In earlier posts, we commented on poetry editing and punctuation, and grammar, spelling and poetry. In this post, I like to comment on the use of apostrophes.

When writing in the English language, we use apostrophes to:

- indicate possession (man’s car)

- indicate plural of lowercase letter and help avoid ambiguity (cross the t’s)

- indicate omitted letters in contracted words (don’t)

With the number of punctuation rules that we need to observe including apostrophes, even professional writers are sometimes confused and commit the same mistakes like many of us.

But that is for those who write in English. For those who write in Tagalog, we do not have the same problem in observing rules for apostrophes to indicate possession and plurality.

We don’t use apostrophes to indicate possession. We use the long form like: Ang oto ng mama (for man’s car or the car belonging to the man). We use words like akin, amin, kanila, kaniya, and other possessive pronouns to indicate possession.

We also don’t use apostrophes to indicate plurality of lowercase letters. We use mga to show the plural form of a word. Example: Ekesin ang mga letrang t (Cross all t’s).

The third use of apostrophes – to indicate omitted letters in contracted words – is very much applied when writing in Tagalog. Hardly would you find a sentence in Tagalog without contracted words. For example, we write kami’y for kami ay and ako’y for ako ay. And contraction of words is very much in use in poetry and lyrical compositions where syllables are metricated.

That is the theory anyway. But based on what we have seen in the recent times, it looks like this use of apostrophes is also being abandoned. I have seen the following contractions in a number of articles:

akoy, meaning ako’y (ako ay) ?
kamiy, meaning kami’y (kami ay) ?
silay, meaning sila’y (sila ay) ?
sayo, meaning sa’yo (sa iyo) ?
sanyo, meaning sa’nyo (sa inyo) ?
sakin, meaning sa’kin (sa akin) ?

Is this a result of text-ing? Have we been so used to dropping apostrophes in a 160-character restricted SMS setting that in the process we no longer know how to use apostrophes in non-SMS writings?

While others may argue that the purpose of writing is communication and that if contracted words, with or without apostrophes, are understood, then that’s okay.

Is it really okay? Let’s examine this sentence: “Nais kong mamatay.” A not-too-good example, I know.

Is kong a contraction of ko and ng or ko and ang? With the first usage, the sentence means: “I want to die already.” With the second usage, it means: “I want to die.”

Same contraction. Two different meanings.

Side note: If the intended meaning is the first one, then the two words should not be contracted in the first place. By contracting the two words into kong, the word could also mean “mine” — making the sentence more confusing, and even meaningless!

What do you think? Should we abandon the use of apostrophes when writing in Tagalog?

Source: A Matter of Sharing

Given the increasing popularity of Tagalog / Filipino not only in the blogosphere but even in real community life, I think we can now pursue the idea.

I did a quick search on Google and Yahoo just to make sure we are not replicating what is already available on the web, and here is what I found:

Wikipedia’s Palabaybayan ng Filipino – My comments: Although not directly relating to the subject, still it is a good reference for those who would like to know more about the Filipino language. The discussion like other Wikipedia pages is very scholarly.

Answers.com’s Wastong gamit ng ng at nang? - My comments: I find Answer’s Q&A on the subject reasonable, but may not be adequate to fully grasp the nuances of ‘ng’ and ‘nang’.

Yahoo Groups’ Re: Nang vs. Ng - My comments: The discussions and examples are limited.

I also found forums with threads on the subject, but I am not ready to recommend them. They are either fragmented or incomplete. Some are even confusing. As one would expect, the threads do not provide definitive, let alone authoritative, answers.

I emailed Ezzard R. Gilbang and Raul Funilas who I know are excellent resource persons on the subject as Ka Ezzard and Tata Raul are known in emanilapoetry’s writers circle for their poems mostly written in Tagalog.

I am very glad that they responded. I quote below their email responses. Thanks to them, I think we have now a handy reference page on the correct use of ‘ng’ an ‘nang’ – at least here in emanila.

Ka Ezzard’s
Wastong Gamit: Ng o Nang

Ang nang ay ginagamit na -

1. Kasingkahulugan ng noong

Halimbawa:
Nang kami’y bata pa, naglalaro kami habang umuulan.
Maliit ang pagtingin niya sa akin nang ako’y hindi niya lubusang nakikilala.

2. Kasingkahulugan ng upang

Halimbawa:
Magpakasipag tayong lahat, nang lahat tayo’y umunlad.
Kailangang maghandang mabuti, nang makapasa.

3. Kung pinagsamang na at ang o na at ng o ng na at na:

Halimbawa:
Labis nang paghihirap nito < Labis na ang paghihirap nito
Napariwara nang tuluyan < Napariwara na ng tuluyan
Tumigil ka nang manigarilyo < Tumigil ka na na manigarilyo

4. Kung nagsasaad ng paraan o sukat:

Halimbawa:
Lumakad man sila nang paluhod ay walang kabuluhan.
May anim nang talampakan ang kaniyang taas.

5. Kung pang-angkop ng pandiwang inuulit:

Halimbawa:
Nagsaya nang nagsaya ang lalaking haling.
Ang mga inanyayahan ay tumanggi nang tumanggi.

Ginagamit naman ang ng –

1. Kung sinusundan ng pangngalan :

Halimbawa:
Saan mang dako ng daigdig, may mga hidwaan.
Ang mga nanunugkulang ito ay produkto ng paaralan.

2. Kung sinusundan ng pang-uri:

Halimbawa:
Nagtataglay ng mapanghalinang mata ang babaeng iyon.
Nang makatulog ng mahimbing, nangyari ang insidente.

