The Other Meaning of Kubkob

Today, 28 October 2013, I will exercise my right to suffrage. Like many Filipinos, I still believe that any electoral process can do wonders for this country.  I have always claimed that right -- to choose the leaders who I think are capable, qualified, and committed to serve their constituents -- since I turned 18. However, this is not the only reason why I always look forward to the Election Day. There is one aspect of elections that has piqued my interest since the day I was able to vote: the Waray vocabulary associated with elections. Number one on my list is the word kubkob.

No Country For Old Women -- A Film Review

Never before has the double standard that exists for aging men versus aging women been exemplified so well as in the film "No Country for Old Women." This avant-garde cinema masterpiece follows the love lives of 24 celebrities - twelve men and twelve women. Their respective spouses/significant others are shown chronologically side by side, and interviews with "the man on the street" are shown to support the biases inherent in this gender-based double standard.

As the male celebrities transition into middle age and beyond, they become "suave and debonair," while the female celebrities of the same ages are considered "obscene" or "crazies in full blown clown make up," with their significant others being gigolos of course. The older male celebs were excused for having younger women than themselves because "hey, they're guys, right? It's expected."

Apparently, major film studios have shunned having anything to do with this movie due not only to the controversial nature of the film's content, but fearing the ensuing litigation from the famous celebrities themselves when they see the contexts in which they are presented. You will be shocked speechless when you see what celebrities were used for this film!

Obviously, the film's financing was done privately, hence the "very limited showing," so don't bother trying to find it on IMDB, but if you ever get the chance to see this film, do so. You'll laugh so hard that you might just pee your pants!!!

The Months of the Year in Waray

Hello. I'm making this quick post for those who are looking for this particular information -- the months of the year in Waray language. (Yes, I got your feedback.) Hope this helps.

January	Enero
February	Pebrero
March	Marso
April	Abril
May	Mayo
June	Hunyo
July	Hulyo
August	Agosto
September	Septembre/Setyembre
October	Oktubre
November	Nobyembre
December	Disyembre

Related Post:
Days of the Week in Waray

Kinalasan Waray Style VS. Kinalasan Baybay Style

The first time I heard the word "kinalasan" in Baybay, I thought it was similar to our "kinalasan" in Waray. But I was wrong. Baybayanons (the people of Baybay, Leyte), by the way, speak Cebuano. AWKWARD -- that was what I thought of the way my friends used the word. For example:

Kinalasan ko sa amo nga mga magsuon. 

Kinalasan ko nga ning-abot.

Kinalasan ko nga ninghatag sa ako amot. 

Kinalasan ko nga contestant.

At the time, I only knew the most basic Cebuano terms and this was how I interpreted the sentences:

I was startled about us (my siblings and me).  

I was startled as I arrived (at the venue).

I was startled as I gave my contribution.

I was the contestant who was startled. 

They did not make any sense to me. But I persevered: I studied the sense of each sentence.  Finally, I noticed a pattern  and I figured out how to translate them correctly. I realized that they sounded awkward to me only because I was mixing Cebuano and Waray while trying to understand the following sentences:

I am the youngest in the family. 

I was the last to arrive.

I was the last to give a contribution. 

I am/was the last contestant.  

What is kinalasan in Waray? It means "to be startled"; hence, my translation of the above-mentioned sentences. On the other hand, kinalasan in Baybay is the result of combining the Cebuano prefix kina, the English word "last", and the Cebuano suffix an:  kina + last + an. The letter "t" is, however, dropped to give way to the newly-coined word, kinalasan.

What is kinalasan in Baybay? Apparently, there is an attempt at making a superlative adjective out of the superlative "last"; hence, the last of the last.

P.S.
Would you like to read this blog post in Waray? Here's Kinalasan sa Baybay (A Waray Post)

Here's Another Way of Saying "Not Yet" in Waray

"Ayaw anay" can be loosely translated as "Don't do it yet" in English.  "Anay" as used in this expression has its Waray equivalent in Northern Samar -- it's "ngon-a".  "Ngon-a" can be considered a clitic, i.e., it is a word that cannot stand alone but depends on another word or phrase. Below are Waray expressions containing ngon-a:

Ayaw ngon-a. (Don't do it yet.)
Ayaw ngon-a pagpalit. (Don't buy anything.)
Ayaw ngon-a palita. (Don't buy it yet.)
Ayaw ngon-a pagkaon. (Don't eat yet.)
Diri ko ngon-a papaliton. (I'm not buying it now.)
Diri ngon-a yana. (Not now.)
Paghulat ngon-a. (Please wait.)
Waray pa ngon-a. (Nothing as of now.)
Waray ngon-a mauli. (No one's going home now.)

Ngon-a may be replaced with anay and the meaning is still be the same.