“Expressing home: A roundtable discussion”

EXPRESSING HOME: A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
23 September 2026 | Wednesday | 10:00 AM
Pilar Herrera Hall

As part of the Lingg Month 2026 celebration, we present “Expressing home: A roundtable discussion,” an event featuring three presentations on what “home” means in different contexts.
“Huluna: Ang Tinig ng Tahanan”
Elena Rivera Mirano, PhD
Professor Emeritus, UP Department of Art Studies

ABSTRACT
This paper explores one of the most intimate musical forms of the Tagalogs of Southwestern Batangas. The huluna, or lullabye, is an ancient repertoire of song performed in secrecy. In the privacy of the tahanan, it allows the singer to reflect upon emotions and sentiments that are intense and real, but that must remain hidden from society at large.
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“Jib (집): Here and/or There”
Kyung Min-Bae, PhD
Assistant Professor, UP Department of Linguistics
ABSTRACT
Four years from now, my life in the Philippines will welcome two decades of life of home away home, Seoul, Korea; yet still almost every time when locals encounter me, they never miss to ask me whether I am (still) living here, whether I am (still) working here, and/or whether when I will be going “home”. The word home they refer to is my motherland that I physically left, and their questions never fail to remind me of my home that I wish to believe is in the Philippines; I am asked to believe it is (still) in Korea. From a little artifact to food I cook at home, especially in our Korean-Filipino-Chinese household, I seek my chosen home, home of my parents, home of my husband’s heritage, and home that I imagine and long for. And it seems the quest will be lifetime while I will always be questioned one ultimate question: “So when are you going back home?”
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“Recalling and Reminiscing about ‘bâan’: Living Houses and Loving Homes in Thai Society’
Kritsana Canilao, PhD
Assistant Professor, UP Department of Linguistics
ABSTRACT
The first written evidence of the Thai word “bâan” ‘house/home’ appeared in 1835 B.E. during the early Sukhothai period (1238–1438 AD) on the King Ramkhamhaeng the Great’s Inscription (Inscription No. 1). In the old days, the word “bâan” typically referred to a community or village where multiple households lived together (distinct from the word “ruean” or “huean,” which referred to the physical structure or an individual house). This lecture will discuss the semantic shifts of “bâan”; to what and how a sense of “House/Home” has specialized and/or generalized regarding the present-day use of “bâan” in various forms, functions, and contexts. Defining and understanding the concept of “bâan” through Thai traditional houses featuring spiritual beliefs and rituals, living activities, and physical architecture and design will be highlighted together with building “bâan” as a mental space serving as the “Home” of a person’s life and family identity.
Moderator:
Mary Ann G. Bacolod, PhD
Professor, UP Department of Linguistics
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This event is free and open to the public. More details about the event will be posted soon. For inquiries, you may send an email to <[email protected]>.

Source: UP Department of Linguistics Facebook