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| CLASSIC KAPAMPANGAN DICTIONARY |
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| BY ERNESTO C. TURLA, president, Akademyang Kapampangan USA |
Kapampangan is one of the eight major languages in the
Philippines. It is the native language of the people in
the area around the former Clark Air Base, specifically
the whole province of Pampanga and the southern part of
Tarlac. According to the latest survey made by the
University of Washington, there are over 2 million
Kapampangan speakers worldwide. The people who speak
Kapampangan used to be called Pampangos. The term
Pampango is rarely used nowadays and if it is ever used,
it is used only as an adjective to modify whatever has
got to do with Kapampangan. A more proper name has been
given to them during a historical research by the American
writer John A. Larkin, who, finding the term Pampango
seemingly inappropriate, renamed the people as Pampangans,
and the term was readily accepted and has been widely used
since then. Loosely speaking, a Pampangan is a Filipino who
speaks Kapampangan and the term doesn't just refer to one
that lives in Pampanga. Another acceptable term used is
Pampangueno. And then of course, Kapampangan too, because the
natives call both themselves and their language, Kapampangan.
The dictionary that you will find in this website is just Part I.
It is the one from English to Kapampangan. Part II is the one
from Kapampangan to English and it comprises 75 per cent of the
dictionary which is now published in book form. The book also
contains a grammar section, a list of useful everyday colloquial
expressions, idiomatic expressions, some Kapampangan poems, songs
and prayers, as well as maps of Kapampangan country. The seal of
the Kapampangan Cultural Heritage Society (designed by the author
himself) is conspicuously featured on the cover page and it
patriotically depicts in meaningful symbols the culture that
Pampangans are well-known with and are proud of.
Here is an excerpt from a press release by the Philippine News,
the Filipino Reporter, and the Filipino News Magazine in
connection with the book signing on January 8, 2000:
The Aguman Capampangan of the Northwest threw a grand party
complete with lechon and all the trimmings in honor of its
founder Ernie Turla who retired recently from the U.S. Civil
Service. The party was held at the Centerpointe Club House in
Beaverton, Oregon and was attended by over 100 guests.
A mass was also celebrated inside to mark the occasion, as
well as the birthdays of four club members.
A special highlight of the evening was the launching of the
retiree's newly published book, CLASSIC KAPAMPANGAN DICTIONARY.
Copies of it sold like hot cakes at its introductory price.
It took the author four years to finish the book which is
noted for its Webster-like features, and he finally got it
printed with all of his orders finished right on his birthday
on January 6.
The author said, "Kapampangan has been in dire need of a
dictionary. It is the only major language in the Philippines
that does not have a dictionary currently on sale. Now finally,
I'm proud to tell my fellow Pampanguenos that now they've got
one they can truly call their own. I'm sure all die-hard
cabalens will be getting one for themselves not only to show
their love for their native tongue but also because it is
both an attractive collector's item and a fine conversation
piece."
Because of his desire to promote Kapampangan culture, the
author plans to send all municipal libraries in Pampanga and
Tarlac free copies and, while he is still looking for bookshops
to market it, the 260-page dictionary can be ordered through
e-mail (eiturla@aol.com) at $19.99 per copy + postage.
The Philippine News featured the news twice. One of its staff
writers, Caroline Maniego, interviewed the author in a long
distance call and wrote an article about him and his book
in what she entitled "A Labor Of Love". That wonderful
article by the Arayat-born writer triggered a lot of orders
from far and near, and before long, the author will
have to get the book reprinted. The Asian Reporter also
carried an article about the dictionary and its author.
Simeon Mamaril, the president of the Filipino American
National Historical Society, who happened to be a close
friend of the author, wrote: "Ernesto C. Turla, the
president-elect of the Aguman Capampangan, a Filipino
association, has published an English-Pampango dictionary.
A noted poet and author, his works have been published in the
books "A Prism Of Thoughts" and "Rhymes Of Greatness" - Famous
Poets Society, the latter anthologized in the "Best Poems of
1998" by the National Library of Poetry. These books are
available in major libraries across the country." He further
wrote: "Kapampangan is the language of the people of
Pampanga and nearby neighboring provinces, a region
in the Philippines north of Manila."
The Filipino News Magazine has this to say in describing the
book: "A triumph for a Filipino in dictionary writing! Very
comprehensive and a "must" for linguists and scholars!"
