Holidays with Ilocanos

 

A Parol is a star-shaped ornament that is an iconic Christmas symbol in the Philippines. Some are fancy with lights and some are just made of paper or plastic. It represents the star of Bethlehem which helped guide the Three Kings to the Nativity of Jesus.

The presence of a Parol outside someone's window or porch is a telltale sign of Filipino culture. Although it is only November, it's common to see their Christmas trees and lights already up. In the Philippines, Christmas festivities begin as soon as the "BER" months start. The hundred-day countdown to Christmas Day commences on September 16th, and Filipinos like to celebrate early.

Gathering with loved ones holds a crucial place in Filipino culture, and they need no specific occasion to host a party. Of course, the holiday season provides even more reasons to celebrate. Christmas festivities in the Philippines are not limited to just families; the entire community comes together to celebrate. This year's exceptional circumstances caused by the pandemic may affect the celebrations, but Filipinos will undoubtedly find ways to enjoy each other's company and share their blessings.

To begin a new lesson, it's fitting to focus on the holidays. We've previously published an article on holiday celebrations, which you can read HERE.

HOLIDAY GREETINGS!

Since it is just around the corner, let's start with Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving - Naragsak/Naimbag nga Panagyaman

                                (Nah-rug-sak / Nah-eem-bug ngah pa-nahg-ya-mahn)

***Tagalog: Maligayang Pasasalamat 

Now for the rest of the holidays, here you go!

Merry Christmas - Naimbag a Paskua

                             (Nah-rug-sak / Nah-eem-bug ah Pas-kwa)

           You (Singular)  Kenka (Ken-yah-yoh)

          You (Plural)     Kendakayo (Ken-duh-kah-yoh) 

                                Kenyayo (ken-yah-yoh)

          Y'all / You all    Kendakayo Amin (ken-duh-kah-yoh Ah-meen)  

 

                                Kenyayo Amin (ken-ya-yo Ah-meen)

            

***Tagalog: Maligayang Pasko

Happy New Year -Naragsak a baro nga tawen

                                (Nah-rug-sak ah ba-ro ngah tah-wen)

                            You (Singular)   Kenka (Ken-yah-yoh)

                     You (Plural)      Kendakayo (Ken-duh-kah-yoh) 

                                            Kenyayo (ken-yah-yoh)

            Y'all / You all    Kendakayo Amin (ken-duh-kah-yoh Ah-meen)  

 

                                   Kenyayo Amin (ken-ya-yo Ah-meen)

***Manigong Bagong Taon or Maligayang Bagong Taon

Here's a list of words that will be helpful along the way:

 

 Here are some phrases that you definitely need to remember:

Ready to rock people's socks off? Check out these mind-blowing lessons from our blog below! Or, if you're a curious cat, take a peek at our older posts for even more goodies. And, if you're not already part of our Facebook family, come join us for some daily laughs and fun!

GREETINGS PART 1

GREETINGS PART 2

COMMON PHRASES

Our apologies for the lack of recent uploads to this page. We will be taking action to rectify this by releasing more content in the near future. Additionally, we plan to revisit and update some of our prior postings in response to the feedback we have received.

Until Next Time,

Siak ni Gigi

NOTES: These lessons are designed with the English Speakers in mind. The pronunciation is spelled out to emphasize sounds of the English language and alphabet to help the person to say it correctly in sounds that they are familiar with. 

For Tagalog/Filipino readers seeking to utilize our lessons, read the words in your native tongue and do not follow the suggested pronunciation.

Why Ilokano?

Why Ilokano?

He is upside down on the couch.

Get ready to meet the ultimate mixed-race power couple! I'm a Pinay from Ilocos who fell head-over-heels for my high school sweetheart- a tall, dashing American. Who would've guessed that my best bud would one day become my hubby? Together, we have a little bundle of joy- the most adorable Filipino-American kiddo in town! Don't you agree?

So why Ilokano?

Back in the good old days of dating, we never had a language barrier. I chatted away in English, and he was more focused on learning the naughty words than anything else. But, by our senior year, my love finally mastered his first Ilokano phrase! Though, I can't take all the credit because he picked it up from his mom's old boss, who was an Ilokano himself.

" Ayayatin ka " 

which means..... I love you. 

Awww, how sweet!

That is as far as he got.....

Then....

My partner fell head over heels for the Philippines - the people, the culture, and the sun-kissed beaches. If you haven't experienced a third-world paradise like this, do yourself a favor and book a ticket ASAP! You won't believe how much this trip will make you appreciate all the good things we often take for granted. And despite the tough circumstances, the Filipinos have a contagious joy for life that's hard to miss.


