The Ultimate Conyo Starter Pack

“Hey mars, are you tapos with the homework na ba?” 

Despite being in a trilingual school, most students in MGCNLCA speak in English. While New Lifers are exposed to other languages like Filipino and Chinese, their proficiency in these languages remains limited. Majority do understand and speak a bit of Filipino—a given as they live in the Philippines. Thus, a linguistic combination known as conyo enters a typical student’s day-to-day conversations. The concept of conyo is associated with upper-class Filipinos as they have more exposure to Western influence, most especially the United States, making them more comfortable and skilled in speaking English rather than Filipino. As a result, they speak a mix of the two languages, which is why it is so often used. 

At the heart of speaking conyo is Filipino (usually based on Tagalog), pumped up with generous servings of English and sprinkled with a dash of Spanish. Conversations turn into a roller coaster of code-switching and verbal acrobatics as they switch languages and embrace a unique blend of privilege and pretentiousness, especially with the conyo accent. So, here are three things most, if not all, conyo speakers do.

Adding ‘mars’ or ‘pare’ to every sentence:

Conyo conversations are incomplete without that touch of familiarity, the secret sauce that adds a sprinkle of friendliness to even the most mundane discussions. Addressing your friends as 'mars' or 'pare' gives the illusion that everyone is your friend. However, any conyo conversation must have the iconic accent with the elongated pronunciation that transforms 'pare' into 'parehh' because, in conyoland, every vowel deserves its moment in the spotlight.

Example: 

Classmate 1: Yo marsss, I brought you some pancit. Wanna tikim later?

Classmate 2: Sure parehhh, I’ll bayad you some pagkain later din. Thanks!

Trying to explain with 'kasi parang like'

Explaining things, as any conyo enthusiast knows, is practically an Olympic sport. To avoid the awkward silence that accompanies deep thoughts, conyo speakers resort to the divine art of filler words. "Uhm, kasi parang like," they say, as if channeling the spirits of indecision when trying to explain a point. Additionally, when the going gets tough, conyo speakers throw in the 'ano' and elongate the suffixes for good measure to extend their thinking time. 

Example: Uhmmm the way to help solve climate change is by anoo… reducing, reusing, and recycling kasi parang like…

The 4 ‘a’s: Ba, Pa, Nga, Na

Similar to “kasi parang like,” “ba,” “pa,” “nga,” and “na” are also fillers, but rather than buy one’s self more time, it adds a more friendly and casual element to the conversation. It’s a way for them to blend in, create a stronger connection with the people they are talking to, and get in touch with their Filipino roots.

Example: 

Classmate 1: Have you done ‘yung math homework na ba?

Classmate 2: No pa nga eh, it’s so mahirap!

Classmate 1: What, talaga? It’s due bukas na!!!

If you ever hear any of these words being used by your friends, don’t be taken aback as they are just showing their inner conyo. Maybe you yourself have embraced this trend a long time ago and didn’t even notice it—but no matter how convenient or trendy conyo culture may seem, it's important that we don’t forget our Filipino roots by only speaking English. Our language is a reflection of our cultural identity, and embracing it in its entirety is essential for the preservation of our heritage. Speaking Filipino doesn't make us any less intelligent or sophisticated; instead, it allows us to connect more deeply with our kababayans and understand the nuances of our rich culture, history, and traditions. With this, we shouldn’t only know the language; rather, we should know how to speak the language properly without code-switching, whether the language is Filipino, English, or Chinese, as it is one thing to just memorize the words, but another to effectively communicate and express ourselves. By embracing and speaking our language properly, we are also preserving the beauty and uniqueness of our identity for future generations to remember and cherish.