Hallers and Kareks: An Evolution Story

Language has evolved quite significantly throughout time. Words were mixed and matched to come up with new words that have an entirely new meaning. If people from the past were time warped to the present, they would probably think that the present is an alien world where the universal creatures have assumed the form of human beings and started a new race of beings here on earth. Get it?

Such was my fascination about certain words I heard over and over again the whole day. I have heard them somewhere before, from officemates, I guess, but I never realized how rampant their use was.

Word 1: Haller

I heard some officemates talking with each other when suddenly, someone blurted out, "Haller!" And then, in my favorite tea place, I heard someone mention the damn word again. And now, as I am doing this stuff, I hear yet another person in a local TV program blurt out the exact same word!

Quite obviously, haller is another word for hello. Hello, as we all know, is a form of greeting used widely in answering the phone, or starting a conversation with someone you just met. The word then got used to start phrases like, "not me!" as in "Hello! Not me!" The word then got used to mean, "Are you sure?" or "Come on" or.... you get what I mean. And then, it evolved to hallo, thanks to some flirtatious females trapped in men's bodies down at the store in the corner of the street. From hallo, it became halloo, and now--haller! Fancy evolution, I suppose.

Word 2: Karek

I heard this one from my immediate boss (or should I say read). Now this word, this word is still in its initial stage of evolution. Of course, it is a "new" word for correct. The word, locally, is pronounced by the brutes and the brusque as korek, and pronounced the same way (remember, it doesn't have a "t"). And now, as we know it, the word has been altered yet again to be pronounced as "karek." I will not be surprised if the word will eventually evolve into "karatch," "kurash," "karakas," and so on.

These words may eventually become part of local lingo, evolve into something else, or probably die a slow death. Many such words created in the 80s have reached a stage of extinction. Whatever it is, the fanciful words that come up in our day-to-day conversations reflect how colorful the local culture is and how creative the people are.

I am glad I belong to such culture. I am prestiged to belong to such a fanciful race.

Until the next blog. Adieulehihu!