Duterte, "lost in translation" - Bobi Tiglao

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Bobby Tiglao of Manila Times could not have said it best; it’s a matter that was simply “lost in translation”, and I could not agree more. Here’s the transcript of what Tiglao wrote:

It seems plain to me that Duterte wasn’t calling Obama a “son of a whore” as nearly all foreign reports reported, for two reasons: 
First, it was prospective, that he would curse Obama in that planned forum if the US President raised the issue of judicial killings. It is not even clear if by “mumurahin kita,” he meant he would say “Putangina mo, Obama.” 
Second, and more importantly, this is a case of lost-in-translation. Duterte didn’t’ say “Putangina mo, Obama” as he did during the campaign when he clearly said “Putangina mo, Papa.” 
He simply prefaced his sentence with “Putangina,” which really translates, not into “son of a whore,” but is a stock exclamation of annoyance, with the meaning closer to “shit,” “fuck”, or the British “bollocks,” with which Americans or their Old World cousins habitually use to preface their sentences when agitated, even in the slightest way.

Full Manila Times article by Tiglao here!

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Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 7, 2016 at 9:36 AM

    Yes, what Duterte said was "lost in translation". But that's already a given. The media will use any opportunity to twist his words. He and his team should have known that. He keeps walking into the traps that these journalists set for him. He's not going to learn to be more careful with his words at his age, so it's better to just keep him away from journalists.

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  2. UnknownSeptember 7, 2016 at 10:48 AM

    Yes these ignorant Journos,and people from other countries who don't live here twist and change comments to suit themselves, if they relies how many languages there are here and how hard it is for even us expats who live here to understand as well . But anyway Obama sort your own bloody country out(highest Drug use in the world) before you give advice, plus gun laws out of control , crime.

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