WHEN A TRANSLATION BECOMES A NEW MAXIM
Many social media quotes are translated word for word. I wanted to ask a different question:
What would this thought sound like if it had first been conceived by a Boie’nen speaker?
The original English quote says that every passing day is not one more day, but one less.
Rather than preserving that arithmetic metaphor, the Boie’nen rendering expresses the same insight through concepts that arise naturally from our own language:
Sagked nga mate’ran ta na ana kada ba’gong aldaw di’ nakakala’wig sa sa’te a boway, kindi’ nakakaali’pot, nya saka ta sana poon ta’wan orog a tagem ag langan ana mga kasaradayan a bagaybagay sa boway ta.
Instead of counting days, Boie’nen speaks of life itself:
* di’ nakakala’wig — life is no longer being lengthened.
* nakakaali’pot — life is gradually being shortened.
* ta’wan orog a tagem — give greater weight or importance.
* langan ana mga kasaradayan a bagaybagay — cherish the little things that make life meaningful.
This is not merely translation. It is conceptual adaptation.
The result is a maxim that sounds as though it belongs naturally within the Boie’nen worldview rather than being borrowed from another language.
To me, this is also a small exercise in epistemic justice.
For generations, many Indigenous and minority Philippine languages have been viewed primarily as languages for everyday conversation, while philosophy and abstract reflection were expected to come from larger or colonial languages. Yet every language possesses its own metaphors, its own ways of organizing thought, and its own capacity to express profound human experience.
When we allow Boie’nen to speak in its own voice—instead of forcing it to imitate English—we affirm that our language is not merely something to preserve as cultural heritage. It is a living medium for knowledge, reflection, creativity, and wisdom.
Languages deserve not only to be spoken.
They deserve to be trusted as ways of knowing.
Original inspiration: Facebook post shared by Stephen Andrew (acknowledged as the source of the English quotation).
Boie’nen rendering, interpretation, and linguistic commentary: © Alfonso T. Claveria
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