Wit of the Filipino
TO ALL BLOGGER I'M SURE YOU WILL HAVE SO MUCH FUN IN READING THIS!!!
I promise you’ll enjoy it.
THERE'S A SIGN ON Congressional Avenue in Manila that says: "Parking for Costumers Only." This may be a misspelling of "customer." But the Philippine capital is so full of theatrical, brightly dressed individuals that I prefer to think it may actually mean what it says.
The Philippines is full of wordplay. The local accent, in which F and P are fairly interchangeable, is often used very cleverly, such as at the flower shop in Diliman called Petal Attraction.
Much of the wordplay in the Philippines is deliberate, with retailers favouring witty names, often based on Western celebrities and movies. I, myself found when Im walking along Manila area a bread shop called Anita Bakery, a 24-hour restaurant called Doris Day and Night, a garment shop called Elizabeth Tailoring and a hairdresser called Felix The Cut.
Smart travellers can decipher initially baffling signs by simply trying out a Taglish (Tagalog-English) accent, such as that used on a sign at a restaurant in Cebu: "We Hab Sop-Drink In Can An In Batol." A sewing accessories shop called Beads And Pieces also makes use of the local accent.
Of course, there are also many signs with oddly chosen words, but they are usually so entertaining that it would be a tragedy to "correct" them.
In a restaurant in Baguio: "Wanted: Boy Waitress;" on a highway in Pampanga: "We Make Modern Antique Furniture;" on the window of a photography shop in Cabanatuan: "We Shoot You While You Wait;" on the glass wall of an eatery in Panay Avenue in Manila: "Wanted: Waiter, Cashier, Washier."
Some of the notices one sees are thought-provoking. A shoe store in Pangasinan has a sign saying: "We Sell Imported Robber Shoes." Could these be the sneakiest sort of sneakers? On a house in Jaro, Iloilo, one finds a sign saying: "House For Rent, Fully Furnaced." "outch!!! , it must be hot in there."
Occasionally, the signs are quite poignant. My classmate Ramil saw one at a ferry pier outside Davao, southern Philippines, which said: "Adults: 1USD; Child: 50 cents; Cadavers: subject to negotiation. "
But most are purely witty, and display a love of Americana. Reader Lyhra spotted a bakery named "Bread Pitt," a Makati fast-food place selling maruya (banana fritters) called "Maruya Carey," a water-engineering firm called "Christopher Plumbing," a boutique called "The Way We Wear," a video rental shop called "Leon King Video Rental," a restaurant in the Cainta district of Rizal called "Caintacky Fried Chicken," a local burger restaurant called "Mang Donald's," a doughnut shop called "MacDonuts," a shop selling lumpia (meat parcels) in Makati called "Wrap and Roll," and two butchers called "Meating Place and Meatropolis. "
Tourists from Europe may be intrigued to discover shops called "Holland Hopia" and "Poland Hopia." Both sell a type of Chinese pastry called hopia. What's the story? The names are explained thus: Holland Hopia is the domain of a man named Ho and Poland Hopia is run by a man named Po.
People in the Philippines also redesign English to be more efficient. "The creative confusion between language and culture leads to more than just simple unintentional errors in syntax, but in the adoption of new words," says reader Rob Goodfellow. He came across a sign that said "House Fersallarend. " Why use five words (house for sale or rent) when two will do?
why there was so much wit in the Philippines? because, we come from a country where we require a sense of humour to survive. "There is a 24-hour comedy show called the government and a huge reserve of comedians made up mostly of politicians and bad actors."
I forgot to add the two turo-turo resto that I have seen in along Shaw Boulevard, one is named “Cooking ng Ina Mo!”, and a resto across the road is aptly named “Cooking ng Ina Mo Rin!”. Ha ha ha.
back to home
Much of the wordplay in the Philippines is deliberate, with retailers favouring witty names, often based on Western celebrities and movies. I, myself found when Im walking along Manila area a bread shop called Anita Bakery, a 24-hour restaurant called Doris Day and Night, a garment shop called Elizabeth Tailoring and a hairdresser called Felix The Cut.
Smart travellers can decipher initially baffling signs by simply trying out a Taglish (Tagalog-English) accent, such as that used on a sign at a restaurant in Cebu: "We Hab Sop-Drink In Can An In Batol." A sewing accessories shop called Beads And Pieces also makes use of the local accent.
