Makaawat ak ti Ilokano, Makasarita ak ngem basit laeng.
And the usual reply would be,
Ukinnam! Ilokano ka gayam!
I've always liked travelling in the mountains of Cordillera because aside from the spectacular views, I am given the opportunity to practice speaking in Ilokano. I've discovered that people there warm up to me when they hear me speak the language. It's that or my accent is really bad which is why they laugh a few seconds after I say my opening lines.
I grew up hearing my parents, my relatives and even the family's household help speak Ilokano so my ears were involuntarily trained to understand the language. My lola from my mother's side of the family particularly loves to speak in Ilokano especially when sharing stories during family gatherings. It's safe to assume my vast knowledge of Ilokano expletives came from her.
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| Taken by my friend, Ben |
A couple of weeks ago, during our visit to a village in the Mt. Province, I met an old man who introduced himself as manong David. He was lounging under a tree when I approached him. I said:
Kumusta manong? then he just smiled at me.
He replied saying a few words in a language which sounded like a mix of Kankaney and Ilokano. That's when shifted. I noticed the skies were overcast so I asked:
Kanayon nga agtud-tudo idtoy? He replied saying, "Wen. Maymayat koma tatnu masibugan ti pagay. Ilokano ka gayam, sabali gamin ti rupam" I could tell he was more interested this time.
So I asked again, "Kaano kayo nga ag ani ti pagay, manong?" He replied, "Nabayag pay. Narigrigaten tatta, dagiti ubing, haan da kayat ti agtalon ti pagay".
I fell silent for a while because I didn't know what to say to him. I also ran out of Ilokano words to say already so I just sat there and stared into the distance. Then the rain started pouring heavily. He invited my friends, who came looking for me, and I into his house, "Umay tayo pay lang iti uneg ti balay ko"
There were seven of us gathered in the first floor of his house including three of my friends and two of his grandchildren. We waited for the rain to stop. I played rock, paper, and scissors with his grandchildren to kill time. Manong David sat there comfortably watching us play the game.
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| Taken by Janus, Mang David's grandson, using my camera |
The rain stopped after around 20 minutes. I told him we had to leave, "Manong, salamat. mapan kamin." Then he said with a smile, "Syak met, ag ili ak pay. Agsubli kayo"
