I hope you know that for some 300 years, the Philippines was under Spanish rule. We were colonized thrice, twice by Westerners, and once by the Japanese. So it's no joke when we say we're really Westernized Asians. I think our language is 30% Spanish.
Anyway, my parents do have bloodlines that trace to Spanish origins, and both of them studied Spanish in school when it was compulsory for them to study the language. My mom, coming from an autocratic household in one of the island provinces in the central part of the country, had a strict grasp on Spanish as she lived with her grandparents who raised her "trilingually" with the language in addition to their local language spoken there and English. Filipino, or Tagalog, only came to her mouth when she left for Manila.
That was how my mom grew up. And in time, that was also how I and my brother grew up.
When we were based in Brunei, my parents hosted a Spanish au pair as they wanted us to be exposed in a language that they were also exposed to. They also felt that they were losing grasp of their Spanish tongue. I remember, Irene (pronounced as "ee-reh-neh"), from day one she was with us, talked to me and my bro in Spanish. I remember that it was such a nightmare because we really had a hard time grasping what she was saying. Like come on, a stranger suddenly appears at your house, and talks to you like you're long distant cousins, and eventually she lives with you for 7 months and you can't understand much of what she's saying. It felt like we were living with an alien!
Until she started taking Malay lessons then she began to practice Malay with us to help her. And then as if in an instant, Spanish became a mutually-intelligible language to us.
I never had the proper training of speaking Spanish, that's why until now I can't do so. Yo puedo hablar español, pero un poco (I can speak Spanish, but a little). But if I were to pull on a conversation with a Spanish speaker, then maybe my tongue would just roll in if I needed to reply in Spanish. Although I can't speak decently, I can still grasp the meaning of a lot of phrases. I think the mutual intelligibility of the language has stayed in me. It's weird. My Spanish vocabulary is poor, but it wonders me how I get to understand what they say.
Well I listen to a lot of Spanish and Latino music, and nowadays I'm hooked to listening to Reik, which is a Mexican trio (and they're hot too! like muy caliente! y sus video hay igual esto mucho caliente). So this song's called 'Peligro' which means 'danger'. I'm confident of the meaning because Filipinos use the word too, if not saying 'panganib'. Anyway, I'm going to write down what I think the guy's telling in the song. He's singing in the Mexican accent, which is different to what I'm accustomed to. But yeah, let me try to translate it for you. It's a fine and catchy song, so you'll like it.
(I) was not able to.. estimate distance
Made a mistaken turn... such typical story
and in an irrational, electric pulse
my heart races in your direction.
I am sickened, by your mood swings
Automatically, I still have thoughts of you
If I take a step further
We won't get back, since we didn't return.
Over and over again I have to fight myself
I live in danger and again I'm running in fire
You kiss me and I fall in your gamble
Danger/risk of falling
Lost in your voice
Can't hear my own sixth sense
You use on me, your hipnotizing voice
Again I'm coming to you, (being) illogical
(I) don't know how to cross, a maze that I built
Wanting to get over you
Over and over again, I stumble back to you.... (then it repeats its chorus -- the "I live in danger..." line)
I really don't know. Is it a gift or what? Maybe I can be a Spanish-English transcriber. Interesting, no?
And what about you? How many languages can you speak? Understand? I can also speak Malay and Indonesian as they're mutually-intelligible as well. In total, I think I know how to speak some 7-8 languages in varying degrees.
2 ulasan:
interesting post! i'm really fascinated by languages. if you think about it, it's really amazing that sounds coming out of our mouth can convey such meaning!
i'm also impressed with all the languages you speak.
the first language i learnt was vietnamese- and then norwegian. but since i only speak vietnamese with my parents, my norwegian and english is way better. i also learnt japanese after spending a year as an exchange student in japan.
then there's danish and swedish, but they don't really count, since they are quite similar to norwegian. and i can understand basic german and french, but not speak it...
Hey, thank you! And yes, I agree. we try to convey what we want to express in various sounds so that the listener can know or understand what it is you want to express. The magic of languages. :)
That's cool you're a multilingual. I really look up to people can speak two or more languages fluently because it really takes patience and focus to keep a tongue and to maintain speaking a language. My first language was English, then Malay and Spanish, then I only spoke Filipino when I lived in the Philippines when I was 7. I also learned Japanese in college, and can carry a quasi-decent conversation with my tomodochi's when they visit me.
Sugoi ne!
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