All the while I thought Quezon City day is August 29 but my friend told me, today is the day! At the beginning of this month, I mentioned that I shall be blogging about my favorite OPM songs as my way of giving honor to President Manuel Luis Quezon, the first president of the Philippine Commonwealth; and president who encouraged widespread use of Filipino or Tagalog dialect as a major Philippine language. His single goal: to unite the archepelagic country at least in one major language.
He somehow achieved that because "Tagalog" has now evolved to "Filipino" as new words and borrowed terms are widely used these days. In fact, the word "university" meaning an institution for higher learning, has now an accepted Filipino term of "unibersidad" or "pamantasan" and can be used interchangeably.
There was a time that when a Filipino speaks the English language, it won't convey a clear meaning because it was "carabao english". I really don't know how the term came about but it only means that a person says "Why are you eat tinapay naman?" When what was actually meant was "Why are you eating bread?" Sentences like that. It was really the first phase of Filipinos trying to learn and adopt the English language.
At the height of glabalization and international competitivenes in the outsourcing business, Filipinos have learned to speak English being a booming "call center country". Now, speaking English is a must in order to receive a decent paycheck as a call center agent. I wonder how the OPM singers and language advocates react to that? For me, that is a fine choice because it's truly an advantage to be able to communicate with freinds and relatives from English-speaking countries.
Oh well, here goes the song and my English translation:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
Wag kang mahihiya kung ang ilong mo ay pango (Don't be ashamed if you're nose is flat)
Dito sa silangan ako isinilang (Here in the East, I was born)
Kung saan nagmumula ang sikat ng araw (Where the sun begins to rise)
Ako ay may sariling kulay-kayumanggi (I have my own brown color)
Ngunit di ko maipakita, tunay na sarili (But I can't show my true self)
Kung ating hahanapin ay matatagpuan (If we will seek, we shall find)
Tayo ay may kakayahang dapat na hangaan (We got skills that we should admire)
Subalit nasaan ang sikat ng araw (But where is sun shine?)
Ba't tayo ang humahanga doon sa kanluran? (Why do we admire west?)
Chorus 1
Bakit kaya tayo ay ganito? (Why are we like this?)
Bakit nanggagaya, mayron naman tayo (Why do we imitate, we have our own)
Tayo'y mga pinoy, tayo'y hindi kano (We are Pinoys, we are not Kano)
Wag kang mahihiya kung ang ilong mo ay pango (Don't be ashamed if you are flat-nosed)
Dito sa silangan ako isinilang (Here in the East, I was born)
Kung saan nagmumula ang sikat ng araw (Where the sun begins to rise)
Ako ay may sariling kulay-kayumanggi (I have my own brown color)
Ngunit di ko maipakita, tunay na sarili (But I can't show my true self)
Chorus 2
Mayrong isang aso, daig pa ang ulol (There is a dog, fooler than a fool)
Siya'y ngumingiyaw, hindi tumatahol (It says "meow", it doesn't bark)
Katulad ng iba, painglis-inglis pa (Just like the others, speaking in English)
Na kung pakikinggan, mali-mali naman (but if you'll listen, it's wrong)
Wag na lang (So never mind)
Wag na, oy oy (Never mind, oy, oy)
Oy, ika'y pinoy (Oy, You are Pinoy)
Oy oy, ika'y pinoy. (Oy, Oy, you are Pinoy)
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PINOY - is a shortened/slang word for a person with Philippine blood, either resident, citizen, or in another place
Kano - is a shortened/slang term for American people who defended the country against Japanese in WWII but whose influence in our culture was so strong.
Tayoy Mga Pinoy - Heber Bartolome
Thank you very much for this post. I am not from the Philippines, but this was very interesting and the song is great too :)
ayus na sana eh,kaso sana ginamit mo din ang wikang Filipino dito. Tsaka sana nung liniwat mo sa salitang Ingles ang awitin ay ginandahan mo din ang Ingles mo. pasok na pasok sayo ang kanta eh!