In the DreamWorks film Forgotten Island, two teenage characters say 'Tayo na!' again and again. The directors use the Tagalog phrase without explaining it. Viewers have to work out the meaning from each scene.
Filipino speakers online say the phrase can mean lets go, you and me, or get up. The actors, Liza Soberano and H.E.R., said their own Filipino families helped them understand how to say it.
π The Backstory
DreamWorks has included Filipino culture in the movie in several ways. The directors, Joel Crawford and Januel P. Mercado, chose not to translate the Tagalog for viewers.
Tagalog is spoken by millions of people in the Philippines and by Filipino communities worldwide. Showing it without translation treats the culture as normal, not foreign.
π― Why It Matters
Filipino viewers get to hear their language in a big studio film. It also helps other audiences learn that a few words can carry different feelings depending on the moment.
In the DreamWorks film Forgotten Island, two teenage characters say 'Tayo na!' again and again. The directors use the Tagalog phrase without explaining it. Viewers have to work out the meaning from each scene.
Filipino speakers online say the phrase can mean lets go, you and me, or get up. The actors, Liza Soberano and H.E.R., said their own Filipino families helped them understand how to say it.
DreamWorks has included Filipino culture in the movie in several ways. The directors, Joel Crawford and Januel P. Mercado, chose not to translate the Tagalog for viewers.
Tagalog is spoken by millions of people in the Philippines and by Filipino communities worldwide. Showing it without translation treats the culture as normal, not foreign.
Filipino viewers get to hear their language in a big studio film. It also helps other audiences learn that a few words can carry different feelings depending on the moment.