On English in the Philippines?

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rhandee

Hi, I'm an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher and definitely Filipino. Reading this certainly raises a lot of ideas, and I certainly enjoyed how intelligent most of the reactions are.

Let's not degrade ourselves too much. It may piss you off if you hear uneducated people using English for the purpose of showing off, but I think that at this day and age, and in the context of our political and cultural situation, we are, of course, assimilating English (read: conquering or "owning" the English language itself) for our own purposes. One of our sunshine industries, the BPO/Call Center, which requires the constant use of the language, actually saves our economy from further plunging deep into whatever-you-call-it. Our government and businesses require competence in the language, so you have no choice, people; it's already become a mandate in our middle-class culture. Look at the non-Filipinos who reacted; at least they say that we can use two languages.

I wouldn't mind the TH (trying-hard, which is Philippine English by the way) using it to raise social status; at least, he/she goes somewhere and not be stagnant. We deride them because of two reasons: if we are rich or uneducated. we think our use of English is better than theirs, and we find them inauthentic and therefore unqualified "users" of the language; and if we are poor, it's an insult because the language becomes an weapon to exclude people. I learned that language is exclusive, or tends to be. If we cannot understand or accept it, we cannot take part in it.

What pisses me off is the fact that when most Filipinos encounter foreigners, especially Caucasians, they get all floored, meaning, they can diss off Filipinos, but would never, ever let a foreigner feel inconvenienced. Remember the Luli Arroyo incident at NAIA where the foreigner gets special treatment while the rest of us wait forever? That's a sad fact in our culture. We are easily dazzled by foreigners we always make a point to impress them, even when some of them disrespect our country and culture.

Speaking English in public maybe annoying and sometimes even heartwrenching ("Imagine the poor talking in English? It's like 'I ate dried fish and rice for dinner'" as a nouveau riche classmate in university would joke about). Let's just be good at the way we use it, encourage others to speak it, and make it part of our lives, whether for our economic or social or cultural good.

East Asians are now learning English from Filipino teachers, and some of whom I talk to envy our facility for using it. Some Americans who talk to people in call centers when they complain or buy things would never fail to notice our familiarity with the language. The knowledge of a language certainly is a gift that we should respect. Let's give people a chance to use it.

flightmedicine

I can not give you a Philippine answer; but being an American I am very impressed that people in the Philippines can speak english so good. I wish I was as talented to speak both languages as most of you are. I appreciate that you can speak both languages. Thanks.

<< mimon >>

I think the difference lies in the timing. Sometimes, there really isn't a need to speak in English but Filipinos choose to speak with it nonetheless. WHY? Because especially in public, they feel speaking in English makes 'em look elite (don't take my word for it though). Bottom line is, where attention goes, energy flows - it doesn't matter if people start getting annoyed by it or look as if "wow, that person really must be smart." At least for me, it's really about our colonial mentality.

Hope that made sense.

Julie Arnaiz

Sometimes Filipinos' natural capability to speak English fluently gets overused. They use it even in highly unnecessary circumstances. Even a conversation which best requires Tagalog still transpires in English. So the best way to answer this question is this:

Minsan talaga "OA" lang mga Pinoy. Pwede naman Tagalugin, mag-I-Ingles pa. Pero minsan nmn okay lang gumamit ng Ingles, especially when the situation calls for it. Just for formality's sake, I guess. Wag lang tayo maging OA talaga. May oras at lugar para sa paggamit ng Tagalog at Ingles, dapat marunong tayo mag discern. Yun lang.

Nie

Oy!

I personally agree of your opinion about filipinos who getting annoyed or "natatawa" if you speak english (barok) to them...

Filipinos like anyone must face the fact that "ayaw lang nila napapahiya" right?

Rick

I am not Filipino, but an American ex-pat living in Asia. I think it is great that people in the Philippines can speak both languages (their native tongue and English). I'm glad my girlfriend speaks English to me because I don't understand much Tagalog. People everywhere like to "show off', and one way to do this is to speak English. I think Tagalog sounds very melodious. Filipinos should be proud both of their native language and their ability to speak English. When two Filipinos are speaking, I think they should use their native language; when there is another person present, they should speak English. It may be wrong, but often I wonder what people are saying (about me??) when they privately speak a language I cannot understand.

There is a Korean comedian who has a routine: "There the people who speak three languages - they are called trilingual. There are people who speak two languages - they are called bilingual. There are people who speak one language - they are called Americans!".

sopcwebservant

If you speak English, maybe the person on the other end of the telephone will think that you are a rich "kano". That is, you are American. They seem to like and hold "Kanos" in high esteem.

