QUEZON City, Philippines (December 16) – Do you have a crush on someone? Are you friendzoned Are you a hopia? Are you hopelessly romantic?
Want to strike good points on your object of affection?
Banatan mo nga!
Literally speaking, “banat” as a verb means to strike, sock, bow, to hit something as. But today, young Pinoys use the term “banat” to strike for pogi or ganda points.
Here’s an example of a typical banat: “Bagyo ka ba?( Are you a typhoon?). Because the moment you left my area of responsibility, you left my heart in a state of calamity.”
“Banat” is a contemporary slang word for uncool, tiresome and old-fashioned, light and funny way of expressing our feelings. Unlike hugot, which is much deeper and for those who are in pain and pretending to be in pain. “Banat” is a way of being tweetums or trying to be cute.
It’s interesting to note that today’s young Filipinos use language as a power. Language is our weapon; we use it to defend what we believe, to share what we know and to express what we feel. We play with language to step up. Banat along with hugot as modern ways of expression helps in development of our language. According to an article in Rappler, our language is the soul of our country’s identity and culture. Songs, poems, speeches, essays, stories in Filipino unite us as a people. Giving our national cultural heritage some space in all levels of education is a must. Obliterating it is obliterating ourselves and our collective identity.
Our age can be compared with the age of renaissance where there is a highlight in beauty, love and passion. Our feelings are expressed.
From letters to text messages, to smiley, to jejemon, to group messages, to online chat, to social media, to fliptop to hugot and banat. We’ve come this far. As we patronize these, our culture shows that we never want to be left behind. We’re always developing and we have so much more to offer as Filipinos.
http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/ispeak/65545-san-juan-save-national-language
http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/corny
(written by Karen Llacuna, edited by Jay Paul Carlos)