Kumustá sa lahát!

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Nov 10 2019, 11:10am CST ~ 4 years ago.

Kumustá sa lahát!

I am helping a 101 year old friend with her memoirs. She lived in the Philippines when she was with the Peace Corps in the early 1980s. She said when the villagers introduced her to fresh coconut milk the first time, they cut an extra notch out of a shell for her "dukula dunga" - her "big nose". This is her recollection and is even written on the back of her photo. She assures me this is correct, but I can't find anything that comes close. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Salamat!

Nov 10 2019, 11:28am CST ~ 4 years ago.

Where was she assigned? This would be a useful piece of information given the number of languages and dialects spoken in the Philippines.

Nov 11 2019, 10:27am CST ~ 4 years ago.

@spinca
Welcome! What an interesting project. I'm guessing "dukula dunga" is a local language/dialect. @Diegocorry is right -- if you know the town or region where she was stationed, we could probably figure out the language being used...

Nov 11 2019, 10:41am CST ~ 4 years ago.

@TLDCAdmin @Diegocorry - Thanks for the replies! That makes absolute sense regarding the number of dialects. She was in Castilla, Sorsogon. Hope that sheds some light on the mystery.

Nov 11 2019, 10:49am CST ~ 4 years ago.

@spinca
Aha! OK,...so this would be the Bikol language.
en.wikipedia.org/wik i/Bikol_languages

I was able to verify the definitions at this Bikol online dictionary, too:
bansa.org/dictionari es/bcl/

Searching for...
big = dakula
nose = dungo

Nov 11 2019, 10:54am CST ~ 4 years ago.

That makes absolute sense regarding the number of dialects.

@spinca
Just to add a clarifying point, too...

Although sometimes the different languages of the Philippines are referred to as "dialects," they are often completely separate languages and not dialects at all.

For example, Bikol is completely unintelligible to someone who only knows Tagalog.

Nov 11 2019, 11:05am CST ~ 4 years ago.

@TLDCAdmin Really? Wow! I guess it's like being from the South in the US. As a southerner, I can't understand a word of 'english' spoken in other parts of the south! Oooops. Just realized I hit "laughing" emoji not "exclamation" on your post! Thank you so much for looking into this for me - so helpful!

Nov 11 2019, 11:11am CST ~ 4 years ago.

Haha...I hear you. I'm from the Houston area here. ; )

The difference between a southern drawl and a formal British accent would be considered a "dialect" difference.

The difference between the Bikol language and Tagalog is more like the difference between English and French -- just completely different languages.

For example,
Bikol = dukula dunga
Tagalog = malaking ilong

...there's not much similarity there!

Nov 11 2019, 11:23am CST ~ 4 years ago.

@TLDCAdmin The online dictionary is fantastic, thanks! I have been able to look up a few other words to confirm spelling. :^) With gratitude...

Nov 11 2019, 11:39am CST ~ 4 years ago.

@TLDCAdmin To elaborate a bit on the language/dialect difference: when I was on Panay in the late 60s, Kinaray-a was considered a dialect of Ilonggo/Hiligaynon; now, I have heard, it is considered a separate language. To add to that confusion, the Kinaray-a spoken north of Iloilo City is quite a bit different from that spoken west of the city.

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