“TWILIGHT” FILIPINO/TAGALOG VERSION: SOMETHING TO SINK YOUR TEETH INTO?

RATING GUIDE:

 

5 – A keeper!   

4 – Very good

3 –  Passable

2 –  I’d rather read a telephone book

1 – An absolute bomb.  Read at your own risk!

Here’s a question I’d like to ask my fellow Filipino bibliophiles:  When was the last time you read a book?  Here’s another question:  When was the last time you read a book IN TAGALOG? 

If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably say that the last time you read a book in Tagalog was way, way, WAY back in high school or college and you had to read Florante At Laura, or Noli Me Tangere and El Filbusterismo as part of a school requirement.  Or  maybe you’ll say that you often read books in Tagalog, only they’re either the Tagalog version of the Bible, or cookbooks, romance novels, or children’s books.  But have you ever read a big, thick, heavy-in-your-hand book that has been written in Tagalog lately?

Well, I got to read one lately … only not in the form you’d normally expect.  It’s the Tagalog translation of Twilight, Stephenie Meyers’ best-selling novel that has been translated into at least thirty-eight languages  (Well, at least, that’s what the Google article said.  So, I guess, the Tagalog/Filipino version makes it the thirty-ninth?).

I have to admit that I’m not exactly into vampire novels, but I got very curious about this Tagalog translation, so I got the English and Tagalog versions of Twilight and read them both.

What surprised me was, the Tagalog version was actually quite easy to read.  For some reason, I finished reading it in much less time. I guess there really is something to be said about reading something in your own language.  (Could it be that it takes less time for the words to reach your brain?)  

While I can’t claim to be an expert (I just like books, period!), overall, the Tagalog translation was a fairly accurate version of the English original.  I did enjoy reading it, even though there were a number of words that were a little too heavy for me, and when I say “heavy,” I mean, have your Tagalog dictionary by your side. 

In terms of voice and style, the translated Twilight is a little rocky at times, a little choppy, a little awkward.  It’s like Edward saying a word as commonplace as “ninenok,” or Bella going “bongga” in the middle of a sea of very lyrical Tagalog words.  It could be a little jarring at times. 

But before you diss the translation, think about the translator’s job for a moment.  I can almost imagine the translator saying, “Just let me write this book MY OWN WAY!” But of course, that’s not possible, because the translator has to (1) Make sure the translation is as accurate and as close as possible to the original; (2) Come up with a popular and appealing translation that doesn’t sound like it came straight out of a balagtasan; and (3) Match the voice and writing style of the original author 

I wouldn’t be surprised if the translator wanted to pull her own hair out as she was translating this very thick bestseller.

While the Tagalog translation of Twilight probably won’t make it into the history books the way Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere or El Filibusterismo has, it still serves a very important purpose.  At a time when Filipinos have very weak spending power, very limited access to reading material, and dwindling interest in reading in general, a reasonably priced, popular book that has been translated in the vernacular --- just like Twilight in Filipino --- is a good, practical step in encouraging the average Filipino to rekindle his love affair with books. 

I don’t know about you, but I would like to read more books in our language, and I don’t really mind whether these books are translations or originals.  It would be a great day for books when I can enter a local bookstore and find many, many books that have been written by Filipinos on the shelves and find AT LEAST one or two Filipino authors in the Bestsellers List.   Maybe we’ll even have our own equivalent of Stephenie Meyers or J.K. Rowling someday.  As they say, Mangarap na rin lang, taasan na.  I definitely believe that time will come, given the right support for our local publishers and writers.

RATING:  3