Pammudmura: Ayew na Sara'y Pangasinense

Pammudmura: Ayew na Sara'y Pangasinense (Pangasinan Swear Words)

If terms of endearment among the Pangasinenses are quite numerous, terms of contempt are equally so. Among these contemptuous words are, of course, swear words or cuss words.

Anger a Pangasinense properly, and you are sure to hear such an unwelcome word or two, just like the rest of the Filipino ethnic groups.

When educator Efren Abulencia wondered aloud what swear words (or ayew) Pangasinenses use, I initially I thought there was only a couple. Was I wrong! It turns out there are quite a number.

Off the top of my head, I could only think of two classic and favorite ayew of any random folk in the province: "B@oninam!" and "Anac na lasi ka!"

"B@oninam!" is vulgar in usage and literally means "p*ki ng nanay mo" or "your mother's vagin@," just like the Ilocano "uk*ninam." This expression comes off to me as sexist, because why are the father's genitals never ever alluded to, as though to say only the female pudenda is profane territory? Why not ut*nnen@mam or p@ltaknenamam? I wonder.

A milder variant of "B@oninam!" is "Baukitim!" (untranslatable).

"Anac na lasi!" (literally, child of lightning) is not even a swear word or a form of cursing, but it is routinely used anyway in moments of extreme annoyance. Considering its literal meaning, it is a mild form of expletive.

Buwis*t ka is also popular, but then it is also a Tagalog expression with reportedly Chinese origin.

Next most popular ones would be the equivalent of "How dare you!" These are "Agabangatan!" (you have not been taught good manners and proper conduct), "Agca mangitaltalek!" (you are being disrespectful for not paying any attention), and "Agca mangabkabilang!" (same as preceding), which are often used against an erring child.

"Agka ambaing!" or "Angapoy baing mo!" means "Shameless!," and these are wielded by the offended party when finding someone being too presuming.

Another favorite is a set of vulgarities again that center on the genitals, indicating a nonchalant but negative attitude toward sexual organs, much like how Biblical Jews regard sex organs as their "shame." These are "B@om!" (your vagina), "Ut*n mo!" (your prick), "P@ltak mo!" (your b@lls), "Lus*m!" (your penile head?), "Ut*n mon alusi!" (your pen*s which has been ____)?, "Baom ya abuti!" or "B@om ya @buti-buti!" (your v@gina which has been ___?). Furthermore, "Balbaleg so paltak mo!" (Your b@lls are so big!) is never meant to be a compliment but a badge of shame. This time, there is no disparity in gender that would incense GAD advocates in government.

An extremely vulgar but quite popular term is "T@im!," which means "Your fec*s."

Magantil, which has dozens of synonyms, is reserved for women who are thought to be merrily going against social norms of femininity, while atapis, which has an even greater number of synonyms, is used for anyone thought of as exhibiting abnormal or irrational behavior.

A common slang nowadays is "Baem!" -- literally "Your grandma!" It's a term that is hardly offensive and truly mild, which should remind us that all the above cuss words may also be used lightly or in lighthearted moments.

Another class of such words involve animals that are regarded with contempt. In descending order of contempt are oleg (snake, reserved for traitors), buwaya (crocodile, for someone greedy), baboy (pig, for those who are dirty or slovenly in their ways), bakes (monkey, for someone being silly or looking so ugly), bakukol (turtle, for maybe those exhibiting such a slow pace). A general ayew would be, "Animal ka!" ("You're an anim@l!")

A couple of old terms are religious in nature: "Irihis" (meaning, heretic -- my grandmother used this against me once), "Akin aswitas ka?!" (Why are you being a Jesuit?), "Hudyo ka amo!?" (Might you be a Jew?).

"Gunggunam" and "përam," both untranslatable, are used to indicate something like "Beh, buti nga" or "Buti nga sa 'yo" in Tagalog (Serves you right!).

Another sort of swear words is an especially horrible expression of desire for the person to die. Each one is practically a curse: "Naragas ka la kumon!" (May you d*e soon.) "Nakirmatan ka komon!" (May l*ghtning str*ke you.)

A local idiom is quite creative, even hilarious, if not for its actual meaning: "Unsasawa ka la amo'd baaw?" ("Are you getting bored with eating rice?" meaning "Labay mo la amoy umpatey?" or Do you wanna die?) This is an out-and-out death threat.

Melchor Orpilla, our go-to resource person for anything about Pangasinan language and now a Commissioner of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, reveals in a comment that older Pangasinenses used to have a lot more in their ancient armory of hurtful words and expressions. His list comprises of swear words we have never heard before, even from our grandparents: Batsilir ka! Basikalan ka! Anggad kapigan, uusilan kay kamalasan! Mirisi'd sika 'tan!

"Likod ëd saray masalsalangsang tan klasikon ayëw, wala ni ray unya (Aside from the salty classics, there are the following [that old folks used when trading barbs]): Karaho Pikaro, Kalawakaw, Alimutaw, Ngirël mo, Si lakim nën baim (this seems to be the precursor of the very current "Baem!"), Burangën (cousin of dugyot or slovenly), Ampombakët...

Old forms of curses expressing the wish for someone to die, he says, are: "Ag ka la naragas," "Ag ka la mangalimarëk," "Ag ka la nadagta," "Ag ka la mangurat," "Ag ka bibiláyën" ('Di ka dapat buh@yin).

It goes without saying that I don't personally approve of swearing in general, but I am guilty of using the milder forms when provoked. Ha-ha!