Swardspeak
| Swardspeak | |
|---|---|
| Chuva | |
| Native to | Philippines |
| Ethnicity | Gay community |
Creole
| |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | cpe |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
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 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 |
| taray | Tagalog | bitchy | taroosh | very bitchy |
| 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 |
| pokpok | Tagalog | prostitute, to pound, to hammer | hammer | prostitute |
| 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) |
| Barbra 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 |
| Pocahontas | pokpok | Tagalog | prostitute | pocahontas | prostitute |
| 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 |
| coño | Spanish | vagina | coño | high society |
| coño | Spanish | vagina | coño | speaker of Coño English |
| puñeta | Spanish | obscenity, means "in a fist" | puñeta | profanity, equal to "fuck" |
| 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". 30 April 2010. Archived from the original on 1 December 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "GAY LANGUAGE: DEFYING THE STRUCTURAL LIMITS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN THE PHILIPPINES". Kritika Kultura, Issue 11. Kritika Kultura. August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 March 2009. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
- ↑ "swardspeak". Retrieved 23 December 2010.
- ↑ "A SEMANTIC LOOK AT FEMININE SEX AND GENDER TERMS IN PHILIPPINE GAY LINGO" (PDF). University of the Philippines. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
- ↑ "Ang Bekimon (Baklang Jejemon)". July 7, 2010. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
- ↑ "The Filipino Gayspeak (Filipino Gay Lingo)". June 5, 2006. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
- ↑ "GAY SPEAKS on "SWARDSPEAK"". May 13, 2005. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
- ↑ "On Philippine gay lingo". 2008-05-05. Archived from the original on 2011-01-27. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
- ↑ "Gay Lingo (Made in the Philippines)". November 16, 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
- ↑ "Deciphering Filipino Gay Lingo". United SEA. 27 July 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
- ↑ "The Filipino Gayspeak (Filipino Gay Lingo". June 5, 2006. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
- ↑ "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". Retrieved 25 December 2010.
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