Article - Bahala na: The Pinoy catch-all?

Bahala na: The Pinoy catch-all?

Filipinos always have fun with concepts that are untranslatable to English. It’s always a source of amusement, probably related to how Filipinos view the mangling of meanings and words as a source of humor. One good example is how there is no definite word for “no” in Filipino, or perhaps how we’ve practically reversed the meaning of “salvage.” It’s also hard to translate “gigil,” “kilig,” and even “lihi.” I mean, yes, you could explain it as a phrase, but there is no exact translation.

But for my money, one of the most Filipino of terms remains a top pick for being untranslatable: “Bahala na.”

Multiple-choice origins
The origin of the term has never been properly pinned down, but here are some of the origins as they have been circulated online (which of course, means that grains of salt must be used, perhaps a shaker full of it).

Click here to read the full article at The Philippine Online Chronicles