Anaclaire Ivy Zyra I.

Baculo
Humanities 1
Defining a Filipino Word
The word I have chosen to define is the word basta. Have you heard of that? Have you
used it? Can you translate it directly to English? Can you define it?
The origin of this word is an Italian word ‘basta’ which means enough. (Richelle, 2012) This
meaning is also the same with the Harper-Collins Dictionary. People usually use it in stopping
somebody in doing something.
For me, this definition can barely cover what the real meaning of this Filipino word. It is not
just about saying enough. We also use it when we don’t want to elaborate what we just said or
do. We say it so that the people we are talking to would just let it slide and never talk about it
again. Though, in the mere essence of the word enough, we use it in a way that we are telling
people “enough” talking about it. Another thing about this word is that, for me, it entails being
absolute. Whenever people say it, whatever comes next is absolute, valid, and final. The speaker
is demanding to not be challenged or argued with.
For instance, if you say “You have to do this.” Then, I asked “Why? And then, you replied
“Basta.“ You are basically saying that I should probably stop asking and just do it. You are insisting
that it is the absolute and that you should not be negated about it.
It is not just about the “enough” not covering the whole basta thing, but also because there
are several other uses for it. Another use of basta is when people wants to single-out somebody
or to treat somebody special favors. For example, when I requested something, the person, to
whom I requested to, would have answered “sure, basta ikaw.” This entails that as long as it is me
requesting, the person will do that favour.
All in all, the word basta can mean enough, absolute, and as long as. It can never be just
the one meaning, or the other. Though, probably that there are other words that can probably
mean and be associated with it, for me, this is how I will define it.
References
Laureta, I. (2015). 18 Filipino Words You Can't Translate To English. Retrieved from:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/isabellelaureta/basta-yung-ano?utm_term=.ft2JRmMKJ#.ly20GJ3r0
Richelle, W. (2012). 10 Italian Slang Expressions You Can’t Live Without. Retrieved from:
http://blog.studentsville.it/top-10-tips/everyday-life/10-italian-slang-expressions-you-cant-live-
without/
http://tagaloglang.com/basta/