Of linguistics and “mga pamugas”…
Hmmm… What does it mean when someone calls you “pamugas”? I can’t really provide a precise definition of the word. It’s still, to some extent, quite new to me. I first heard of it last semester. My classmate Ken told me that I’m pamugas when it comes to schoolwork (especially in our English 99 class which is Literary Criticism - where I got a final grade of 1.50 ..hehe!). It really troubled my affective domain. I never tried hard to achieve a high grade since. I cram. I never research in advance. I come to school late (oh wait, cancel that part coz I forgot, I ALWAYS come to school late). I make my assignments minutes before the class starts (this happens only on rare occassions when I come to school five or two minutes earlier).
“Pamugas” is a Cebuano-Iliganon term. It’s root is “bugas” which, when glossed, means ‘rice’. The prefix “paN-” is added to it to the root, which, in entirety, (I could only surmise) would then mean something a lot like that of ‘exerting one’s fullest effort‘. So, the word then becomes “pambugas” with the /N/ sound adapting to the next sound /b/’s place of articulation (bilabial) but afterwards undergoes the process of deletion (/b/ is dropped), thus, the end product: pamugas.
But this isn’t enough an operative definition for the term. Being told that you are pamugas isn’t at all a compliment. It has a negative (although quite subtle) connotation. It functions as a sugar-coating for describing someone who’s over-dedicated to the point of consequently being a geek/dork and not having a life (losers, you may say).
You might infer that it’s just another sterotypical label for certain students (high school sterortypes i.e. the jock, the prom queen, the nerd, the slut, you get the picture). Yes, in a way, it’s like that. And looking at it’s implications, we’d see that it’s actually another verbal tool for further marginalization…and I do not approve of that - especially when I’m the one being marginalized. (X_x)
Anyway, now that we know what pamugas means, let us move on…
As an English major, it is incumbent for us to have a comprehensive understanding of languages - how they behave, their characteristics, what makes them similar, what distinguishes them from other languages, what are their origins, their morphological patterns, morphophonemic rules, syntactic distributions, yada-yada-yada. *whew!* It’s like the Mathematics of Language Study (and God..err..meknows how much I hate Math!)!!!
Nine nose-bleeding units of Linguistics! Nine!!!! That’s what we’re required to take. I just got a 1.75 for three of its units last sem (English 50 - Intro. to Lingusitics), so I’m left to feeling neurotic to the remaining six at present (English 55 - Descriptive Linguistics and English 100 - Philippine Linguistics). Can you imagine??? Taking six units of linguistics in one semester??? It’s like being continually rammed by a hammer at the head! It’s a slow and really painful death! …..DEATH BY LINGUISTICS.
Naturally, it’s normal to be pamugas under this circumstance. But I’m not. Why? Because I don’t wanna be called pamugas or trying hard. I don’t want to come off as too effortful (see how I have intensified it twice?? hehe). I only skim through whatever notes I have… One problem, though : I’M NOT MUCH OF A NOTE-TAKER!!! So one can only guess the outcome: a very low grade. Huhuhu.. I want to study, but I’m afraid that I might be called pamugas. Not only that, I also feel betrayed since Ken (the one who introduced me the term) is already himself cut-throat at being pamugas! Ironic…
..And so, now, I’m getting really low grades in both my linguistics classes. If I keep up with this rate, I might lose my Dean’s Lister scholar status or worse, I could lose both my stipend and my free tuition fee privilege! Am I ever in a pickle now?!
So I just made a vow to myself. I don’t care what ken thinks. I don’t care what the others think. I will go back into being pamugas. The only question is, I’m too lazy to… X_x
