What is "Drought" in Filipino? READING IN TAGALOG: Munting Patak-Ulan
"What is the word for "drought" in Tagalog?" Our Filipino class couldn't be more alert at wondering what the answer was! The news can't speak enough of the extreme drought that California is experiencing. As luck would have it, we're expecting rain sometime this week, but it seem's like Mother Nature wants to hold on to her wares for just a bit longer.
The thought brings to mind the children's book of Munting Patak Ulan, the story of the Little Raindrop.
Munti means miniature or little.
Patak is a a drop of liquid.
Ulan is rain.
Given that our students don't hear either of these words too often, I figured this would be a great story to read this week! Especially since we're studying verbs and adverbs.
The characters we're introduced to are Inang Ulap = Mother Cloud, and her raindrop children, Munting Patak-Ulan (little raindrop) and his mga kapatid (siblings).
It's a great way to talk about the water cycle and while we're at it, conserving water for the sake of California. I like to bring their attention to their vocabulary, as well as words that stem from the vocabulary we're studying. This way, we're exposed to different uses of the same word.
Take the word patak, for example:
patak
patak n. 1. drop (of liquid); 2. fall of small things; rainfall; 3. spot (speckle)
patakan
patakan (pinapatakan, pinatakan, papatakan) v., inf. apply liquid with a dropper
magpatak
magpatak (nagpapatak, nagpatak, magpapatak) v., inf. apply in drops
pagpatak
pagpatak n. 1. drop (of liquid); 2. fall of small things; rainfall; 3. spot (speckle)
papatakin
papatakin (pinapapatak, pinapatak, papapatakin) v., inf. cause something to fall in drops
papatak-patak
papatak-patak (napapapatak, napapatak, papapatak) v., inf. drip; fall in drops
patak sa araw
patak comp. sunspot (astronomy)
pumatak-patak
pumatak-patak (pumapatak-patak, pumatak-patak, papatak-patak) v., inf. dribble; trickle
pagpatak-patak
pagpatak-patak n. falling in drops
pumapatak-patak
pumapatak-patak (pumapapatak-patak, pumapatak-patak, papapatak-patak) v., inf. drip; fall in drops
pumatak
pumatak (pumapatak, pumatak, papatak) v., inf. fall; drop from a height
pumatak nang malakas
pumatak; malakas (pumapatak, pumatak, papatak (nang malakas)) v., inf. pelt down; beat heavily (e.g. rain)
As with all of our reading activities, we'll be pairing this with a few worksheets to help us get all these words down! Stay tuned. In the meantime, if you aren't reading the book with us in Filipino class, enjoy the story via this awesome animated video!
Oh, and if you're wondering what "drought" was, there are many ways to say it. It's derived from the word tuyo, which means dry. One word for drought is katuyuan.
Learn something new everyday. We'll be releasing another worksheet this week so keep checking the blog for more updates!
What did you think of the story? Do you have a favorite Filipino story that you grew up with? Share it below!
