Pangala-Talk
I recently stumbled upon an old, now inactive (unless you consider links to live UFC and NBA streaming sites signs of activity) blog dedicated to my home province of Pangasinan, and after going through some of the more intelligent posts, it’s become quite apparent that the issue concerning the use of the supposedly derogatory word Pangalatok was a hotly debated one.
I get that all the time. I make someone’s acquaintance. He or she asks me where I’m from. I say I’m a gypsy but I’m originally from Pangasinan. Then he or she asks, “Ah, so you speak Pangalatok?” I answer, “Yeah, sure,” if only to prevent myself from giving a lecture on the validity of the word.
OK class, please settle down. I want you to pay attention to this sentence: He is a Pangasinense, he grew up in Pangasinan and he speaks Pangasinan fluently. Notice that the sentence refers to yours truly and, perhaps more importantly, it doesn’t have the notorious word in question in it.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not at all offended by the use of Pangalatok to refer to the primary language of the people of Pangasinan, especially those living in the eastern part of the province. Why most of my kin find it insulting is beyond me. I do know for a fact though that the correct word for it is the same as the name of the province itself: Pangasinan.
You might be asking, what’s the big deal? I’ll tell you what’s the big deal. I watched an episode of Pilipinas, Game K N B? a couple of years back where during the jackpot round a contestant was asked to name a Philippine language or dialect which starts with the letter P. Sure enough, the contestant answered Pangalatok. He lost the game—and his chance to a million pesos. That’s the big deal.
Class dismissed. Tomorrow’s lesson: Pangalatok 101.
