By Kriscell Largo Labor
Translation of text in the Philippines is as old as the Doctrina Christiana (1593), the first printed manuscript in the archipelago. The manuscript contained translations of Latin and Spanish Roman Catholic prayers in the Old Tagalog language, written in Roman alphabet and in Baybayin. What followed next were translations of different religious texts used by the Spanish to effectively colonize the country.
During the 18th century, translation took a different path from its usual religious and utilitarian use toward a secular purpose. It became the vehicle for the popularization of the awit at korido, the komedya at moro-moro. Western secular ideas and love for liberty had been slowly planted in the consciousness of the ilustrados and indios alike and had ripened to become the first revolution against colonial rule in Asia. Marcelo H. Del Pilar and Andres Bonifacio translated Rizal to introduce his ideas to more readers who speak and dream in Tagalog.
Literary translation continued during the American colonial period, albeit as an interest of the few literati. With the dawn of English as the language of the new colonizer, translation once again took another direction—this time not so much as a vehicle for a nationalist movement, but as a modernizing agent both in Philippine literature and culture. Translation during the American colonial rule had opened the Philippines to a wide range of possibilities and promises of the New World vital to the archipelago’s survival and relevance in the global field.
The centuries-old tradition of translation in the Philippines had been the task of very few private personalities and groups who had enough skills and resources. Translation had but a few organized activities in the country for it to be able to render itself as an important progressive force in the country. There are but a few Filipino translators because there are no jobs and demands for them.
These immeasurable problems and the historical importance of translation in the country are at the heart of the programs of Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF), the sole language agency of the Republic of the Philippines. Created by virtue of Republic Act 7104 of 1991, it replaced the then Surian ng Wikang Pambansa and the Linangan ng mga Wika sa Pilipinas. RA 7104 mandates the Komisyon to undertake national translation programs for Filipino and other Philippine languages.
Taking heed of the great task of the State in providing programs for the development and advancement of translation in the country, the current KWF administration employed a two-pronged approach to the translation program—on the one hand, the translation of foreign languages into Filipino and, on the other hand, the translation of the various Philippine native languages into Filipino.
KWF’s ongoing Aklat ng Bayan program of translating literary classics began as a vision of its current chair National Artist Virgilio S. Almario, coupled with his passion for good and affordable literature for the Filipino people. Filipino writers and translators from various backgrounds and genre were then enjoined to undertake the work, thereby producing translations with a kind of richness only Filipinos are able to create.
It is high time to correct the misconception that Filipino is jologs and pambakya. Because like any language of the world, it is a powerful force that makes understanding possible for the greater untapped human resources of the country. It makes possible the awakening of a great nation.
The program, now on its fourth year, has been able to produce translations that showcased the capabilities of the Filipino language as a language of the world and as a unifying force for the country. And with the attention and demand that Aklat ng Bayan receives from its readers from all over the Philippines, the prospect of translation in the country is promising.
Below are the reasons you should advocate Filipino translations along with must-read Aklat ng Bayan titles for educators and literati alike:
1. Translation transfers the knowledge contained in the languages of the world into Filipino.
Classical philosophy’s contribution to mankind had been translated into the major languages of the world, then and now. Translations of Plato and Aristotle were made in Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Chinese, Hindi, French, German, English, Japanese, Korean, and many others. In turn, these cultures were introduced to fundamental concepts of justice and the city-state. The classics of Plato and many others had become a vital part of their philosophical discourse, thereby enabling them to produce or strengthen their own philosophical tradition.
Filipino scholars and philosophers like Leonardo Mercado, Florentino Timbreza, Emerita Quito, and Roque Ferriols had produced a Filipino tradition of philosophy in the Philippines written either in Filipino or in English. On the other hand, the fundamental philosophy texts studied inside the classroom remained in English, depriving students and teachers the opportunity to deeply experience and understand philosophy in their own language.
A masterful rendering of the classic Plato and Aristotle into Filipino was spearheaded by Almario in Ang Republika ni Plato and Poetika ni Aristotle. The primus inter pares among poets and translators had seen to it that his translation of the classic philosophy texts would capture the richness and the intricacies of the Socratic Method, employed in the classic text in its pursuit of truth. The translation also envisions contributing to the intellectualization of the Filipino language in the discipline of philosophy. Take, for instance, the translator’s decision of equating concepts such as “existence” as “pag-iral,” “virtue” as “birtud,” etc.
2. Translation offers new perspectives and new experiences.
Translation introduces a reader to unknown perspectives and experiences. It has its ways of bringing far places and cultures close to home. It widens our understanding of the world and allows us to go beyond an America-centric paradigm.
Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali, considered his masterpiece and is said to be the reason for his Nobel Prize, was also translated into Filipino by Almario. The said poetry collection of India’s revered poet takes us through the intimate relation of a master poet and his God. Experiencing Tagore in the Filipino language, it is no surprise if one thinks Tagore—with his consuming love for his God—is also a true-blue Filipino. Amid songs of praises to God, Tagore’s poems take Filipino readers to the center of India’s centuries-old tradition and identity and take to heart his fight for India’s freedom from the British rule.
