EXPLAINING “POPE, PUTANG-INA KA, UMUWI KA NA”
I wrote a post before about the use of Filipino by Davaeños. I thought Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte would be the right president if we would talk about developing Filipino as a combination of many regional languages without the domination of Tagalog, irrespective of the fact that it was used as the basis for the national language during the 1930s.
When Davaoeños speak Tagalog, they tend to mix it with Bisaya words, expressions, and fillers. That is not new. They have been doing that for decades now. So, I cannot sit idly by while rabid religionists are lambasting Mayor Duterte. This is not even about defending him anymore.
Then his supposed cussing or cursing of the Pope happened. Was it really a cuss or curse uttered out of hatred or a Bisaya expression used as a language filler? I think it was the latter. I speak and write in Bisaya and Tagalog, so I know what I am talking about. Let me explain.
There are many language fillers in Bisaya like “buang ka” (you’re crazy), “gago ka” (you’re foolish), “bastos ka” (you’re rude), “animal ka” (you’re a beast), and “yawa ka” (you’re a devil). Each of those fillers is used in a particular situation.
None of those could be used as far as the Pope’s visit that caused traffic congestion was concerned. There is a filler in Bisaya though that can be used in any situation, and that is “putang-ina ka” (you’re a whorish mother), which is not really “putang-ina mo” (your mother is a whore).
Do you see the difference? Do you think the Pope can be a “whorish mother”? Come on! It is nothing but a meaningless language filler. When Bisaya-speaking people cuss or curse, they also say “putang-ina mo”, and that is very clear.
(For reference, please read this:
MAYOR RODRIGO DUTERTE AT ANG WIKANG FILIPINO
URL: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=159271297743852&id=100009829477977
Published September 4, 2015)
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