In Philippine languages, ''kababayan'' means "fellow Filipino, countryman, or townmate". It is used throughout the Philippines and throughout the various Philippine languages.
Literally, ''ka-'' means "co-" and ''bayan'' means "
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
". In the narrow sense, ''kababayan'' means a fellow from the same town. However, it is often used in a much broader sense to mean countrymen or compatriots, especially by
overseas Filipinos,
OFWs, and connotes respect for each other’s commitment to unity because of their common
cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
,
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
, and
religious background from the same "bayan", broadly defined.
It should not be confused with ''
balikbayan'', a similar Filipino word, which refers exclusively to overseas Filipinos. "Balikbayan" often refers to (often wealthier) Filipinos who reside overseas and visit the Philippines periodically, even for extended stays, whereas "kababayan", when applied to overseas Filipinos, means ones that live in the Philippines but are overseas temporarily, even for years.
Other uses
*''Kababayan'' is the name of the Filipino-American club at
University of California Irvine
The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...
. It has more than 400 members and is affiliated with Kaba Modern from
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's ''
America's Best Dance Crew
''America's Best Dance Crew'', often abbreviated as ''ABDC'', was an American competitive dance reality television series that features both national and international dance crews. The show was produced by singer, record producer, and former ''Am ...
''.
*It is the name of a daily talk show hosted by
Jannelle So
Jannelle So-Perkins (born September 9, 1977) is a Filipino journalist and broadcaster known for her work as the creator, host and producer of "Kababayan Today" (formerly "Kababayan L.A.), a daily show magazine/talk show for and about Filipinos ...
on
KSCI.
*It is the name of a
kulintang-shaped muffin in the Philippines.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Kababayan NetworkFilAm
Tagalog words and phrases