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.

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Ilokano Learner Store.

Naragsak A Paskua Tayo Amin

Naragsak a Paskua Tayo Amin ken Narangay a Baro a Tawin!

We just want to wish you all a wonderful holdiay! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The New Year will surely bring some new lessons. We are looking forward to it, are you?

Online Ilokano Dictionary

Stumbled across The Online Ilokano Dictionary Project a few days back and though I would share it. Initial indications are that the definitions are pretty accurate and the word list is expansive. There were a few words I was unable to find, but not uncommon among Ilokano-English dictionaries.

Overall this is a good resource, and for the price (free!) you really can't go wrong with using it. Combine it with the other free learning materials we've mentioned before and you have a good starting platform for learning.

If you have trouble finding any particular resource or the definition for a word, feel free to comment or send us a message and we'll be glad to help you out!

Ditakayon.

Modern Day Flashcards

One of the most time consuming parts of learning any language is memorizing vocabulary. Before we ever get to putting them in the correct order, or making an attempt at grammar, we must have a knowledge as to what the words mean. One of the best methods for this is a Spaced Repetition System (SRS).

An SRS allows you to review words in increasing intervals of time, helping transfer the words from your short term memory into your long term memory. SRS is the basis for the Pimsleur method of language learning. There are several programs available to us that take advantage of SRS. Anki, Mnemosyne, and Flashcard Exchange just to mention a few.

The one I have used to great success is Anki, but it is a personal choice for what fits your needs best. I chose Anki because it has an app I can use on my Samsung Android phone. This means I can take my flash cards with me anywhere, anytime. It also allows me to create new cards on the fly with out the need for pen and paper, whenever a new word crosses my path.

The basics of these programs is simple. Each card has two "sides" just like a regular paper flash card would. On one side you put the word to learn, on the other the definition or translation. When starting out individual words one each side work best to help you get used to using the program. As you advance in your language learning you can add whole phrases and create definitions in Ilokano instead of your native language. Writing the definitions in Ilokano spurs a much better understanding of the language and aids in your recall of the words when needed.

Using an SRS program also lets us learn vocabulary from a wide selection of sources, not just grammar books. Like I mentioned previously, you can use news and magazine sources to draw from to learn words, as well as, any you hear in conversation or music. The phrase

The key is to use the SRS daily. It may take you as little as 10 minutes, but the compounded effects over time are great. Combining the SRS with mnemonics and you have a Pacquiao style one-two punch that will help you conquer the vocabulary sooner.

Hopefully this has provided you with one more tool to help you along. Until next time.

Photo courtesy: JacobMetcalf