Day 9: Not Every Line Needs Ala Eh
In a dubbing studio in Quezon City, Rina (A), the director, asks Melba (B), a voice actress from Batangas, to voice a comic side character from the provinces in a foreign series, from a script that puts ala eh at the end of every line.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense.
- 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
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A
Mel, sa iyo si Aling Pacing, 'yung kusinera sa probinsiya. Batangueña raw siya, sabi ng client.
Mel, Aling Pacing is yours, the cook out in the province. The client says she's a Batangueña.
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B
Nabasa ko na. Bawat linya, may "ala eh" sa dulo, parang tuldok.
I've read it. Every line has "ala eh" at the end, like a period.
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A
Oo, 'yon daw ang nakakatawa. Subukan mo: "Kumain ka na ba, ala eh?"
Yes, that's supposed to be the funny part. Try it: "Have you eaten, ala eh?"
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B
Ang totoo, "Ala eh, kumain ka na ga?" Nasa unahan ang ala eh, at ga ang kapalit ng ba.
The real thing is "Ala eh, have you eaten, ga?" The ala eh goes up front, and ga takes the place of ba.
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A
Pareho lang 'yan sa manonood, Mel. Ang mahalaga, matawa sila.
It's all the same to the viewers, Mel. What matters is they laugh.
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B
Matatawa sila sa nanay ko, gaya ng pagtawa sa akin dito sa Maynila. Hindi ko 'yan gagawin.
They'll be laughing at my mother, the way people laughed at me here in Manila. I won't do it.
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A
Sige, ayusin mo nga ang kasunod: "Ang init dito, ala eh, magpaypay ka, ala eh."
All right, you fix the next one, then: "It's so hot here, ala eh, fan yourself, ala eh."
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B
"Ala eh, ang init dine, magpaypay ka ngani." Isa lang, sa unahan, sapat na.
"Ala eh, it's so hot in here, go fan yourself." Just one, up front, is plenty.
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A
Kung script ang masusunod, mawawalan ako ng totoong Batangueña. Sige, sa bersiyon mo, ako ang bahala sa client.
If we go by the script, I lose a real Batangueña. Fine, your version it is, and I'll handle the client.
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B
Ala eh, salamat, Rina. Kita mo, isang ala eh lang, pero galing sa puso.
Ala eh, thank you, Rina. See? Just one ala eh, but it comes from the heart.
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