Swardspeak
Swardspeak (or Chuva) is a secret language that came from the mixed language with the names Taglish and Englog. It is used by gay people in the Philippines.[1]
Swardspeak | |
---|---|
Chuva | |
Native to | Philippines |
Ethnicity | Gay community |
Language family | Creole
|
Writing system | Latin |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-2 | cpe |
ISO 639-3 | – |
Swardspeak uses word from Tagalog, English, Spanish, Cebuano, Japanese, Sanskrit, and other languages. Names of Celebrities and trademark brands are also used.[2][3]
Gay people use Swardpeak to make themselves feel special.[4] The language changes a lot.[5] People who use the language are called Bekimons. This word is from the words bakla (gay) and Jejemon.[2][6]
The word "Swardspeak" came from the 1970's book called "Swardspeak: A Preliminary Study".[7] "Sward" is slang for "gay male" in the Philippines.[8]
Rules
Swardspeak is a form of slang.[9] It changes a lot and the meaning of words are hard to know.[10] The rules are explained below.[11]
- The first sound changes to the letter "J" or "Sh" or to the sounds "Jo-", "Sho-", "Ju-", "Shu-", "Ky-", or "Ny-".
Word | Language | Meaning | Swardspeak | Swardspeak meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|
shorts | English | trousers | nyorts | trousers |
alalay | Tagalog | assistant | julaylay | assistant |
asawa | Tagalog | spouse | jowa | lover |
asawa | Tagalog | spouse | jowabelle | lover |
bata | Tagalog | child | kyota | child |
kapatid | Tagalog | sibling | shupatid | sibling |
mabaho | Tagalog | stinky | kyoho | stinky |
punta | Tagalog | to go [to a place] | jonta | to go [to a place] |
- The last sound changes to "-ash", "-is", "-iz", "-ish", "-itch", "-ech", "-ush", or "-oosh" as a suffix.
Word | Language | Meaning | Swardspeak | Swardspeak meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|
dyotay | Cebuano | a small amount | jotis | a very small amount |
ano | Tagalog | what | anech | exclamatory what |
ito | Tagalog | this one | itich | this one |
taba | Tagalog | fat | jubis | very fat |
wala | Tagalog | nothing | wash | nothing |
- Changing "a", "o", or "u" sounds with "or", "er", or "ur", especially with "l".
Word | Language | Meaning | Swardspeak | Swardspeak meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|
hello | English | hello | heller | hello (used as a wake up call) |
kaloka | Tagalog | maddening or insanely [entertaining] | kalurkey | maddening or insanely [entertaining] |
ganda | Tagalog | beautiful | gander | beautiful |
Word | Language | Meaning | Swardspeak | Swardspeak meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|
dili | Cebuano | no, not | ilij | no, not |
lain | Cebuano | bad, unpleasant | nial | bad, unpleasant |
uyab | Cebuano | lover | bayu | lover |
- Puns, code-switching, onomatopoeic Anglicization of words.
Word | Language | Meaning | Swardspeak | Swardspeak meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|
bayot | Cebuano | gay | biyuti | beautiful, pretty |
drama | English | drama | drama | melodrama, exaggeration, drama [queen] |
career | English | job | karir | to take seriously (used as a verb) |
carry | English | carry | keri | to carry [oneself well] |
feel | English | to sympathize | fillet o'fish | to be attracted to someone |
G.I. | English | a member of the United States armed forces | g.i. joe | a foreign lover, particularly American |
opposition party | English | opposition party | opposition party | a party with a lot of unexpected problems |
gurang | Hiligaynon | old | wrangler | old gay man |
Wake up and smell the coffee. | Philippine English | Wake up and smell the roses. | kape | to be realistic |
madre | Spanish | mother | mudra | female friends with children |
antipatika | Tagalog | obnoxious, unpleasant | antibiotic | obnoxious, unpleasant |
baboy | Tagalog | pig | boy band | fat kid |
libre | Tagalog | free (as in the price of goods), to treat someone out for free | liberty | free (as in the price of goods), to treat someone out for free |
silahis | Tagalog | [sun]beam, ray | silahis | bisexual male |
- Words from popular culture, mostly celebrities or TV shows. Based the things they were famous for, because parts of the words rhyme, or both.
