My wife: Sweet, halika. Yung ano sa may kwan... paki ganyan mo nga. Please...
Me: Ha?Ano kamo? (Huh? Say what?)
This blog may be strange to non-Pinoys or even to Pinoys who did not grow up immersed in the nuances of the Filipino language and the underlying eccentricities of the culture attached to it.
If you are Pinoy and understand the language well, and speak it fluently, you've heard of the words ANO, KWAN, and GANYAN many times. You've probably used it a million times yourself.
To this day, I am pretty sure that these words do not have an exact equivalent in English. Ano literally means What. Ganyan can be translated as "like that". Kwan, one of the vaguest of Pinoy words, can be loosely translated as "thingie", or if you're trying to be cute, it can be translated as "thingamajim". ...but not quite.
More interesting is the fact that these words can be as adjectives, nouns, and even verbs. For beginning Filipino language learners, these words are essential in your Tagalog 101, Advanced Literary Tagalog, and Filipino Psychology and Philosophy. It's an interesting learning experience. Just prepare to be space out...so to speak.
Hence, my wife's sentence construction, if directly and literally translated in English, would go:
My wife: Sweet, come here. The what near the thingie (or thingamajim)... kindly like that yours. Please...
Me: Huh? What the...?
It may sound like a complex Buddhist riddle or an existentialist statement. You decide. I understand it quite well. I'm both mystified and enlightened by Ano, Kwan, and Ganyan. I'm Pinoy.
We're vague, we're ambiguous, we're ambivalent, we're Pinoy! It's cryptic, interesting, weird, and funny...it's great to be Filipino.
I blame the Primetime soap operas on Philippine TV.
Blame them for what, you ask?
You ever wonder why positive thinking is scarce in this country? Why almost everyone, especially the masa are resigned to their fate of bearing the daily grind and not making enough money to make ends meet? Have you ever took notice of how you felt after watching TV from the 6:30 pm news to the last soap opera before the 11pm late night news?
Did you feel energized after that...o masama ba ang loob mo at hindi mo maintindihan (or do you feel crappy and not comprehend why?)?
I've always believed that we become what we continually experience, witness, or take in. Good for you if you're the garbage-in-garbage-out type of person. After watching Philippine TV at night, you carry in your subconscious the hurtful feelings, betrayal and pessimism these shows portrayed.
To make things worse, the late news follows these shows. Now that's where the comedy comes in....if you find politicians hilarious. Before sign off, religious shows like the 700 Club is shown...probably to absolve us from all the vengeful and murderous negative thinking. Kaya ma-drama ang mga Pinoy (no wonder Pinoys love theatrics).
My niece, cute girl that she is, practices crying in front of the mirror while claiming that her lot in life is miserable because her mom (who loves her dearly), she says, does not care about her and has left her. Her mom, incidentally, is working abroad to help her dad put their kids through school. She provides for her family marvelously. My wife asked her why she feels that way. Without missing a beat, she says she just likes making drama... and she was still in character as if waiting for the director to yell cut.
Kids now are complicated. God help us. I miss the simple optimism of Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleafagus...
This country sure needs its 'feel good' TV...NOW and every night. Please please please...
My wife: Sweet, halika. Yung ano sa may kwan... paki ganyan mo nga. Please...
Me: Ha? Ano kamo? (Huh? Say what?)
This blog may be strange to non-Pinoys or even to Pinoys who did not grow up immersed in the nuances of the Filipino language and the underlying eccentricities of the culture attached to it.
If you are Pinoy and understand the language well, and speak it fluently, you've heard of the words ANO, KWAN, and GANYAN many times. You've probably used it a million times yourself.
To this day, I am pretty sure that these words do not have an exact equivalent in English. Ano literally means What. Ganyan can be translated as "like that". Kwan, one of the vaguest of Pinoy words, can be loosely translated as "thingie", or if you're trying to be cute, it can be translated as "thingamajim". ...but not quite.
More interesting is the fact that these words can be as adjectives, nouns, and even verbs. For beginning Filipino language learners, these words are essential in your Tagalog 101, Advanced Literary Tagalog, and Filipino Psychology and Philosophy. It's an interesting learning experience. Just prepare to be space out...so to speak.
Hence, my wife's sentence construction, if directly and literally translated in English, would go:
My wife: Sweet, come here. The what near the thingie (or thingamajim)... kindly like that yours. Please...
Me: Huh? What the...?
It may sound like a complex Buddhist riddle or an existentialist statement. You decide. I understand it quite well. I'm both mystified and enlightened by Ano, Kwan, and Ganyan. I'm Pinoy.
We're vague, we're ambiguous, we're ambivalent, we're Pinoy! It's cryptic, interesting, weird, and funny...it's great to be Filipino.