Another Nobel Prize winner, avant-garde poet Jaroslav Seifert is now being enjoyed by Filipino readers in the poetry anthology Sa Praga at Iba pang Tula. Seifert hails from Prague, Czech Republic, a beautiful nation still unknown to a great number of Filipinos. Seifert’s contribution to humanity has been through his sensual and liberating poetry. Reading Seifert in Filipino, it will not be hard for the Filipinos to baptize him as a kababayan. His playful and lighthearted verses edging in social critiques are easily identifiable with the Filipinos’ sense of irony. Through his poetry, Seifert enables the reader to go on a pilgrimage to his Czech’s history during the communist and Soviet Union rule.
Chinese literature is one of the hardest literatures to translate. Yet translating Chinese literature is one of the most rewarding translation tasks because of China’s rich literary tradition. Luckily for the Filipino language, it has multi-awarded translator Joaquin Sy to take on the challenge. Sy’s Ang Piping Balalaika at Iba pang Kuwento, a collection of short stories by Chinese modernist Ba Jin, allows the reader to understand aspects of the social and political upheaval of China.
3. Translation instills love of country, builds a nation.
In their pursuit of independence, Filipino intellectuals employed translation in instilling nationalism to fellow countrymen during the latter part of the Spanish colonization. Del Pilar’s classic translation Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Bayan of Rizal’s Amor Patrio and Bonifacio’s rendition Huling Paalam of Rizal’s Mi Ultimo Adios awakened the nation.
The bulk of our ilustrados’ Spanish texts from the Spanish colonial period has remained untranslated, its use and relevance have remained elusive to this day. For the Filipino people to better understand the potent force that ignited our forefather’s desire to be free, it is important to bridge the language barrier that hinders the modern Filipinos from fully remembering their glorious past.
KWF’s kicks off this initiative by translating Rizal’s Konseho ng mga Diyos at Sa May Ilog (Virgilio S. Almario) and Apolinario Mabini’s Ang Rebolusyong Filipino (by translator par excellence, Michael M. Coroza). The translation of Antonio Luna’s and Graciano Lopez Jaena’s political masterpieces, made possible by KWF’s Salin Na program, is also on its way.
4. Translation makes a better nation with a deeper understanding of its diverse cultures and values.
In a multilingual and multiethnic country like the Philippines, the issue of a national language is an ideological battlefield. But the existence of a national language is also a source of a nation’s strength. It makes understanding possible through a language closer to one’s own.
Seeing such strength, the KWF wasted no time bringing together scholars from different regions to publish and translate books representative of their language and culture, with the original text side-by-side with its Filipino translation.
On the program’s first year of implementation, Mëranaw and Cordillera literature was among the first to be produced—Sandor Abad’s Panitikang Mëranaw and Dr. Purificacion G. Delima’s Mga Kuwentong-Bayan ng Cordillera became bestsellers. The following years had seen an increase in the translation output of literature across the archipelago.
For Ilokano, Bannawag Magazine’s Ariel Tabag’s rendition of Don Calixtofano at Natakneng a Panagsalisal plays by Mena Pecson Crisologo; Junley Lazaga’s Dandaniw Ilokano: mga tulang Ilokano 1621-2014. For Kapampangan, Lucena Samson’s Bayung Sunis Poesias nang Zoilo Hilario.
For Bikol, Kristian Cordero’s An Satuyang Kakanon sa Aroaldaw, a collection of Bikol poetry. For Waray, Philip Harold Mercurio et al’s Mga Retrato han Akon Bungto at Iba pang Akda of Iluminado Lucente.
For West Visayan languages, John Iremil Teodoro’s Pagdakëp sang Ilahas and Pagdating sang Babaylan, anthology of West Visayan stories. Recent addition are for the Cebuano language, Walay Igsoon by Juan Irles Villagonzalo, considered to be the first Cebuano novel; and Apdo sa Kagul-anan by Angel Nemecio.
Said books are being distributed by KWF throughout the country in the hope of nurturing the citizens’ sense of nationhood.
The ultimate goal of the Aklat ng Bayan translation is to empower the greater number of the Filipino people. It is high time to correct the misconception that Filipino is jologs and pambakya. Because like any language of the world, it is a powerful force that makes understanding possible for the greater untapped human resources of the country. It makes possible the awakening of a great nation.
Sources:
Almario, Virgilio S, editor. Introduksiyon sa Pagsasalin. Manila: KWF, 2015.
Almario et al. Patnubay sa Pagsasalin, second edition. Manila: Anvil Publishing Inc., 2003.
Kriscell Largo Labor is a poet and a translator. She won third place in the Maningning Miclat Trilingual Poetry Competition.
This article was first published on the November 2017 issue of the Philippine Panorama.