Because of the remarkably stable history of the Ilocano language owing to the fact that the Ilocano people have populated much of the Kailokuan from a small homogeneous homeland, dialect diversity is minimal. The original Ilocano speaking areas (in the provinces of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur) are said to speak the "purest" form of the language, called by Ilocanos 'nauneg nga Iloko' (deep Ilocano). However, due to the migration of the Ilocanos southward and eastward, much of northern Luzon is heavily influenced by Ilocano language and culture. La Union and Pangasinan provinces are dominated in most areas by Ilocano speakers speaking the southern dialect. The southern dialect has minimal lexical differences from the northern one, but a major phonological difference-- the addition of a high back unrounded vowel represented in the orthography by the letter 'e'. As this sound exists also in Pangasinan, we might be able to attribute this difference as a remnant left behind by ethnic Pangasinenses who are now mother tongue speakers of Ilocano.
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An Ilocano song (Ilocano nga kanta)
MANANG BIDAY
Manang Biday, ilukatmo man 'Ta bintana ikalumbabam Ta kitaem 'toy kinayawan Ay, matayakon no dinak kaasian Siasinnoka nga aglabaslabas Ditoy hardinko pagay-ayamak Ammom ngarud a balasangak Sabong ni lirio, di pay nagukrad Denggem, ading, ta bilinenka Ta inkanto 'diay sadi daya Agalakanto't bunga't mangga Ken lansones pay, adu a kita No nababa, dimo gaw-aten No nangato, dika sukdalen No naregreg, dika piduten Ngem labaslabasamto met laeng Daytoy paniok no maregregko Ti makapidut isublinanto Ta nagmarka iti naganko Nabordaan pay ti sinanpuso Alaem dayta kutsilio Ta abriem 'toy barukongko Tapno maipapasmo ti guram Kaniak ken sentimiento English Translation: Man: Manang Biday, please open your window; lower it so that you can see one who is lost. Oh, I'll die if you show me no mercy. Woman: Well, who are you to pass here by my garden and play around? You know, of course, that I'm a young lady, a pure flower that hasn't yet been plucked. Woman: Listen, Ading, I'm asking you a favor. You go to the east. You get the ripe mangoes and also the lansones; you'll see a lot. Woman: If they're at the bottom, then pick them. If they're at the top, then climb to get them. If they've fallen, then pick them up. Just do this in passing, though. Woman: My hanky's here. If I drop it, whoever picks it up must return it. I've written my name in the shape of a heart. Man: Take your knife there to cut open my chest so that your grudges and feelings toward me may go away. |
This an Ilocano courtship song. The man is asking the lady called Biday to look outside the window and listen to how he sings his heart out for her. The address "manang" is used to refer to an older sister. ("Ading," on the other hand is the Ilocano equivalent of kuya or big brother.) "Manang Biday" is assumed to be an older lady, although a woman called "manang" in the Philippines can also refer to someone very conservative and likely to become an old maid. The way the woman plays hard-to-get hints us that the latter assumption might be true.
The singing of the man to the woman is a traditional Filipino courtship serenade called "Harana." It is of Spanish influence. In harana, a man (usually accompanied by his friends) goes out to the house of the woman at night and sings lovesongs for her outside. To show respect and/or interest, the woman opens the window and listen to the serenade. After the singing, she usually invites the man to come inside the house and entertains him by offering food or refreshments and the time to talk with each other.
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