To English or to Tagalog?

Did you watch the Ms. Universe pageant this morning? I did! For the first time I watched the whole thing from start to finish! I used to be bored watching pageants and so I just watch the Q&A portion and the coronation but this year, I think, was different. It was more insightful in terms of the candidates’ backgrounds and I enjoyed watching it.

This year's contestants were also the most diverse I've seen. Ms. Canada sure caught my attention; the way she confidently carried herself despite body-shamers. I instantly liked her because I get body-shamed probably on a weekly basis. Heller Beauty Queen na siya naba-body-shame pa talaga? Kalerkey. I also found Ms. USA astig, military lang naman si atey! Strong! Love et!

I saw from the news that Maxine, our very own Ms. Philippines, was going to use an interpreter, which was a first, and I was honestly looking forward to it. I wanted to know how she will express herself in our language. Anyway we all saw that despite having an interpreter, she went ahead and answered in English. Her answer didn't sit well with me pero no violent reaction naman.

Some people were saying na Maxine was disappointing because she was obviously not proud with speaking Tagalog. Tapos umabot na ang issue sa bakit ba kasi ang tingin natin sa hindi magaling mag-English ay bobo at yung mga bihasa, yun naman ang matalino.

Sa tingin ko, sa tingin ko lang ah, tayong mga Pilipino kasi marami tayong dialects. Mag-drive ka nga lang ng tatlong oras, pagdating mo ng Pampanga iba na ang dialect doon. Being able to speak different dialects and languages has become so ordinary to us Filipinos that we've taken it for granted. Kaya siguro nagiging critical tayo, lalo na sa mga representatives ng Pilipinas pagdating sa mga ganitong ganap, kapag hindi sila nakakapagpahayag ng sarili in English.

Yes, to be able to gather your thoughts, organize them, and express them in a different language other than what you're used to is meritorious. People who have good command of more than one language deserves merit. Hindi lang English. Pero hindi lang naman talaga kasi yun ang basehan ng pagiging matalino, I mean, there's Math! Hello! *Roll eyes* Naisip ko lang, instead of being fluent in English, paano kaya kung Math ang naging basehan ng pagiging matalino sa Pilipinas. Hahahaha!

Ang gusto ko lang naman talagang sabihin is that l get so exhausted reading comments on social media that were written to attack. Some are attacking those who use English so much claiming that they're mayabang or that they're not proud of our own. Some of those who speak fluent English naman are saying that "English is the language of knowledge" or something to that effect. May isa akong nabasa way way back na sabi niya she only uses Tagalog to talk to the drivers or yayas, and she uses English when talking about important matters to important people. Ang sakit naman.

Language is what we use so we can communicate with each other. There are a few languages that are more widely used than most but for me it doesn't mean that they're superior. Tayo lang naman ang nagbibigay kahulugan sa mga bagay-bagay. Why are we doing this? Putting each other down, or trying to humiliate other people just to get something across? With the way things are going, we're using our language negatively. Guilty din ako dito sa totoo lang, lalo na among friends kapag feeling namin walang nakakarinig. But I'm (we're) trying my (our) best to put less negativity out there.

Palagay ko ang paggamit ng kahit ano’ng salita para mamahiya ay pambabastos hindi lang ng kapwa kundi pati ng ginagamit nating linggwahe. Kung ginagamit natin ang husay natin sa kung anumang salita to support others, then we've just made that language beautiful.

Tayong mga Pinoy mabilis tayong matuto ng iba't-ibang salita, why don't we use it for spreading positivity instead of trying to shoot keyboard daggers to anyone who uses as much as an incorrect apostrophe? Kanya-kanya lang naman 'yan. Kanya-kanya tayong husay. Kanya-kanya tayong kahinaan. Kanya-kanya tayong alam na linggwahe. Tigilan na yung pagkukumpara! Pagal! Hahaha!

Sabi nga ni Maxine: We are one, as one nation, we are all together.

Ano’ng konek? Di ko alam hahaha!

Basta, congrats to everyone, not only to the placers, but to everyone who SURVIVED the Miss Universe pageant. All you ladies rock!