Memorable moments from our Ling130 class (It's a class wherein we discuss the structure of one language in the Philippines.) We're learning Bicol, but there are others, too.

1.) Our teacher was talking about this region called Bicol where the dialects of the language have gone through so many changes that the mutual intelligibility of the language is quite low, but it's still known as a dialect. And then, he gave us an example: (Note: this is an approximated translation. He shifts from Filipino, English and once in a while, Bicol or whatever language he knows and feels like talking in.)

*flashes a slide of the power point*

"Okay, so class, if I were to be living in Bicol, in this specific area, this is my linguistic repertoire. What do we mean by repertoire?"

Stupid me just goes and answers: "Sir, when we say repertoire, aren't we referring to the group or team that perform pieces?"

"Yeah. So...?"

"Are we going to perform a skit in Bicol?" (A/N: Only one of our classmates is a native speaker of the language, and all the rest of us are noobs who know nothing. >.<)

"No! Guys, we're not performing a skit! But yeah, that's right, it's the stuff that you can do. Now, when we say linguistic repertoire, we mean that these are the languages that you speak and you use these when you talk to people. In the case of the example, since I live in this area, I have to switch to Filipino if I were to talk to people who speak only Filipino, like you guys. Then, I'll switch to Bicol Naga (the 'standard' Bicol, much like Mandarin Chinese, Tokyo Japanese or Seoul Korean.) to talk to the natives of that community and use that one when I talk to those people who come from the same city as me! Then, if we were to have an exchange student, let's say, from Albuquerque, I'll have to switch to English!"

(The repertoire thing was supposed to be the funny bit, it got them all laughing.)

2.) Our teacher explains the difference of Filipino in the capital and Filipino spoken in other places, such as provinces:

"Guys, there's a difference between the Filipino that you speak and the Filipino that the older generations speak. The Filipino we use today is so infused with English words that a lot of the oldies who speak Filipino wouldn't understand half of what we say!"

And then he goes to explain one Filipino dialect. This one has had so many changes going on that other Filipino speakers wouldn't understand half of what they say, but they can understand what we say.

"You guys know what I mean."

*class gives him a blank look*

"Okay, here's an example. It's like the Filipino that we use here. It's infused with a ton of English words, right? And it's sort of similar to that situation. So, if I were to say, come from Albuquerque, and I overhear you guys in your normal conversations, I'd understand some of the words you say, but I won't necessarily understand what you say. It's the same thing except they're the ones that have the advantage of understanding what you're saying and you're the one that understands only teensy weensy bits."

(I realize our professor has a fettish for Albuquerque, and I have absolutely no idea why. He just said he does.)

3.) Our professor was talking about pidgins: (hybrid languages result of language contact)

"What? It's language A meets language B and poof! You get Koko Crunch! No, seriously," he said, then continued to explain the possible results from language contact.

(It seriously made me reminisce the CFs of that cereal. Here's one xD :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wwpBpypayQ)

Oh yeah, our he was also getting us used to the feel of Bicol, so everytime before he officially begins the class he shows us a video or tells us a story in Bicol then he translates it.

The story he gave last Friday was about a family called 'pipits'. (Dunno what that means, really. I was a bit late for the class, so I didn't get to hear the explanation. -.-;) And the child pipits encountered a monster that scared the socks off them. Daddy pipit goes and asks his children why they're crying and they say they saw a monster that scared them. Daddy pipit goes: "Don't be stressed, kiddies, I'll go after the monster! Which way did he go?"

"He went that way!" the kids say.

And so, the Dad goes after the monster.

Our class: What happens next?

Professor: To be continued! I'll finish telling it to you when I get back from my conference in Bali next next week. :3

Our class: Aww! Give us a preview!

Professor: *cue dramatic narration* What will happen to the kiddie pipits? Will the daddy pipit be able to conquer the monster? Stay tuned!

Our class: Ew. Your 'Next time on' is old style.

Professor: I know, right?

Aaaaaand he still hasn't finished it. -.-' Have to wait to find out. It's like waiting for your favorite fanfic to be updated! xD In the meantime, he's asking us to do as much of the bibliographic list as we can and get our informants to translate as much of the materials as possible. xD