Of course, there are also many signs with oddly chosen words, but they are usually so entertaining that it would be a tragedy to "correct" them.
In a restaurant in Baguio: "Wanted: Boy Waitress;" on a highway in Pampanga: "We Make Modern Antique Furniture;" on the window of a photography shop in Cabanatuan: "We Shoot You While You Wait;" on the glass wall of an eatery in Panay Avenue in Manila: "Wanted: Waiter, Cashier, Washier."
Some of the notices one sees are thought-provoking. A shoe store in Pangasinan has a sign saying: "We Sell Imported Robber Shoes." Could these be the sneakiest sort of sneakers? On a house in Jaro, Iloilo, one finds a sign saying: "House For Rent, Fully Furnaced." "outch!!! , it must be hot in there."
Occasionally, the signs are quite poignant. My classmate Ramil saw one at a ferry pier outside Davao, southern Philippines, which said: "Adults: 1USD; Child: 50 cents; Cadavers: subject to negotiation. "
But most are purely witty, and display a love of Americana. Reader Lyhra spotted a bakery named "Bread Pitt," a Makati fast-food place selling maruya (banana fritters) called "Maruya Carey," a water-engineering firm called "Christopher Plumbing," a boutique called "The Way We Wear," a video rental shop called "Leon King Video Rental," a restaurant in the Cainta district of Rizal called "Caintacky Fried Chicken," a local burger restaurant called "Mang Donald's," a doughnut shop called "MacDonuts," a shop selling lumpia (meat parcels) in Makati called "Wrap and Roll," and two butchers called "Meating Place and Meatropolis. "
Tourists from Europe may be intrigued to discover shops called "Holland Hopia" and "Poland Hopia." Both sell a type of Chinese pastry called hopia. What's the story? The names are explained thus: Holland Hopia is the domain of a man named Ho and Poland Hopia is run by a man named Po.
People in the Philippines also redesign English to be more efficient. "The creative confusion between language and culture leads to more than just simple unintentional errors in syntax, but in the adoption of new words," says reader Rob Goodfellow. He came across a sign that said "House Fersallarend. " Why use five words (house for sale or rent) when two will do?
why there was so much wit in the Philippines? because, we come from a country where we require a sense of humour to survive. "There is a 24-hour comedy show called the government and a huge reserve of comedians made up mostly of politicians and bad actors."
I forgot to add the two turo-turo resto that I have seen in along Shaw Boulevard, one is named “Cooking ng Ina Mo!”, and a resto across the road is aptly named “Cooking ng Ina Mo Rin!”. Ha ha ha.
back to home
14 comments:
That is really neat! hehe katawa naman yang post mo.i have agreat laugh, nawala tuloy sakit ng ulo ko.oyy sesyan na ha busy kasi ako lately eh..
hehehe tinuod jud ni ay sus nalang jud tang mga pinoy uy daghang nahibal-an hehhehe
Happy Sunday diha kaninyo sir!
hahaha..katwa gyod ko witty gyod si pinoy..good job!
mga Pinoy talaga...only in the Philippines.. i had a good laugh with this post...
hehehe... im good. im here na sa ofis, back to work. tc and happy blogging.
ang galing ng einstein talking! sure exlinks tau! hehehehe... bdw, favor naman..help me win this award http://salaswildthoughts.blogspot.com/ thanks!
hehehehe this is so cool and fun i enjoyed reading....
wow, how did you do that. that was really cool
Make me ha..ha..
Thanks for a good content.
Greating from Indonesia.
Regards,
Isyaias Sawing
Really funny..
I tried to contain my laugh as my son is already sleeping but i really cannot control it..:)
Good post indeed.
hehehe ganyan talaga ang pinoy...alam mo na, ma talent masyado as in sobrang talent...enjoy sad ning imong share...Happy Monday...
hahaha funny post :)
it's always a riot reading about funny business names...
I like Petal Attraction the most ;)
hahahah wow ka nindut ba ani io, basta pinoy gyud mao gyud ang unsa net ba, daghan gyud mahibal-an ehhehehhe.
this is really good. witty indeed! Pinoy na gud ni!
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