Let the next five SONAs be in English

A State of the Nation Address is not an ordinary speech. It is a speech by the chief policy-maker of a nation. The speech is so important it transcends national borders, especially if that nation has self-respecting foreign policies to speak of.

The Philippines is one such country. It may not be a dominant economic and military force to reckon with, but it is nevertheless important enough to the countries with whom it maintains healthy ties to be interested in.

These ties run through the entire gamut of international relations -- diplomatic, trade, defense, cultural, scientific, educational, religious, sports, etc. Not every country enjoys the kind of recognition and respect that the Philippines gets from other countries.

Therefore I believe it was inappropriate for President Aquino to deliver his State of the Nation Address entirely in Tagalog. If sounding nationalistic was a concern, his huge mandate and high trust ratings should have convinced him his sense of nationalism was never in doubt.

Besides, there are far more meaningful ways and far greater opportunities for him to display nationalism in the long years ahead than by merely speaking in Tagalog during his first State of the Nation Address.

Nationalism is not expressed solely in the language by which the nationalist may wish to convey his love for his country. If that were the case, then all the physically-challenged people in the world who lost the gift of speech can never be called nationalists by this measure.

Aquino can use Tagalog in every speech he makes within the Philippines over the next six years of his presidency. That is his prerogative, although it might do well for him to also learn a few snatches of the other languages spoken by those who look at him as their president too.

But for the five remaining State of the Nation Addresses he still has to make, the president should resolve to use English because these speeches are not of interest to Filipinos alone but to the rest of the world as well, especially those with whom we keep friendly ties.

 The presence of foreign envoys and dignitaries at his SONA was not just in keeping with diplomatic and political niceties. It was precisely because of the great importance a SONA means to foreign interests that great care was required to formally invite these foreign guests.

As it turned out, however, all the foreign guests in attendance can only feign attention. In truth, they were bewildered by what was going on because the president chose to speak entirely in Tagalog, a language we cannot reasonably expect them to fairly understand.

And while translations were probably made available later, it still could not gloss over the great discourtesy committed against these foreign guests. For it is impolite to invite guests to your home and then start talking in their presence in a language they cannot understand.

That Aquino made the cover of Time Magazine underscores the great interest he commands in the international community. If for this alone, his advisers should have insisted that he needed to express himself in the language acknowledged by everyone as the language of all -- English.

Of course none of the foreign guests grumbled. They were all steeped in the fine craft of diplomatic finesse. But it is not hard to imagine the agony they endured for more than 30 minutes of not understanding a word said at a SONA to which they were invited to specifically listen.

To be sure, there are many foreign leaders who would rather speak in their own native languages. But this is hardly due to any nationalistic consideration. In most of these cases, it is facility that dictates the choice of language to use. They just don't speak English like us.

At the United Nations, where this often happens, interpreters are on hand to give instant translations so no one suffers the indignity resulting from uncomprehending befuddlement. No such interpreters were at the SONA. The foreign guests were left to their own devices to look sane.