Person / Object | Word | Language | Meaning | Swardspeak | Swardspeak meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crayola | cry | English | cry | crayola | to be sad |
X-Men | ex-man | English | a male person who came out | X-Men | a male person who came out |
Gelli de Belen | jealous | English | jealous | gelli de belen | jealous |
Noel Coward | no | English | no | noel coward | no |
Oprah Winfrey | promise | English | promise | oprah winfrey | promise |
Sharon Cuneta | sure | English | sure | sharon cuneta | yes, sure |
Jesus Christ Superstar | resurrection | English | resurrection | jesus christ superstar | fashion make-over, to change into [more fashionable] clothing |
Maxine Hong Kingston | taxi | English | taxi | taxina hong kingston | [to wait for a] taxicab |
Optimus Prime | transformation | English | transformation | optimus prime | fashion make-over, to change into [more fashionable] clothing |
Coffeemate | Wake up and smell the coffee. | Philippine English | Wake up and smell the roses. | coffeemate | to be realistic |
Carmi Martin | karma | Sanskrit | karma | carmi martin | karma |
Anaconda (film) | ahas | Tagalog | "snake", slang for "to betray" | anaconda | traitor, to betray |
Mazinger Z | bading | Tagalog | gay | badinger z | homosexual) |
Barbara Streisand | bara | Tagalog | to block | barbra streisand | to be rejected bluntly, blocked |
Jiminey Cricket | chimay | Tagalog | housemaid | chiminey cricket | housmaid |
Tommy Lee Jones | gutom | Tagalog | hungry | tommy lee jones | hungry |
Julie Yap-Daza (famous the book Etiquette for Mistresses) |
huli | Tagalog | to be caught | julie yap-daza | to be caught [cheating][13] |
Jupiter | kapatid | Tagalog | sibling | jupiter | sibling |
Lupita Aquino-Kashiwahara | lupit | Tagalog | cruel | lupita kashiwahara | cruel |
Mahalia Jackson | mahal | Tagalog | expensive, precious, dear | mahalia jackson | expensive |
Mariah Carrey | mura | Tagalog | cheap | murriah carrey | cheap |
Rita Gomez | nakakairita | Tagalog | irritating | rita gomez | irritating, annoying |
Pagoda Cold Wave Lotion | pagod | Tagalog | tired, exhausted | pagoda cold wave lotion | tired, exhausted |
Ayatollah Khomeini | payat | Tagalog | thin | fayatollah kumenis | thin |
Winston Churchill | sosyal | Tagalog | high society | churchill | high society |
Tom Jones | tomguts | Tagalog | hungry | tom jones | hungry |
- From other languages like Japanese.[14]
Word | Language | Meaning | Swardspeak | Swardspeak meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|
ビール (bīru) | Japanese | beer | berru | beer |
男 (otoko) | Japanese | male | otoko | manly man |
私 (watashi) | Japanese | me, I | watashi | me, I |
chiquito | Spanish | small | chiquito | small |
Siete Pecados | Spanish | seven deadly sins | siete pecados | nosy, gossipmonger |
Examples
- Tagalog nursery rhyme "Ako ay may lobo" (I Have a Balloon) into Swardspeak.[3]
Tagalog | Swardspeak | English |
---|---|---|
Ako ay may lobo Lumipad sa langit |
Aketch ai may lobing Flylalou sa heaven |
I had a balloon It flew up in the sky |
- Tagalog nursery rhyme "Bahay Kubo" (Nipa Hut) into Swardspeak.
Tagalog | Swardspeak | English[15] |
---|---|---|
Bahay kubo, kahit munti Ang halaman duon, |
Valer kuberch, kahit jutay Ang julamantrax denchi, |
Nipa hut, even though it is small The plants it houses |
References
- ↑ "Deciphering Filipino Gay Lingo". United SEA. 27 July 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Gayspeak: Not for gays only". http://www.thepoc.net. 30 April 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
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- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "GAY LANGUAGE: DEFYING THE STRUCTURAL LIMITS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN THE PHILIPPINES". Kritika Kultura, Issue 11. Kritika Kultura. August 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
- ↑ "swardspeak". http://www.doubletongued.org. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
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- ↑ "A SEMANTIC LOOK AT FEMININE SEX AND GENDER TERMS IN PHILIPPINE GAY LINGO" (PDF). University of the Philippines. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
- ↑ "Ang Bekimon (Baklang Jejemon)". http://pinoylgbt.com. July 7, 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
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- ↑ "The Filipino Gayspeak (Filipino Gay Lingo)". http://www.ncca.gov.ph/. June 5, 2006. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
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- ↑ "GAY SPEAKS on "SWARDSPEAK"". http://badinggerzie.blogspot.com. May 13, 2005. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
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- ↑ "On Philippine gay lingo". http://www.abs-cbnnews.com. 2008-05-05. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
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- ↑ "Gay Lingo (Made in the Philippines)". http://www.doubletongued.org. November 16, 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
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- ↑ "Deciphering Filipino Gay Lingo". United SEA. 27 July 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
- ↑ "The Filipino Gayspeak (Filipino Gay Lingo". http://www.ncca.gov.ph/. June 5, 2006. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
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- ↑ "Etiquette for Mistresses". April 28, 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
- ↑ "Gay Lingo Collections". July 5, 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
- ↑ "Philippines Children's Songs and Nursery Rhymes". http://www.mamalisa.com/. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
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Books
- Visayan Swardspeak: The language of a gay community in the Philippines" - Crossroads, 1990
- “’Performing’ the Filipino Gay Experiences in America: Linguistic Strategies in a Transnational Context.” Beyond the Lavender Lexicon: Authenticity, Imagination and Appropriation in Lesbian and Gay Language. New York: Gordon and Breach, 1997. 249–266
- “Global Divas: Filipino Gay Men in the Diaspora”, Duke University Press Books, November 19, 2003. ISBN 978-0822332176