"Pikon na ME!!"

Someone sent me an SMS with the following message: "Asan na U? Hungry na me..."

I was slightly, nay, immensely irked by the message. And I wasn't surprised at all by my reaction. Indeed, years of Jesuit grammatical tutelage, capped by the training in law school to use precise and proper syntax, don't count for nothing. I won't be a hypocrite, though. I don't mind using Taglish [defined in Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taglish) as a portmanteau of the words "Tagalog" and "English,", i.e., a mixed language in the Philippines, that is infused with English terms; Taglish is perhaps most common in Metro Manila, where its use has become stereotype. Its influence has nevertheless become great, as it is now arguably a lingua franca in many parts of the country]. Neither do I mind using Englog [again, defined in Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englog) as English infused with Filipino words, a popular type being called Coño English or Konyo English]. In fact, I think that in the future, Taglish and Englog will develop as full-fledged languages, or, at the very least, class-based dialects in themselves [much like the type of English spoken by England's Establishment, and that spoken by the Commoners]. What I do mind, however, is how some feeling types bastardize Taglish or Englog by inventing and infusing new ways of constructing Taglish or Englog sentences and/or phrases! It is totally ridiculous!

Take the SMS that I received, for example. Never in my entire life have I ever heard anyone say "Nasaan na U?" or "Hungry na ME." It is always said, "Where are you?" or "Nasaan ka na?", and "I'm hungry" or "Gutom na ako." Period. No Ifs or Buts. Indeed, some words and phrases are more appropriately stated in pure English or Tagalog, and as such, cannot just be bastardized by any Tom, Dick or Harry [or in our case, Pepe or Pilar], trying to make their mark in Taglish-dom or Englog-dom. Inventing or infusing new ways of constructing Taglish or Englog words, phrases and/or sentences, must still take into consideration proper grammar, syntax, and, to a certain extent, aesthetic appeal--attributes which, I venture to state, are marks of a great language.

Some people also say that the corruption of Taglish and Englog arose from the introduction of SMS messaging into the Filipino psyche. It arose from the need of abbreviating and writing shorter text messages. Baloney. I cannot, for the life of me, understand how adding 1 letter [as in the case of "me" for "ako"] can possibly make a difference in the SMS message to be sent. Again, it appears that some good-for-nothing Filipino moron/Juan Tamad is trying to make his or her mark by devising [to his or her mind, at least] an innovative way of colloquial-speak. This sorry excuse for an innovation, however, is made at a great price--the sacrifice of, as stated above, proper grammar, syntax and aesthetic appeal.

These knights of wrong grammar should be nailed to the cross. To the lot of them I say [excuse my French]--"Tang-ina U! Pikon na Me!!" :)