Why can't Filipinos speak proper English?

Show all answers

Albert D

Sad to hear that you met one of those who talks that way (and defenitly they're starting to multiply). I'm a Filipino and to be frank and blunt about it, it all started in the schools today. Heavens know it would be a lonnnnnnnnngggggg story to get to the roots, but ill try to enlighten you. You see many schools here nowadays had started hiring teachers who have very low proficiency in english conversation as well as in writing. The Education Dept here in the Philippines once conducted an English proficiency exam for all teachers in elementary and high school levels and guess what.... a great majority failed the exam. And to think these teachers conducts english classes everyday from kids to adults. And these students will actually think that what they hear is right. Inspite of all efforts by the Education Dept to uplift these proficiency all have failed because they have teachers in their staff that could never ever comply to that standard.

You may ask why they are still there? Why dont they fire them? Well welcome to the Philippines.. only these things happens only in the Philippines. It is so sad to see such things continues up to this day.

You ask how come I know this? I'm a computer shop owner near a school and Education students (future Teachers) would have their lesson plans and alike encoded. I wish I could show their lesson plans, their letters, their resume and cover letters. Geesh!

Me I graduated 1978, and all we had then was the basics in school, but by God we have very good teachers then who studied under American and Filipino professors. Back then when I was in elementary level majority of students could carry very decent English conversation.

I guess we are a dwindling race, English as a second language of the Filipinos is fast deteriorating. What you have encountered is what we call here "pa-cute english". They try to cover-up their deficiency by trying to be coy and cute.

By the way are you a Filipina? Anyway there are still Filipinos here who can carry on this ability. Want to talk to someone who is good at english? Try talking to a World War II veteran and yuo would see that I am right. Education then was much much better then here in the Philippines.

Nothing beats the "old school" approach. No amount of magazines, newspapers and even television could ever correct what has been taught in the young minds of children who for the first time entered school.

alyx

This may be because not everyone in the Philippines is fortunate enough to have a full and complete grasp of the language. Yes, Filipinos may have been taught English in school from kindergarten to college, but that doesn't mean that they received the same QUALITY of education you may have had, hence their inability to speak proper English.

In response to your criticism on the "I goh toh Jaleebeh ebree feydey", there is nothing grammatically wrong about that statement, therefore it is proper English. I believe what you are attacking is the accent, which is strange--just because it doesn't sound American doesn't mean that it's not "proper". This makes me wonder what your idea of proper English is.

By the way, if you reread your question, you'll find a number of errors--e.g. "But why is that a lot of Filipinos who can't speak American English?" You should've removed the "who" in the question to make it grammatically correct. You also misspelled English as "Englsish". It's rather embarrassing to commit such mistakes when you are ranting on about why Filipinos can't speak proper English. Maybe you should ask yourself that.

DC Fanatic

English is not our native tounge. If you're Filipino, you should know that.

Besides, why do we have to speak American English? We're not Americans! I can speak English more fluently than a lot of Americans w/o having to sound like an American or speak in English the same way they do. Have you watched, Oprah, Maury, and all those American shows. Take not that their guests frequently make mistakes in subject-verb agreements, interchanging male and female pronouns, etc. And those guests are your average Joes. If they, who are native English speakers, are not that perfect with their own language, I don't see what gives with your ordinary Juan who's not perfect with a language not our own.

c",

MissBlah

I think that's a generalized question.

For one to master any language it's important to read in that language, speak in that language and write in that language. Oneâ€™s environment largely contributes to how a person develops his/her skills in a certain language.

While Filipinos are taught English from kindergarten to college, some factors have to be taken into account.

Keep in mind that the Philippines has several dialects. The education system requires us to also study Filipino, which is based on Tagalog. Majority of Filipino students face the challenge of having to be able to converse in three or more languages therefore. Unless youâ€™re a genius, can you really master that many languages?

Then thereâ€™s the will of the person himself as to whether or not he would like to hone is skills in English. Since Iâ€™ve discussed the challenge of speaking English well, letâ€™s move on to reading. Seriously, how many people read nowadays? By reading I do not mean looking at traffic signs, reading text messages or what. I mean actually enriching the mind through books, editorials, or websites with substance even. I do not know anyone my age who willingly reads things beyond Harry Potter (not that itâ€™s a bad thing) or â€œchick litâ€.

