Day 61 of 135

Day 61: Freeze the Wet Manuscripts First

At two in the morning, after a water main burst above the archive room of a university library in Manila, head archivist Andy (A) and his assistant Simon (B) sort soaked boxes of nineteenth-century Tagalog books and letters before mold sets in.

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

    Simon, huwag mong bubuklatin ang mga basa, mapupunit. Babasahin ko ang title page, ikaw ang magla-label.

    Simon, don't open the wet ones, they'll tear. I'll read out the title pages, you do the labels.

  2. B

    Opo. Heto po ang una, may pabalat na katad, basang-basa ang ibaba.

    Okay. Here's the first one, bound in leather, and the bottom's soaked.

  3. A

    "Pasyong Mahal ni Hesukristo, na sukat ipag-alab ng puso ng sinumang babasa." Libo-libo ang kopya niyan.

    "The Holy Passion of Jesus Christ, fit to set aflame the heart of whoever reads it." There are thousands of copies of that.

  4. B

    Pero 1882 po ito, Sir. Hindi po ba ang mas matanda ang uunahin?

    But this one's from 1882, Sir. Don't the older ones go first?

  5. A

    Hindi edad ang batayan, kundi kung may kapalit pa. O, heto: "Korido at Buhay na Pinagdaanan ng Tatlong Prinsipeng Magkakapatid."

    Age isn't what counts, it's whether it can be replaced. Oh, here: "Corrido and the Life Lived by the Three Princely Brothers."

  6. B

    Ibong Adarna po! Pero mumurahing papel lang, uunahin po ba natin kaysa sa Pasyon?

    It's the Ibong Adarna! But it's just cheap paper, are we putting it ahead of the Pasyon?

  7. A

    Oo, dahil nga mumurahin, halos walang natira. Ibalot mo sa wax paper, freezer agad.

    Yes, precisely because it's cheap, almost none survived. Wrap it in wax paper, straight into the freezer.

  8. B

    Sige po. Ito pong bungkos ng mga sulat-kamay, kumakalat na ang tinta.

    Will do. This bundle of handwritten letters, the ink's starting to run.

  9. A

    "Iginagalang kong Ama, sumainyo nawa ang kapayapaan ng Maykapal..." Iisa lang 'yan sa mundo. Iyan ang uunahin!

    "My revered Father, may the peace of the Almighty be with you..." There's only one of that in the world. That one goes first!

  10. B

    Heto pa po: "Sa mga mambabasang mahal, ipagpaumanhin ang mga mali ng maglilimbag." Pati po pala ang printer, nag-sorry na sa atin.

    Here's one more: "To our beloved readers, kindly forgive the printer's errors." So even the printer was already apologizing to us.

Your progress is saved in this browser only, with no sign-up. The course page and the menu show where you left off. Well done! Next up: Day 62: Round Fruits and Vision Boards 

If this free course has helped you in your Tagalog journey, please consider supporting the project. It's a one-person effort, and even small contributions help keep it running and free for everyone.