Lost in translation

During Holy Mass, a parish priest in Metro Manila insists on reciting in Latin the Consecration of the Host and Wine, unmindful that the majority of his flock is clueless as to the meaning of the string of words he mumbles. If not for many church goers still remembering the English equivalent of the words the priest says in Latin, they would be lost and disconnected, their minds wandering if only for a moment.

And with Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines, parts of at least one Mass song in the Filipino language has also been rewritten to include Visayan phrases. Just like the Latin, the Visayan parts also leave Tagalog-speaking church goers befuddled.  The above should illustrate why it is easier said than done to evolve Filipino into a national language that incorporates the country’s many regional languages of which Visayan is only one.

According to Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (KWF) chairman Virgilio Almario, more English words find usage in Filipino resulting to the so-called Taglish. For this reason, Almario says the KWF will choose 25 words from the regional languages that will be added to Filipino.  However, the premise of Almario that the KWF can force usage of regional languages in Filipino is flawed. Language is not something that can be forced. It is something that must come naturally.

KWF’s intended move is no different from the failed effort to invent Filipino equivalent to English words for use in the academe. The invented Filipino words have never gained traction, especially when they concerned scientific and medical terms.  As it is, Filipino as a language is already too complex as made evident by the UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino, first released in 2001 and updated in 2010 and 2015, being so voluminous and thick one risks developing back pains lugging it around.

English words have found usage in Filipino because English is a language spoken by most if not all Filipinos – the very reason why overseas Filipino workers are favored for their command of this language. Before English, Spanish words had also been adapted into the  Filipino language because Filipinos in the 300 years of Spanish rule were at the time also conversant in Spanish.

As stated by Education Secretary Armin Luistro, language is dynamic and ever-evolving and it’s a distinct possibility that even the gay-speak which Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda and Vice Presidential mouthpiece Joey Salgado recently engaged in may even find its way into the Filipino language as the meaning of many of the gay words are becoming commonly known in the entire Philippines.

Therein lies the big difference between Almario’s and Luistro’s points of view – the KWF thinks it can force acceptance of regional words into Filipino, while the DepEd chief thinks language can only evolve naturally through widespread usage of the population. This may be a case of lost in translation as far as KWF is concerned. –End-

Image by: Gwatsi