And because of this, poor reading skills translate into poor writing. Iâ€™ve heard of so many horror stories from Communication Arts graduates who cannot get jobs in firms because of this (how they graduated in the first place is beyond me).

In the midst of globalization, you will hear even more accents. Whatâ€™s wrong with ours? Why must everything we do be similar with what the Americans have? Theyâ€™re not the only English speakers in the world (the REAL English find the Americansâ€™ accent funny by the way). Try to be more open-minded.

Lastly, you have to give to us Pinoys, weâ€™re still the best English speakers on this side of the planet. Most of us understand English, and we can get our point across anyway. So why the negative attitude? Weâ€™re just fine.

John R

I wouldn't get too upset - most of us here in the US don't speak 'proper English'. It's a screwy language with all kinds of pronunciation variations, dialects and "different meanings for the same words" problems. God only knows what we'd do to Tagalog.

Georgina

To validate what has already been mentioned, to speak English with an accent is quite different from not being able to speak English. This accent is mainly because our toungues are used to pronouncing our national language and therefore we tend to speak with that intonation, pretty much like some Americans are unable to roll their "R".

I am making extra effort to take your remarks in a non-derogatory way as I work in a field where a lot of correspondence is exchanged between my people in the US and the rest of the world including Europe and other parts of Asia. By far the best and most comprehendable English I have ever encountered are those of Filipinos because they though they dont have the American accent, they are able to speak in a clear audible manner.

I recommend seeing the glass half full on your part and taking time to compare Filipino English to those of Indians, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, other parts of the US such as the south and Jersey and the British. You will see that there is not much difference besides the accent. You will also see that just like us Filipinos, they too make grammatical errors.

pink.nybble

youve got high standards, girl.
you have to look at the culture thing and your environment.
the "let's go na to the mall, i want to buy a skirt eh" kind belongs to the coniotic group of peeps or the wannabees.

OFWs, pinoy: call center agents, managers, engineers worldwide are all goin to be mad when they hear this. :P

and girl, not everybody speaks your british english. not even americans. or maybe yes. but not all.

i go loony

The skills in english language can be acquired not only when you come to school to learn it but also when you expose yourself to it. In the Philippines, there isn't only one language spoken. There are over 173 languages plus English which is the chief language used in education, law, buisiness, media and in almost everything.

The answer to your question why the Filipinos have different pronunciations in different words in English is because we have our own language that has its own pronunciation which influences the way we speak in English. People tend to speak words that may be pronounced in the most comfortable ways. In Korea and Japan, they don't speak in the American way and they extend syllables - simply because they speak in theri native tongue in the same way.

In Spain, they tend not to pronounce words properly too because thay are only familiar with vowels a,e,i,o,u having distinct pronunciation. In English, there are many possible pronunciations of each vowel such as the schwa, long i, short i, etc... They (Spanish people) also tend to speak In English as influenced by the way they speak their native tongue.

There are still many Filipinos who can't speak Englsih very well because of the inexposure to the language. It is possible that in the community where one resides don't really use English except when this person comes to school. The lack of application of what you learn will definitely not make you use it so therefore, you'll lose it.

In the old times, the Philippines had citizens that were very good at English regardless of their educational attainment because English was widely and STRICTLY used. Nowadays, it is widely used but not strictly used as we can even respond in Tagalog when the teacher asks in English. According to my father and my grandmother, students who didn't have a good command of the language during the colonial times were punished.

The media have (not has) a contribution to the inability of other people to speak English well. TV programs these days, unlike during my time when i was young, are all in Tagalog. So there is a possibility for one child to learn Tagalog more than English..

We may have a lot of newspapers and magazines that are published in English which would help us acquire skills but not all people have time to read them and these tools don't reach other places in the Philippines.

The others may learn English but if they think about the relevance of English in their lifestyle, they tend not to learn it instead.

