Tagalog Down and Dirty

Book excerpt: Every year, millions of foreigners visit The Philippines. They go to the World War II battlefield of Corregidor, tour the presidential home Malacañang Palace, play golf, lounge on the white sand beaches, and . . . Some do things that don’t have chapters in the standard tourist phrasebooks and textbooks of the primary native language, Tagalog. Tagalog is spoken as a first language by millions of Filipinos in and around the nation’s capital of Manila, including Angeles and Subic Bay. In addition, Tagalog is spoken and understood to some extent throughout the rest of the country because it’s the language of school, TV, newspapers and movies. Tagalog Down & Dirty is your guide to the Tagalog you won’t learn in the other books. Sex, drugs, alcohol, insults, obscenities, dirty talk, curse words, slurs about your mind, body and sexual equipment, the supernatural, gambling, and “gay language”—which gay men use to hide their meaning from the general population. Best of all, words for lovers and would-be lovers. Tagalog Down & Dirty is arranged in chapters according to subject. Next is a chapter including a long list of gay language words. And finally is a list of all the standard Tagalog words arranged in alphabetical order – Tagalog to English – so it’s easy to look up Tagalog words you don’t know. Come to The Philippines prepared to recognize such basic insults as "Your mother is a ______," "You're _____" and "You have no _____ ." (Don't say themself yourself, though, unless you're prepared to defend yourself!) Discover the Tagalog words for parts of your body, at least the most interesting parts, and their functions. Learn the names of the many monsters and ghosts you must avoid at night. If you're a man who has sex with other men, discover how Filipino gays classify your sexuality. Because language is intimately tied to culture, you'll get an inside look at how different Filipinos value are from average Western countries. Call an American woman "ugly" and you'll probably get a lecture on how men objectify women and/or men should look for beautiful personalities. Call a Filipino woman "ugly" and look out! Tell an American they have no shame, and they probably won't even know what you're talking about. If you say it to a Filipino, you better run for your life. Describe an American woman as flirtatious and she'll take it as a compliment. Tell a Filipino woman that and, depending on circumstances, she may take it as an insult to her sexual morality. Whether you wish to learn more about The Philippines because you're chatting up some sweet young thing online and want to meet her in person, or you wish to check out the bar scene, or to swim and sun bathe at the white sand beaches, explore the jungles or oceans teeming with exotic wildlife, or to backpack in the mountains, or a linguist checking out the phenomenon of gay language, Tagalog Down & Dirty is where to start your adventure.