Building a bridge that would connect her to her Filipino roots by constantly visiting the Philippines and learning Tagalog, Charisse Adair showed even more love to her Filipino heritage through Tagalog Tuesdays.
Tagalog Tuesdays was a digital project she did back in 2016, that used the Facebook and YouTube platform to provide contents focusing on Filipino food.
Charisse's interest in the Philippine cuisine extended to the Tagalog words she loves most - 'lumpia,' 'adobo,' 'lechon' and 'hilaw na mangga' - but veering away from the subject of food, 'KILIG' would be her most favourite Tagalog word.
The 21-year-old law and media student has always tried to learn Tagalog. When she was growing up, she spent a lot of time in Cebu city with her mum. She would watch a lot of Filipino programs like ‘Pangako Sa’yo,’ ‘Game Ka Na Ba?’ and ‘Wowowee,’ which had helped her to understand the gist of a particular Filipino dialogue. As she reached her late teens, she continuously studied the language through online resources and textbook.
Charisse Adair Source: Supplied
“Walking the tight rope,” that would be the metaphor that Charisse thought to best describe her journey in learning Tagalog.
“I kind of just got it by watching TV, kind of understanding the feelings that people were expressing so it is difficult, and it’s a bit wobbly sometimes but I guess if you really try hard enough, immerse yourself in the environment and practice, you should be able to do it fluently.”
Charisse shared the most important thing she learned about studying the Filipino language. She said it is not as easy as learning it straight from a book.
“You really have to embrace every part of the Filipino lifestyle and culture, get to know other people, listen to other people’s stories, go try every single Filipino dish that you can, visit the country and I think you’ll get a really good understanding of what it means to be a Filipino.”
(Editor's note: August is the national language month in the Philippines and this year, the Department of Education through Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino [KWF] released this theme for the celebration – 'Filipino: Wika ng Saliksik' [Filipino: Language of Research]. The theme recognises the Filipino language as a medium to create and spread knowledge and development within the national context.)
You can watch Tagalog Tuesdays' YouTube videos through this link; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0FwnudRAAORpx4Z9mEv3UA?view_as=subscriber
