A Different Character: Batangan Diction

“Hahada lang.”

This was what I told my new housemates in UP Diliman when they asked me where I was going. They laughed their guts out. I didn’t know why. But I laughed with them. Pretended I was getting the joke I didn’t realize I cracked.

I added, “Bakit? Gusto nyo sumama?”

And they laughed even harder. Way harder. I was a college freshman. And I was straight then. (Or at least, I hadn’t come out yet.) This was why I made a sort of "joker" impression on my housemates even though most of the time, I was as serious as hell. And the only humor I knew was sarcastic.

“Hada” in Batangas, or at least in Lemery, means “to take a walk.” Hihikap. Gagala. Maglalakad-lakad. It took me almost two years to finally figure out that “hada,” in gay lingo, actually means to go out and look for potential sexcapades. I didn’t know.

When I tell people I’m a Batangueno, they are usually shocked. Their first reaction is always to ask me “How come you don't have the accent?” I never had that accent. I can fake it but I never had it. We don’t have it in the family. But fellow Batanguenos and even those who hailed from other Southern Tagalog provinces easily trace my Batangan roots when I start talking. I may not have the accent, but my diction --- ah, my diction --- is as Batangan as it can get.

Most of the time, I have no idea that the Tagalog words I utter are words that only Batanguenos get. That’s the difficulty with dialects. At least with a different language, you know that the words you say will not be understood by those in the capital. In my case, kailangan ko pang isipin kung ang Tagalog na salita na sasabihin ko ay maiintindihan ng mga kaibigan ko. O kung hindi man, normal ba ito sa kanilang pandinig.

No wonder why my roommate still had his big toe injured when I told him “may purunggo sa sahig.” Or why he didn’t buy me anything when I told him to bring sinturis. Or why he continued eating the bar of snickers he left on the table after I warned him “ginuguyam na yan.” Or why my colleague thought I was pissed at her when I said “nababanas ako.” Or why they thought I could not taste anything when I told my friends “masama ang pakilasa ko.”

Or why they would give me a what-the-heck look every time I said “labis ng piso yung sukli.” Sabi nila, dito raw sa Maynila, sa pag-ibig lang ginagamit ang “labis.” O kaya sa pag-asa. O pag-aalala. “Sobra” raw yung malimit gamitin. Ewan ko sa kanila. Ganun din naman yun.

Since then, I had a certain reputation. The one who always asks if they know a certain Tagalog word. (I’m afraid they may not understand.) Or the one who speaks 10,000BC Tagalog. Or the one who says “bigyi” rather than “bigyan mo” or “lagyi” rather than “lagyan mo.” Or simply the guy na humahada pag gabi.

Yes, I earned this reputation over time. But I’m not complaining. Somehow, it gives me character. And it’s a character that I’ve always been grateful for and will always be proud of.

Tama na muna. Hahada laang ako.

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