letters switched in place (such as "center"->"centre"). Although I grew up watching American movies, British movies usually have much smarter wit and humour, and you can't deny that a British accent sounds so much more classy. I also grew up reading the Harry Potter books, then a lot of Jane Austen after that, so reading British English has definitely had an effect on the way I type and spell.

Psychological thrillers, for sure! While monsters and gore get me scared in the cinema, I can get over the trauma within a few days. Psychological thrillers are the type that stay with you though, especially when the killers are just ordinary people driven to insanity. It really makes you scared, knowing that any other guy on the street could be a psycho murderer. I'm getting chills just thinking about it.

I can see the merits of active listening as a child, although I'm not too sure about learning multiple languages at once. I have a few friends here in the Philippines who grew up in Chinese-Filipino households that put emphasis on learning good English. So they learned Filipino because it's the native language of the country, and they learned English because it's how they were taught in school and at home. However, they weren't expected to learn to speak Chinese, so while they do understand the language while being spoken to, they never learned how to construct their own sentences and speak it for themselves.

I find that "Mahal kita" is already a very personal way of expressing love! Sir Jim Paredes was discussing this phrase with us a few few weeks back, and he mentioned that what makes it so deep and personal is how the 'I' and the 'you' aren't separated like they are in "I love you." 'Kita' is slightly possessive, and already uses both 'I' and 'you' in the sense that the word can be understood to mean "you are mine." So when you say "Mahal kita," it's less of an "I love you" and more of a "You are my love," which I think is so much more sweet and romantic.

The problem with having a national language in a country as big and diverse in the Philippines is that it sidesteps many of the languages present here. In some cases, it could even cause hostilty--I have a friend from Cebu who shared that some Cebuanos aren't too receptive of Filipino speakers, mainly because it's just Tagalog given a fancy title. There so many languages worthy of mentioning and giving value, like Bisaya, Chavacano, Ilocano. Having a national language is convenient, yes, but we mustn't forget about all the other beautiful languages we have.