If the people in the Philippines don't speak English well, it doesn't mean that English is not taught well in school. The answer to your question is simply THE APPLICATION of what we learn which we lack, and along with that is THE EXPOSURE to it.

von1979

Yes Filipinos are taught how to read and write in English but not as a first language especially in public school but at private schools it is the medium of instruction. First and foremost our first language is Tagalog which we can fluently speak and write. In fact there is no such thing as a proper English what matters is that we can at least speak the language and understand it

As a comment to Albert above you cannot just point your fingers to the teachers, I have been teaching for 5 years now in a public school and i tell you, it really is frustrating to teach English subjects when dealing with kids who cannot even understand what i am talking about. Children today they are only expose to this language at school but at home and the community, there are not. To tell you it was really a culture shock for me when i first taught in public school but still it is a process that teachers are fighting everyday.
The media are not helping at all, lately the movies and shows are now being dubbed into Tagalog.
I am not defending the teachers at all, I agree with you when you say why not fire those teachers who cannot even construct a simple English in there lesson plans come to think, if there plans are not written in good english what more is the application. But the question is where are the teachers who can speak the English language good, they are now abroad.

the_quiet_storm2

1. english is NOT the filipino's native language. have you talked to a pakistani , an indian or a nigerian in english? i would say filipinos speak better english than them.

2. our schools cannot afford to hire native english speakers (american, british, nz, australian).

3. more important, why are we speaking it. the thais dont speak english, the japanese dont, the south koreans dont. and yet, they are wealthier countries than the philippines.

piglet :D

yes, i know that a lot of Filipinos can't speak english fluently ....thats cuz its not our mother toungue..i mean.its easier for most of the people to adapt to the language which their country is surrounded with and spoken to....yes, i know that from the very day that we started schooling this was the language we were taught but i guess most of the people just never think of the benefits we get from the english language....but hey, our country is one of the best english speakers in the world.....just this past year,when i was in 5th grade(yeahhh...i know i'm only 11 yrs old and still a kid ....but who cares.....i'm 11 and i'm speaking my heart out to you guys) there were three koreans that joined our class.....me and my friends asked them why they transfered here to the Philippines....guess what they said!??.........they said they were here to learn english....then i asked them why here why not in America?...they said it was much more expensive there so they chose our country..........

so my main point here is that even though most Filipinos say english like " I goh toh Jaleebeeh ebree feydey" its still good for other countries like korea ....and a lot more countries...................i know ur not a perfectionist but u just happen to be better than most people in english thats all

Because Filipinos are not native English speakers.

duffy_ivan

im english,born and bred,and even i cant talk it properly,in fact my wife is fillipina,and she is better than me at it,and often pulls me up on my own language,so its no real big thing,and none of her family talks any english,and we find that hand signals are universal.

Lola

way are you cretecising all the fhiliphinos? hav a hart. nat oll can spek with veri good aksent like you. like me, i'm bad in may aksent becos i'm bisaya. our aksent is veri bad. so, are you mad at may kind? whay? sori, if we made you miserabol with our aksent. my teachir did nat teach me good englis. if i can turn bak taym bat tooo lit. tank you for letting us kno of your prablem with fhiliphinos, eh?

did it make you feel better?

nino1481

why ask dumb questions, when you already know the answer.

Tammy

Do you mean that Filipinos sound differently than Americans or British when they speak English? (In your example you mentioned p/f problem) It's called regional accent and everyone has it. Some only sound funnier than others do but it does not change the correctness of someone's grammar or vocabulary - both of which contribute to being a proper English speaker. Educational level, exposure to the language, and confidence to converse contribute in enhancing our English speaking skills.

When you go to the US, you will be shocked at how Americans do not even know how to correctly speak THEIR OWN language. Ebonics by the African-Americans, the redneck slang, and oh my god do not even get me started on the misspelled words. Even the colegiala accent is like, duh, how girls in LA speak (did you not watch Clueless?). I guess it's an even bigger shame for native English speakers to be less than superior in their mother tongue.

It's sad for Filipinos to be picked on for not being masters of a language that is not their own. Hindi man tayo dalubhasa sa pagsasalita ng Ingles, tayo naman ang pinakamagaling sa mundo sa pagdiskurso gamit ang sarili nating wikang Pilipino.

Jeff

Filipinos cannot fully speak english fluently since not a lot of us had the privilege to learn the language from a very good instructor. True, that most of us studied the language even since we were children, but most of the teachers that we had back then(even now) came from the provinces, thus they have vernacular accents. I have nothing against them and I really do respect them, but it is hard for us to find passionate teachers who can also communicate well in english.

What we also lack is the chance to practice what we've learned. We cannot communicate with "tv shows, magazines, newspapers, radio shows ", so how can we apply the theoretical knowledge that we have? With the person who talked with you, you simply cannot blame him/her if he/she said "I goh toh Jaleebeh ebree feydey." since the old Filipino language only has 5 vowel sounds (aeiou) and does not use the f,v as well as the th.

