one day, isang araw

One of the people who works for me is LG, an Aussie with Pinoy parents. She is currently taking a course in a private school in Katipunan.

Filipino communications is one of her subjects. And of all the folks that she can ask help from with that subject would be me.

Hala!

LG: Boss, ano ang tagalog ng mood?

W: Give me a second.

I think it out hard but come up with nothing. So I dial-a-friend... I ask the nearest person and discreetly disturb her. But she doesn't come up with an answer either.

Howabout mood as mud spelled bastardly? Nah.

There's an English-Tagalog dictionary somewhere here, I tell myself.

A light bulb switches on.

Then I go and get back without telling her that I cheated.

W: Panagano or lagay ng kalooban.

LG: Hahaha! Hanep ka talaga pinuno! Hahaha... Ano ulam mo ngayon?

She's really working it. And I play along.

W: Pochero.

LG: Naka naman! Palit tayo. Ayoko ng ulam ko. Nilasing na hipon.

W: Pa-LBC ko isang...ahm...bowl.

Oops. I couldn't complete the sentence without mentioning an English word.

LG: Hahaha! Sige. Inaasahan ko ang pagdating ng ulam. O sya. Later, boss. Kain ka ng madame. Thanks ulit.

She speaks it without her Aussie accent, while for me it's a test of endurance sometimes.

Travelling makes a tongue perfect, I guess. I should get out there often.

* * *

I stumbled upon a German site that promoted downloading of games online. The site's target market were Pinoy gamers. Thus the name Ph.Brothersoft.Com.

Sabi: malaki database ng mula sa puno 100 palayain kumislap laro

I had a hard time figuring out the description not until I realized that the last 4 words, 100 palayain kumislap laro, actually meant 100 free flash games.

And how did I figure that out?

Syempre. Pinuno eh. Ako pa.

Insert nodding of head while saying, Aaaah.

* * *

kids should know that...

A famous mistranslation of the Bible is the rendering of the Hebrew word "keren," which has several meanings, as "horn" in a context where it actually means "beam of light." As a result, artists have for centuries depicted Moses the Lawgiver with horns growing out of his forehead. An example is Michelangelo's famous sculpture. Christian anti-Semites used such depictions to spread hatred of the Jews, claiming that they were devils with horns. (wikipedia)