Tagalog "kila"

[Erik Zobel]

On Sun, 13 May 2001, Carl Rubino wrote:

>   I have to add that the form 3s.GEN-proper noun marker "nila" is actually
> used for "nina" in the modern Manila dialect - even though it carries
> another function (3s genitive pronoun). The substandard form "kila" must
> have been invented by analogy - but I have no idea who uses it, as I have
> never heard it. It is reported in some dictionaries as a colloquial form
> (Vicassans) - does anyone here know where it is used?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: potet <POTETJP at wanadoo.fr>
>
> >4) I just don't believe people will say _kila_ instead of _kina_ (the form
> >of the preposition "to/from" before plural personal names) as suggested p.
> >vii. Even less probable is the adoption of _nila_ as the equivalent of
> >_nina_ (the form of the preposition "of" before plural personal names)
> >because _nila_ already exists as the "of" form of the third-person plural
> >pronoun. Even if such variations do exist in dialects of Tagalog, or are
> the
> >rule in some other Philippine languages, they certainly oughtn't to be
> >promoted at the national level.

------------

Believe it or not, "kila" in place of standard "kina" is quite commonly
used in Metro Manila. In fact, it is the only form used in the spoken
language of my relatives and friends there, most of whom are
Taglish-Filipino-English trilinguals. In Metro Manila, "kina" is mainly
used by people originating from areas like Bulacan, Nueve Ecija or Laguna
where "deep" Tagalog is spoken. Non-Tagalogs who have learned the national
language by watching TV rather than in school, tend to use "kila".

Next to my own experience, I would like to add what I have found in a
transcript of an interview with former executive secretary Ronaldo Zamora:

"... si Gov. Singson ay kumausap dito kila Atty. Serapio ..."
"Gov. Singson spoke here to Atty. Serapio and company..."
(http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/abs/inews-Nov2000.nsf/National/20001111040)

You can find more examples on the WWW, just try to look for "kila" with a
search engine like AltaVista (the best thing to do is to make a Boolean
query for "kila" AND any characteristic Tagalog word with high text
frequency, e.g. I have used "sinabi").

As you can see, "kila" is not an obscure form in a peripheral dialect of
the Katagalugan, but characteristic of metropolitan speech among _all_
social classes. Therefore, the inclusion of "kila" in Constantino's
dictionary appears to me fully justified.

---Erik Zobel