Day 51 of 135

Day 51: A Consent Form Lola Can Read

At the nurses' station of a public hospital in Valenzuela, Paul (A), a staff nurse, reads the Filipino version of the surgical consent form that Jayson (B), a nurse on the same ward, wrote for the hospital's language committee.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Tagalog. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio for this lesson is coming soon. For now, read the dialogue and its translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day

  1. A

    Jayson, binasa ko ang consent form mo na parang lolang takot: "Ako'y kusang-loob na nagbibigay ng pahintulot..."

    Jayson, I read your consent form the way a frightened lola would: "I hereby voluntarily grant my consent..."

  2. B

    Ano'ng mali roon? Malinis na Filipino 'yan, walang kahit isang salitang Ingles.

    What's wrong with that? That's clean Filipino, not a single English word.

  3. A

    "...matapos maipabatid sa akin ang lahat ng panganib ng pagtistis." Diyos ko, hihiwain ba ako nang buhay?

    "...after having been apprised of all the risks of the surgical procedure." Dear God, are they going to cut me open alive?

  4. B

    Pagtistis ang tamang salita, Paul. Ang "operasyon," hiram na naman sa Espanyol.

    Pagtistis is the proper word, Paul. "Operasyon" is yet another borrowing from Spanish.

  5. A

    Hiram man, 'yon ang alam ng bawat lola sa Valenzuela. Ang consent na hindi naintindihan, pirma lang.

    Borrowed or not, it's the word every lola in Valenzuela knows. Consent nobody understood is just a signature.

  6. B

    Pero legal na dokumento 'to. Kapag pinalabnaw natin, baka sabihin ng abogado, kulang ang paliwanag.

    But this is a legal document. If we water it down, a lawyer might say the patient wasn't properly informed.

  7. A

    Mas kulang kung hindi naintindihan. Subukan natin: "Pumapayag ako sa operasyon. Ipinaliwanag ng doktor ang mga panganib nito."

    It's even less informed if she didn't understand it. Let's try: "I agree to the operation. The doctor has explained its risks."

  8. B

    Payag ako sa "operasyon," pero ibalik mo ang "kusang-loob." Alam 'yan ng lahat, at mahalaga sa batas.

    I'll give you "operasyon," but put "kusang-loob," of my own free will, back in. Everyone knows that one, and it matters legally.

  9. A

    Sige: "Kusang-loob akong pumapayag sa operasyon. Ipinaliwanag ng doktor ang mga panganib, at nasagot ang mga tanong ko."

    All right: "Of my own free will, I agree to the operation. The doctor has explained the risks, and my questions were answered."

  10. B

    Pasado 'yan: malinaw, at Filipino pa rin. Pero ang pamagat, "Pahintulot sa Pagtistis," hindi mo gagalawin.

    That passes: clear, and still Filipino. But the title, "Pahintulot sa Pagtistis," Consent to Surgery, you're not touching.

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