Lost in Translation

I would like to think I'm fluent in my native tongue, Filipino or more popularly known as Tagalog, and in the so-called "universal language" English. Yes, I can understand both - speaking, writing, listening and reading. Although I must admit, my vocabulary for both is not as extensive as I want it to be. What I want to focus on is the fact I have more difficulty expressing myself in Tagalog.

Speaking is not much of a problem, although I usually use a combination of both - known as "Taglish" for some and "Engalog" for others. But if I had to use one language only, usually for formal reports or presentations, I think I'd do well. I remember my elementary days in the Ateneo de Manila University... During one of my final years (can't remember whether it was Grade 6 or 7), our Language teacher required us to speak in pure English. She told us to "shoot" or "bang" our fellow classmates if ever we caught them speak Tagalog. We were always on the look out, listening to each other. The punishment? At the end of the week, the one with the most "bangs" would have to clean the washroom. It was small but boy was it a nightmare! It's good to be friends with everyone, nobody would dare shoot you and of course I'd do the same for them. Did anyone have a shot at the washroom? Yeah, but lucky for them, the washroom was already clean at that time. I couldn't remember how long this went on - a quarter or semester - but definitely it didn't take the whole year. Was it fun? Yes, of course! It was really funny when we had to struggle and look for the right word. It's a good exercise, well, without the washroom clean up, of course!

My problem lies in reading, READING TAGALOG! Let's look back at the Philippine Science High School days... It was during our first year that we studied one of the works our national hero, Jose Rizal, wrote - the Noli Me Tangere. The following is the first paragraph in Tagalog...

===================
"Magtatapos na ang Oktubre nang maghapunan si Don Santiago de los Santos, kilala sa palayaw na Kapitan Tiago, at kahit ipinahayag lamang sa hapong iyon, na hindi niya ugali, naging paksa ito ng lahat ng usapan sa Binondo, sa ibang karatig-pook at hanggang sa Intramuros. Tinitingala noon si Kapitan Tiago bilang isang napakagalanteng ginoo, at kasabihan na ang kaniyang bahay, tulad ng kaniyang bayan, ay hindi nagsasara ng pinto kanino man, huwag lamang may komersiyo o mga kaisipang bago at pangahas."
===================

The mentioned paragraph was taken from "Jose Rizal Noli Me Tangere" translated by Virgilio Almario. Take note that this novel was first written in Spanish thus spawning different Tagalog and English translations. If I remember correctly, the Tagalog version that we read was a lot deeper and way more difficult to comprehend. Nosebleed! That is why I had to look for an English version to make my life a lot easier and to keep blood from spilling out of my nose!

===================
"Don Santiago de los Santos was giving a dinner party one evening towards the end of October in the 1880's. Although, contrary to his usual practice, he had let it be known only on the afternoon of the same day, it was soon the topic of conversation in Binondo, where he lived, in other districts of Manila, and even in the Spanish walled city of Intramuros. Don Santiago was better known as Capitan Tiago - the rank was not military but political, and indicated that he had once been the native mayor of a town. In those days he had a reputation for lavishness. It was well-known that his house, like his country, never closed its doors except, of course, to trade and any idea that was new or daring."
===================

Now that's better! I got this from a translated version by Leon Ma. Guerrero. To this very day, I have difficulty reading Tagalog. It's crazy! I spend a lot of time reading a page, and when I finally finish it, I end up going back and reading it all over again! Am I doing anything to improve this? NO, ahehehe! But it is fun to know that "allocation" is "gugol", "sale" is "barato" and the color "orange" is "kahel". What other translations do you know? Sa uulitin!