ADZU Freedom Wall 2.0
#adzufreewall3963
Hi! I hope the admin notices and posts this to raise a bit of awareness.
I just want to share something that's been bothering me for a while. I’ve been noticing a very common mistake in daily conversations, and it happens so often that sometimes I even question myself—pero hindi, this really is a widespread habit.
A lot of people interchange “hindi” and “wala,” and most of the time, “wala” gets used even when it’s not correct.
To make the point clear, here are some of the common mistakes I keep hearing:
* “Sumama ka kanina?” → “Wala.”
* “Nakita mo ang bag ko?” → “Wala.”
* “Pumunta ka ng school kahapon?” → “Wala.”
These questions ask about actions, so the correct answer should be “Hindi.” Not “Wala.”
To help clarify the difference, here are more diverse examples beyond school situations:
When the correct answer is “HINDI”
(Questions about actions, behavior, or conditions.)
* “Nagalit ka ba?” → “Hindi.”
* “Tumawag ka ba kanina?” → “Hindi.”
* “Umalis ka ba kagabi?” → “Hindi.”
* “Nag-post ka ba sa feed?” → “Hindi.”
When the correct answer is “WALA”
(Questions about the presence or existence of something.)
* “May pera ka pa ba?” → “Wala.”
* “May dumaan ba dito?” → “Wala.”
* “May iniwan ba siyang message?” → “Wala.”
* “May nakuha kang package?” → “Wala.”
Yet despite how basic this difference is, I still hear people say:
“Ay Tagalog lang ’yan, as long as nagkakaintindihan tayo.”
Some of these same people also mock others for speaking English incorrectly. I cannot help but think that it’s quite bold to make fun of someone’s English grammar when they cannot even use the basics correctly in our own language.
We become so obsessed with learning to speak English to sound matalino, mayaman, or for other reasons that, at this cost, we are slowly losing our own language.
I also don’t want the wrong term to become the norm, especially because I personally experience this a lot here in Zamboanga. I know we’re not native Tagalog speakers, but please learn our own language first so we can preserve it and pass it down to the next generation.
I hope our Filipino teachers notice this too, because many students might not even realize they’re using the wrong word.
#NoHateJustSpreadingAwareness