In answer to frequently asked questions, the author said:
"Honestly, I did not write the book for money. Much less
to become famous or a "bigger than life" icon in the
Kapampangan literary realm. Maybe I was really carving a
niche when I wrote it, but that is purely incidental! I
was more concerned with our posterity as an ethno-
linguistic group. I thought that I have to reignite
interest in Kapampangan writing if we are determined
to promote it and make it attain the same international
prestige other languages now enjoy. In a nutshell,
my main purpose in writing the Classic Kapampangan
Dictionary is to lay down a foundation and a foothold
for our young, up and coming would-be writers. I am
with the hope that the book will encourage Pampangans
into writing one another in Kapampangan instead of in
English. And I fervently hope too that the dictionary
will instigate our young local talents (they are the
hope of our mother province - ("balen a tibuan") into
writing poems, essays and short stories in Kapampangan
(our "amanung sisuan"). The preservation and propagation
of Kapampangan greatly depends upon us, Pampangans. The
Institute of National Language, due to apparent conflict
of interest, won't ever help us in that endeavor."
From the MANILA TIMES
Point of View by Jose Guevara
Friday, 25 February 2000
Most NY Filipinos support Hillary candidacy
MANILA waterless, Feb. 27. So what else is new?
* * *
Tourism Secretary for clean toilets. Toilets fit for a
Miss Int'l.
* * *
Erap to ask Big 3 on bended knees not to hike fuel prices.
If he could do that to a lot of women who succumbed to his
charms, he can do it to a bunch of oil slicks.
* * *
Cops arrested with fake gun licenses and permits.
Maybe he's a fake cop.
* * *
Where did the ARMM billions go? - Biazon. To the pocket,
perhaps, of some gov't officials, to hotels in Manila and
abroad, to food restaurants, to unaccustomed luxuries.
* * *
Ayala Land, Inc. nets P2.6B. High rentals main source.
It's indecent, if not outright immoral.
* * *
Claudio endorses Sharon for mayor. The giggling TV mayor
will just perhaps giggle her way out of the situation as
she's determined to maintain her private life on TV.
* * *
Erap may support Gloria in her prez ambitions. She's now
No. 2 and in the same fix that Erap was before he become
No. 1. Gloria has been supportive of him all the time.
* * *
Mikey Arroyo writes to this column expressing his
determination to succeed in the movies. The young son of
the vice prez has been featured in several movies which
I've never seen.
* * *
Because Xenical has failed to help him, Erap is resorting
to natural methods to reduce weight. He has so far lost
3 pounds. Stop going to those rich parties sir.
* * *
Angered by the loss of their pork, solons threaten to sit
on administration bills. I don't yield to threats, says
the Prez. Usapang lalaki yan. Walang atrasan.
* * *
Majority of Fil-Ams in New York are supporting the
senatorial candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton. One of
her campaign managers is Loida Nicolas-Lewis, prominent
New York businesswoman.
* * *
Ernie Turla, a retired postal worker in Beaverton, Oregon
was honored at a grand party by his fellow Kapampangans
for publishing a Kapampangan dictionary, the only Philippine
dialect that did not have a dictionary. It took Ernie 4
years to complete his work.
* * *
Filipino-Americans from all over the US and from abroad are
gathering in Little Rock, Arkansas on March 10-12 for the
2nd regional conference of the Nat'l Federation of Filipino
American Associations. Conference chairman is Elsa Bayan
and is seeking more empowerment for Filipinos in the US.
**********************************************************
To go to the dictionary, click:
http://maxpages.com/diccionario
You may search for this website, Classic Kapampangan
Dictionary, using any of the major search engines
including Lycos (Lycos especially),Yahoo, Altavista,
Google, Topbot, Excite, Northern Lights, Magellan and
Webcrawler. It is registered in the open directory of
America On Line, and linked in most domestic and foreign
directories, among them: Verita (the U.K. directory),
Open Here Network, Oingo Network, Simple Search On,
Bomis, Slider, Yayawoo Hongkong Search Engine,
Brightgate Directory, International Directory,
Manywords.com, Search Ch (the Swiss directory),
Turkmeta.com (Turkey), Borland Directory, Internet
Press, At My Place.com, Dream Shares Directory,
DMOZ Open Directory Project, Ignifuge.com Directory,
Apontadores (Portugal On-Line), SoManyWords.com,
Filipino-Austrian Web, Blue win Directory, Netscape
Search, All Communication, EuroSeek Web Directory,
Web Of Online Dictionary, The Language List, Search
Taxi Com, Malaysia Web Directory, WAZU Net, Chan
Robles, The Philippines Net, Tanikalang Ginto, Best
Of Cyber Pinoys, Anna's Philippine Language Resource
Page, the Linguist List, Edsa, Barrio, Yehey, FDO
Weblinks, AAA Matilda Topics, All Filipino.com,
Philippine.com, Pinoy Nation, Philippines Page,
Philippine Linguistics, Web.Ph Network, RPLinks,
Pinoy Websites.com.
Webmaster: ERNIE TURLA, president, Akademya Ning Amanung Sisuan International
president, Aguman Capampangan Northwest USA
To contact him: ernieturla@yahoo.com
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