By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

 

IN celebration of Pangasinan’s Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa 2024 (Filipino: Wikang Mapagpalaya) a flyer of “Manjalteng” was sent to me with two important questions:

Is it something necessary for the promotion of the Pangasinan language?

Is it necessary and appropriate for culture education?

According to this flyer, “Manjalteng” means maharot in Filipino, flirty in English.

My first reaction was to establish the existence of the word, so I leafed through the oldest dictionary of the Pangasinan language written by Lorenzo Fernandez Cosgaya ( https://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/philamer/AQL8785.0001.001?view=toc ). There is no such word. Cosgaya does not have a word under letter J. Next, I went over Cuadro Paleografico de Las Islas Filipinas as compiled by Don Pedro Alejandro Paterno. (See image in  https://mandirigma.org/?p=423 ) . No letter J in that source also.

Second was to ask Elvira Bautos Estravo, who took up extensive studies in languages and a former government official of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF), who said:

“We have no J in Pangasinan language. That “manjalteng” word should not have J. We should focus on Pangasinan Lingua franca. Archaic Pangasinan is okay with me. A dictionary including those terms must be done so we include words that may have been in existence then, or new words derived from Pangasinan words that are being used but are not in legitimate sources or being used with different connotations. Pangasinan is a living language and we should adapt with the changing world technologies. If we stick to pure Pangasinan, our language will die. There is no such thing as a pure language. Tagalog, for example. There are differences in Tagalog-speaking towns, but the ones being propagated are those that are being used in industry and commerce. Lingua franca is being used, although the variations in the language in far-away Tagalog towns may still be used. Tagalog variations may still be used in informal communication or in literary works. ”

A lingua franca (“a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language”) is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups of people who do not share a native language or dialect, particularly when it is a third language that is distinct from both of the speakers’ native languages.” It developed in human history around the world to make understanding possible, mainly for transaction of trade, “but also for cultural, religious, diplomatic and administrative convenience, and as a means of exchanging information between scientists and other scholars of different nationalities.”

 Historian Arabela Ventenilla Arcinue clarified “I only know that J in Pangasinan is spelled “dya” like “oadya”. The first time I heard the word “manjalteng” was in the early 1980s when my 6th grade son and cousins were talking about a girl classmate who they described as “manjalteng”; but from their stories, I would rather call her “magantil”.

Back to the first two questions. In addition to these two questions, how will “Manjalteng” advance Pangasinan culture and identity? How will it achieve its lofty goal of “wikang mapagpalaya”, a language which intends to free the innate potential of the province (land, people and language) in terms of trade, culture, spirituality, and development?

Manjalteng (Flirty) is not indicative of Pangasinan’s identity. Our fascination for words should never suffocate the bravery and gentleness of the Pangasinan soul.

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