Take the word "salvage". Salvage means to save, to recover. In the Philippines, it means to kill a person and then to dump the dead person's body in a grassy knoll or along a dark street.
I was thinking of other equally "novel" uses of otherwise rather ordinary words, when i came upon this Wikipedia article. It's not the greatest collection of "Filipinized" English terms, but you get the picture.
And so today's post is about the word "kina-career", yet another intriguing Philippine idiomatic creation. It means to apply oneself unto an endeavor so fully and with so much focus and determination, it is as if that activity is one's life-long career or profession.
But to fully express the irony that the term "kina-career" is supposed to contain, you need to use it to describe how a person attacks a rather ordinary task.
Like opening a jar. Or getting a car to start. Collecting Happy Meal toys. You don't let up until you get what you want.
"Kina-reer nya yung pag ko-kross stitch nya. Kaya ayan-- may mantel na siya."
Personally, I think the most appropriate/funny use of "kina-reer" or "kina-career" is to describe a single woman's quest for a husband. These women apply 100% of their time, energy and emotion towards bagging a husband. I find these woman fascinating. They are at once kind, cunning, manipulative, pathetic, and sad.
x x x
And in case you think I have not noticed, I do realize that I have not blogged for about a week. Don't worry. Kina-career ko na ang blog na ito.
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