light translated

Light.

The opponent of the Dark, the Good, the opposite. It is hard to think of light--or appreciate it--without the looming, oft described as repressive, Dark. Yet for all it stood for, in English there is only one word used, whether figuratively or literally--only Light, electric or not.


Ilaw/Liwanag.

Yet here in Filipino we have two words we associate with Light--Ilaw, commonly used as the literal light ("Paki-buksan naman yung ilaw") and Liwanag, more used in the figurative sense and ad campaigns ("Liwanag sa Dilim"; "May Liwanag ang Buhay"). The choice of translation, of course, changes with the context. One does not say "Paki-buksan naman yung liwanag"--one sticks with Ilaw, the real, visible one; using Liwanag sounds so wrong and out of place. Ilaw is also easier to spell and pronounce--perfect for everyday conversation.

Which leads me to think on how the Filipino thinks in relation to what is real (the material/literal), and what is not (the figurative). There has been a need to put a dividing line between what is real and what is not, between the literal and the figurative.

Probably because sometimes, we are often encouraged to "get real".

To paraphrase Virgilio Almario in "Pilipinas ang Ating Haraya", we have forgotten how to dream, our literature always dwelling on the struggles of our people. Nothing wrong with that, but as the essay reminds us, we need to laugh and dream once in a while. Or for a much more recent quote, Neil Gaiman's reason for sponsoring the Philippine Graphic and Fiction awards had said that the Philippines had a strong literary streak, but in realism and not in unrealism.

Streching it a bit further, how many of us have been told to get real and pursue careers that would earn us real money in th so-called real world? A lot, probably, like those who take up nursing for the promise of working abroad, or the English majors that have been told their only future job will be underpaid and overworked teachers.

In getting real, the figurative--the dream--died.

Besides, who wants a longer word just for Light when you're just going to ask somebody to turn it on anyway? After all, we Filipinos have a sometimes tragic penchant for getting everything quick--from sari-sari and convenience stores to getting rich quick schemes like lotto, jueteng, and pyramid scams.

With all the realism, Ilaw arose, Liwanag confined to the dusty shelves of libraries. To survive, Liwanag is now the adjective, not entirely necessary (after all the most basic sentences are just nouns and verbs). It is in that adjective maliwanag, seen in the everyday speech, that the figurative lives on; as in figurative speech is used to describe and flatter, so is the adjective.

And maybe like the adjective, we and our dreams may survive, only albeit with a little compromise and a little change along the way.