Day 126 of 135

Day 126: From Harana to Talking Stage

At the eighty-fifth birthday lunch of Lola Teodora (C) in Bulacan, her daughter Ofelia (A) and son-in-law Willy (B) try to explain what their own daughter means by a "talking stage."

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Tagalog. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio for this lesson is coming soon. For now, read the dialogue and its translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day

  1. A

    Ma, pasensiya na po kay Andrea, kanina pa nakababad sa cellphone. May "talking stage" daw po kasi siya.

    Ma, sorry about Andrea, she's been glued to her phone the whole time. She's in a "talking stage," apparently.

  2. B

    Talking stage na naman? Noong panahon natin, MU lang 'yan, mutual understanding, bago maging syota.

    Another talking stage? In our day that was just MU, mutual understanding, before you went steady.

  3. C

    Ano ba ang "talking stage" na iyan? Sa aming kapanahunan, ang binata'y nanunuyo o hindi; walang yugto-yugto.

    What is this "talking stage"? In our time, a young man was either courting you or he wasn't; there were no stages.

  4. A

    Nag-uusap pa lang po sila, Ma, para malaman kung bagay sila, bago po maging sila.

    They're just talking for now, Ma, to see if they're a match, before they become a couple.

  5. C

    Nag-uusap lang? Ang iyong ama, tatlong taong nanilbihan sa amin bago ako pinayagang magpakasal: nag-igib, nagsibak, at humarana.

    Just talking? Your father served my family for three years before I was allowed to marry him: he fetched water, chopped firewood, and sang under my window.

  6. B

    Ma, noong panahon po namin, porma lang at tsikot, ayos na. Hindi na po uso ang kumanta sa ilalim ng bintana.

    Ma, back in our day, all you needed was style and wheels. Singing under windows was out of fashion.

  7. A

    Kaya nga hanggang ngayon, hindi ka marunong kumanta. Ma, sinundo po niya ako sa owner-type jeep na walang bubong.

    That's why you still can't sing. Ma, he used to pick me up in an owner-type jeep with no roof.

  8. C

    Kaya pala lagi kang basa tuwing tag-ulan noon. Iyan ang napala mo sa "tsikot": walang harana, walang bubong.

    So that's why you always came home soaked in the rainy season. That's what your "wheels" got you: no serenade, no roof.

  9. B

    Ma, iba na po ngayon, sa chat na po pumoporma ang mga binata. Dyahe na po ang harana.

    Ma, it's different now, young men make their moves over chat. Serenading's just embarrassing now.

  10. A

    Totoo po, Ma. Tatlong buwan na po silang nag-uusap, pero hindi pa namin nakikita ang mukha ng binata.

    It's true, Ma. They've been talking for three months, and we still haven't seen the young man's face.

  11. C

    Dyahe pala ang harana. Mas dyahe ang binatang walang mukha: papuntahin ninyo rito sa Sabado, may kahoy akong ipasisibak.

    So serenading's embarrassing. A young man with no face is worse: have him come here on Saturday, I've got firewood for him to chop.

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