Figures of Speech (Tayutay)
Philippine literature students have been searching for examples of tayutay, or figures of speech. Here is a quick listing…
First of all, figures of speech are words which are expressed in a way such that you no longer focus on their literal meaning. Instead, you are encouraged to think of those words in a different way, and in the process are able to sense greater depth or emotional intensity from the ideas the writer is trying to get across.
Simile (Pagtutulad o Simili) – You compare two different things (or people) and use phrases such as “is like” (tulad ng, parang, tila, magkasing-, magkasim-, mistula, kahalintulad) or “as” to show that these different things are the same. For example, “my love is like a red, red rose…”
Metaphor (Metapora o Pagwawangis) – a more definite form of comparison. Instead of saying “is like” you use “is” when comparing two seemingly different things. Sometimes, you even drop the “is” and simply connect the words (mostly nouns, but verbs can sometimes be used). For example,
Personification (Personipikasyon o Pagtatao) – giving human qualities or even human actions to non-human things, animals, objects or even places (i.e., the sky shed tears).
Apostrophe (Apostrope o Pagtawag) – directly addressing an object as if it were a person (i.e., Death where is thy sting?).
Hyperbole (Pagmamalabis o Hayperbole) – the use of exaggeration and bold statements.
Synecdoche (Senekdoke o Pagpapalit-saklaw) – when you make a small part represent the whole (i.e., ask for her hand in marriage).
Onomatopoeia (Panghihimig o Onomatopeya) – words whose letter sounds, evokes a certain emotion, or whose meaning triggers a memory related to a certain sound.
For example, if you’ve ever stood near a bamboo (kawayan) grove on a windy day, you’ll hear the “Ssssssss…” of the leaves. In Tagalog, the term for that sound is “lawiswis ng kawayan” (note how the word lawiswis makes you imagine the sound of bamboo leaves in the wind).
Notice how much more effective this is if the reader has personally experienced that “Ssss” sound while resting under the shade of bamboo trees on a windy afternoon, after feasting on fish, rice, and manggang hilaw with bagoong. 
Alliteration (Aliterasyon) – a set of words which begin with the same letter.
For more examples of tayutay (figures of speech):
- http://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tayutay
- http://tl.answers.com/Q/Ano_ang_mga_uri_ng_tayutay_at_halimbawa
- http://www.angelfire.com/ct2/evenski/poetry/figuresofspeech.html
- Tayutay at mga Halimbawa
We enjoin all Philippine literature enthusiasts to keep an eye out for different figures of speech when you read the Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo, Florante at Laura, Ibong Adarna, and other short stories, novels, or even poems that you come across in your literature studies.
