Status: My room aircon is busted. Waaah. Ang init.
Music: Best Days - Graham Colton

“Hahada lang.”

This was what I told my new housemates in UP Diliman when they asked me where I was going. They laughed their guts out. I didn’t know why. But I laughed with them. Pretended I was getting the joke I didn’t even realise I cracked.

I added, “Bakit? Gusto nyo sumama?”

And they laughed even harder. Way harder. I was a college freshman. And I was straight then. This was why I made a sort of “joker” impression on my housemates even though most of the time, I was as serious as hell. And the only humor I knew was sarcastic.

“Hada” in Batangas, or at least in Lemery, means “to take a walk.” Hihikap. Gagala. Maglalakad-lakad. It took me almost two years to finally figure out that “hada,” in gay lingo, actually means to go out and look for potential sexcapades. I didn’t know.

When I tell people I’m a Batangueno, they are usually shocked. Their first reaction is always to ask me “How come you don’t have the accent?” I never had that accent. I can fake it but I never had it. We don’t have it in the family. But fellow Batanguenos and even those who hailed from other Southern Tagalog provinces easily trace my Batangan roots when I start talking. I may not have the accent, but my diction — ah, my diction — is as Batangan as it can get.

Most of the time, I have no idea that the Tagalog words I utter are words that only Batanguenos comprehend. That’s the difficulty with dialects. At least with a different language, you are certain that the words you say will not be understood by those in the capital. In my case, kailangan ko pang isipin kung ang Tagalog na salita na sasabihin ko ay maiintindihan ng mga kaibigan ko. O kung hindi man, normal ba ito sa kanilang pandinig.

No wonder my roommate still had his big toe injured when I told him “may purunggo sa sahig.” Or that he didn’t buy me anything when I told him to bring sinturis. Or that he continued eating the bar of snickers I left on the table even after I warned him “ginuguyam na yan.” Or that my colleague thought I was pissed at her when I said “nababanas ako.” Or that they thought I could not taste anything when I told my friends “masama ang pakilasa ko.”

Or why they would give me a what-the-heck look every time I said “labis ng piso yung sukli.” Sabi nila, dito raw sa Maynila, sa pag-ibig lang ginagamit ang “labis.” O kaya sa pag-asa. O pag-aalala. “Sobra” raw yung malimit gamitin. Ewan ko sa kanila. Ganun din naman yun.

Since then, I had a certain reputation. The one who always asks if they know a certain Tagalog word. (I’m afraid they may not understand.) Or the one who speaks 10,000BC Tagalog. Or the one who says “buksi*” rather than “buksan mo” or “sarahi” rather than “isara mo.” Or simply the guy na nahada pag gab-i.

Yes, I earned this reputation over time. But I’m not complaining. Somehow, it gives me character. And it’s a character that I’ve always been grateful for and will always be proud of.

Tama na muna. Hahada laang ako.

——————————-

GLOSSARY

  • hikap (v) maglakad-lakad
  • purunggo (n) bubog
  • sinturis (n) dalandan
  • guyam (n) langgam
  • nababanas (v) naiinitan
  • pakilasa (n) pakiramdam

NOTE

  • *An undeniable character of the Batangan Tagalog is the use of the verb ending ‘-i’ instead of ‘-na’, especially in the command form. This only happens when the verb stands alone in a sentence or when the verb is the last word in the phrase. –Wikipedia

**image courtesy of cs4fn.org
***I originally wrote this post for Batangueno.net

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