Giving yourself the benefit of the doubt, you answer, “Si” on being asked if you speak Spanish.  The national language, after all, is peppered with Spanish words—ventana/bintana, mesa/mesa, pantalón/pantalon, ¿cómo está?/kumusta?, jugar/sugal, empezar/umpisa, rezar/dasal.  Even “basura” and “bobo” mean the same in both tongues. 

Nouns are easy, but verbs are tough. Pilipino just adds “ay kumakain” whether to ako, ikaw, siya, tayo, kayo, or sila (I, you, he/she, we, you-plural, or they).  However, Spanish has at least 16 different verb forms, plus progressive tenses and imperatives.

To be polite, we liberally sprinkle “po” in whatever we say.  Spaniards use “usted” rather than “tu” and make corresponding conjugation changes.  And would you have suspected that “I am here” is “estoy aqui” while “I am Filipino” is “soy Filipino.”

As if that were not enough, daily conversation requires any number of refranes (sayings) and idiomatic expressions.  To make “sip-sip” you would “hacerle la pelota a …” though you probably won’t say “pitoy moreno” (Er … would you believe, “brown birdie?”) too often.  Maria Concepción and Maria Consuelo might wish to pick a nickname other than “Maricón” which is an icky “marica,” I.e., your everyday lovable gay. 

Pinoy usage could cause confusion.  It seems that many words we assume are Spanish are actually of Mexican origin and that our local Español has remained unchanged since the last Governor General sailed back to Spain in 1898.

Anyway, you invite your Español visitor to “almusal,” i.e., a quick pan de sal at 6 a.m. and he thinks you’re having “almuerzo” which back home is a leisurely late lunch.  “Siempre” to the Spanish speaking world is “always” or “forever,” while it’s “of course” that you have in mind.  You mean “goodbye” or a casual “okay” when you say “sige,” not the command “follow” or “continue” that Spaniards understand by “sigue.”  Say “siguro” for “maybe” and your Latin friend thinks you said “sure.”

Apart from historical or literary reasons, many young people want to learn the language because they hope to study in Spain or Mexico, or work in or do business with the 20 countries with 400+ million hispano hablantes.  There are some 40,000 Pinoys in Spain alone and for stay-at-homes, call centers pay far more for Spanish speakers than they do for English speakers.

On their own, therefore, several thousand students are now enrolled at Manila’s Instituto Cervantes, taught by 17 professors – native Spanish speakers and otherwise (Filipinos and other nationalities, including a Pole) who majored in the language at Iberian universities like those at Salamanca, Valladolid or Alcalá.  More are no doubt learning via internet. 

Spanish was removed from college curricula in 1987 but in December 2007, President Arroyo declared that Spanish will again be taught in public schools.  So this school year, says Education Secretary Jesli Lapuz, 17 high schools will offer two (2) Spanish classes of 35 students each.  Nationwide, this adds up to a rather modest 1,190 students.  We have a long way to go.

Comments are cordially invited, addressed to walalang@mb.com.ph.