I don't know why some Filipinos become annoyed when other Filipinos speak English, except that they will not usually speak English among themselves. They are not accustomed to doing so. Therefore, maybe they are simply more comfortable when a Filipino simply speaks their native language.

I am never annoyed if I hear any Filipino speak English in public.

tranquil

Oh, I was told by a friend to speak in English or Taglish (Tagalog-English) because it was so "bakya" (uncool) by speaking in fluent Filipino.

I responded that the Filipino language is beautiful and that we, as Filipinos, should be happy to use our national language.

He told me that I might be mistaken for an activist. I said that what others may think may be so, but it is about time that we promote the usage of our language.

Personally makes it a point to speak in as pure Filipino as possible in daily conversations, including telephone calls. It sometimes throw the people answering the calls off-balance. They generally had grown accustomed to it, although there are still instances when it is necessary to repeat myself in order for them to realize that they are hearing it in Filipino.

I don't mind others speaking in English as there are some kababayans who need to speak in English in order to be understood. For example, some people who grew up in Visayas are more comfortable in English than in Filipino.

But I do find it annoying if my family uses English in order to assert their "suavity". For example, they speak with accents galore amongst us but once we are in Manila, they suddenly become English speakers. Aba!

gameplan_xtreme

Ako, Ako, I know the answer to your question! :p

"If you call someone and ask the receiver in Tagalog, she or he might rudely respond but if you speak in English, the receiver will be calm and as polite as possible.".... ksi, there's a tendency to assume that the caller at the other end of the line who talked in English has either 1) achieved a higher education, OR 2) belongs to the upper class of the society therefore more powerful, than the reciever who do not speak english ordinarily so the reciever gets intimidated, ergo, obliged to be polite. Only people who had good education OR people from the upper class, through exposure, are the only ones who can speak english very well.

Ako I don't get annoyed when people speak in english in public for as long as they can speak fluently, wag lang trying hard like "you know naman eh, um, yeah..." natututyuan ako ng dugo dun. And do it in appropriate places, cuz it would be funny if you're making a bargain in english with some vendor in a wet market "manong it's expensive make it lower na lang"... unless you're Kris Aquino :p

Destiny.

no im not really annoyed when my mom speaks english in public in the philippines.
my mom know alot of languages.

Ray H

I appreciate it when people are willing to speak to me in english, my tagalog is not very good. I believe it is a personal decision on your choice of languages though.

warrior is a child

people think that if you have your own language then use it instead of using other languages. it's like when you're in the philippines,speak in the vernacular because everybody understands you and use english ony when there is a need to do so. something like that..=)

tenk u po for the thumbs up..=) ay..followed by a thumbs down pala un..=)

Billposter

Frankly, I get annoyed when Filipinos speak in English when the situation does not call for it. I am also sad that, still, many Filipinos treat you highly when you speak in English. Some of us still have that inferiority complex. :-(

vibal

in one forum, i was booed by my audience when i spoke to them in english and tagalog. they said i speak cebuano because we are all cebuanos here.

tisya

in any scenario generally filipinos are intimidated by istetsayd na tunog,sa drugstore sa resto sa malls kahit saan natutupi ang karaniwan na pinoy pg iningles mo na kasi ang mentalidad ng marami pag magaling magingles mayaman kulturang pinoy na pinoy .ako i dont get annoyed with filipinos who speak english in public as long as they are comfortable with it and not trying hard to make pa show off.

Georgina

depending on the person's social status - when you are with a middle or lower middle class,they are annoyed because speaking in English comes off as "mayabang" where as in the upper middle class or the rich speaking in English shows education, knowledge and smarts.

Speaking English over the phone makes the receiver assume that it is an important phone call (dont know the correlation - never pondered the thought) somehow prompting them to try and make an effort to keep the other person on the line without the caller assuming they are dumb because they dont speak English.

balon_ey

inferiority complex and crab mentality.

((((marian))))

i speak english if people are talkin to me in english.. and tagalog if theyre speakin in tagalog.. i went to this pinoy chat room one time and i brought my american bf with me , and ofcourse i spoke english in our whole conversation.. even if they were askin me tagalog, just so my bf could undertand me.. but some filipino thought i was being mayabang"

starjammer

Discrimination and the ever colonial mentality:the impression that foreign-language speaker is better,should put attention to.I'm also annoyed of some Filipinos speaking English in public (eg. interviews) because of their intonations,pronunciations,grammars but I think foreigners and English speakers "should" understand that because it's not our own language.

marco

It's very likely because of the fake American accent that the majority tend to have. Associating themselves with American systems e.g. education and work aptitudes which does not reflect well on the latter. Philippinos have an arrogant nature about them especially those who have a formal education. I have interviewed many in search of jobs and was never impressed. Their command of the english language leaves much to be desired.

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