Old Tagalog versus New

Old Tagalog, ancient Tagalog, deep Tagalog, all these for words and expressions this generation finds "weird", "uncool", or simply "greek". Everybody favors quick, easy, accessible communication, but the Filipino that high school students learn in school - both the process of learning it and the examples presented - are often complicated.

In the Philippines, there are more students in public schools than in private schools. If students in private schools are the target users of English to Tagalog translation, an orientation is at hand. Students in private schools speak more English than the average public school student. Most teen-agers studying in these well-funded institutions use the INTERNET at home, watch plenty of English cartoons, rent or buy English DVD films with their allowance, buy game chips in recreation areas within shopping malls, and play with PSPs and DSEDs.

Their everyday vocabulary hardly matches that of the Filipino or Tagalog their teachers try to drill into their brain via their textbooks. (With this reality, it is difficult to teach appreciation of literature in Filipino or Tagalog during elementary and high school. In fact Filipino literature only comes as a general subject during the first two years in college.)

Should kid's computer games in English be translated? Maybe, but who will standardize the vocabulary to avoid lazy, literal and awkward transfers?

Tutors can make the mentoring process more student friendly when they give in and translate the rest of the lessons into English. While they can resort to this informal back translation in teaching concepts, they will find it tedious to do the same when teaching Tagalog vocabulary.

In their subject Filipino, students are routinely made to read and do exercises using as spring board selections from books such as Florante at Laura and Ibong Adarna. These two are Tagalog epic poems written at the time of the Spanish occupation. As they are both poetry, the words become even more inaccessible. Of course, the rich, old Tagalog in these epics needs to be appreciated but parents have probably completely forgotten Florante at Laura and their only clue about Ibong Adarna is the local movie starring the Filipino comedy King Dolphy.

Often teens meet their teacher's challenge with grudging compliance. Outside the classrooms they speak almost a kind of techno-cono-Taglish language even as they are assigned "weird" stanzas from difficult poetry for their homework. Where to use the words they have memorized is another question.

Old Tagalog may not capture meanings of words popularized by media and technology.

In the five stanzas below from Florante at Laura, a fourteen year old identifies at least twelve words which he does not understand. He frowns as he reads and becomes completely detached and bored. But with a back translation plus a tip in appreciating stanzas and music of Filipino poetry, his eyes are opened and learning Tagalog/Filipino becomes less of a chore and more of a fun experience.

Sa loob at labas ng bayan kong sawi
Kaliluha'y siyang nangyayaring hari
Kagalinga't bait ay nalulugami
Ininis sa hukay ng dusa't pighati.

Ang magandang asal ay ipinupukol
Sa laot ng dagat ng kutya't linggatong
Balang magagaling ay ibinabaon
At inililibing na walang kabaong.

Nguni, ay ang lilo't masasamang loob
Sa trono ng puri ay iniluluklok
At sa balang sukab na may asal hayop
Mabangong insenso ang isinusuob.

Kaliluha't sama ang ulo'y nagtayo
At ang kabaita'y kimi't nakayuko
Santong katuwira'y lugami at hapo
Ang luha na lamang ang pinatutubo.

At ang balang bibig na binubukalan
Ng sabing magaling at katotohanan
Agad binibiyak at sinisikagan
Ng kalis ng lalong dustang kamatayan.