Joseph's Republic

My experience in self-studying English (back in first year high school) serves as a mental yardstick today in studying Spanish. I was then able to break the barrier from functional illiteracy to active comprehension by a mere three months or so of intensive immersion. (Of course my exposure to Sesame Street English was a plus factor). What worked especially well for me was my translating English articles into Tagalog, and my maniacal deciphering of English text (of science-related reading materials) into an even more basic English.

Tagalog constructions can generally be made to follow English syntax. With a minimum of conjugational intricacies, the mystery of the English language soon enough was made plain to me. I was not sure if the same is true for me with Spanish. But with plenty of materials at the bookstore and over the Internet for my Spanish studies, I am now realizing that the language is just as easy if not easier.

My mother tongue, Tagalog, has been steadily hispanized for more than three centuries of Castilian conquest of the Philippines. Although it remains most distinctly Autronesian in sound and grammar, modern Tagalog’s lexicon has become latinized with about fifty percent direct borrowings from Castilian and a steady stream of indirect contemporary Latin borrowings through English. This means that, para mi, a study of Spanish lexicon is not a big burden.

Additionally Spanish pronunciation is so much easier than English because it almost feels like Tagalog. Now I understand why Spanish is not at all considered as a foreign language by Filipino academics.

Now my bigger struggle is retaining what I’ve learned. With my memory gap growing strong by the day, I might actually forget English after mastering Spanish. But that may not necessarily be too bad. Who knows it just night permanently cure me of mental fatigue and memory loss all in one sway.

For the last several months I was busy battling my writing fatigue, which has grown to fester me like the plague. In my unrelenting resolve to kill the inner beast I’ve fortuitously discovered a
“cure” that, well, seems to work for me. I’ve realized that my “writing fatigue” was really “language fatigue” in thin disguise, I was literally sick with the English language! I was so sick of it I couldn’t get myself to write any English prose except at work, and even then it always leaves me feeling exhausted.

I’ve made this discovery this after chancing upon an old copy of Balagtas’ Florante at Laura in my in-laws’ bookshelves, and upon reading it sporadically realizing how truly beautiful language could be. This inspired me to read on and read more Tagalog classics condensed in old textbooks, which heretofore serve nothing more than crude dust holders.

With my appetite whetted, I’ve come to a momentous decision, why not revive my study of the Spanish language? I was among the last few students who took 9 units of Spanish in college after the government decided to scrap it as a required subject. Of course I have nothing to show for it apart from the “tres” in my school records. I’ve decided that if I can learn English, I can learn any language I choose. I’m prone to making wrong decisions of course.

As for new language study as cure for my writing fatigue, well I theorized that perhaps, the part of my brain responsible for processing language has become too hardwired to English that it starts to “short-circuit” or “overheat”. By thinking in Tagalog and by learning to think in a totally different language maybe, just maybe, my language processor gets to relax, cool down and regains strength.

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