Thursday, July 10, 2008 City dads struggle with mother tongue in session
BISAYA phrases like “ibta na” and their misuse can be funny, more so when used by city councilors in a formal setting like a council session.
After weeks of dealing with the aftermath of a sea tragedy, Cebu City councilors and social welfare officers got a good laugh yesterday, when the council session was held in Bisaya-English.
The session provided comic relief for some. While some councilors spoke fluent Bisaya, others sounded funny with their too literal translation of English words during the proceedings.
Taking the cue from Councilor Rodrigo Abellanosa, who opened the session with a prayer in Bisaya, Vice Mayor Michael Rama suggested using the language in their discussions, to make sure everyone understands the explanations.
Presentation
The council discussed and listened to a presentation on the Department of Social Welfare Services’ (DSWS) expenses for the action center operations.
“Binisay-on lang ni nato kay kwarta ug mga gastoan ra ba ang atong storyaan, ug naay mga termino nga dili masabtan, labi na ug naa unya’y debate... Maayo gyud nga kwentas klaras ang tanan (Let us discuss this in Bisaya, considering that we have to account for the use of public funds and must avoid any confusion caused by difficult terms),” Rama told the council.
The councilors seemed to enjoy the use of Bisaya, and went on translating their motions and comments quite literally on some occasions, drawing laughter from the audience.
Even the fluent English speakers among the councilors enjoyed the exercise.
When a councilor moved to dispense with the reading of the minutes of the previous sessions in Bisaya, Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem said “Ikaduha” to second the motion, prompting another councilor to correct him.
Withdraw resdution
“Segundo oi,” a councilor said.
“Basta, mao na na!” Jakosalem retorted.
What got the crowd laughing was when Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. moved to withdraw his resolution: “Mr. Chairman, akong birahon akong resolution... Aw, unsaon man ni pagsulti? Ibta lang? (Mr. Chairman, I’d like to withdraw my resolution, but how should I put it? Yank it out?).”
The presiding officer, wary about the misuse of the word, asked that it be struck from the council secretary’s records.
“Bawion lang tingali ang atong gamiton, or bakwion... Wala man hinoon tay intention na lain, wala’y dalang malisya pero ato na lang tangtangon sa records... sige larga! (Perhaps we should use ‘bawion’ or ‘bakwion’. We don’t have any other intentions and we don’t mean to be malicious, but let’s just strike that term from the records,” said Rama.
For some councilors, it was a fun exercise that put their Bisaya-speaking skills to the test.
“It was something refreshing, we never did that before and I don’t mind doing it again,” said Jakosalem, who speaks fluent English with an American accent on his FM radio show.
Abellanosa, who started it all, said it’s also good to practice their Bisaya in a formal setting.
“Magsige lang diay tag Iningles? Maayo sad na mahasa atong Bisaya. It’s a good feeling to use our native tongue during a session, because it’s different from using Bisaya in an ordinary conversation,” he said in an interview. (LCR)
