How the pandemic is shaping language��

By Patricia B. Mirasol����

Pandemic-related words kept in their original English form are now a part of the Filipino language, according to����(Komisyon��sa��Wikang��Filipino��or KWF). The commission also acknowledged that mobilizing people necessitated getting messages across in a language they understand.����

“We, the KWF, and other government agencies, initially struggled with words such as ‘PUI’ [person under investigation], ‘frontliner,’ and ‘physical distancing,’” said John Enrico C. Torralba, chief language researcher of KWF’s translation division. “There are no indigenous equivalents for them,” he told������ý��in the vernacular, “so they were retained in their original form.”����

Citing Bicol poet and cultural advocate��, Mr. Torralba said many individuals who have translated����into their local languages practiced keeping these technical terms as well.����

Institutions like the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have similarly retained����in its Filipino-translated resources.����

“Medical practitioners, language scholars, and translators need to work together to translate ideas into their respective languages,” said Mr. Torralba, adding that the KWF is developing a registry of technical word translations and building a network of translators. “They also need to be open to modifying translations that aren’t understood by the target audience.”������

Public understanding of a concept is an important factor for mobilizing individuals to follow official policy, such as evacuating during a storm.��

This need was highlighted during 2013’s super Typhoon Haiyan, Mr. Torralba told������ý: “A local citizen said he didn’t understand what a ‘storm surge’ meant. Had the authorities used the word��daluyong, he would’ve immediately understood what to do.”����

Communicating in international lingua��francas��or national languages makes marginalized people more vulnerable,��.����

“People need to be more careful [about translations] because people’s lives are at stake,” Mr. Torralba said.������

SIDEBAR |��Living languages��
KWF’s��Buwan ng Wika��(or Language Month) theme for 2021 is “.” The theme promotes the use of native languages to better reflect Filipino perspectives. It is in line with����(2021 QCP), which commemorates significant events over the nation’s past 500 years.������

According to language resource��Ethnologue, there are����spoken in the Philippines, the majority of which are indigenous tongues. The most utilized languages — according to their order of use — are Tagalog, Cebuano, Pangasinan, Bicol, Hiligaynon, Waray, Kapampangan, Maranao, and Maguindanao, said Patrocinio V. Villafuerte, a poet, author, and retired professor,��.����

, which created the KWF, refers to Philippine languages as “the indigenous languages of the Philippines, including the national language and the regional and local languages.”������