The language of function
I was at the ATM this morning and the machine confronted me with the choice, English or Pilipino? I quickly selected English out of habit, not wishing to delay the process as there was a long queue behind me. But as I was taking my money out of the machine, I briefly paused as a thought suddenly popped into my head, does that mean there is just a little bit of James Soriano in me? I mean, it is easier for me to write in English than Tagalog, reason why this blog is mostly English. And in fact, I am one of those who are just a little pissed with Google for constantly pushing to transliterate my internet to Tagalog.
I am the product of my (mis)education, sadly. And English, as far as I am concerned, is the language of function. It would probably take me 5 times longer to write my quarterly reports in Tagalog if I have to do it that way.
But Tagalog is the language of the streets? As I read James' arguments on why he thinks this is so, I was deeply saddened. I pity the kid for the shallowness of his life experience. If all you've used Tagalog for is to talk to your driver or yaya then clearly you've lived a far too sheltered life in the Philippines. The kid needs to go out more. I bet this kid has yet to be employed by Germans, Swedes, Finns, or have met Filipinos in the caliber of a Randy David. Offer to these people the idea that "English is for the learned" and you would be thought of, ironically, as "provincial". You really think that his little life of privilege in this part of the world would impress people who know more of the world?
Because I am Filipino, born and raised in the Philippines to Filipino parents, with mostly Filipino friends, Tagalog for me is the language of the heart. I pity James for never having had his mother sing him an uyaye. For never belonging to a tropa. For never experiencing a semplang on his bike. For not knowing how to bola a tsikas. Fire and brimstone for this poor kid? No. The kid simply needs to live a little more and experience life outside the comforts of his privileged bubble -- and stop being a foreigner in his own homeland.
One time I was tasked by a VP for Quality to translate our company's mission and vision statements which were originally in English to Tagalog. WE have many sites all over the world and all these statements are translated to their local languages.
ReplyDeleteWhile writing it, I had the challenge not to laugh at how it sounded. I let some employees read the Tagalog translation and they cannot stop laughing. It's really weird. We explained to the VP (American Chinese) and he agreed not to post the Tagalog versions.
Try to read a manual spec of any technical gadget. You will understand.
i use english in writing 80% of the time because of work and convenience online (having to engage with different people and websites on the net). pero i use tagalog in expressing myself verbally mga 70% of the time because most of the people i talk to are pinoys. suppliers abroad and foreign colleagues account for the remaining 30%. i haven't thought of what you or the opinion writer have aired publicly so far. it's now something for me to think about.
ReplyDeleteReally enlightening.
ReplyDeleteWala akong problema sa spoken Tagalog/Pilipino. Komportable ako dun. Yun lang, iba ang written. Ganito kasi rule (when I was still in college). Ang "pencil" ay "pencil" pa rin sa bagong Filipino (take note of the F). Hindi tulad dati na ginagawang pensil o kung di naman ay yung malalim na Tagalog word na halos hindi na ginagamit na "lapis". Medyo nagugulat ako pag merong gumagamit nyan tulad na rin ng "aklat". Parang hindi natural. So ok, medyo logical naman ang rule. Ang kaso, pano kung ginawang verb na? Check this out, ipinencil, ipepencil, o pencilin. Sagwa di ba? Kaya medyo limitado ako kung ako ay susulat sa Filipino. Yun lang naman e.
ReplyDelete