As a proud Ilonggo, this bystander got amused with the following musings by the charming, albeit mystifying Romany Sedona. In this post – which I dared to take the liberty of reproducing here – Rom not only showed her sense of humor, but also her pride in being an Ilonggo.

Ilonggo-isms

A while back, me and two ilonggo friends were sitting around just shooting the breeze when an annoying fly landed on one friend’s nose. After swatting it away, he wondered aloud: “What’s the hiligaynon word for langaw?” Without batting an eye, my other friend replied, “Fly, pre.”

I almost fell over laughing.

Ever since, I’ve been on the look-out for ilonggoisms like this, and on a recent trip, logged the following:

Taxi driver: “Kaulugot a. Ma-dugayan ta di, inday. Traffic.”

Janitress: “Waay signal di ang globe no? Kaina pa ni, a. Nag-text na ko gani sa akon self.”

Security Guard, responding to Janitress: “Tuod ka? Testinga beh i- turn on and off?”

Another taxi driver: “Diri ka sa piyak sulod, ‘day. Guba ang door.”

Fisherman: “Pagkalampas mo da, waay ka na makit-an nga balas. Bato na di ya. Pero ang mga bato di ya, gwapo ang pagka-arrange.”

LOL.

It’s not so much the casual and seamless integration of english words that gets me, it’s the perfect pronunciation in every case. “Traffic” wasn’t pronounced “trapik;” “Turn on and off” was said with clear articulation of every word, not “tarn onenop;” and “Arrange” was pronounced without a rolling r.

I love it.

Must be one of the reasons why Iloilo is included in a list of the BPO industry’s “New Outsourcing Hot Spots” in the world.