May isang lalaking nilapitan ng isang bata. Ayon sa bata, siya ay nawawala. Ngayon, para matunton ng lalaki ang tirahan ng bata, tinanong niya ito.
"Bata, sino ang nanay mo?" tanong ng lalaki.
"Bruha po," sagot ng bata.
Nagulat man ang lalaki sa tinuran ng bata, nagpatuloy siya sa pagtatanong, "Eh sino naman ang tatay mo?:" tanong niya ulit sa bata.
"Demonyo po," sagot ng bata.
Bagama't may natutunugan, nagbakasakali na itanong na rin niya ang pangalan ng lola niya, "Ano naman ang pangalan ng lola mo?"
"Satanas po."
"Eh ikaw, bata, ano namang pangalan mo?"
"Diablo po."
[It's not clear how the poor man found the kid's home so we would skip that part here]
Habang papalapit sa bahay na naituro ng mga kapitbahay kung saan nakatira diumano ang bata, di sinasadyang marinig nila ang pagtatalo ng mag-asawa.
Wika ng lalaki, "Hoy, magaling na babae! Saan ka na naman nanggaling? Tama si Inang, bruha ka nga! Inuuna mo pa ang pangangapit-bahay kaysa ang alagaan kami ng anak mong diablo!"
Sumagot ang babae, "Ah ganon? Bruha ako? Kaysa naman sa yo, demonyo ka, na inuuna pa ang pag-inom sa kanto kaysa magtrabaho. Magsama kayo ng nanay mong si Satanas!"
At doon naging malinaw ang lahat sa pobreng lalaki.
- lalaking nilapitan = the word "nilapitan" is a verb, in this phrase, the word "lalaki" answers the question "Ano/Sino ang nilapitan?" (Who was approached?). In the sentence, "nilapitan" is like an adjective since it describes what happened to the man (lalaki). The descriptive aspect makes it subject to the use of the suffix "-ng". You can flip that phrase over from "lalaking nilapitan" to "nilapitang lalaki" since in the featured sentence, the focus of the sentence is what the kid (bata) did at the beginning of the story.
- isang bata = the number "isa" is technically an adjective and in Tagalog grammar, it's usually before the noun being described just like in English. Now adjectives usually get attached with the suffix "-ng" whenever the adjective ends in a vowel just like in "isa". So instead of "isa bata" (which sounds like Tagalog caveman speak for natives), you write and speak it as "isang bata"
- nawawala = the root word of "nawawala" is "wala" which means "nothing" in English. "Nawawala" means missing. It can mean an object or in the featured story that we have, a person.
- matunton ng lalaki = "matunton" means found. "ng" (pronounced as "nang"), in this sentence means "by". So the phrase "matunton ng lalaki" means "found by the man". There is no need to insert the article "ang" between "ng" and "lalaki" because "ng" already connects "matunton" with "lalaki" so the phrase "matunton ng lalaki" already states in a correct way the thought
- sino ang nanay mo = "sino" means "who", a question commonly asked when looking for a person. "Nanay" is one of the variations for "ina" which means mother. .
- bruha = a derivative of the Spanish word "bruja" but often used as a derogatory word or an insult. The word "bruha" is usually seen in social media when referring to some hated folks without the need to tag or mention them.
- sino naman ang tatay mo = "Naman" is usually inserted in a sentence whenever it serves as a follow-up question in relation to the previous question like "Sino ang nanay mo?". It's like when you ask "Who's your mother?" it's like continuing with the asking routine with "Who's you father?" Although "naman" has a tendency to serve as occasional filler in Tagalog sentences, once you understand the concept of this word being used as supplement for previous sentences mentioned, you eventually learn how "naman" gets used in various sentences
- demonyo = another Spanish word derivative, it's usually a word thrown against men since "bruha" is the gender-correct insult for women (talk about being politically correct and learning the rules of war between genders)
- bagama't may natutunugan = the apostrophe sighting in Tagalog phrases usually meant some abbreviated phrases (similar to French liaisons except easier). the connected words are "bagaman" (which means "while" in this sentence) and "at" (and), although in this sentence I just realized that "at" became some sort of extender, some conversations still end up getting expressed this way. "May natutunugan"has the root word "tunog" to use as basis for. "Tunog" means sound or something you hear. In the Filipino context, it can also refer to something that you sense like in this feature story that we have. The man can sense something wrong but went on with his line of questioning hence the sentence "Bagama't may natutunugan, nagbakasakali na itanong na rin niya" and then continuing with another question.
- nagbakasakali na itanong = :Nagbakasakali" means hesitated. It's like a variation of the phrase "baka sakali" which means "it might". It slightly exposed the Filipino tendency to doubt whatever plan they have in mind but still pushing through with it. Non-Filipinos tend to call it lack of confidence. And like I mentioned before, the word "na" in similar fashion with suffixes "-ng" and "-g" is often used as accompaniment with adjectives or adverbs. The verb in this phrase is "itanong" which means "ask". "Nagbakasakali" ended up looking like an adverb in this phrase because it tends to describe how the succeeding question got asked but instead of writing it as "nagbakasakali itanong", the better way to write it will be "nagbakasakali na itanong".
