Day 40 of 135

Day 40: Balagtasan Meets the Rap Battle

In a boarding house room in Sampaloc, Manila, Joseph (A) and Oliver (B), two young battle rappers, rehearse a clean exhibition battle for a voters' education concert on whether the voting age should be lowered to sixteen, Oliver for and Joseph against.

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

    Ikaw ang mauna: labindalawang pantig bawat taludtod, may hati sa gitna, at may tugma.

    You go first: twelve syllables a line, a break in the middle, and it has to rhyme.

  2. B

    Sige, Balagtas: "Yo, ang kabataan ay handa nang bumoto, labing-anim pa lang, alam na ang gusto!"

    Okay, Balagtas: "Yo, the youth are ready to vote; just sixteen, and they know what they want!"

  3. A

    Labintatlo ang una dahil sa "yo" mo. Tanggalin mo, sakto na.

    Your first line has thirteen syllables because of the "yo." Drop it, and it's perfect.

  4. B

    Pero ang "yo" ang buhay ng flow, pare, kung wala 'yon, para akong nagre-recite sa Buwan ng Wika.

    But the "yo" is the life of the flow, man. Without it, I sound like I'm reciting for Language Month.

  5. A

    Ako naman, kontra: "Ang murang isipan ay madaling malinlang, hintayin ang araw na ito'y gumulang."

    My turn, against: "An unripe mind is easily fooled; wait for the day it comes of age."

  6. B

    Hep, labintatlo, may "ay" ka! At "murang isipan"? Para mo kaming tinawag na hilaw na mangga.

    Hold it, thirteen, you've got an extra "ay"! And "unripe mind"? You basically called us green mangoes.

  7. A

    Tama, tanggal ang "ay": "Ang murang isipan, madaling malinlang." Pero ang hilaw, nahihinog din, iyan ang punto ko.

    Fair, the "ay" goes: "An unripe mind, easily fooled." But the unripe ripen too, that's my point.

  8. B

    Sagot ko: "Kung sa labing-anim ay may trabaho na, bakit sa balota'y hindi pa kasama?"

    My answer: "If some at sixteen already hold down jobs, why are they still left out of the vote?"

  9. A

    Labindalawa, may hati, may tugma, may laman pa! Kaya mo naman pala nang walang "yo."

    Twelve, with a break, a rhyme and something to say! See, you can do it without the "yo."

  10. B

    Panalo na ang sukat mo, pero sa dulo, sabay tayo, para walang talo sa harap ng mga botante.

    Fine, your meter wins, but at the end we do it together, so nobody loses in front of the voters.

  11. A

    Sige, sabay: "Tungkulin ang boto, di lang karapatan, sapagkat ang bayan ay ating tahanan."

    All right, together: "The vote is a duty, not just a right, for the nation is the home we share."

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