Pampirpirawatan: Pangasinan Words for Dream

 Pampirpirawatan: Pangasinan Words for Dream

Among the loftiest Pangasinan words are words that revolve around the concept of dreaming.

In the olden days, you hardly heard these high-sounding terms being used by elders, except for two common words: ilalo (expect or trust) and kugip for dream (literally, like the Tagalog pananigip). That is because the other terms were often reserved for formal occasions.

We who now live in the present times no longer hear these words, except as high-sounding words in official local government anthems. They might as well be Latin words.

Now we are at a loss as to how to distinguish between and among these big, profound words, which otherwise would be lovely to see being used today.

To start off, piraoat (or pirawat), with its cognates pirpirawat and pampirpirawatan, is used to refer to a strong yearning, like for a much-desired object or someone beloved.

Gegemtan means aim.

Gagala means "do on purpose" (as a verb) or "purpose."

Pegdat or pekdat is also purpose or aim, and "sadyaing puntahan" or "to get to somewhere or go to someone on purpose" as a verbs.

Kalat also means goal.

Getma means "labay ya nagamuran, katon pibitla ya lanang" (gustong matamo, kaya't bukambibig), so it also roughly means goal, aim, objective, target.

Bunek is said to mean vision.

Piaet means ambition, wish, desire, hope.

Gunaet means dream, illusion, vision.

Tindek means aspiration.

Pilalek means ambition, wish, desire. Piogagep also means wish.

Tamitam means desire, urge, hope.

Not surprising, these words associated with hopes and dreams are closely used to refer to love. After all, we only dream the most for someone we love the most deeaply.

Pangasinan poet Santiago Villafania once noted that there are seven such terms often used for "love" in the lyrical Pangasinan language: 1. aro (love, admiration, attraction; also used to mean "friend"); 2. pabli (dear; pinabli, beloved; pablien, give due respect); 3. piaet (ambition, wish, desire, hope); 4. gunaet (dream, illusion, vision); 5. tindek (aspiration); 6. pilalek (ambition, wish, desire); and 7. tamitam (desire, urge, hope).

To the uninitiated, it is easy to get lost and confused amidst these tag cloud of lofty terms, but this only reflects not just how rich the language is, but also how poetic, profuse, and profound Pangasinenses express their feelings for their beloved and their hopes and dreams for the future.