Monday, September 20, 2010

The police officer's "jealousy"

Last night on TV news, a Filipino police officer was interviewed about a gang that had broken into an establishment, carting away valuables in the dead of the night. Describing how the gang entered the place it robbed, he said something like “Nakapasok sila dahil tinanggal nila yong jealousy (They were able to enter because they removed the jealousy).” Mr. Police Officer (Mr. PO) was referring of course to “jalousie,” which, according to dictionary.com is “a window made of glass slats or louvers of a similar nature.” Well, jealousy and jalousie do sound alike, and I indeed have heard in the past a few other people interchanging using those words, including my late grandmother. But when I heard Mr. PO say “jealousy” and not “jalousie” on TV news, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud (LOL!) because he said the word in all seriousness and conviction. And to think that it was police officer interchanging those two words, he who would have had some experience writing a police report involving perhaps a similar crime in the past. Especially because this sort of crime has become a staple already in the news (e.g., the “Akyat-Bahay Gang is always in the news—that band of thieves that is able to enter homes to rob using seemingly unimaginable methods and at unimaginable hours). Well, I hope Mr. PO's superiors saw his glorious interview last night and have by now inspired him to turn his jealousy into jalousie.

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