That got your attention, didn't it? :D

To the people who have been reading my blog-- at least I hope there are some! -- I'm sorry I kind of stopped posting here. It was meant to be a Pinoy culture blog, and then stuff happened. Anyway, I hope to do better in the future... post more and all that stuff. So I've drawn up this semi-schedule of regular posts to make. Monday is for Word/s of the Week-- since I do speak at least four languages, I'll choose a word or series of words every week and post their equivalents in the four languages, and maybe discuss their differences from the viewpoint of a speaker of those languages. Tuesday is for Filipino songs-- thank you to everyone who's been reading those posts, and please do tell me if you have any requests. Wednesday is for translations and for Philippine literature. Thursday is for history and similar trivia. Friday is for  Pinoy culture-- those little quirks we have that distinguish us from the rest of the world. Saturday will be translations day, or maybe some alone time. Sunday will be for current events.


Since today is Monday, it's time for Word of the Week-- let's start with the universal favorite. Love. Let me just say, though, that I'm not a language expert or anything-- I just like to study words and languages and I'm always curious about etymology.

Love  (noun)a (1) : strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties
(2) : attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers
(3) : affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English lufu; akin to Old High German luba love, Old English lēof dear, Latin lubēre, libēre to please
First Known Use: before 12th century

Definition and etymology from Merriam Webster.


Tagalog / Filipino - Pag-ibig, pagmamahal. Also pagsinta.
Verb forms - Ibig, mahal, sinta.

The three are distinctly different from each other. Pagmamahal is the more general term; you can use it to refer to anything from affection for something to affection for family and friends to affection for a lover. Pag-ibig is the specific term used for love for a lover. Pagsinta is another, poetic term for pag-ibig, but it's love in the romantic sense, sweeter and more chaste, the love of a suitor or wooer for one being wooed. Other poetic terms you may find are irog and giliw--although giliw has the connotation of being something pleasing and likable. You might also encounter giliw used in that sense, "nakagiliwan" being something which has pleased you or which you find to your liking, in which case it would be similar to the Latin word.

Cebuano / Bisaya - Pagpangga, paghigugma
Verb forms (present tense) - Gipangga, gihigugma
Hiligaynon - Pagpalangga, paghigugma, pagkaluyag
Verb forms (present tense) - Palangga, hinigugma, naluyagan

I'll tackle both languages in the same way since the words basically are used the same way. Pagpangga and pagpalangga are similar to pagmamahal, and is used in the same way-- hence the prevalence of "pangga" and "langga" as nicknames between lovers, and "ga" as a common way of addressing one's friends. Also, a curious thing-- although you find "Love" as a nickname for girls throughout the archipelago, I have only rarely come across the nickname "Mahal" (Mahal the actress/entertainer comes to mind, yes) in Tagalog-speaking places. On the other hand, these are fairly common nicknames for girls where Hiligaynon is spoken: Ga-ga (pronounced differently, not the same as the curse word or the singer's name), Pangga, Langga, Langging, Angging, Gingging, Jingjing, and I once knew someone called Gaging. Paghigugma is often seen as similar to pag-ibig, although it would be more similar to sinta, used in the romantic sense. Pagkaluyag on the other hand refers to desire or something that you want very much.

I hope you enjoyed our little discussion on language. Till next week!