root word: ano
This word became a hot topic in early May 2017 when a senator of the Philippines used it during the confirmation hearings for a cabinet secretary.
During the confirmation hearing of Judy Taguiwalo for her to be head of the Department of Social Welfare, Senator Tito Sotto noted that she had two daughters without having been married. He said that in street language, she would be referred to as “Naano lang.”
A colloquial translation of this phrase in American English would be, “She got knocked up.” The word ano (more commonly used as the question word “what”) is often used in Tagalog as a substitute word for an unmentionable topic.
Literally, it can be translated as “Something was merely done to (her)” without the benefit of marriage, or someone had sex with her and got her pregnant and that was all there was to it. In conservative cultures, sex and pregnancy outside of marriage are frowned upon.
Ms. Taguiwalo’s response was an explanation of how her life had been out of the ordinary, in the sense that she had either been in prison or was in hiding during the years the country was under martial law. She also later added that she was a professor in Women’s Studies, where there is equal respect granted to families that do not consist of the traditional father-mother-children constituents.
In the aftermath of that exchange, Senator Sotto was severely castigated on social media by his fellow Filipinos for the crudeness and sexism of his remarks.
The phrase Naano lang can also be used outside of such a context.
Nasagasaan ba ang aso?
Was the dog run over?
Hindi, naano lang.
No, it was just…
(maybe grazed by a car).
