Ebun/Ayup
Let’s take a look back at this (in)famous vocabulary scramble between Kapampángan and Tagálog as Kapampángans celebrate a bird and egg festival at the start of February!
“Egg” or “bird”?
We’re not gonna argue about which came first, but these words might confuse speakers and learners of Kapampángan and Tagalog!
ÉBUN • (EH-boon)
egg
Tagálog (Filipino): itlóg
ÁYUP • (AH-yoop)
bird
Tagálog (Filipino): íbon
Double False Friends:
In Tagálog, “háyop” means “animal”, while in Kapampángan, “áyup” means “bird”.
In Tagálog, “íbon” means “bird”, while in Kapampángan, “ébun” means “egg”.
Cross-Linguistic Joke
The segment of the North Luzon Expressway between Pampanga and Bulacan (a Tagálog province) is a bridge so long (the Candaba Viaduct) that an “ébun” (egg in Kapampángan) from Pampanga will become an “íbon” (bird in Tagálog) when you get to Bulacan!
Verb Conjugation (“to lay eggs”)
Actor Focus
Infinitive / Future: mangébun
Present: mángébun
Past: méngébun
Example Sentence:
Méngébun yang atlu ing áyup. [Kap]
Nangitlóg ng tatló ang íbon. [Tag]
The bird laid three eggs. [Eng]
atlu = tatló = three
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