Language

This month, which is dedicated to our national language, I happened to read the 2008 book by Malcolm Gladwell, “Outliers – The Story of Success.”

Gladwell is also the author of the international bestsellers “The Tipping Point” and “Blink.”

Among others, “Outliers” argues that success is a product not just of natural talent but also of being at the right place at the right time (including being born in a certain generation and even a particular quarter of the year), of being able to see and seize opportunities in an enabling environment. Even “geniuses” put in a lot of hard work, Gladwell argues – at least 10,000 hours of working to bring out the best in whatever they do. If you’re a musician, for example, that means working on your instrument, or your voice, for at least four hours every day for nearly seven years, or three hours a day for over nine years.

Or put simply, practice makes perfect, especially when combined with some natural talent.

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What I found more intriguing were his theories on language. Gladwell links language to culture and attitudes, and even capabilities. I’m sure there are people who disagree with him and dismiss his arguments as simplistic, but his ideas are provocative.

Among his points: Chinese, or native Chinese speakers, are good at math (and on average better than other ethnic groups such as English-speaking Caucasians, for example) because their language makes counting and mathematical equations simple.

I know how to count in Hokkien, but only up to 10; each number is just one syllable. Being a hilaw na Tsinoy, I had to ask our native Hokkien speaker (who needed to study Mandarin) about Gladwell’s theory. She’s not sure if Chinese are better at math, but yes, she said, the Chinese words for numbers and mathematical equations are short, simple and easy even for children to learn.

If you’re familiar with the word, it should be easier to grasp the concept. In the Filipino language, speaking and thinking in mathematical terms can be complicated.

To illustrate, try asking in Filipino/Tagalog: what’s 587 divided by 34? Ano ang limang daan at walongpu’t pito na hinati sa tatlumpu’t apat?

The answer: about 17.26. In Filipino: humigit-kulang na labimpito punto dalawampu’t anim.

I also realized that despite being knowledgeable about formal or classical or “deep” Filipino, thanks to my more than 10,000 hours of reading illustrated Pinoy komiks, I couldn’t for the life of me think of the Filipino words for fractions, starting with the most basic that I use for cooking: one-fourth, three-fourths, one third, two-thirds.

Through Google translate, I got these, respectively: Isang-ikaapat, tatlong-ikaapat, isang-katlo, dalawang-ikatlo.

Now be honest: how many of us Pinoys ever use those words? If the brain moves faster than the words, you will drop the language.

I’ve encountered people from the rural areas who did not finish high school or even grade school, who were slow in picking up the concepts of volumes for cooking: how many one-fourths or one-thirds make up a cup, and how many tablespoons make up a cup if one-fourth consists of four tablespoons. I wondered if this had anything to do with the language.

Again I asked our resident Chinese if there are precise Hokkien words for fractions. Yes, she said.

In our English language newspaper, a common mistake is using “she” or “her” when referring to a man, or vice versa. I’ve always suspected that this is due to the fact that Tagalog is gender-neutral. We have no words for he, she, her, him, his and hers. It’s just siya (he, she, him or her) or kanya (his or hers).

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In our public schools, Tagalog or whatever is the local dialect (native tongue) is used as the medium of instruction in the early years of basic education, when the human brain is said to be most receptive to learning languages. Kids can get a head start if their first language covers a wide range of concepts, making complex subjects such as math and the sciences simple and easier to understand.

Do you know that the Filipino word for email is sulatroniko? Really. No wonder kids these days think studying Filipino is like learning a foreign language. Even those of us who grew up reading “Hiwaga,” “Liwayway” and “Espesyal” komiks understood but did not use datapwat, subalit or ngunit either in writing or ordinary conversation.

Perhaps linguistic experts can sit down and simplify words where applicable and expand the Filipino vocabulary. Language is dynamic and we should be ready to adopt words and concepts from others such as English. I know that this is being done to a certain extent. We did this with Spanish, Sanskrit and yes, Chinese (although we didn’t adopt the Chinese math words). Tagalog has its roots in Indonesian Bahasa. We must have a local word that is as simple as possible to pronounce and write for every object, idea or concept.

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Gladwell highlights another controversial idea related to language: he links it to Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede’s work on cultural differences, summed up in the so-called Hofstede’s Dimensions.

Among the dimensions is the “Power Distance Index” or PDI, which refers to attitudes toward hierarchy and authority. To give you a better idea, the five countries with the lowest PDI (from the lowest) are New Zealand followed by Australia, South Africa, Ireland and the US.

Those with the highest (from the top) are Brazil, South Korea, Morocco, Mexico and the Philippines. Pilots from Brazil and South Korea used to account for the highest number of commercial jet crashes, according to Gladwell. (Filipino pilots speak English in flight operations.)

There is no good or bad in terms of PDI. But in the case of navigating aircraft, Gladwell’s theory is that co-pilots and aircraft engineers from countries with a high PDI tend to be less assertive and indirect in their communication with the plane captain and the air traffic control tower – an attitude that he believes slowed down responses to emergencies and led to deadly plane crashes in the past. Using transcripts of black box recordings in plane crashes, he argues that language reflects PDI, and plane crashes involving Korean Air dropped dramatically when the pilots were required by management to switch to English in communicating for flight operations.

Language, to be effective for mass communication, must be simple but precise and quickly delivered. It must be user-friendly.

For aircraft, precise and assertive language can spell the difference between safety and disaster. For nations, language can contribute to development and prosperity. Our national language can use a lot of enhancement.