{"id":6851,"date":"2019-11-06T13:00:27","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T13:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.utalk.com\/news\/?p=6851"},"modified":"2021-07-14T14:23:09","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T14:23:09","slug":"wang-wang-the-siren-call-of-the-philippines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wang-wang-the-siren-call-of-the-philippines\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Wang Wang&#8217;: The Siren Call of the Philippines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2119\" height=\"1414\" src=\"https:\/\/www.utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/GettyImages-498577042.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6853\" srcset=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/GettyImages-498577042.jpg 2119w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/GettyImages-498577042-250x167.jpg 250w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/GettyImages-498577042-700x467.jpg 700w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/GettyImages-498577042-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/GettyImages-498577042-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/GettyImages-498577042-2048x1367.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/GettyImages-498577042-120x80.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2119px) 100vw, 2119px\" \/><figcaption><br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<style>\n\n.heading2 {\nmargin: 3% 0 2% 1%;\n}\n\n.bulletPoint {\nlist-style-type: circle;\nfont-size: 1.2em;\n}\n\n<\/style>\n\n\n\n<p>The sign saying \u2018this is a no wang wang zone\u2019 can be puzzling for foreign visitors to Manila International Airport in the Philippines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s written in English, one of the two official languages of the country (the other being Filipino, a standardised form of Tagalog), but what does it mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, \u2018wang wang\u2019 is used to mean the sounds that sirens make and \u2013 like in an excerpt from a comedy film \u2013 some Filipinos put fake police sirens on their cars to \u2018wang wang\u2019 or cut through heavy traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This practice has led to the phrase \u2018wang wang\u2019 entering popular culture as a shorthand for queue-jumping or other \u2018me first\u2019 abuses of power.\u00a0So much so that Filipino politicians campaigning against corruption typically pledge to put a stop to the \u2018wang wang mentality\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"heading2\">Languages across the Philippines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Language is an interesting topic in the Philippines &#8211; which are a collection of 7,641 islands (only 2,000 of which are inhabited) \u2013 because alongside the two official languages <a href=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/how-many-languages-are-there-in-the-philippines\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/how-many-languages-are-there-in-the-philippines\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">there are estimated to be more than 180 other languages or dialects<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chief among these is Cebuano (also called Bisaya) which has around 20,000,000 speakers compared to Filipino\u2019s 25,000,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What they all have in common, however, are subtle and not-so-subtle influences from historic Spanish and American presences on the islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From 1521-1898, the Philippines was a Spanish colony named after King Philip II of Spain \u2013 a name it\u2019s kept, although now it\u2019s officially called The Republic of the Philippines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, it\u2019s no\nsurprise that many Spanish words \u2013 including the days of the week \u2013 have been\nabsorbed into the Filipino and Cebuano languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, in Spanish the words for Monday to\nSunday are: <em>lunes, martes, mi\u00e9rcoles,\njueves, viernes, s\u00e1bado <\/em>and<em> domingo<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While in both Cebuano and Filipino, the words for Monday to Saturday are: <em>Lunes, Martes, Miyerkules, Huwebes, Biyernes <\/em>and<em> Sabado<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The only\nsmall difference comes with the word for Sunday which in Cebuano is <em>Dominggo<\/em> and in Filipino it is <em>Linggo.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The words\nfor hello in Cebuano &#8211; <em>kumusta<\/em> &#8211; and\nFilipino &#8211; <em>kamusta<\/em> &#8211; are also related\nto the Spanish for how are you? &#8211; <em>c\u00f3mo\nest\u00e1s<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\nknow to look, it\u2019s fun to see how many other Spanish derivations you can spot! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"heading2\">Influence of English in the Philippines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>But Spanish rule in the country came to an end in 1898 when Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States. The Philippines then became a US colony until 1946 when the US formally recognised its independence. (It\u2019s no coincidence the date chosen was July 4, the day America celebrates its independence from British rule!