today i declare that i am southeast asian. having said that, what do i use now? the asian? or the western? or whatever is convenient? is choosing the path of least resistance (convenience) a state of mind? actually, i think the bisayans have it. we use the word "de silla" (from the root word silla which is chair) to indicate the left hand. and we use "de mano" (from the root word mano or hand, which is a form of greeting when we say mano po in Filipino) to indicate the right hand. now we can go back several centuries as to why we use the right hand to greet, shake hands, salute and wave. but we really say de silla which is of the chair to indicate the left. that means we use the left hand to wipe our ass when we are done. and we use the right to do the other thing or the other things like mano po, shake hands, salute, wave. etc. i guess because we put forward the hand that is relatively clean. de mano and de silla. next time when in the bisayan speaking regions, you tell the driver to go to the left by saying de silla. and to go to the right, you say de mano. to stop you say, "lugar lang." of course you have to say "nalibogan man ko." when you are confused and lost. because of all these de silla and de mano and lugar lang. have a great weekend everybody.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Jul 2013 00:15:31 +0000