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

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. A related euphemism is "Bastiral!"

"Agka ambaing!" or "Angapoy baing mo!" or "Makapal so lupam!" means "Shameless!" or thick-faced, 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 casual banter or lighthearted moments. They may also be used as vulgar greetings between or among friends. "B@oninam animal, akin wadya ka? Bali-bali'y T-shirt mo lasi!"

Another class of such words involve animals that are unfortunately routinely 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). An ayew of generalized zoological nature would be, "Ayep ka!" or "Animal ka!" ("You're an anim@l!")

A couple of old terms are religious in nature and indicates a cringe-level of anger: "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 equivalents of "Beh, buti nga" or "Buti nga sa 'yo" in Tagalog and "Serves you right!" in English. "Maong itan!" is the literal equivalent of "Buti nga!" "Nalmom!" is a related expression that roughly means, "There, you're found what you're looking for!"

Another sort of swear words is an especially horrible declaration of one's wish for a person to die. Each one is practically a curse, indicating an extreme level of anger and taking offense: "Naragas ka la kumon!" (May you d*e soon.) "Nakirmatan ka kumon!" (May l*ghtning str*ke you.)

One expression literally swears permanent disengagement from a person, indicating total hate: "Anggapo'y pibabalik ed sika, anggano umpatey-patey ka!" (Roughly, I don't care a whit about you, even if you die a thousand deaths.) Surely, it is one of those statements the swearer would someday regret saying because of its seriousness and gravity.

Another type of cussing involves an open declaration that someone is a personification of bad luck. "Asagapet ka!" or "Angga'd kapigan, uusilan kay kamalasan!"

A local idiom would have been 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 now?) This is an outright 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!" "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).

Bayambang Polytechnic College President Rafael L. Saygo adds: "Agka la akilem!" (roughly, di ka na kinilabutan, you don't know what you're saying), and the hurtful "Makapadimla!" or "Makapaasi!" (nakakadiri, yucky), and "Maraeraeg!" (roughly, malas ang presensiya, your presence means bad luck).

From Abulencia are other expressions that sound really menacing: "Manalwar ka agi diad lastog mo ay lasi ka asingger lay gitar na bilay mo!" "Mabinbinta, pabirbir! Nasabin siancia'y oras mo!"

And some are downright insults, such as: "Singa ka palpalama, anggapoy amtam ed bilay!" (roughly, You good-for-nothing!); "Makapabwisit ka! Say labay mo manum ya naynay." (roughly, Nakakainis ka, gusto mo ikaw lagi masususnod kahit mali na; You're annoying! All you want followed is your own preference even if it doesn't make sense); "Singa ka no tugtuwa, anggapoy panmaliwan mo!" (roughly, Who do you think you are? You'll be nobody!)

It goes without saying that I don't personally approve of swearing, most especially wishing another person to die, but I am guilty of using the milder forms when provoked. Ha-ha!