- ano naman ang pangalan ng lola mo = "Ano" means what or a question that you throw in whenever an object is asked of. In this sentence, because the man is getting frustrated with the kid's answers to his previous questions, he then adjusted his line of question hoping that an answer favorable to his expectations to how a proper polite young boy should conduct himself. "Naman" ended up sounding like another extender but in connection to the previous questions meaning you are asking for a name but of a different person. Instead of "sino" though, the word "ano" is used in order to stress the point that he is asking for a name, not some label or description of a person. "Ano naman ang pangalan" becomes the appropriate question instead of "Sino naman ang pangalan" because if you translate that question, it would end up sounding like "Who is the name", grammatically correct in either languages. "Pangalan ng lola mo" means "Name of your grandmother" instead that the possessive pronoun "mo" is used instead of "iyo" since this formula is more conversational.
- satanas = regardless of the religion of the people saying this, we can easily surmise that it's another Spanish derivative word which is Satan in English.
- ano namang pangalan mo = this means "What is your name". Now I highlighted this because we see another sighting of the suffix "-g". Since some grammatical rules occasionally classify possessive pronouns under possessive adjectives, it is safe to say in this usage, it got used for identifying the ownership being asked in the line of questioning to the kid. Since "naman" ends in the letter "N", instead of attaching the suffix "-ng", attaching "-g" is fine since the letter "N" is already part of the word being used as an adjective.
- diablo = not sure why the featured vocabulary words that meant the harshest are Spanish derivatives. but anyway, "diablo" is a variation of the word "demon". Later as you go further in the story, you'd see the connection between "diablo" and "demonyo"
- habang papalapit = "Habang" means while. In this phrase, it got used as an adverb too since it refers to the word "papalapit". The root word of "papalapit" is "lapit" which means to come close. So when you put "habang" and "papalapit" into a phrase, the compound translation becomes "while getting close.
- kapitbahay = "Kapit" means to stick or, in this sentence, to be very close. "Bahay" means house. When put together as a compound word (not 2 words separated by a hyphen), it becomes "neighbor" which makes sense since the people living in the same community as yours live in houses that are close to yours
- nakatira diumano = I suddenly realized I can't tell which is the verb and which is the adverb. I guess that comes with the fact that I am writing a rephrased story. Anyway, "nakatira" means living. In this story, it referred to the house that the kid allegedly lived which brings us to the word "diumano". The root word is "umano" which Google weirdly translated as "said". I find that weird because "umano" is commonly associated with things that are allegedly said. This might be the reason why some native speakers would rather use the word "diumano" since second-hand information is not guaranteed correct.
- di sinasadyang marinig = in connection to the previous phrase "di" is the abbreviated form of the word "hindi" which means no. Now whenever this gets used in a sentence that expresses something that is not supposed to be there or not supposed to happen, it doesn't get translated in other languages literally as not. "Di sinasadya" as a phrase then becomes "unintentionally". Now "marinig" means heard, a verb written here that comes with the adverb "di sinasadya". So in the course of describing the incident of getting something heard, instead of writing it as "di sinasadya marinig", you write it down or say it as "di sinasadyang marinig".
- ang pagtatalo ng mag-asawa = "Pagtatalo" is from the root word "talo" meaning loser. Now if the word "talo" gets used in Tagalog as an event or incident, it becomes "pagtatalo", a quarrel or argument just like the quarrel described in this story. "Pagtatalo" becomes applicable in sentences like these because both parties want the other to lose. "Ng" in this phrase is used in similar fashion to "or" in English since it answers the question "Who are quarreling?" "Ang pagtatalo ng mag-asawa" then gets translated into "The quarrel of the couple".
- Saan ka na naman nanggaling? = "Saan" is a question asked whenever you're trying to know a place. In this sentence, the word "naman" is used implying that this is not the first time that the person asked this question. "Naman" also becomes an implied expression of being annoyed or irritated since it gives you the perception that the person always asks this to the same person several times already that it has become a bore or a chore to him. So a simple question "Saan ka nanggaling?" changes its context all of a sudden when changed into "Saan ka na naman nanggaling?"As you see, although "ka" end in a vowel, it did not get connected with the suffix "-ng"because expressions of exhaustion or being sick and tired can cause a few filler words to be inserted within a sentence. When some folks get angry (regardless of language), being articulate is the least of their concerns anyway so perhaps we can let that slip occasionally
- inang = this is another variation of the word "Ina" or "Nanay" which means "Mother". But it's not that often used anymore unless you live in remote villages that spoke deep Tagalog
- pangangapit-bahay = If "kapitbahay" means neighbor, "pangangapit-bahay" means dropping by your neighbors. Technically it's not a bad thing then again the intention of dropping by your neighbor's house becomes the issue. The term "pangangapit-bahay" earned a negative connotation because some women do this to "chismis" (gossip). Instead of being productive at home, much time is wasted on "chismis" and it really grates on the nerves of some men about their wives
- kaysa naman sa yo = "Kaysa" is a word usually associated with comparisons since it can mean either "compared to" or "than". In this phrase "kaysa naman sa iyo", the person speaking is trying to justify something by comparing one's self to the person she is talking to. In our story, the wife is trying to justify her "pangangapit-bahay" stating that compared to her husband, what she is doing is not that bad (bad attitude to exude in life, whatever language you speak)
- pobreng lalaki = "Pobre" is a Spanish derivative word which means "poor". In English, being poor doesn't always mean being financially down just like in the expression "Oh you poor little thing!" In our story, the man felt poorly about himself and the kid too, ending our featured story on a sad note because he wasn't able to do much other than help the kid find his way back home.