Finding Our Feet: Problems in Interpreting a Foreign Text (Discourse, Reader Response, Second Language, Tagalog, Philippines).

Abstract

Reading a novel in a foreign language, especially in a language far-removed from one's own, provides problems for interpretation which are beyond grammar and syntax. This dissertation studies the difficulty of reading Luha nq Buwaya (Crocodile Tears), a novel in Tagalog by Filipino writer Amado V. Hern and ez. Luha nq Buwaya draws upon traditions of Philippine vernacular writing. Recognizing these references is a formidable difficulty for readers who find themselves outside of these traditions. The fullness of meaning is dependent on ability to identify intertextual references. A second problem, which is explored in this study, is how insiders repair imbalanced exchanges which violate the smooth flow of interpersonal relations. Hiya is a central metaphor suggesting how self ideally ought to be presented to other. But certain adversative speech acts create awkwardness for observance of hiya, making presentation of self too prominent. For outsiders, it is instructive to examine these points of potential conflict to see how insiders repair hiya. A third difficulty in plotting a well-marked path through a text comes from features of the discourse-grammar. Zero anaphors and clausal ellipses disrupt topic continuity. The unstated reference must cognitively be restored for interpretation. Tagalog verbal focus is additionally a problem for outsiders contributing to the difficulty of interpretation. The metaphor of "finding our feet" from the title of this study suggests that the ultimate goal of interpretation is for outsiders to be able to read and begin to underst and Luha nq Buwaya the way insiders underst and it.