(On Internal Organs of the Human Body and Their Filipino Names)
Many parents enjoy teaching their Canadian-born or -raised children Filipino words for common human body parts. Like, you could usually observe a mother asking her child what the Filipino word for nose or ears is. When the child answers “ilong” or “tenga,” you would surely see the pride on the mother’s face. Parents who teach their children trivial information like these are admirable; whether consciously or not, they are instilling in their children a sense of their cultural roots. However, what I don’t find praiseworthy are parents who delightfully teach their children the “bad” words, which include the Filipino terms for sexual body parts, treating this subject a matter of joke.
When taught without malice or approached in a scientific perspective, sexual body parts should not be taken as disgusting or embarrassing. Most often, the problem lies on how parents impart to their children such delicate information.
Anyway, to aid parents in teaching their children the Filipino words for some human body parts, I made a list. For this issue, I am featuring the internal body organs or, in Filipino, lamang-loob.
English – Filipino
blood – dugô
blood vessels – ugát
brain – utak
diaphragm – bambán
gall bladder – apdó
heart – pusò
intestines – bituka
kidney – bató
liver – atáy
lungs – bagà
ovary – bahay-bata, matrés, matris, sinapupunan
pancreas – lapáy
spleen – pali o limpa
stomach – tiyán o sikmura
urinary bladder – pantóg
The Last Leaf
To many people, trivial information is unimportant. To others, however, it is enriching and empowering.
