(A Buwan ng Wika special)
Pangasinan Language Abounds with Synonyms
One day, while discussing with some people how a painting
should be framed properly, someone used the word lapok-lapok to describe the
result of an ill-framed canvas, saying the canvas ended up somewhat flapping.
I was listening intently as everyone asked further questions
on the issue to understand the problem at hand more clearly.
From the ensuing exchange, I heard someone utter a synonym,
a word that I had never heard before: Was the canvas linmundo? Then someone
asked whether it was linmaylay and alaylay. And then another said, maybe it was
linmuslos and aluslos. And I think I heard at least one more word or two (aluyloy and linmuyloy), and
it turned out in the end that these words were all synonymous, most likely each
word having a more specific meaning that escapes me for now.
This unexpected exchange reminds us once again how the
Pangasinan language abounds with synonyms for certain ideas or concepts. That
Pangasinan language has incredibly many words for crazy is quite well-known.
Further study shows that this tendency is typical of the language instead of an
oddity.
We have at least three words for smile -- imis (smile in
general), ngiriyet and ngiristi (the two being variations of grin from ear to ear) – and at least five words for laughter – elek (laugh), kekek/mankekek (laugh hard without sound), ngarakngak (laugh in a very loud manner),
pandak (laugh nonstop), manareketek ("laugh in a subdued but fond
manner").
We make distinctions between different forms of the act of breathing and smelling.
Poet and professor Melchor Orpilla says “breath is linawa. Ingas is
to breathe when tired or when the body needs more oxygen. Sungap is to gasp for air
or inhale. Singáp is the old Pangasinan term for hika or asthma,” so it must be
the root word of the term mansingsingap (hard of breathing due to asthma).
Other words are sumikaer (catching one’s breath), eyek (labored breathing with
wheezing), manyekew (coughing and wheezing while being thin), and manpapanabos
(labored breathing while in the throes of death). Manukok is coughing, while mansigsigam is making the "ahem' or throat-clearing sound
Synonyms for eat include: akan - eat; atmon or akmon - swallow; bikler - swallow forcefully; gatgat - chew; kutib - gnaw; ngalngal - to chew forcefully; kabkab - to bite continuously in big chunks; kutlab - to make one big bite; ketket - bite in general; and supsop - sip.
We distinguish between (or among) different intensities of
crying (akis). Again, Orpilla says maningel – is low but deep groaning,
mansibsibek is sobbing, manakis or mannangis is crying, manurangal is crying
loudly like a child, manugaog is crying loudly with deeper sound, managugol is
crying loud with prolonged deep sound evidencing deep sorrow. There is also mankarangkang,
which he says refers to the loud cry of a dog that is hurting or wanting to
free itself from its chain. A variation of manurangal, it seems, is
manngaralngal, while the haunting sound of dogs howling in the middle of the
night is mantagluong.
Old Pangasinan terms for handsome, good-looking man (guwapo) include: mataraki, which not just means handsome, but refers to a man who is dashing, brimming with confidence with the way he stands and carries himself; maong a laki, literally, good man; maong ya inkatalindeg, literally, has good bearing or comportment; maong ya impankayas, literally, well-sculpted (most likely), maong ya bini, literally, good seed; maong ya alagey (magandang tindig), good posture; maong ya puli, good bree; maong ya sekder, good foundation; and matarakin lalong, handsome rooster
In her book Lingayën: Memories of Times Past, Arabela
Ventenilla Arcinue notes the increasing intensity of shattering in broken
glass: aside from the difference between nagtag and naksit, she reports that
there are the onomatopoeic terms alalsik, alalsak, and amisimisi. The
Pangasinan, she further notes, also makes distinctions between different ant
species: gilata, kanit, bayatsaw, ansit, asubok, and talakay. (I personally
only heard three.)
The variety of words for sounds is also particularly
striking, said poet and book author Santiago Villafania, and citing examples
would have a kilometric result. Terms for smelly or foul-smelling are also
particularly numerous. Synonyms that refer to violent actions also have equally
impressive breadth. (We have detailed all three earlier.)
A new finding from the field is that vulgar Pangasinan words
for malandi (Tagalog) or flirt (English) are a dime a dozen too, with magantil
being the most often used: ag makareen, aga makareen, aga mandeen ed abong,
anggatel, aterew, biga ya apaliberan, ansasabot, burikak, enteremis,
garampingat, gumarampingat, gumaraigi, gumarampam, gumarangandyang,
gumayanggan, hostes, innginew ed lukon, itagey to lay ikol to, kayang-kayang,
kumarigking, langoy-langoy ed danom, magali, maganon nalukonan, magantil,
magaryet, magaslaw, magatel, magayar, mantaladew, maibeg, makakaasawa la,
makiwit, manarastang, manariba no anggapoy bulog, manaringgotel, manbolangit,
mandyalteng, mangalaw, mangarakngak, mangarampang, mangaryet, mangeget,
mangirgir, mankanyang (kanyang means shiny or scintillating, I have found),
mankarastang, mankarekket, mankasta, mankulagtot, manlikliket ya maong,
manlugabya, manlugobya?, manmamaya, manpanta, mansalampiaw, mansalandet,
mansalawsaw, mansalokabkab, mansalti, kumatitiwa, singa kiti-kiti, agnasabaan
so liket to (this has a slightly different meaning, though, similar to
mandyalteng and gumarangandyang), mansarabalti, mansarampitiw, sumarampitiw?,
mansayandet, mansayet, mansugampi, mantalandew, mantalikarkar, mantorset,
mantursit, marursit, masagabpa?, matalibawbaw, matetew (tetew refers to
clitoris), ongagatel, paakar a bao, paarap, pakakak, pakangkang, pampam,
patakkok, sagsarit, sarsarit, singa ason mangkasta, singa orang ya kapan-akir
ed dayat, manlukso, singa pusa ya kinantaw, sumagigi, sumagilgil, sumaltiit,
sumarampiting, mansarampiting, sumayet, talampiaw/talampyaw, mantalampiyaw,
talandew, talandi, talandit, talawetew, tarewtew, tewatew, tolderesit?,
tumalandit, matalandit, mantalandit, mantulandit, tumarit-tit...
The unusual variation obviously points to the fact we
Pangasinenses scoff so much at a person (usually a woman) we consider to be an
ill-mannered flirt, coquettish, or generally indecorous because we value
propriety so badly, especially sexual propriety, no doubt due to our
Catholic/Christian upbringing.
Dirty and disorganized have colorful terms related to them:
marutak, maringot/maringdingot, amoringot, amoringis, atibatib, kandingot,
mannelnab, mandetdelpet, manpikat/manpikkat, dugyot, beryutak, atingapol,
amoyanggo (disheveled - used to describe the hair of someone who just got out
of bed), amosaga, asaganet, amurakday, atili-tili (hair that got entangled in a
messy way), makagi-kagit, mantataligabuan, asiwaklat, akitungilang, manuusilan,
magulo-gulo, makalat, mantatabugis, atakatak (scattered in a disorganized way).
Even though some native speakers themselves swear Pangasinan
sounds awful, on the level of linguistics, I personally find it beautiful in
terms of its variety, nuance, and precision, to say nothing yet about its
poetic, colorful, and oftentimes hilarious idioms.
Sources: Bayambang Culture Mapping Facebook page members,
Saray Taga Pangasinan Facebook page members
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