Fil-Canadian content creator learns Filipino in 30 days to surprise mom
Screencap from Ameer Corro/YouTube
Filipino mothers raising children in places like the United States or Canada often face a balancing act between preserving their cultural heritage and adapting to the dominant language of their new home.
They go to great lengths, such as conversing with their children in pure Filipino every day or teaching them some simple Filipino words like “mabuhay,” “kumusta” and “pasensya na po,” among others.
However, Filipino Canadian content creator Ameer Corro, born and raised in the land of maple syrup, challenged himself to learn his mother’s language in just 30 days.
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In the 18-minute video recently posted on YouTube, Ameer first discussed that Filipino is actually a category three language, according to the US Foreign Service Institute, which means it is significantly different from English, taking at least 44 weeks to master.
More than a challenge, Ameer described the learning process as “deeply personal.”
“For context, my mom is awesome. She immigrated here from the Philippines, raised me as a single mother, and I somehow turned out normal for the most part,” the Fil-Canadian son narrated with photos of them in the background.
Like any other Filipino mother, he also stated that “she cooks the best chicken adobo in the world.”
Ameer is one of the children of immigrant parents who can understand the language but cannot actually speak it, stating, “My mom and I never had a conversation in our own language.” This phenomenon is known in linguistics as “receptive multilingualism,” he said.
During the 30 days, he reached out to some of his Filipino friends, a Filipino professional tutor and followed the road trip framework, which is a language method he came up with when he was still learning French. By doing this, he built his vocabulary, practiced with friends and tried his best to pace himself with the most stressful week – finals.
The catch in this challenge was, throughout the 30 days, he was convincing his mother that he lost all the Filipino words he learned from her and could not speak the language at all, not until he came home for Christmas.
From the first day to the 30th day, Ameer had been studying religiously, learned a Juan Karlos Labajo song “Buwan,” and even stumbled upon the idea that he had “never felt Filipino enough.”
Upon completing the 30-day endeavor and returning home to Vancouver, Ameer presented his mother with a Christmas gift – his certificate of achievement in learning Filipino.
“Nagtatagalog ka na,” she tearfully exclaimed. “Umaasa ako na kung matutunan ko ang iyong wika, sana magkaroon tayo ng mas malalim na koneksyon,” Ameer responded in straight Filipino.
The full video documenting Ameer’s inspiring journey can be found on YouTube.
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