Chapter 3

Writing a Concept Paper

“Boondocks”
A Mini-Concept paper
Did you realize how our Philippine languages have been enriched by borrowings from other languages?

1. Think of these Questions:

a. Did you know that asa, salita, balita, karma, mukha, guro, dalita, hari, are borrowed from the Sanskrit/Indian
language?
b. Can you enumerate words that have enriched our Philippine languages by foreign language borrowings?
i. From Spanish – ventana, sinturon, kutsilyo, mesa, primero, segundo, tercero, singko, derecho, canta, obra,
premio, etc.
ii. Indonesian/Malay – gunting, payong, anak, halo halo, lima,’ and salamat.
iii. American – kontraktwal, empleyado, burger, barbecue, keyk, klase, riserts, etc. (We simply tagalized
the spelling!)

2. Questions:
a. Did you know that on June 26, 2015, forty-one Filipino words and expressions were added to the Oxford
English Dictionary?
Examples: barong, bahala na, barkada, barangay, KKB, kikay, suki, pulutan, etc.
b. How about Filipino words that have been Americanized?
cooties (from kuto or head lice), carabao (from kalabaw), machin (matsing), calamondin
(kalamunding, a citrus tree), and boondocks (bundok)

This lesson will introduced you the main purpose of a concept paper- to clarify the meaning of a concept paper,
here, Boondocks. Through this lesson you will learn that:
1. A definition usually forms the core of a concept paper:
2. That the definition may consist of the original meaning of the term/concept, especially one of foreign
borrowing, and the modifications on its original meaning and
3. The later and present-day uses of the word clarify the concept futher.
Definitions3
Purposes:
1. To clarify meaning of words, or to correct misinterpretations, or misuse of a term.
2. To stipulate the meaning of a term by limiting, extending, or redirecting the sense in which a term is
usually understood; to use a term, borrowed from another field of knowledge, in a special way.
Ex: “Window dressing” – used to make a shop window more attractive to buyers.
stipulatively used in a false banking report to deceptively project an impression of economic stability or
financial growth
Techniques
1. Formal – follows a pattern or equation:
term + genus + differentia (differentiating characteristics)
Ex. A robot is a machine that looks like a human being and performs complex acts of a human being
(Webster)
2. By synonym- using a word or phrase that shares a meaning with the term being defined.
Ex: Hashish – marijuana.
3. By origin or semantic history – Ex. Yoga comes from the Sanskrit “to join”
4. By Illustration – Ex: Known for their shedding their leaves in the fall, deciduous trees include oaks, maples,
and beeches.
5. By function – Ex: A thermometer measures temperature change.
6. By analysis (Breaking down wholes into parts, aspects into levels, and a process into steps) Ex: The
republican form of government has three branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary.
7. By likeness or similarity – Ex: Brighter than 100million suns, quasars stand like beacons on the shore of the
universe…
8. By analogy or metaphor –Ex: The germs and bacteria or antigens are like a gang of villains invading our body,
attacking our unseen defenders, the layers of macrophages, cytokines, and lymphocytes,
9. By contrast- use of opposites
Ex: Unlike those of gas, the particles of plasma are electrically charged.
10. By negation – stating what a term is not.
Ex: Wild rice, an American delicacy, is not rice at all but the seed of a tall aquatic grass.

1. Thesis - Boondocks refers to a remote rural isolated or even wild area.

2. Supporting detail 1- Borrowed from the Tagalog word, bundok, meaning mountain, the word now refers to
any rough country, with the letter-s added to make it refer to locations.
3. Supporting detail 2 -Earlier used by the U.S servicemen during the world war to refer to the remote swampy
areas used for training, it later referred to distant, rural areas.
4. Supporting detail 3 - Boondockers, a derivative, are shoes suitable for rough terrain.
5. Supporting detail 4- Boonies became the slang equivalent of boondocks.

A. Structure
The short text is a mini concept paper that consists of a core definition clarifying the meaning of the term,
boondocks, and the expansion of this core definition.

The expansions of the core definition consists of the origin of the term from the Tagalog word; the Americanized
version which adds –s to the word, in keeping with the American way of referring to locations (as in the woods,
the damps.); the popular use of the term by American soldiers for remote training areas; the unpleasant linkage
of the term to an investigation into the death of a recruit; and the later day use of the term without that
infamous history. Boondockers, shoes for rough areas, and bonnies, the slang version of boondocks, are
derived from the term. (also “expansions” on the defined term)

This tracing of the origin of a word and the development of its meaning is called etymology.4 Providing the
origin of a term and its semantic (or meaning) history is one technique of definition.

Learning Activities. How Well do You Know Our Own Language?

A. Dyad Activity: Filipino words borrowed from Foreign Languages.
Provides student - partners a copy of the following grid listing several Philippine borrowed words, and their
meanings, but leaving the last column blank. (The teacher’s copy has all the columns for his/her reference).
Make each dyad (or partnership) guesses the foreign language from which the word or expression was
borrowed: they should write I for Indian (Sanskrit), IM for Indonesian-Malaysian, C for Chinese (Mandarin), J
for Japanese, and S for Spanish.

[This activity may be done orally too, with you asking after each answer why the students think it is an Indian or
Chinese borrowing.]

After filling out the last column of the grid, they write their observation about Philippine/Filipino words in one
sentence. Then each one comments on what this activity reflects about language in general, and on
Filipino/Philippine language in particular
Name: ___________________________________________________________ Year & Section: __________________________________

Subject: _________________________________________________________ Score: ____________________________________________

Make each dyad (or partnership) guesses the foreign language from which the word or expression was
borrowed: they should write I for Indian (Sanskrit), IM for Indonesian-Malaysian, C for Chinese (Mandarin), J
for Japanese, and S for Spanish.
Filipino Word Origin Meaning Language Language Borrowed
From
Origin
1. Bibíg Bibir Mouth I
2. Daá n Jalan Street, Road, Way I
3. Bathalà Bathara Supreme Being IM
4. Hikaw hī–kau (H) Earrings C
5. Dahan–dahan dandan Slowly, carefully J
6. Abante Avante Ahead, forward S
7. Palayó k Periuk Cooking pot I
8. Budhî Bodhi Conscience IM
9. Lawin lǎ oyīng (M) Hawk C
10. Habà Haba Length, breadth J
11. Ambisyoso Ambicioso Ambitious S
12. Sintá Cinta Love I
13. Kathâ Gatha Fabrication, Tall Story IM
14. Susì só –sî (H) Key C
15. Kabá n Kaban Sack of rice J
16. Abiso Aviso Warning S
17. Dukhâ Dukkha Poverty IM
18. Sukì chu–khe (H) Regular customer C
19. Kató l katori-senkō Mosquito coil J
20. Sará p Sedap Delicious I
21. Giyera Guerra War S
22. Tawad Tawar To bargain, To forgive I
23. Tausi tā u-si (H) Fermented beans C
24. Mahá rlika Mahardikka Nobility IM
25. Mukhâ Mukha Face IM
26. Tamang-tamà tama-tama Just right J
27. Kalye Calle Street S
28. Teka te-yuka Wait J
After filling out the last column of the grid, you have to write your observation about Philippine/Filipino words
in one sentence. Then each one comments on what this activity reflects about language in general and on
Filipino/Philippine language in particular
Questions:

1. Did you know that these words have been included in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED)?
2. Where and how have we used kikay?
3. Do you know the little stories behind our own use of these words?

Write it in a 1 whole sheet of paper:

Assignment
Examine two of the Tagalog loan words below, now included in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Write a
brief paragraph narrating their mini- stories, starting from their original use in Tagalog/Filipino, their new
coined forms, if any, the probable reason for their having been included in the OED (when other words have
not), and end the paragraphs with their new meanings found in the OED. (There may also be a semantic change,
when new meanings are assigned to existing words. For instance, how did the word salvage, acquire its new
meaning, “to execute summarily,” a far cry from the usual meaning, “to rescue”? )
1. kikay
2. gimmick
3. barangay
4. kuya
5. suki
6. salvage
Example: Balikbayan literally means “return (balik) to one’s country (bayan). The compound word was coined
from the earlier practice of Filipinos immigrating to Hawaii for work, then returning to the Philippines to retire
with ample savings. Anyone who had gone to work abroad and returns to the country, whether temporarily or
permanently, is now a balikbayan. Although generally connoting an elderly but moneyed returning immigrant,
today, it also means a richer returning OFW. Also, it can be used with “box” as a modifier (i.e., balikbayan box) to
refer to a box of presents either as arrival gifts for relatives and friends, or as a special package of clothes, small
appliances, and goodies sent by an overseas worker to the family on Christmas, or other occasion.

Note:
You have to realize that your brief paragraphs explaining the original meanings and changed meanings of the
Filipino words comprise mini concept papers. How?

Analyze the paragraphs for the “core definitions” and for the “expansions.” Make your own visual.

Summary
Boondocks, from the Tagalog word, bundok (mountain), refers to a remote, even wild area. Its ending in –s, and
changed spelling reflect how borrowed words may be modified to suit the new meaning and use given it by the
American borrowers.

The mini concept paper may consist of the definition of the word; in this case, its origin and changed
meaning. The addition of the new uses of the word clarifies the concepts further.
“Months of the Year” and “Days of the Week”
Clarifying Concepts Through Etymological Narratives
Questions:

1. Think of the origins of place names – Manila (Maynilad), Ilocos, Sultan Kudarat
2. Think of the origins of terms named after people- Watt, pasteurize, shrapnel, galvanize, mesmerize