Ever struggled with trying to translate the word "kilig" into English and then explaining what it means to non-Filipinos? Well, the struggle is over, as the word has landed in the Oxford English dictionary. So next time someone comes up to you and asks you what it means, the right (catty) response might be: "look it up, it's in the dictionary."
Yup, kilig is now officially English. As defined by the experts, kilig means exhilarated or thrilled feelings caused by a romantic experience. My advice to my niblings therefore is that, whenever they want to use it in their school term papers, their teachers cannot castigate them for writing drippy sentences like "I was kilig to the bones when I saw Papa P touch Sam's hand" or "That romantic scene had no kilig moment whatsoever." Their teachers might take issue with their shallow, saccharine feelings, but definitely not their command of the English language.
We can begin submitting newspaper columns utilizing the word kilig with no fear it will be slashed out by an over-zealous editor, and best of all, we can carry conversations with Brits where it is liberally sprinkled into the discourse, with nary a concern that those Brits will think our vocabulary is limited. No indeed, if they don't know what it is, then it is their vocabulary that is pitiful. (I'm not from the boondocks, sire, I am just extremely well read.)
(Microsoft keeps underlining kilig with that red underline squiggle. Note to self: must send reminder to Microsoft to update its spell check function. Ditto for the English words teleserye, barangay, suki, kikay, Pinoy, and other such sophisticated examples.)
I am wondering though why "pabebe" did not make it. I would have thought this was the single most overused new word in the Philippine language considering how it exploded in the consciousness of Filipinos, even those who don't watch television like myself, the past year.
I myself am unclear as to the precise meaning of this new word. All I know is that every time that coosome twosome on noontime TV makes pabebe, the whole barangay is kilig, and the nation shuts down. It has something to do with trying to be cute as a baby while waving the palm. Maybe it has something to do with eliciting feelings of adorability, although given the ugly examples of politicians trying to win voters by doing the pabebe wave, all that is elicited from me is nausea with a touch of vertigo. No kilig whatsoever
Back to kilig. Ayala Corporation President and billionaire Jamie Augusto Zobel de Ayala said in his speech yesterday, "We tend to be optimists in the Ayala group, not pessimists. We believe in the country and believe (politics…blah blah…politics) the country will continue to progress."
Imagine, his speech writers can now spice it up! Like "we tend to be kilig in the Ayala group, not pessimists. We are kilig about the country and believe that the country will continue to be kilig to the max".
Thanks Oxford! With just this one addition, you have enriched our country and contributed to its linguistic progress. I can now recline comfortably with my halo-halo from my suki sari-sari store and contemplate my nails fresh from the mani-pedi without getting high-blood.
I wonder though why my friend is so upset. My friend, who is a lawyer for the National Grid, has just proclaimed he will shoot himself if pabebe makes it into Oxford. Tsk tsk. Chill, bro. Plenty of things to be kilig about. Look at the presidentiables.