Who's to blame for how we Filipinos generally pronounce some words?

Show all answers

annabelle p

First, the blame is on the "yaya" who have first contact with the child.

I always correct my grandchild's "yaya" each time she mispronounces a word. My granddaughter is at the age when she mimics everything she hears. Her "yaya" points to her doll and says "bebe".

Next is your schoolteacher who does not give a hoot if she teaches you the right pronunciation. This is what one Dean in college told me in my interview with him regarding the quality of schoolteachers we have. He said that in a family where one sibling is more mentally equipped than the other, the parents tend to push the not-so-bright child to take up the teaching profession reasoning that the more intelligent one is fit to take up professions in medicine, law etc. than teaching. The end result? We produce teachers who are not qualified.

And lastly, from parents who are themselves illiterate. What could they teach their children if they themselves don't know?

Doctor J

I guess I am not blaming anyone. It is cultural. I can not blame my teachers who did not know any better, having learned the same things from their teachers. If we have to trace the origins of this anomaly, we may never get to its roots.

When I pronounce precedent correctly, some people think I refer to President GMA. And ys, inventory was discussed lengthily in our e-group, each one arguing his case. As for hippo, I learned that early on. There is a famous Bistro called Hippopotamus I used to go to when I was young.

I say it is cultural. Even Tagalog words are pronounced differently by the Visayans, and vice versa (not blaming any region). Why? Because the way we speak, the way we pronounce words is influenced by the language we use at home. That is why the Pampangos are known to use F for P and P for F.

Ever noticed how Malaysians speak in English? With the heavy accent, you would say we are white Americans when compared with them. Even Hongkongites and Singaporeans speak in English in a very un-Ameriacn and un-British way. In fact, they could be very nasal.

English is not our mother tongue. Not our own language. We get by, and have a few laughs along the way, with some broken English. We can even laugh at ourselves!

A.W.

It's no big deal. I think it's not nearly as entertaining as me speaking Bisaya. Always lots of laughs. I'm thinking of becoming a stand-up comedian.

My wife speaks really good English but she still gets the he and she mixed up. Hard to follow the story as she tells me something involving both.

Android

our elementary and high school esl teachers (that leads to the education program of the government) and the filipino's innate makulit-ness. it may not have anything to do with our culture but exposure to certain english language environments can be a solid factor.

hipopotahmoos... hippopotam... hippo na lang.

Ian B

Let's just face it. It's cultural. All of us, at one time or another, have had good laughs because of our accent.

Juan C

it's our own hard accent from our native tongue, plus the Spanish accent, so yeah, it's a disaster... but hey, here we are, Filipinos are in-demand abroad around the English-speaking world because of our knowledge in English...

anna m

I can't stop laughing. The Cap Cop Cup really got me. that's so funny.

Okay, I'm serious now.

I don't think we should point a finger at anyone.

It's not our 1st language anyway. Teachers, parents, and students should do their part in educating their students, their children and themselves.

"We seem not to give due importance to pronunciation keys." - You're right. And it could be confusing.

I can't even pronounce hippopotamus! haha!

Phoenix

Although English was the language that my mother and I used to speak when I was back home, but my mother always insisted that when am in doubt of correct pronunciation to look it up on the dictionary.

According to my mother, English words came from different roots and that its imperative what is the origin of the word to be abe to distinguish the correct pronunciation and usage to it.

Until now, I still refer to the dictionary which enables me to communicate well if not in concise manner.

Kratos

Americans don't give a damn..

ILY

i dont think we should blame anyone because its our accent and everyone has an accent. and its not really a big deal because everyones different.

happy new year in 2 days!

Princess

I'm not blaming anyone. I'm proud enough that Filipinos can understand English. :D

I don't know, but I am not really good in pronunciation. My Tagalog, English, Ilocano and Korean... it's awful. haha.

Me Too

We should not talk like Americans. We should not copy their accent. Ours is okay. But we can try to teach the Filipino children how to pronounce English words properly - which syllable to pick and stress, per dictionary. I was taught the wrong way too, and I'll add "elementary" and "capillary" to the examples you gave. There are many more.

There's no one correct style of speaking but there are wrong pronunciations. If we don't correct this we will have hard time talking with others. Our teachers should teach us better.

luosechi é§±å£«åŸº

By golly, yes! Blame the teachers - we are having several of my wife's teen friends from the provinces for the holidays. When I talk to them, I have to say it several different ways before they understand.

Actually it is CHED which should be blamed for not giving a national competency test to the teachers.

My favorites are: a baul of soup, and then there are grammatical problems like "her wife", or "I am waited to you" - err usually 'to' is used even if not needed. And finally, a word that is missed even by well known journalists.... (is there a superlative adjective in Tagalog?) I always read things like "the worse part is..." nobody seems to know about 'worst'.

Anyway, Happy New Year!!!

sevensinned

Can we blame our elementary teachers if they come from different provinces in the Philippines and having a hard time flexing their tongue to pronounce English words correctly i.e. as per the dictionary? And that evolving to how we pronounce English words now that it takes time to get it right sometimes. Can't blame anyone really. It's just like having a different accent altogether. We just have the american accent to compare it with and it's harder to mimic especially if you're from the southern parts of the PI where people have stronger accents. Although, if you ever try to correct your pronounciation, you may come out like 'maarte' to some people but that's not even an excuse, di ba? Some of us just needs more practice than others I guess. I think it's even easier to talk in a British accent than a flawless american one. try it.

â˜…â˜…â˜…â˜¼

Canada.

iscikedelic

ha ha maybe the elementary English teachers.

_smile_'s Kometa of Biga-a

I am smiling with your question. In the province we always encounter that pronunciation mistakes and we laugh at it. The way I see it, for me as a bisaya I find it a little difficult to converse in English. I am not used to it. Every day of my life I converse in my own dialect and sudden changes in my choice of words can make me utter the english word with a bisayan accent. And believe me it horrible to listen to. That it can make you laugh very loud. We are not natural English speakers and lucky are those you can converse or had the opportunity to develop their English skills.

Jaimee seeks HARMONY!

>>Welcome to my World!<<

I have had wrinkles, gray hair, eyebags, insomnia, migraine, vision problems...you name it, I must have had everything just to ensure that my trainees would have a better, more acceptable, 'Americanized' and 'British' accent!

Its unfair for me to pinpoint on the teachers for this concern. I am an Accent Trainer...so that means I am stabbing myself if I put all the blame on them!=P

This is what I noticed. Its cultural...and word pronunciation and diction would differ depending on which region they are from and what dialect they use. Mispronunciation of words often relates to how would they usually pronounce a word in their native tongue/native tongue.

Your example of 'cap', 'cop', and 'cup' ... is a major pain in the neck for someone like me. In general, in the Philippines...we do not have the 3 A sound --- /ae/, /au/, /uh/ (schwa) sound. So if we read words like those 3, we will be pronouncing it in a way we are familiar of saying...with a full /AH/ sound.

But compare to the people I have taught english to, Filipinos are the most flexible in terms of adaptation to a required accent. We can easily copy a certain accent. As long as we are willing to. That is one talent we have aside from singing (I guess =P)

If one has lisp though...thats a different story. Then there will my wrinkles, eyebags, insomnia, migraine....go again!=P

Hope this helps.

=D

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: