For the past 24 years in the Philippine broadcast, I’ve worked with high-caliber veteran broadcasters and talents in the news, drama and public affairs production such as Rick Radam, Eloisa Cruz-Canlas, Nick de Guzman, Joe Taruc, Deo Macalma, Andy Vital and a very special mentor in my broadcast profession, Tiya Dely Magpayo.

As a G.I. or “genuine ilocano” (as normally called to those who were born and grew up in Ilocos Region), It is hard to correctly pronounce Pilipino or Tagalog words, the very reason why I preferred to be corrected by people who are well versed in Pilipino language especially those who grew up in the Tagalog region.

Of course, I am also aware that the real Pilipino language is different from the native Tagalog words but I normally consider both as advantage for radio and television broadcasting especially in news writing, reporting and newscast.

Though, most people would consider me as an expert in this field with 24 years experience, I always keep my mind open to ‘grammatical criticisms,’ especially if those corrections are from pioneers of Philippine broadcast like Taruc, and Magpayo.

One thing we should always give importance is about using the right words for news whether for writing, reporting and news casting, but ‘be cautious’ to avoid confusion among the listening and viewing public.

I have to admit that there are Filipino words that are really very confusing and inappropriately used in news reporting and news casting. And it is also very disappointing if we could hear ‘misused words’ spoken by famous radio and tv personalities.

Some of these words have been taught to me by Tiya Dely during her days of broadcast since we started a tandem for news program in DZRH’s Makati days.

I admire “tiyang”, whenever she corrects me of misused words ‘on air,’ while others could perceive tiyang’s action as ‘unethical’; especially to other people who could feel they were embarrassed.

I told tiya Dely once, “just correct me if you heard mispronounced or misused words during my broadcast.”

Right now, it is very annoying to hear most reporters and even news casters whenever they mispronounced and misused Pilipino and Tagalog words.

Of course, anybody could object or dismiss my claim about this but I learned this from Tiya Dely which for her are frequently misused words in news reporting, and news casting.

She told me many times that herself was being corrected by her mentor, Lope K. Santos of Balarilang Pilipino everytime she ‘misused’ the words during her programs.

Below are some of the frequently ‘misused’ words that should be corrected in news reporting and news programs.

*Use ‘natutuhan’ instead of natutunan

*Use ‘kakayanan’ instead of kakayahan

*You can only use ‘kaganapan’ or ‘naganap’ for positive events like historical occasions, awarding or launching ceremonies etc

*More appropriate to use ‘nangyari’ for negative incidents such as violence, crimes etc.

*For traffic reporting, don’t use ‘mabigat’ and ‘magaan’ just to directly interpret heavy and light traffic. Use ‘maluwag’ o ‘masikip’ words which are appropriate for Filipino (Tagalog) reports.

*Avoid using “at this point in time,” rather use either ‘at this point’ or in the mean time’ or ‘for the meantime’

*Avoid redundancy while reporting: ex. ‘Patay na itong bangkay na natagpuan dito.’ “Mula dito sa lunsod ng Kalookan City’

*If you use ‘kaugnay,’ it should be followed by ‘ng’ not ‘sa.’

*But if you use ‘kaugnayan’, it should be followed by ‘sa’

*Don’t use ‘isinampa’ about filed charges, rather use ‘inihain’ or ‘iniharap.’

“Don’t use ‘lagay’ pertaining a situation, more appropriate to use the word ‘kalagayan’. Lagay means ‘male organ’ in the Visayan region.

Maybe you have something to add among these words, please feel free to post your comments, maraming salamat po.