Learning Language

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Reboot
Posted
Posted

Hi expats.

Have any of you been able to become fluent, or at least conversational, in one of the languages here? I know there are good resources available for Tagalog, but not so much for some of the other languages.

If you did manage, how did you do it? How do you recommend going about it? It gets harder as we get older, our brains aren't as plastic as when we were young. As a native english and spanish speaker, I guess I am a bit lazy. I can get along pretty well in a lot of places. But even though english is spoken after a fashion in the PH, I think it would be helpful to learn one of the local languages.

 

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Jake
Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, Reboot said:

Hi expats.

Have any of you been able to become fluent, or at least conversational, in one of the languages here?

 

Me being a balikbayan (returning Filipino citizen), I never did manage relearning my tagalog 100 percent.  There are so many street slang, itself a different learning curve.  I usually hung out with Judy's nieces in Makati with their giggles on my attempts to even learn the basic alphabet and numbering system.  So I resort to Taglish with a few jokes thrown in. Of course, I explain my stupid jokes like pulling my finger (with realistic sound and aroma) and purposely reversing some common terminologies.  

For example, when you're knocking at the front gate, you normally announce "tao po" -- notifying the occupants inside that there are visitors outside.  To the shock of my nieces, I turn it around and announce "tae po".  Eventually, they realize my silly behavior and they themselves place some jokes on me.  Overall, it breaks the ice and they come out with more confidence with their English and their street slang.   

Just basic greetings and courtesy in their dialect and culture really goes a long way.  And the locals will soon realize that you are trying and that will spread (tsimis) like fire.  

 

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jpbago
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Posted
3 hours ago, Reboot said:

Have any of you been able to become fluent, or at least conversational, in one of the languages here?

No, I was not able to but from being able to speak Spanish, I am able to understand much of Illongo with it's mixture of English. I find it a hard sounding language with too many consonants and not enough vowels.

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Dave Hounddriver
Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Jack Peterson said:

Have you ever stood behind an Expat who was trying to hold some sort of conversation with a Local in a shop

I was one of those, trying to tell a clerk that the item was too "mahal" (which is the British equivalent of dear. .  spoiler alert for Americans who don't get it)

Spoiler

Dear, in the British language, can mean many things but the two most common are: adjective If you say that something is dear, you mean that it costs a lot of money, usually more than you can afford or more than you think it should cost.  Or countable noun
You can call someone dear as a sign of affection.

So, unknown to me, the clerk was a bayot and replied:  Thank you, I love you too.

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canadamale
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Posted

mahal na mahal kita, [ I love you] masarap manok, [ delicious chicken] what more do you need than this, I can tell a driver to go eft or right or straight.and a few other words not evan close to ever having a confo.I am always trying to increase my word knowledge

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Gerald Glatt
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Posted
1 hour ago, Jack Peterson said:

:hystery: :wow: My daughter (17) has been reading this Topic and as we had a snack she came out with " Daddy, having Heard a lot of your Friends and you Talking I think you all ought to speak your own Language properly before you try and learn ours and get that wrong as well"

:89: Yes, from the mouth of babes........ALL YOU BRITS SHOULD LEARN AMERICAN.  Being that it is the most perfect form of the English langue there is.  The Irish now can turn a phrase, ad the Scots make a tasty drink, the Kiwis a most beautiful land and the Aussies well they have those sheep........even Jake knows sheep lie.:mocking::7500:   

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