The Philippines is so diverse that a word in one region can mean something completely different in another. Even in an island of two neighboring provinces, the definitions of some words may vary.

I am from Eastern Samar and my #FilipinoMotherTongue is Waray. However, some words vary in meaning from place to place in Samar-Leyte. In Eastern Samar, “mulay” means to curse. In Leyte, it means to play. Language is beautiful.

— Galo Glino III (@thirdyglino) December 13, 2017

Pretty wild. And it’s just one country. Yeah, okay, with over 7,000 islands, but still.

Recently, there’s a hashtag on Twitter going around. People are putting #FilipinoMotherTongue on their tweets along with stories about their first language and experiences with others.

Theater and film actress Chai Fonacier (mostly known for starring in Patay na si Hesus and Respeto) gave birth to this hashtag on Dec. 11. The actress, who hails from Cebu, is openhearted and fervent on the social media platform when it comes to championing the beautiful languages in the country and regionalism. She even conducts Cebuano classes on Twitter—from shopping tips in Cebu to Cebuano insults.

Ambot in #Cebuano means “Ewan.” Wow this is interesting. Share more about your Filipino Mother Tongue, peeps. Oh hey, Kinda want to spread this idea: my #FilipinoMotherTongue is Cebuano. https://t.co/E5phKzZ57A

— Chai Fonacier (@rrrabidcat) December 11, 2017

Of course, there are tweets about various meanings of words in different languages. Like libog, which means “confused” in Cebuano, but sexual urge in Tagalog.

my #FilipinoMotherTongue is Kapampangan & there,

“Kaluguran,” w/ very little nuances, both means “love” and “friend”,

which is why my life basically fell apart when I didn’t know enough how to tell the difference when I met my first friend… and love. my “Kaluguran” 🙃

— Petersen 4-Ever (@petersenvargas) December 12, 2017

@rrrabidcat When we were in Bacolod, an acquaintance said to my bestfriend, “Kabolbolon mo gid!” We laughed our asses off because “bolbolon” in Cebuano means having a hairy private part. He actually meant hairy in general which is “balhiboon” in Cebuano. #FilipinoMotherTongue

— Seth A. (@SETHitonfire) December 12, 2017

My #FilipinoMotherTongue is Cebuano-Visayan, and I’ve always marveled at how wonderfully onomatopoeic our words are. For example, for the word ‘fall’ or ‘hulog’, there’s tagak, hagtak, hagbong, hulog, dakdak, bundak, antog. There’s like a word for specific ways of falling.

— elvin there, done that 🌻 (@estudentetser) December 12, 2017

When you ask a Tagalog and a Surigaonon to look for “langgam”, they’ll be searching at different directions.

The Tagalog will immediately search the ground for ants, while the Surigaonon will be looking towards the sky in search of birds.

My #FilipinoMotherTongue is Surigaonon.

— Prosti the Snowman (@khenyounot) December 12, 2017

#FilipinoMotherTongue

I’m a Kapampangan and we have words that have several meanings depende sa diin 😂

I.e.,

“Basan”
It can mean three things
1. Read
2. Basahan/Dirty Wipes (lol)
3. Make something wet

— Jericho Arceo (@jericho_pa) December 13, 2017

There are also painful stories about how having a little knowledge of languages can be a strong tool to spawn a great divide among peoples.

#FilipinoMotherTongue –I once got told off in Manila for speaking in English and not Tagalog. 1—I am from Mindanao. 2—our national hero, Rizal, spoke and wrote in Spanish. My path away from “nationalism” was carved out with criticism like that.

— Sekki Tabs (@sekkitabs) December 12, 2017

Kwento: someone described Bisaya as “Tae Language” and I told people not to mind it. Shortly after, people are sharing stories on their #FilipinoMotherTongue. Note: this is how you tapon tinapay pag binato ka ng bato.

Keep it informative, enriching. Also: we’re classy like that.

— Chai Fonacier (@rrrabidcat) December 12, 2017

Then there are tweets of thanks for this kind of initiative.

Been liking tweets with this hashtag for the better part of an hour. Sobrang entertaining and educational. Nakakatuwa. 😁 #FilipinoMotherTongue

— Eunice Rodriguez (@eunivrce) December 12, 2017

I agree. Sometimes, the most fruitful conversation comes after tense clashing, when the walls that divide us go crumbling, there we’ll get the chance to see that we’re more alike then different. Haaay, hangtod karon mahingangha gihapon ko sa kamabulokon sa atong pagka-Pilipino.

— elvin there, done that 🌻 (@estudentetser) December 12, 2017

#FilipinoMotherTongue

Sa pakikipamuhay sa mga Manobo, unti-unti kong natutunan ang language nila. Maraming pagkakatulad sa Kapampangan lalo na sa syntax, pronoun-formation at primitive communal actions. Reaffirms the Austronesian roots of our languages.

Ang wika ay politikal.

— Kenneth Cadiang (@KinitMakulit) December 13, 2017

Learning about languages may be overwhelming, but simple drives like this hashtag make the topic less scary. Here’s to more conversations about bridging gaps and going beyond the geographic boundaries in an archipelagic country.

Header image courtesy of Buzzfeed