Now, my hubby set a new mission for himself: to learn the Ilokano language and converse fluently with my lolas on our next trip. But, finding study materials online was like a needle in a haystack. Luckily, he had me to help with definitions and pronunciations. With a little bit of effort and a lot of passion, he became a self-taught Ilokano speaker.

So why Ilokano?

My family's roots stretch back to the Philippines, where my big family tree blossoms with Ilokanos, and our gatherings are legendary. However, most of my kin still reside there, conversing in their mother tongue. So, when my hubby set his sights on chatting with my lolas, I knew it was time to teach him our native language. After all, it's a crucial part of my heritage and brings us all closer together.

Why not Tagalog?

In addition to his Ilokano studies, he's also learning Tagalog, which he's able to practice more frequently as he interacts with the Filipino community. Resources for learning Tagalog are abundant, but there seems to be a scarcity of resources for Ilokano. As a means of providing support to others, we established the Ilokano Learner Blog. Our objective is to assist those who aspire to learn Ilokano. Furthermore, we aim to incorporate these lessons into our son's education, in the hopes that some of it will be retained.

Now you know...

As you are now aware, we have elected to prioritize the Ilokano Language. Our objective is to furnish study guides and other valuable resources to those seeking to acquire proficiency in Ilokano.

Until next time - Ditakayon.

Let's Learn how to Speak Ilokano!

Hello Everyone! Adda Kami Manen! 

 I know, I know, and we do feel really bad for not updating our page in such a long time. What happened? Well, life happened! Sometimes, life doesn't want to follow the path that we're so set on taking and we have to focus on what is important. Priorities, right? We had to play grown up for a little bit, well, we tried anyways. But now we are back!

Nailiw kayo kadakami?
Na miss niyo ba kami?
SO.....DID YOU MISS US? 

Well, we missed all of you too! Lately, we've received so many requests for more lessons on our social media account and we are feeling the love. So we decided to regroup and revamp our page and start the lessons again.

But first, let's start with some refresher lessons.

If you don't already follow us on Facebook, do it now! We will post the links to some old lessons as a refresher for some of you and  beginner's lessons for those who are just now starting. The links to all new lessons will be posted to our social media accounts.

Please be patient with us as we get these new lessons lined up and we suggest that you go over our old lessons. Feel free to contact us for ideas and suggestions. This will help us create lessons that will cover our readers' interest.

WHAT WE DO:

Our mission is to provide:

•  Resources and information in learning the Ilocano Language.
•  Culture guidance for those who plan to visit the Philippines especially in the Northern Region where Ilokano is spoken.
•  Historical tidbits relating to the Ilokano language 

WHAT WE WON'T DO:

We will go ahead and mention the things we won't do because we believe it will not help people in the long run.

• WE ARE NOT Translators. We will provide the necessary resources for individuals to help with translation. Simply put, we will not do the hard work for you. This includes translating love notes/text, school assignments or projects. 
• We will not get involve in any dramas or matchmaking. Nope! Not going there!
• We do not talk politics. Trust me, It's safer this way.

So with that out of the way. We hope to provide more resources and lessons this year to those who are willing to learn the Ilokano language. Remember, nothing is impossible when it comes to learning. The "I can't do it" attitude is all in your head. So stay positive and keep on learning.

Subscribed to our Blog 

Follow us on Facebook.

Get resources at our Amazon Store 

Ilokano Learner Store.

Revamp Complete

We've finished revamping both the blog and our Facebook page. Stay tuned for new lessons and updates coming later this week.

We are now on Facebook!

In our attempt to interact more with our readers, you can now send us a message on Facebook.

Sorry for the absence

We are currently working a couple of big things, that have had our hands tied. We should have some new study material up next week, so make sure to check back. We look forward to seeing you again.

Temporary Downtime

Gonna try to update the template. This may cause some temporary lack of access to the blog, as well as loss of some of my widgets. I hope to get this done quickly, if the site is messed up, come back in 10 minutes. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Ilokano Learner Store

We've set up a store where you can get the books we've referenced as well as some other Ilokano gear. Check it out, if there is something you would like us to add to the store feel free to leave a comment and let us know.

Ilokano Learner Store

Thanks!

Edit: Added a link under "Getting Started" on the right. Just click on the book and it will take you directly to the store.

Keep up to date.

To keep update with the latest posts make sure to subscribe to our feed in the right hand column. That way you will know as soon as we post something new. The learning never stops, so don't miss a single post.