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the legacies of the Americans is that after World War II they left behind military jeeps which were then put to good use as a local public transport service.\u00a0 These types of long vehicles, now colourfully painted, are still in use on the roads there today and called \u2018jeepneys\u2019. The word \u2018jeepneys\u2019 is thought to come from the fact that travellers are often squashed in the jeep \u2018knee to knee\u2019! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other popular words which are universally used in the country are \u2018tricycle\u2019 (<em>traysikel<\/em>) used to describe a motorbike with a sidecar attached to carry passengers like a taxi. There\u2019s also a \u2018pedicab\u2019 which is a pushbike with a sidecar attached, which is used for shorter distances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact,\nthere\u2019s lots of Americanisms scattered across the native languages. For\ninstance, Cebuano uses the word <em>babay<\/em>\nfor \u2018goodbye\u2019, <em>brislit<\/em>\nis \u2018bracelet\u2019, <em>drayiber<\/em> is \u2018driver\u2019\nand <em>hayiskul<\/em> is \u2018high school\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Tagalog uses <em>biskuwit<\/em> for \u2018biscuit\u2019, <em>pulis<\/em> for \u2018police\u2019 and <em>tin-edyer<\/em> for \u2018teenager\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And just to make\nthings difficult for us foreigners, Tagalog speakers love using slang. One\ncommon way to make a word &#8216;cool&#8217; is to reverse the syllables. So a\nTagalog-speaking teenager might talk about his <em>lodi<\/em> &#8211; idol &#8211; to his <em>ermat<\/em>\n&#8211; mother &#8211; and his <em>erpat<\/em> \u2013 father! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Interestingly,\nit was thanks to America that the Filipinos also came up with a new, informal\nname to describe their nationality: <em>Pinoy<\/em>\n(sometimes called <em>Pinay<\/em> to refer to\nwomen). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The word was\noriginally coined by ex-pat Filipino Americans during the 1920s and later\nadopted by Filipinos in the Philippines. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Filipinos also came up with the perfect colloquial word to express that moment in a conversation with English-speaking foreigners when the less linguistically able can\u2019t keep up. They use the word \u2018nosebleed\u2019 as in \u2018wait, nosebleed!\u2019.\u00a0There\u2019s no nosebleed, though, it\u2019s just a funny way of saying they\u2019re out of their depth in English and their heads are in a spin! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The perfect way, of course, to boost your command of <a href=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/store\/american\">English<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/store\/tagalog\">Tagalog<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/store\/cebuano\">Cebuano<\/a> is to try uTalk. With around 2,500 words in each language, all voiced by native speakers, you\u2019ll never be at a loss for words. But before you go to explore new languages (or the \u2018biskuwit\u2019 tin) here\u2019s a few more fun facts about the Philippines and its people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li class=\"bulletPoint\">Social media: people in the Philippines top the league for time spent on social media sites, especially Facebook, and have a reputation for being prolific texters. To cap it all off, <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/selfies-cities-world-rankings\/\">Time magazine named the Philippines\u2019s Makati City the selfie-taking capital of the world<\/a>. <\/li><li class=\"bulletPoint\">Karaoke: this is a big deal in the Philippines and almost every home has a karaoke machine. And, although the world\u2019s first karaoke machine was invented by a Japanese musician, it is the Filipino Roberto del Rosario who holds the machine\u2019s patent. (The word karaoke in Japanese literally means \u2018empty orchestra\u2019 i.e. no vocalists to accompany the music.)<\/li><li class=\"bulletPoint\">Unlucky 13: some Filipinos are wary of the number 13 and so high-rise buildings often don\u2019t have a 13<sup>th<\/sup> floor and jump from numbers 12 to 14 instead. It makes for a confusing ride in their lifts!<\/li><li class=\"bulletPoint\">Flag: the Filipino flag is the only one in the world which can show at a glance whether the country is at war or peace. When it\u2019s displayed with its blue border at the top, it means peace. With the blue at the bottom, it means war!<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The sign saying \u2018this is a no wang wang zone\u2019 can be puzzling for foreign visitors to Manila International Airport in the Philippines. It\u2019s written in English, one of the two official languages of the country (the other being Filipino, a standardised form of Tagalog), but what does it mean? Well, \u2018wang wang\u2019 is used &#8230; <a title=\"&#8216;Wang Wang&#8217;: The Siren Call of the Philippines\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wang-wang-the-siren-call-of-the-philippines\/\" aria-label=\"More on &#8216;Wang Wang&#8217;: The Siren Call of the Philippines\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1752],"tags":[1714,1754,1753,384,28,1136,1389],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6851"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6851\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}