Some Filipino words just defy English translation. Whether it’s the romantic thrill of “kilig” or the context-dependent command “basta,” these words highlight gaps in the English language. In its latest update, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) acknowledges this gap by adding eleven Filipino words to its lexicon.
Among the new Filipino words added is “gigil,” which is defined as an “intense feeling caused by anger, eagerness, or the pleasure of seeing someone or something cute or adorable, typically physically manifested by the tight clenching of hands, gritting of the teeth, trembling of the body, or the pinching or squeezing of the person or thing causing this emotion” (Accurate!). Other notable additions include “kababayan” (“a fellow Filipino”), “sando” (“a vest”), and “terror” (“strict, harsh, demanding”), among others.
This isn’t the first time that the Oxford-born dictionary has added Filipino vocabulary to its pages. In 2015, the OED added 40 Filipino-coined words, including “high blood,” “halo-halo,” and “suki.” In its 2015 announcement on the update, the dictionary emphasized the innovation and legitimacy of Philippine English. “[T]he inclusion of some of these contributions to the Oxford English dictionary serves as a recognition of the role that its Filipino speakers play in the continuing evolution of the English language,” the OED stated.
Filipino Origins
Many Filipino words have snuck their way into English, so seamlessly that we use them without even thinking twice. The English word “boonies,” for example, first came from the Filipino word “bundok,” meaning “mountain.” During the Philippine-American War, American soldiers adapted the term into “boondocks,” shifting its literal meaning to describe any remote, rural area. Over time, it was further shortened to “boonies,” now a widely recognized term for the countryside.
The list of linguistic fun facts goes on: The playground refrain of “cooties” comes from “kutu,” meaning “parasite.” “Ylang-ylang,” the flower that gives so many perfumes its scent, comes from “ilang-ilang,” the Filipino word for the tree the flower grows on. The history of the word “yo-yo” can even be traced back to a Filipino businessman named Pedro Flores, who immigrated to the United States to start his own yo-yo manufacturing company.
There are a number of reasons why Filipino loanwords find their way into the English language. It can be from historical interactions or the influence of Filipino culture in English-speaking communities. However, the presence of Filipino words is just one example of how English has grown to include loanwords from hundreds of other languages. As both Filipino and English continue to evolve, these exchanges will further shape and diversify the way we communicate across cultures.
“Often, when we talk about untranslatable words, what we are actually talking about are the words that have been lexicalized in one language but not in others,” the OED stated in its announcement on its latest update. “For people who speak English alongside other languages, there is an easy way to fill such a lexical gap — simply borrowing the untranslatable word from another language.”
