ngiting pukyutan

My younger sister, Nikki, joined the UP Vocal Ensembles (VE) during her senior year in college. It's the same year she tried out photography. It's the same year she joined a play. It's the same year she decided to enter med school. And the same schoolyear she would graduate magna cum laude (aww, so proud of her!)

I've always believed that all of these were the result of how she handled certain events in her life, both happy and sad. After everything that my lil sis has gone through for the past year/s, she has held her head and heart high. And she truly deserves an article in my blog among other things. :)

"Ngiting pukyutan" was a part of one of their songs for VE. And it was the title Nikki used for her new Multiply account. :p

When I saw it, I just had to ask...

Anong ibig sabihin ng ngiting pukyutan?

"Ngiting pukyutan" when translated in English is "smile like honey".

The English version of honey sounds sweet while the Filipino translation sounds more like another word for coffee than honey. I think the main difference between honey and pukyutan is that the English version sounds familiar while the Filipino term is unfamiliar to many of us. And unfamiliarity could make us base our judgment on the superficial. Let's admit it, pukyutan does not sound sweet.

But just like with the once unfamiliar Filipino words that I learned in high school, I would have to trust that these words are what they are. Bukangliwayway is sunrise. Talipapa is marketplace. Pukyutan is honey.

At ang tanging paraan upang mas matandaan natin ang mga salitang Filipino ay ang paggamit ng mga ito...

Bumili ka ng pukyutan sa talipapa pagsapit ng bukangliwayway.

I'm not sure if I was able to use them correctly. I haven't heard such kind of sentence in any normal conversation. Ever. The truth is we all speak different languages. After all the colonizations that we've gone through and the globalization at present, we have become multilingual.

I speak Filipino. I speak English. I speak teeny weeny Spanish from my basic Spanish class, haha. But I speak mostly in Taglish. It's not the tusok-tusok-the-fishball-kind of Taglish but when you listen carefully, I technically speak Taglish. (listen to yourselves, most of us do)

Writing is just a different story... I could write better in a pure language. Nikki writes in either English or Filipino as well. But what sets her apart is that she speaks mostly in Filipino. And she gets to learn all these words that we would probably only encounter in books inside lola's baul. It's never too late to learn new (actually old) Filipino words!

Pukyutan is honey.

It's doesn't sound sweet but it is.
When one tastes honey and changes its name into pukyutan, it still is sweet. (like Shakespeare's rose)

Nikki is like pukyutan.

At first glance, she can be mistaken as a bit frail. Standing at 5'6" & a little below 100 lbs, she may look all bones beside our ultra-athletic sister, Ling. But going beyond the physical, Nikki is actually one of the strongest women I know. She has strong principles and beliefs. And when she sets her mind into something, she gives it her all. The most focused person I know, she is 100% concentrated honey!

Nikki is currently trying out things that she hasn't done before. She has survived all the bee stings along with the small and big scratches of life. All these allowed her to grow into who she is now. I know that after her graduation this coming April, a lot of good things and persons are waiting for her. Wherever she would find herself, I'm sure she's gonna do just fine. ;-)

Congratulations, Ms. Ngiting Pukyutan! Thanks for making pukyutan sound sweeter than honey :) HUG!