MANILA, Philippines - “Ang taong hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika ay higit pa sa malansang isda,” said Dr. Jose Rizal. Learning the national language of the Filipinos is not just a difficulty that foreigners encounter. Truth be told, Filipinos still have not mastered ‘Tagalog.’
Do you know that neither ‘mens’ nor ‘regla’ is the Tagalog word for ‘menstrual period?’ The correct term is ‘karumalan.’ In celebration of the ‘Buwan ng Wika’ this August, let us all test our Tagalog prowess with these words that are probably stranger to most of us.
English: infinity
Meaning: Any unbounded space, time, or quantity.
Tagalog: awanggan
English: gravity
Meaning: The natural force of attraction exerted by a celestial body, such as Earth, upon objects at or near its surface, tending todraw them toward the center of the body.
Tagalog: dagsin
English: addicted
Meaning: To cause to become physiologically or psychologically dependent on a habit-forming substance.
Tagalog: gumon
English: selfish
Meaning: Concerned chiefly or only with oneself:
Tagalog: hidhid
English: germ
Meaning: A small mass of protoplasm or cells from which a new organism or one of its parts may develop.
Tagalog: kagaw
English: unadulterated
Meaning: Not mingled or diluted with extraneous matter; pure.
Tagalog: lantay
English: to nurse
Meaning: To treat carefully, especially in order to prevent pain.
Tagalog: magsimpan
English: collection
Meaning: A number of things collected or assembled together
Tagalog: napangilakan
English: kitchen
Meaning: A room or an area equipped for preparing and cooking food.
Tagalog: paminggalan
English: fork
Meaning: A utensil with two or more prongs, used for eating or serving food.
Tagalog: sambat
English: diary
Meaning: A daily record, especially a personal record of events, experiences, and observations; a journal.
Tagalog: talasarili
English: sharpen
Meaning: To make or become sharp or sharper.
Tagalog: yakis
English: microphone
Meaning: An instrument that converts sound waves into an electric current, usually fed into an amplifier, a recorder, or a broadcast transmitter.
Tagalog: miktinig
English: hyperlink
Meaning: A word, phrase, picture, icon, etc, in a computer document on which a user may click to move to another part of the document or to another document.
Tagalog: kawingan
English: website
Meaning: A set of interconnected webpages, usually including a homepage, generally located on the same server, and prepared and maintained as a collection of information by a person, group, or organization.
Tagalog: pook-sapot
English: e-mail
Meaning: A system for sending and receiving messages electronically over a computer network, as between personal computers.
Tagalog: sulatroniko
English: headset
Meaning: A pair of headphones with a voice transmitter attached.
Tagalog: pang-ulong hatinig
English: browser
Meaning: A program that accesses and displays files and other data available on the Internet and other networks.
Tagalog: panginain
English: charger
Meaning: One that charges, such as an instrument that charges or replenishes storage batteries.
Tagalog: pantablay
English: carpenter
Meaning: A skilled worker who makes, finishes, and repairs wooden objects and structures.
Tagalog: anluwage