Category Archives: Language

UPDATE: APA DEFENDS USE OF ‘SELFITIS’ TERMINOLOGY

imageArlington, Virginia – Last week, The Adobo Chronicles reported that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has classified the taking of selfies as a mental disorder and went on to call it ‘selfitis.’

The medical community was quick to criticize APA’s use of the term ‘selfitis,’ saying that the suffix ‘itis’ refers to a condition or disease that involves some form of inflammation.  Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial passages of the lungs; tonsilitis is the inflammation of the tonsils; dermatitis is the inflammation of the skin.  Many doctors and scientists said that the correct term for an “addiction” such as the addiction to take self photos should be ‘selfism,’ just like addiction to alcohol is ‘alcoholism.’

However, APA defended its choice for the term ‘selfitis’ saying that the newly classified mental disorder is an ‘inflammation of one’s ego.’

ILOCANOS PROTEST SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR’S DECISION TO MAKE TAGALOG AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE FOR THE CITY BY THE BAY

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee

San Francisco, California – Not all Filipinos are happy with the announcement by Mayor Ed Lee that Tagalog  has been added to the shortlist of languages that will be included in official documents in the city and country of San Francisco. The other “official languages” are English, Spanish and Chinese. San Francisco informational brochures and application forms for various services are available in these official languages.

A coalition of Ilocano-speaking Filipinos protested yesterday’s announcement, claiming that there are more Ilocano-speaking Filipinos than there are Tagalog speakers in San Francisco.  Ilocano is the predominant dialect in many provinces of the Northern Luzon region of the Philippines. The late President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.  was Ilocano.

Filipinos living in Hawaii expressed their full support for the protest. Ilocanos are the predominant Filipino residents of Hawaii. Many public signage in Hawaii are written in Ilocano.

The San Francisco issue has become more controversial as a group of Kapampangan-speaking Filipinos joined in the protest demanding that their dialect be included as well as an official language.  Kapampangan is the dialect spoken in a huge province of Northern Luzon, Pampanga, where former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her late father, Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal, hail from.

Mayor Ed Lee has not returned calls for comment from The Adobo Chronicles.

TAGALOG VERSION OF CESAR CHAVEZ FILM TO BE RELEASED FRIDAY

imageHollywood, California – Moviegoers wanting to see  ‘Cesar Chavez’ have the option to see the film in English or dubbed in Spanish, a brilliant marketing strategy by the producers. There was some initial confusion last weekend when non-Spanish speakers mistakenly bought tickets to the Spanish language screenings, but theater management was quick to better label their marquee signs to avoid confusion.

Initial reaction to the film was mixed, with Filipino moviegoers crying foul for the inaccurate representation – or lack thereof – of Larry Itliong and other Filipino farm leaders who, in actuality, started the Delano farm labor strikes which the film totally attributes to Cesar Chavez.

To appease the angry protests, the film’s producers announced today that a new, all-Tagalog (Filipino) version of the movie will be released in theaters in Daly City and South San Francisco starting this Friday. If the new version is well received in these two cities, the Tagalog version will be released nationwide.

Calls by The Adobo Chronicles to the offices of the Filipino American National Historical Society which has been in the forefront of the film protests, have not been returned.

Moviegoers are advised to closely look at theater marquee signs to make sure they are purchasing the correct tickets.  The films are labeled “Cesar Chavez,” “Cesar Chavez en Español” and ” Sesar Tsabes.”  The latter is the Filipino version.