3. Kung sinusundan ng pamilang o pagkatapos ng mga pariralang pang-ukol na nagsasaad ng puwesto o lugar (loob, labas, kabila, gilid, dulo, palibot, atbp):

Halimbawa:
Maraming paksa ang tatalakayin, kumuha ka ng dalawa.
Sa palibot ng bulwagan ay naghihintay ang mga panauhin.

Tata Raul’s
Tamang Paggamit ng NANG at NG

(Halaw ni Tata Raul Funilas sa Filipino ng mga Filipino ni Virgilio S. Almario)

Ang NANG ay ginagamit kapag dini-describe kung paano ginawa o naganap ang isang bagay o pangyayari. Madalas, sina-sandwich ito bilang tagapag-ugnay sa pagitan ng isang verb (pandiwa) at adjective o adverb (pang-uri).

In other words, ganito: Verb + NANG + Adverb/Adjective

Halimbawa,
1. makatulog NANG mahimbing
2. tumawa NANG walang-pangingimi

Ang NANG ay ginagamit din bilang pantukoy sa isang sitwasyon, i.e. bilang katumbas ng WHEN sa Ingles.

Halimbawa,
1. NANG makatulog ang nanay ni Bing
2. NANG tumawa ang mga duwende

On the other hand, ang NG naman ay ginagamit bilang possessive modifier sa isang sentence.

Halimbawa,
1. Ang pisngi NG Macabebe
2. Ang siga NG Tondo

Ginagamit rin ang NG bilang pantukoy sa mismong object ng sentence.

As in ganito:
1. Binaha NG asupre
2. Nagnakaw NG puto

Subukin nating i-apply ang mga example sa itaas at ganito, halimbawa, ang kalalabasan:

1.

NANG tumawa ang mga duwende
NANG walang-pangingimi,
Binaha NG asupre
Ang pisngi NG Macabebe.

2.

NANG makatulog NANG mahimbing
Ang nanay ni Bing,
Nagnakaw NG puto
Ang kilabot NG Tondo.

Sa mga nais matuto, lima (5) lamang ang dapat tandaang tuntunin sa paggamit ng “nang.”

1. Kasingkahulugan ng “noong”.

Umaga nang barilin si Rizal.

Nang umagang iyon ay nagkasakit si Pedro

2. Kasingkahulugan ng ” upang” at ” para’.

Sa mga Espanyol, dapat barilin si Rizal nang matakot ang mga Pilipno

Dapat dalhin si Pedro sa ospital nang magamot.

3. Bilang pinagsamang “na” at “ng”.

Sa mga Filipino, sobra nang lupit ng mga Espanyol.

Sobra nang hirap ang inabot ni Pedro.

4. Nagsasabi ng paraan o sukat.

Binaril si Rizal nang patalikod.

Namayat nang todo si Pedro dahil sa hika.

5. Bilang pang-angkop ng inuulit na salita.

Barilin man nang barilin si Rizal ay hindi siya mamamatay.

Ginamot nang ginamot si Pedro para gumaling.

Do you see any differences between the responses of Ka Ezzard and Tata Raul?

What do you think of their “tutorials”? Will be happy to hear from you.

NOTE: This article first appeared on A Matter of Sharing blog.

We mentioned to all emanila.com members and users that our online translation service is not in Tagalog but in Filipino (Pilipino).

It has now become obvious from Mr Renato Perdon’s “The Making of a National Language” why it is so. While Tagalog is the basis of the development of Pilipino (now Filipino) in the 70s, the fact still remains that the latter is a language on its own. The two are distinct and different from each other.

Tagalog still remains Tagalog. Filipino (Pilipino) on the other hand consists of words integrated from the various Philippine dialects as well as from foreign languages.

For example, consider the following figures:

Based on Mr Perdon’s research, the official dictionary issued in 1991 by the Commission on Filipino Language had about 55% of the words integrated into Filipino coming from the major dialects in the Philippines, namely: Bicol (301 words), Cebuano (526 words), Hiligaynon (564 words), Ilocano (122 words), Kapampangan (51 words), Pangasinan (82 words), Old Tagalog / Tagalog (8,463 words), and Samar-Leyte (459 words).

There are also 328 Tausug words, 222 words from the Maranao dialect, 99 words from Maguindanao, 23 words from Samal, 16 words from the Tingian, 12 words from Isneg and another 12 words from Tagbanua.

On the influence of foreign languages, Mr Perdon has also reported that:

Spanish words account for 5,210 words followed by English (1,907), Chinese (232), Malay (176 words), Latin (70), French (46), Sanskrit (29), Arabic (28), German (25), Mexican (20), and Japanese (13).

There are also 7 words each from the Indonesian and Italian languages, 2 words each from the Argentinian, Australian, Hawaiian, Javanese and Swish languages. One word each came from Aztec, Czechoslovakian, Finish, Greek, India, and Russian languages.

Such is the vibrancy and dynamism of Filipino as a language. We will not be surprised if these days, the number of English words have increased. For how do you translate the contemporary words, especially those related to the Internet and other areas of information technology, in Filipino?

Has anyone started looking for the exact equivalent of the following common words: Internet, modem, web site, browser, email, upload, download, hyperlink, toolbar?

We will not be surprised to know that in Tagalog there are none! But in Filipino there are. The equivalent words are the native words — except that these are spelled in a manner that is distinctly Filipino! Example? Try web sayt for web site, brawser for browser, and tulbar for toolbar.

(This article was originally posted Dec 3, 2002 at emanila*plaza, emanila*pilipino)

Romy Cayabyab is the publisher of emanila.com