Day 113: The Surname Decree of 1849
At the National Archives in Manila, Marj (A), a young nurse tracing her family tree, asks Zeny (B), an archivist, about the surnames in her grandmother's town.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense.
- 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
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A
Ma'am, bakit po halos lahat ng apelyido sa bayan ng lola ko, nagsisimula sa B?
Ma'am, why do almost all the surnames in my grandmother's town start with B?
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B
Hindi 'yan nagkataon. Alinsunod sa dekreto ni Gobernador-Heneral Clavería noong 1849, pumili ang bawat pamilya ng apelyido sa isang katalogo.
That's no coincidence. Under Governor-General Clavería's decree of 1849, every family chose a surname from a catalog.
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A
Pumili po? Ibig sabihin, hindi po galing sa ninuno naming Kastila ang apelyido namin?
Chose? You mean our surname didn't come from our Spanish ancestor?
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B
Heto ang katalogo, at ito ang pahinang itinakda sa bayan ninyo. Lahat, B.
Here's the catalog, and this is the page assigned to your town. All B's.
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A
Ay, nandito nga po: Bustamante, pangatlo mula sa itaas.
Oh, it's right here: Bustamante, third from the top.
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B
Ipinatupad ito bayan-bayan, para mas madaling maningil ng buwis at magbilang ng tao.
It was carried out town by town, to make it easier to collect taxes and count people.
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A
Kung ganoon po, gawa-gawa lang ang kuwento ni Lola tungkol sa kapitang Kastila?
So Lola's story about the Spanish captain was just made up?
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B
Maaaring may kapitan nga, maaaring wala. Pero sa pahinang ito nagsimula ang apelyido ninyo.
Maybe there was a captain, maybe not. But your surname started on this page.
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A
Puwede po ba akong kumuha ng kopya nito? Sa Noche Buena, ako naman po ang magkukuwento kay Lola.
Could I get a copy of this? On Christmas Eve, I'll be the one telling Lola a story.
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