Why can't Tagalog be more like English?

Why can't Tagalog be more like English ? ! . . . Adapting as a missionary means, among other things, learning a new language. For the past few months, this has been our struggle. Learning, trying, misunderstanding, mis-speaking, and often provoking laughter at our expense. This is my first experience learning a new language. What I am learning is that language involves much more than the direct interpretation of the words said - - in my mind, I knew this to be true. I certainly have been told this in our preparation for missionary service. But now . . . now it is more than "in my mind". It is a daily part of life, trying to understand more than what words are being spoken but also what is meant by those words. In the few months of language study, I have gained some grammer skills, a moderate amount of vocabulary, and even some cultural viewpoints. Now, with a basic sentence, I can generally "reverse-engineer" the sentence into an English sentence. Whether that English sentence means the same as the Tagalog sentence is a completely different thing.

Scott tells the story of a fellow missionary who was studying Tagalog at the same time as him. This missionary's favorite quote was "Why can't Tagalog be more like English"? I am learning the answer: Because it simply is not English and sometimes you just can't state the same thought in English terms.
posted by Allan