Thursday, April 06, 2006
Lost In Translation
Yesterday I asked Leigh via SMS: Nasa opis ka na ba? (Are you at the office already?)
Her exact reply: Day away ang mancom today! We’re in Rockwell!
The first thing that entered my mind was a panicked, Oh my god why is our Mancom fighting? This was immediately followed by a more puzzled, And why the hell are they fighting over at Rockwell, of all places?
As I was composing a reply to Leigh, it suddenly hit me: The Mancom is spending the day away from the office; their meeting is at Rockwell. I mistook her text message to mean: ‘Day (short for “Inday,” a term of endearment among gays), away (“to fight”) ang mancom today.
I went up to the only other openly out gay person in the agency and asked him, “Can you read Leigh’s text message?” He read the first sentence out loud slowly; he didn’t bother with the second sentence. Instead he gave me a worried look and asked, “Why are the Mancom fighting?”
“Bading ka nga,” I said.
Then I went up to a baklang babae in the office and asked her to read it. “Day (as in “Inday”), away ang Mancom today,” she read out loud then looked at me. “Yes, I know the Mancom will be away today.”
“You are truly a baklang babae,” I told her. She misread “day” but got the “away” right.
Lastly I went up to an art director and asked him to read the text message. He read it as “The Mancom is spending the day away from the office.” He looked at me and asked, “So?”
“You’re really straight,” I said.
Then I told him about the text message and the different readings I got from different people. He was amazed. He asked, “Have you tried it with other people in the office and see how they read the message? Maybe we can out someone.”
So now I have the Rorschach Test to Determine If One’s Gay or Not, thanks to Leigh’s text.
Her exact reply: Day away ang mancom today! We’re in Rockwell!
The first thing that entered my mind was a panicked, Oh my god why is our Mancom fighting? This was immediately followed by a more puzzled, And why the hell are they fighting over at Rockwell, of all places?
As I was composing a reply to Leigh, it suddenly hit me: The Mancom is spending the day away from the office; their meeting is at Rockwell. I mistook her text message to mean: ‘Day (short for “Inday,” a term of endearment among gays), away (“to fight”) ang mancom today.
I went up to the only other openly out gay person in the agency and asked him, “Can you read Leigh’s text message?” He read the first sentence out loud slowly; he didn’t bother with the second sentence. Instead he gave me a worried look and asked, “Why are the Mancom fighting?”
“Bading ka nga,” I said.
Then I went up to a baklang babae in the office and asked her to read it. “Day (as in “Inday”), away ang Mancom today,” she read out loud then looked at me. “Yes, I know the Mancom will be away today.”
“You are truly a baklang babae,” I told her. She misread “day” but got the “away” right.
Lastly I went up to an art director and asked him to read the text message. He read it as “The Mancom is spending the day away from the office.” He looked at me and asked, “So?”
“You’re really straight,” I said.
Then I told him about the text message and the different readings I got from different people. He was amazed. He asked, “Have you tried it with other people in the office and see how they read the message? Maybe we can out someone.”
So now I have the Rorschach Test to Determine If One’s Gay or Not, thanks to Leigh’s text.
# posted by joelmcvie : 11:25 AM
Comments:
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Yeah I read it as the mancom having a fight hahahahha then it dawned on me seconds later that they might be away for the day.
bading nga ako! wehehehe!
hey Norm's also reading your blog (more than mine, I think). He thought this post was very funny. ;-)
bading nga ako! wehehehe!
hey Norm's also reading your blog (more than mine, I think). He thought this post was very funny. ;-)
Paano kung unag basa ng first sentence is the Pinoy 'away', but the minute I saw 'Rockville', I understood the first sentence to be the English 'away'? Not bading, not straight---kinda lika a fag hag? :-D
Tzel
Tzel
# posted by 
: 1:16 AM
: 1:16 AM
Badtrip. Full Bading na nga ako. Inday nga ang basa ko sa first word at away sa second one.
Oh well, goodbye to my lesbian tendencies. Hahaha.
Oh well, goodbye to my lesbian tendencies. Hahaha.
oh. my. god.
I am more than a bading then... I read "today" as "ito 'day"... in tagalog..it meant...Day, away ang mancom ito day!, We're in Rockwell". As in double-inday kang tinawag!
Randy
I am more than a bading then... I read "today" as "ito 'day"... in tagalog..it meant...Day, away ang mancom ito day!, We're in Rockwell". As in double-inday kang tinawag!
Randy
# posted by : 5:44 PM
: 5:44 PM
Unahan na kita sa reply mo ha Joel...
C as in charot, charing, 'chos, chuvanes ek ek, chuk-chak chenelyn!
Happy Weekend!
Randy =)
C as in charot, charing, 'chos, chuvanes ek ek, chuk-chak chenelyn!
Happy Weekend!
Randy =)
# posted by : 6:01 PM
: 6:01 PM
Ako rin, when I read the text for the first time, I read it as "contraction of Inday" + "Tagalog word for fight". Tee hee.
Pero I am almost sure that if somebody straight had asked me to read that, I would have read it as “The Mancom is spending the day away from the office.”
So baka Rorshach test siya to determine if the reader is gay AND if the reader thinks you're gay. :)
Pero I am almost sure that if somebody straight had asked me to read that, I would have read it as “The Mancom is spending the day away from the office.”
So baka Rorshach test siya to determine if the reader is gay AND if the reader thinks you're gay. :)
FRIED-NEURONS: Actually you have a point. Everyone I asked knows that I'm gay, so it's possible they presume that Leigh was texting me in vhaklhur-speak.
Hi! The first time I read the text message I wasnt quite sure what it meant...I understand Tagalog (but I'm definitely not knowledgeable about gay slang terms) and I speak English practically the entire day (except when my dad calls me)...I guess I read it more like a straight person would read it...does this mean my gay card is getting revoked??? : )
By the way, I really like your blog. Keep posting and check out mine when you get the chance
www.erandomblah.blogspot.com
By the way, I really like your blog. Keep posting and check out mine when you get the chance
www.erandomblah.blogspot.com
ERNESTO: You're living in L.A. It's understandable if you don't read the gay slang and Tagalog. This test is culture-sensitive. Plus, one gay guy already failed the test. He says he's really bisexual; we think he's just confused. So maybe that explains why he failed the test.
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