The song “Isang Linggong Pag-ibig” was popularized by the Philippines’ Jukebox Queen Imelda

Papin in the 80’s. We chose to translate this song because of its popularity. For us, you can’t be called
Filipino if you do not know this song. Translating a classic OPM song like this to English is fun and
fulfilling because in doing so, we can make the English-speaking peoples of the world have a glimpse of
the talent of the Filipino people in song writing; and make them appreciate the unique beauty of our
music.
Because of the intricacies of the process of translation, however, several problems were faced by
the translators. The following are the aspects in which issues were found:
A. Equivalence
First, the line “Biyernes, ay puno ng pagmamahalan” is translated as “Friday, was filled
with love for each other”. It could have been translated as “Friday, was filled with love” [lit.
“Biyernes, ay puno ng pagmamahal”]. ‘Love’ is translated as mahal or pagmamahal i.e. when
someone loves somebody else but that does not necessarily mean that the other person must
return the feeling. But when you say pagmamahalan, that implies a mutual feeling of love hence,
the addition of “for each other”.
Second, the Filipino word tampo doesn’t have an exact equivalence in English. The
closest English translation would be ‘upset’ but that word is very much general in context.
Anything or anyone can make a person upset but you can only use tampo if someone you love did
something wrong or he/she did something that he/she isn’t supposed to do. Likewise, the line
“tayo’y biglang nagkatampuhan” in Saturday is translated as “We suddenly got upset with each
other”. This is in the level of Semantic Field.
Third is the line “Ang pagsinta mo na sadyang kay sarap”. Sarap, if translated directly as
‘delicious’ but it seems anomalous and dirty if you use it to describe love. That is why it is
translated to “Your love that’s just so sweet”. Masarap could be sweet, sour or spicy depending
on the preference of a person but in the case of love, ‘sweet’ seems to suit best. This is also in the
level of semantic field.

B. Translation Categories by Vinay and Darbelnet

English and Filipino are somehow similar in structure and the song doesn’t contain too
much figurative language so most of the lines are translated literally. The line “Martes, nang
tayo’y muling nagkita” is translated as “Tuesday, when we met again”. It is very much possible to
translate that line. The meaning and the structure were retained in the translated text.

C. Translation Process
To help in analyzing the context and to make the translation process a bit easier, the lines
were divided into segments.
ST (Filipino) TT (English)
Isang Linggong 1 Week-Long
Pag-Ibig 2 Love

Lunes 3 Monday
Nang tayo’y 4 When we
5 First
magkakilala 6 Knew Each other
Martes 7 Tuesday
Nang tayo’y muling nagkita 8 When we met again
Miyerkules 9 Wednesday
Nagtapat ka 10 You confessed
Ng 11
iyong pag-ibig 12 Your love
Huwebes 13 Thursday
Ay 14
inibig din kita 15 I loved you too
Biyernes 16 Friday
ay 17 was
Puno ng pagmamahalan 18 Filled with love
19 For each other
Mga puso natin ay sadyang nag-aawitan 20 Our hearts were just singing
Sabado 21 Saturday
Tayo’y biglang nagkatampuhan 22 We suddenly got upset with each other
At pagsapit ng Linggo 23 And when Sunday arrived
Giliw, ako’y iyong iniwan 24 Dear, I was left by you

O kay bilis ng iyong pagdating 25 Oh how quickly you came

Pag-alis moy sadyang kay bilis din 26 Too quickly, you also left
Natulog akong 27 I slept
Ikaw ang kapiling 28 With you by my side
Ngunit wala ka 29 But you weren’t there
Nang ako’y gumising 30 When I woke up

O kay bilis ng iyong pagdating 31 Oh how quickly you came

Pag-alis moy sadyang kay bilis din 32 Too quickly, you also left
Ang pagsinta mo na sadyang kay sarap 33 Your love that’s just so sweet
Sa isang iglap lang, 34 In just an instant,
Nawala ring lahat 35 It all disappeared

1. Isang linggo is directly translated as ‘One week’ but to emphasize that the love only
lasted for a week, it was translated to ‘Week-long’
2. Literal Translation
3. Literal Translation
4. Literal Translation
5. Omission
6. Literal Translation
7. Literal Translation
8. Literal Translation
9. Literal Translation
10. Literal Translation
11. Omission
12. Literal Translation
13. Literal Translation
14. Omission
15. The Filipino pronoun kita has no direct equivalence in English but the term “inibig din
kita” simply means “I loved you too”.
16. Literal Translation
17. Literal Translation
18. Literal Translation
19. This was added because ‘pagmamahalan’ implies that love is mutual.
20. Literal Translation
21. Literal Translation
22. The word nagkatampuhan doesn’t have direct equivalence in English. The root word
tampo’s closest translation is upset.
23. Literal Translation
24. Literal Translation
25. Pagdating is used as pangngalan or noun in the ST but its counterpart ‘came’ in the
TT is used as a verb. This is an example of transposition.
26. Pag-alis is used as pangngalan or noun in the ST but its counterpart ‘left’ in the TT is
used as a verb. This is an example of transposition. *
27. Literal Translation
28. Literal Translation
29. Literal Translation
30. Literal Translation
31. *
 32. *
33. Sarap is translated as “sweet” because its literal translation ‘delicious’ will sound
inappropriate.
34. Literal Translation
35. Literal Translation

Translating a text is not as simple as it seems. Several factors should be considered. But since the
ST is a form of literature, its artistic value was forsaken due to the literal translation. That is why the
translators prepared an alternative translation that is still close to the original meaning of the song. It goes
something like this:

Week-long Love

Monday
When we