andres's dictionary of filipino culture and values

a week ago i was at the glendale public library and stumbled upon a book entitled dictionary of filipino culture and values by tomas d. andres, one of the "leading lecturers, consultants and authors on values education, behavioral sciences, and management" in the philippines. it's basically a dictionary on filipino words, values, and sayings. the stuff that i've read so far is pretty interesting, and i would encourage you to at least look it over if you ever see it in some library or bookstore.

so every other day (until i have to return the book or otherwise) i'll share with you one word/saying/value from the book. i'll be quoting directly from the book, and any biases/opinions that you see (if any) are the author's own.

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"Oo. This means "yes" in English. Foreigners and critics of Filipino behavior are oftentimes surprised by a positive answer to instructions, only to find later that the same individual did exactly the opposite, without clarifying the instructions. Listed below are possible meanings of a "yes" answer by a Filipino. An average Filipino will say "yes" when:

(1) He does not know;
(2) He is annoyed;
(3) He wants to impress;
(4) He wants to end the conversation;
(5) He half understands the instructions of what is being said;
(6) He is not sure of himself; and
(7) He thinks he knows better than the one speaking to him.

The underlying psychological reason for a Filipino's "yes" is hiya or shame. A Filipino is embarrassed or ashamed to acknowledge that he does not know or he did not understand the instructions thoroughly, so he says yes. Also a Filipino might brag about knowing a certain thing when actually he does not know. In a mother-child relationship, a mother may say yes to her child's request without any intention of doing it; likewise, a child would say yes to his mother without intending to do it."

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(just curious...do you agree w/ this? does this happen to you....?)