"I was born in Australia so there’s a lot of things that I feel like I am distant with in terms of culture," pagbabahagi ng binata mula Sydney.
"When I was in my late teens I kind of figured I want to be able to speak the language of the people, my own heritage and culture. I am not able to speak it and it was like something that I wanted to eventually get around to be doing," dagdag niya.
Mga highlight
- Ang sarili nating wika ay makakapagdugtong sa ating relasyon sa ating pinagmulang bayan.
- Lalo pa nitong pinagtitibayan ang samahan ng mga magkapamilya.
- Tulad na lamang ni John Enego na hangad na gamitin ang sariling wika sa pagpapatibay ng kanyang kultura at sariling pagkakakilanlan.
Pinaglalapit ng wika ang mga pamilya
Hindi man siya pinilit ng mga magulang na matututo o magsalita ng kanilang wika, alam niya na mahalaga ito at malaking dahilan din ng kanyang pagsisikap na makapagsalita ng wikang Filipino ay ang kanyang mga lolo't lola.
"My lola and lolo only spoke Tagalog. That was a big reason why my older siblings are such a killer, learned a lot more than I did," aniya.
Bagaman, sa pangkalahatan ay nakaka-intindi ang Bachelor of Sports and Exercise Science student ng wikang Filipino, mahina naman siya sa pagsasalita nito.
"I haven’t spoken Filipino much before, I find it really difficult to actually form the sentences but I can understand it really well," aniya.
I wanted to learn more about my own culture as well, but it was mostly just actually learning how to speak my own language to bring out feelings and make you feel connected.
Pag-aaral ng katutubong wika
Kaya nang sinimulan ng Filipino Student Society of UTS sa kanyang unibersidad ang Tagalog Learning Class, nagpasya siya na sumali dito para sa wakas ay pormal na masimulan ang pag-aaral ng wikang Filipino.
"Let’s finally do it, let’s finally be able to speak to my family and relatives, especially my relatives in the Philippines, let’s finally speak to them in Tagalog, instead of English or Taglish."
At kahit na may mga hamon sa pag-aaral ng pagsasalita ng wikang Filipino, hangad niya na mapagtagumpayan ito.
"I know what each word means but I find it really hard to structure the words, to make sure I’m using the right terms, if I’m acting too formal or something."
Sa huli'y nanalig siya na sa hinaharap buong kumpiyansa siyang makakapagsalita gamit ang wika ng mga magulang at sa pagbisita sa Pilipinas, sa lugar ng kanyang ama sa Batanes at ina sa Maynila, ay maging bahagi ng pamayanan doon.
"I do hope that in the future I can travel to the Philippines together with my family or by myself and be able to be confident that I can speak my language and be part of that community as well.
John (front) with his family. 'Stay interested in learning your own language and to talk to your family to understand your culture a bit better.' Source: John Enego
Paghikayat sa iba na alamin ang kanilang kultura
May payo naman si John Enego sa mga kapwa niyang kabataang Australyano na may pinagmulan iba't ibang kultura.
Sa bawat kwento ng mga nakakatanda, may aral at bagong kaalaman na maaaring matututunan.
"Have conversation with your parents and especially your grandparents. I feel like there’s a lot that they have to share in regard to how they lived or the culture that they had around".
Isang paraan din ito upang higit na makilala ang sarili.
I feel that there’s a lot of interesting stories that they do have to tell, and I find it nice, because it also feels like through the process, I get closer to my family as well as I understand that bit about myself a bit more.
At higit sa lahat, maging malapit sa iyong pamilya at mga kamag-anak. "Stay interested and to talk to your family to understand your culture a bit better."
BASAHIN DIN / PAKINGGAN
