Natural and Idiomatic Tagalog
versus Wooden, Unnatural Speech

Many translations prefer natural and idiomatic Tagalog. Usually, the client "requests" that the source text be translated in a way that will be understood by people from Tondo or Payatas, representative low income areas in the Philippines where most residents have not had the privilege of higher education. Often, the residents receive the materials for free once printed or bound. Most of these materials are about

• Health care
• Infant care
• Community organizing
• Entrepreneurship, livelihood projects, and home businesses
• Micro-financing literature
• Caring for the environment
• Religious literature
• Advocacies against drug and alcohol abuse
• Anti-crime and violence campaign
• Counseling books for youth, parents, and small children.
  

1 Characteristic language groupings in the representative areas
In Tondo and in Payatas for example, not everybody is a native Tagalog speaker; each would have come from all 7100 islands in the Philippines. Yet all of them have to know basic and practical Tagalog because they live and move in the Greater Manila Area. In their households, they speak in their first language which can be Cebuano, Ilongo, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Chabacano, etc.

2 How they use Tagalog reading materials
Generally, Filipinos are not naturally inclined to reading. Most people love to listen to stories, and would prefer to sit in groups and tell each other anecdotes and snippets of everyday struggles. In fact, any kind of entertainment is welcome, but it will take a special prodding to make them read, especially books. Often, in places where people have to scrape by either gathering trash and selling them or similar trades, it will help if somebody else reads the literature aloud, maybe in a group that will also discuss its contents. Booklets would have more chances of being read than long books, but the shorter, the better.

3 The Tagalog materials they read?

• The government sometimes provides day care centers story books both in English and in Tagalog, but there are not enough materials in Tagalog for distribution.
  
• Public School children share copies of textbooks from the Department of Education.
  
• Sometimes, volunteer teachers have to orally translate English storybooks (these arrive in boxes from donor friends of NGOs).
  
• Comic books are popular among the youth and young adults because of the realistic images (as opposed to abstract) and the short dialogues.
  
• Escapist literature such as short Tagalog romance novels are sometimes rented out for a small fee.
  
• Most people are reading pages from tabloid news, which they get either from the stands or from stuff wrappings.
  

Natural and idiomatic Tagalog is preferred because of one main reason: The text wants to meet a perceived need and expects a practical response from the reader. Any wooden and unnatural translation will defeat this purpose. But even if the translation is in natural and idiomatic Tagalog, it may not communicate immediately as intended. With the Filipinos' tolerant nature, anything is welcome, everybody will nod and say this is ok out of politeness and it’s not a norm for people to say no immediately. The text will be read, but there wouldn’t be enough thinking and pondering about it unless practice and demonstration goes side by side with the information campaign.

Samples from a Translation
(topic Counseling Fathers)
The examples below show grids a translator may use in decision making.

1a “Maaari bang pakinggan ako ng kahit na sino?”

Text: That connects with their feelings and emotions

2a Na kumukunekta sa kanilang nararamdaman at emosyon

Text: and husbands don't always respect or give attention to their wives.

3a At ang mga asawang lalaki ay hindi palaging gumagalang o nagbibigay ng atensyon sa kanilang maybahay.

Not exact but natural speech
and meaning is retained

1b “Puwede bang pakinggan n’yo naman ako?”
1c“Maaari bang pakinggan nyo naman ako?”

2b na naiintindihan ang kanilang nararamdaman.

3b At hindi palaging iginagalang at iniintindi ng mga asawang lalaki ang kanilang maybahay.

Text: They cannot get or keep our attention

1a hindi nila makuha o mapanatili ang ating atensyon.

Text: I grew up in a time when adults believed that children should only be seen and not heard.

2a Pinalaki ako sa panahon na naniniwala ang mga matatanda na ang mga bata ay dapat na nakikita lamang at hindi nagsasalita.

1b hindi nila makuha o mahawakan ang ating atensyon.

2b Pinalaki ako sa panahon na naniniwala ang mga matatanda na ang mga bata ay dapat na nasa isang tabi lamang at hindi nagsasalita.

Text: Or even if I’m not quite that rude

1a O, kung hindi man ako ganoon kabastos

Text: One sunday after church, we had brunch in a restaurant together with our sons, and for the first time in years, they started telling us about real things. We were a bit surprised, and we wondered what "could have primed the pump". We discovered two important things.

2 Isang Lingo pagkagaling namin sa iglesya, kumain kami sa isang restawran kasama sila, at sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon sa maraming taon, nagsimula silang magkuwento tungkol sa mga totoong bagay. Medyo nabigla kami, at nagtaka kung ano kaya ang “tubig na kumaon sa kanilang poso.” May nadiskubre kaming dalawang bagay na mahalaga.

1b O kung hindi ako ganoon kawalang-galang

2b Isang Lingo pagkagaling namin sa pagsisimba, kumain kami sa isang restawran kasama sila, at sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon sa maraming taon, nagsimula silang magkuwento tungkol sa kanilang sarili. Medyo nabigla kami, at nagtaka kung ano kaya ang “tubig na kumaon sa kanilang poso.” May nadiskubre kaming dalawang bagay na mahalaga.

Text: All our efforts at talking to them were not getting anywhere, we couldn't talk to them personally...

1a Lahat ng pagsisikap naming kausapin sila ay walang nararating, talagang hindi namin sila makausap ng personal

1b Lahat ng pagsisikap naming kausapin sila ay walang nararating, talagang hindi namin makuha na magsabi sila sa amin ng mga personal na problema.

Text: Or even if I'm not that rude, I look around and...1a O, kung hindi man ako ganoon kawalang-galang, ay palingon-lingon ako sa aking paligid, at …

O, kung hindi man ako ganoon kawalang-galang, ay palingon-lingon [naman] ako sa aking paligid, at …

For Tagalog translation to become effective natural and idiomatic tagalog the translator must be an active student-listener of how the language is actually spoken and used by the specific intended readers. But even this is not always an assurance that the final users will understand every Tagalog expression. On the whole though, they won't be misled by the meanings. Context will decide their final interpretation.