Kumusta po kayo?
That's "hello, how are you," in Tagalog, the principal language of the Philippines.
It's the "formal" way to say it.
I find it fascinating that from England to Spain, Hungary to the aforementioned Philippines, pretty much all over the world, languages recognize a formal and an informal level of speaking. Spanish has tu and usted, Hungarian teged and on.
English has it, too. Or had it. In the old days, thou and thee were the informal, and you was formal. Eventually, all of us English speakers (except the Quakers, apparently) simply started speaking in the formal tense to each other and thee and thou became quaint, archaic, rarely used, its original intent forgotten, preserved and used only in ecclestiastical and scriptoral settings.
Showing posts with label Tagalog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tagalog. Show all posts
Friday, August 3, 2007
A loaf of bread .... and thou!
Posted by
Eastcoastdweller
at
10:31 AM
5
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