gustong-gusto

Today is a quick story and an easy lesson, and together they show that some of the most powerful lessons in a language can be learned instantly.

Around a year ago I was in the office with colleagues and I asked them to speak to me in Tagalog for as long as we could. It was a painful meeting, with a lot of broken Tagalog. But halfway through, to reward them for the pain of bearing a terrible American accent, I offered to order us all coffee on Grab from Starbucks.

I asked one of my colleagues if he wanted Starbucks. Gusto mo ba ng Starbucks? And he just responded: Gustong-gusto ko ang Starbucks. It was the first time I had ever heard that.

I thought, wait a minute, you can just double up on the word and it doubles the emphasis? This is amazing.

I'm certainly ageing myself here, but it's similar to when you're in grade school and you pass a note to your crush that says do you like me? check yes or no. And they check yes, and then they say they like you like you. That's fourth-grade speak for more than friends but not yet capable of love, and it is a golden ticket — until you break up later that afternoon on the playground, as these things go.

Anyway, the gustong-gusto ko thing had me confused. How does this relate to pinaka-? I think I can pinaka most adjectives, especially ones to show I really like something. What about mas, since I can mas something too? What's the difference between a sunset that is maganda, magandang-maganda, mas maganda, or pinakamaganda?

It turns out it's exactly like grade school. Gustong-gusto ko is kind of like saying I like-like that, or an informal I love it. But it's not my end-all, be-all, and it's not that I like it more than something else (mas), or above everything else (pinaka-). It's just something that I like more than something I kind of like. Super useful.

In English we really only have this power when courting a grade-school crush. In Tagalog we have it everywhere, in almost any situation. That's awesome. No playground breakups included.

The rule itself is almost too simple: say the word twice, with a linker in between. What takes learning is which linker — and what the doubling actually means.

Start with the mechanics. You repeat the word and join the two copies with a linker. A vowel-final word takes -ng, which attaches to the first copy, and the pair is hyphenated: gustong-gusto, magandang-maganda. A word ending in n takes -g: kailangang-kailangan. Any other consonant takes a free-standing na: mahal na mahal, pagod na pagod. It is the same linker rule as everywhere else in Tagalog, doing the same job in a different place.

• Gustong-gusto ko ang kape.I really like coffee.
• Masayang-masaya ako ngayon.I'm so happy right now.
• Pagod na pagod ako.I'm completely exhausted.
• Gutom na gutom ako.I'm starving.
• Mahal na mahal kita.I love you very much.

And notice what gusto actually is. It isn't an adjective. Gusto, ayaw, kailangan and puwede are pseudo-verbs — they behave like verbs but don't take the usual verb affixes. They double anyway. So the pattern isn't double the adjective. It's double the describing word, whatever class it belongs to.

Now the part that confused me in the office. Doubling is not a stronger version of mas and pinaka-. They do different jobs. Doubling says how strongly you feel it. Mas and pinaka- rank the thing against other things.

Maganda

beautiful

Magandang-maganda

beautiful, and I mean it

Napakaganda

very beautiful, in a more direct or standard way

Mas maganda

more beautiful — than something

Pinakamaganda

the most beautiful of them

There's a new one added in the above. Napakaganda is the standard intensifier, the more direct one; magandang-maganda is the warmer one…the one you use when you actually feel it. And mas always implies a comparison, even when you leave the other half of it unsaid.

And doubling isn't only about intensity. Double a time word and you get frequency instead. Araw is day; araw-araw is every day. Gabi-gabi is every night. That is sharper than palagi, which only means always — the doubling names the interval. One caution though, because it doesn't run everywhere: umaga-umaga isn't used for every morning — that's tuwing umaga. But the wider point holds. Doubling in Tagalog isn't a one-off or slang. It turns up everywhere, always doing a slightly different job each time.

Filipinos and Americans both show emotion. But often in different ways and by turning different dials.

An American abroad can come across as colder than everyone around them and as someone who overshares — somehow at the same time. The degree dial is turned down: an American says I like it where a Filipino says gustong-gusto ko. The disclosure dial is turned up: something private gets handed to a near-stranger far sooner. Two dials, two cultures showing emotion differently.

There is research behind this. Across 39 countries, societies where people move more freely between friendships — the United States high among them, the Philippines lower — disclose far more and far sooner. Ironically, the most individualist cultures tend to share more and share it sooner, with Americans often near the high end.

The same split explains conflict. Americans tend to name a problem directly and treat the naming itself as respect: say it, clear the air, move on. Filipinos, far less so. The point isn't to dodge the problem. It's to get to it without anyone losing face or offending anyone.

And of course there is Tagalog vocabulary to back this up too. Pahiwatig is letting something be understood rather than said outright. A parinig is a remark placed where the person can hear it rather than aimed at them. Paligoy-ligoy is going round and round instead of straight at the point. It's not a bad thing at all, but work with or date a Filipino and you will notice it quickly.

That's the beauty of learning a new culture and language. Not only do you get more words to express yourself, the words often reflect the deeper communication styles along with them.

Pahiwatig

letting something be understood rather than said

Parinig

a remark placed where the person can hear it, not aimed at them

Paligoy-ligoy

going round and round instead of straight at it

Which puts the doubling in a different light. English intensifies from the outside: we grab very or really and stack it in front. Tagalog does this too, but offers an even more nuanced option by simply saying the word twice. And that isn't only because Filipinos are more expressive with emotion. It's also because they are more precise and more careful about how and when a feeling gets handed to someone else. In my opinion that is far more powerful than anything English has. Whether it's the perfect fit or just comic emphasis, doubling a word says twice what you would otherwise get — and I love it.