Kapampangan/Introducing Yourself, Part Two

Part A: Description

This lesson is a follow up of the previous one, here we learn the variations that we can introduce in order to show respect for the elderly as Bob joins the conversation.

The first thing to remember is that the word pu should be used after the subject of the sentence to show respect. So sentences like Áku y George become Áku pu y George.

Next we need to learn a new pronoun: you has a different form if it is used to talk to an older person, or if it is used to speak to several people. This new form is ikayú which can be abbreviated into kayú. The corresponding possessive pronoun, your is yu instead of mu.

When talking to an elderly, wa cannot be used. Instead you should use ópo (Tag) which also means yes, but shows respect at the same time.

Finally, we have just one more essential words to learn: íni this

Part B: Application

It is George's first interview for a job after leaving university. He has an appointment with his new boss which is Bob, a 50 year old professional. For the interview Bob is accompanied by Kevin, a young colleague of Bob that will have to work with George. Bob arrives into the room followed by Kevin and shakes George's hand.

Try to understand the conversation below between George, Bob and Kevin.

Bob enters the room
Kevin	- Íni y Bob.
George shakes hands with Bob
George	- Mayáp a yábak pu, Bob.
Bob	- Mayáp a yábak, íka y George?
George	- Ópo, áku pu y George.
Bob	- Masayá kung akilála ka, George.
George	- Masayá ku pu ing akilála kayú.

Now let us analyse, sentence by sentence, what is happening.

Speaker	Kapampangan	English translation	Very literally	Comment
Kevin	Íni y Bob.	This is Bob	This <name>Bob.	The verb to be is not expressed.
George	Mayáp a yábak pu, Bob.	Good morning, Bob	Good morning <respect>, Bob.	George is much younger than Bob and feels he needs to speak using the most respectful language towards him.
Bob	Mayáp a yábak, íka y George?	Good morning, are you George?	Good morning, you <name>George?	Bob, however, is older and does not need to linguistically show the same respect to George.
George	Ópo, áku pu y George.	Yes, I am George	Yes<respect>, I <respect> <name>George.	Again addition of pu just after the subject of the sentence to show respect.
Bob	Masayá kung akilála ka, George.	Nice to meet you, George.	Happy me to know you, George
George	Masayá ku pu ing akilála kayú.	Nice to meet you, sir.	Happy me<respect> to know you<respect>	George uses the most respectful pronoun to mention Bob: ikayú.

Part C: Exercises

Write the following conversation in Kapampangan and then read it aloud:

• You meet what seems to be an elderly relative of your friend in that same party, but you are not certain: ask them their name.
• They are indeed: introduce yourself to them, and express how nice it is to meet them.
• Finally, introduce a friend to them.

Solutions

Then, listen to the above conversation in Kapampangan

Part D: Summary

You can now introduce yourself in Kapampangan with the correct level of respect that is expected of you. Also you have learned the following new words and phrases:

íni	this
ikayú, kayú	you (when talking to several people, or when talking to only one elderly person and showing respect)
yu	your (when talking to several people, or when talking to only one elderly person and showing respect)
masayá ku pu ing akilála ra kayó	nice to meet you, sir showing respect for the person you are talking to.

Grammar rules that you now know:

• The possessive pronoun corresponding to íka is mu
• The possessive pronoun corresponding to ikayú is yu
• The respectful particle pu is always placed after the subject of a sentence.

Part E: Politeness and respect

You may be surprised that you need to learn a different version of a word in order to be able to express politeness. But Kapampangan is not the only language that has a complex linguistic system to show respect. Japanese is known to have such a complex linguistic system to show respect that it even has different verbs for some words like give, depending on the hierarchical level in which you are and the one in which the person you give to is. Much closer to English, French, just like Kapampangan, uses the plural form of you (2nd person plural: vous) to talk to a single person in a respectful level of language, and so does Russian. Italian uses the third person singular and feminine instead (Lei), even if the person you are talking to is male. German uses the plural of the 3rd person feminine (Sie). And finally even in old English, you was used to show respect, while thou was used when respect was not required.

Continue to Where Are You From?