Filipino Word Play--a Possible Book
I love puns in any of the languages I have the slightest facility in. This often shows in my writing, most notably in my new adult ebooks Always Onlineand Love Among the Geeks. I'd long ago contemplated writing a children's book in Filipino with wordplay, starting with bulol (speaking in a garbled way) and bul'ol (a native figure used in superstitious rituals).
I was reminded of this when we were in the car and my daughter started telling us about a legend, in Filipino alamat, which she pronounced accenting the second syllable, like salamat minus the s. So her storytelling got interrupted while we corrected her pronunciation and she complained about why words that were similar in spelling had to be pronounced differently. We speculated that it had to do with word origin. Salamat, I know because of the boxes of cereal we buy that are made in Malaysia, is from Bahasa. Alamat, we confess, we don't know. With English, it's easy to find the origin of any word through the website Etymonline. I wish someone would come up with a Filipino version. I will have to ask our Filipino teacher neighbor, who edited Florante at Laura: Edisyong Tapat kay Balagtas (Florante and Laura: Truest Edition to Balagtas's Vision); Filipino (Translation), when he wakes up.
Lacking any data, I surmised it came from the word alam (know) and lahat. Since these stories are oral tradition that are known throughout a community, it made sense to say they were alam ng lahat (known by all). Lahat has a strongly accented second syllable, so it makes sense to emphasize this in a truncation of the phrase.
At home, I did a search online but came up with nothing. Even my Alternative Alamat: Stories Inspired by Philippine Mythology doesn't have any explanation as to the roots of the word.
Because of lack of resources, my speculations on the Filipino language often go no farther than speculation. I remember when I asked my household helper to use a thermometer given by the hospital when I gave birth. When she used it on my daughter, she told me there was something wrong with the LCD display. So I went to get our old, expensive thermometer, muttering, "Mumurahin lang ito." (This is really cheap. Mura is Filipino for cheap, but also "curse" or "swear." And given my annoyance, I reflected that both meanings were appropriate at the time. But why does the word have these two meanings? Google it. You won't find out.
I really wish there was a Filipino authority on language who wrote about it as engagingly as Richard Lederer does with English. Lederer's books deal with errors in language, puns, homonyms, and etymologies, for the most part presented with humorously. While my parents were English teachers and therefore I naturally inherited from them facility in English, Lederer's entertaining books motivated me to develop a stronger grasp of grammar and style rather than to just speak and write correctly because *sigh* my parents said so. It also developed in me a fascination with words which manifests itself not only in a love of puns but also a sensitivity to the nuances of language that is essential to a writer. It helps not just to intuit a word is right or wrong but to be able to articulate why. Besides, Lederer never interrupted my train of thought with a lecture on correct use of language. As we did with my daughter.
Right. I should go to bed so I'll have time in the morning to hear her retell the alamat (accent on the final syllable) that she learned in school. And then I can pass on the role of educating her in Filipino etymology to my neighbor.
Maybe he can write a book explaining words; the most I can do is do the word play that will stimulate interest in words. But if the answers aren't accessible, fascination with the Filipino language will easily turn into frustration.
I was reminded of this when we were in the car and my daughter started telling us about a legend, in Filipino alamat, which she pronounced accenting the second syllable, like salamat minus the s. So her storytelling got interrupted while we corrected her pronunciation and she complained about why words that were similar in spelling had to be pronounced differently. We speculated that it had to do with word origin. Salamat, I know because of the boxes of cereal we buy that are made in Malaysia, is from Bahasa. Alamat, we confess, we don't know. With English, it's easy to find the origin of any word through the website Etymonline. I wish someone would come up with a Filipino version. I will have to ask our Filipino teacher neighbor, who edited Florante at Laura: Edisyong Tapat kay Balagtas (Florante and Laura: Truest Edition to Balagtas's Vision); Filipino (Translation), when he wakes up.
Lacking any data, I surmised it came from the word alam (know) and lahat. Since these stories are oral tradition that are known throughout a community, it made sense to say they were alam ng lahat (known by all). Lahat has a strongly accented second syllable, so it makes sense to emphasize this in a truncation of the phrase.
At home, I did a search online but came up with nothing. Even my Alternative Alamat: Stories Inspired by Philippine Mythology doesn't have any explanation as to the roots of the word.
Because of lack of resources, my speculations on the Filipino language often go no farther than speculation. I remember when I asked my household helper to use a thermometer given by the hospital when I gave birth. When she used it on my daughter, she told me there was something wrong with the LCD display. So I went to get our old, expensive thermometer, muttering, "Mumurahin lang ito." (This is really cheap. Mura is Filipino for cheap, but also "curse" or "swear." And given my annoyance, I reflected that both meanings were appropriate at the time. But why does the word have these two meanings? Google it. You won't find out.
I really wish there was a Filipino authority on language who wrote about it as engagingly as Richard Lederer does with English. Lederer's books deal with errors in language, puns, homonyms, and etymologies, for the most part presented with humorously. While my parents were English teachers and therefore I naturally inherited from them facility in English, Lederer's entertaining books motivated me to develop a stronger grasp of grammar and style rather than to just speak and write correctly because *sigh* my parents said so. It also developed in me a fascination with words which manifests itself not only in a love of puns but also a sensitivity to the nuances of language that is essential to a writer. It helps not just to intuit a word is right or wrong but to be able to articulate why. Besides, Lederer never interrupted my train of thought with a lecture on correct use of language. As we did with my daughter.
Right. I should go to bed so I'll have time in the morning to hear her retell the alamat (accent on the final syllable) that she learned in school. And then I can pass on the role of educating her in Filipino etymology to my neighbor.
Maybe he can write a book explaining words; the most I can do is do the word play that will stimulate interest in words. But if the answers aren't accessible, fascination with the Filipino language will easily turn into frustration.
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