found this entry via MLQIII's blog. Nice observation!
You're right, it looks to be a Filipino neurosis, although I think the concept of "nagkakahiyaan" can be considered a combination of certain concepts in English ("embarrassment"+"extreme politeness/political correctness"+"shyness"+just a bit of an "absence of balls/spunk/gumption/what-have-you")
However, I'm guessing that even if Americans don't necessarily have that concept in their language, other languages and cultures might possibly share in that neurosis as well. The Chinese for example have a word really similar to that, even so far as being used in the same situations (last piece of food, MRT, cutting in line), at least inasmuch as it is used here in the Philippines by the Chinese-Filipinos. The word, in Fookien, is "päy sê". So much are they similar (at least in my opinion) that "di mang päy sê" is literally translated to "wag ka nang mahiya".
There is another word/concept that I have a hard time translating to English also, that is "pang-ilan". How do you directly translate the question "Pang-ilang presidente na si GMA?" into English?
Ah, the eternal puzzler, the evergreen translation mystery. I've long since wondered about that. Never could find a short, direct, satisfactory answer.
My favorite non-word solution is "how-manyeth." Heh.
You're right, it looks to be a Filipino neurosis, although I think the concept of "nagkakahiyaan" can be considered a combination of certain concepts in English ("embarrassment"+"extreme politeness/political correctness"+"shyness"+just a bit of an "absence of balls/spunk/gumption/what-have-you")
However, I'm guessing that even if Americans don't necessarily have that concept in their language, other languages and cultures might possibly share in that neurosis as well. The Chinese for example have a word really similar to that, even so far as being used in the same situations (last piece of food, MRT, cutting in line), at least inasmuch as it is used here in the Philippines by the Chinese-Filipinos. The word, in Fookien, is "päy sê". So much are they similar (at least in my opinion) that "di mang päy sê" is literally translated to "wag ka nang mahiya".
There is another word/concept that I have a hard time translating to English also, that is "pang-ilan". How do you directly translate the question "Pang-ilang presidente na si GMA?" into English?
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Ah, the eternal puzzler, the evergreen translation mystery. I've long since wondered about that. Never could find a short, direct, satisfactory answer.
My favorite non-word solution is "how-manyeth." Heh.
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