Enunciation plays a very big role in the pronounciation of english words, with the American language having a lot of vowel sounds (ae,i/e,o/u...) as well as th,pf,bv,s/sh sounds, as compared to the Filipino language that only has basic consonant and vowel sounds. That is the difference between the two, and the pronounciation can greatly affect the accent and the diction when it comes to speaking American English. Filipinos speak in English using Filipino diction, and for someone who's very sensitive about the language, it can be irritating at times.

English is a medium that is used by a different types of people at different levels, and I agree with you that colegiala english very annoying. It is a product of a person not fluent with english who tries to speak the language while incorporating Filipino words so that he/she can complete the sentence, just so that he/she can say that he/she can can be termed as coÃ±o or pasosyal. FIlipinos have the mentality that if something's hard to understand, they'll just let it go and would not study about it, until the time comes that they would need it.

binibining pilipina

This is Bullshit!!

Filipino can speak proper English, It's just the way they pronounce the word/s...as in Accent.

What is your definition of proper English? There's a lot of American or even British who can't speak proper english.

"colegiala english" they're just doing that on purpose, ok.

scean_aqua

I strongly agree with ina and trinitysage. What is your definition of proper English???

XIZOR

American English is not the International Standard English. Also, English is only a second language, you can't beat the intonation of the mother tongue!

Eduard

tsk, we are taught of filipino as our language,in the first place, its our mother tongue. we normally used that one in a normal conversation, cant you realize, its not only Filipinos, even some other people have problems there, y dont think of the chinese? the japanese? do they speak as fluent as americans do? come to think of it.. and its not all filipinos, chinese and japanese, there are just some people. and cant you realize that philippines is one of tehe country that is having call center industry. its fast growing here, y?, because foreigners know that Filipinos can speak english and in the process, we strive to learn lots of things in order for us to enhance our knowledge...

NONAME

no idea.it does not matter.

SHEMH

Okay, I have taught English technically for two years in a public school. A year as a student teacher and another year as a real English teacher. Imagine how frustrated I was whenever I read my students' writing materials. We can't really blame them because they're victims of whatever we may call it. The reasons I believe are the teachers' lack of dedication in doing their jobs, their lack of knowledge about the subject matter, and the parents, too, because I know most parents today don't care anymore about their kids' performance in school as long as they "go to school" and "pass." Of course, our government is not doing well their responsibilities towards or school system, too. That's why we have insufficient classrooms, not enough learning materials, and mediocre teachers and even educators who "turned education into politics." Our education system is like this because of politics in among education officials. They keep those mediocre teachers becuase they're a friend's relative and somethind more like that which is not right and is not fair...(I've been a victim of this so I quit teaching.) So sad. Teaching was my dream, I worked hard for it but too bad it was impossible for me to put up with those political educators/education officials because there's a lot of them and they're "up" there if you know what I mean.

We may complain about it and suffer this effect but there's nothing more to do now. I see the situation hopeless. Though of course there is still a few good English speakers and a few good "real" educators by heart. Don't hate the nannies' English, that's all they acquired from their employers.

battgirl

If you're referring to the pronounciation and accent, well girl, we live in the Philippines, people speak Filipino languages/dialects most of the time and though proficient in English, we don't use it for our daily conversations. In school the focus of teaching the language is on being grammatically correct and having error-free spelling. So unless you went into a "speech class" to enhance your English speaking skill or have a native English speaker for a conversation partner or you practice your English speaking skills everyday, chances are you don't speak "American English" or even pronounce the words right.

And if you've live outside Philippines for quite sometime, you'd find out that what you have considered to be as a good accent in speaking English still sound Filipino.

And you know what's worse than "colegiala English"? TAGLISH!

tinapot

I also agree with trinitysage. there are different english accents and we don't have to imitate the American, British or whatever accent just to say it's proper english. But of course, there are correct pronunciations like for example saying "the" with an "h" putting your tongue between your teeth. And I must say that we Filipinos are even more careful on our grammars than the Americans.

Just Another Teen On The Web

OK, well, that person talking about Jollibee may haven't gone to school. He or she may have also just wanted to talk that way, I know English and Tagalog well and I sometimes talk like that just for kicks. Some people don't have a chance to go to school. Even I have an accent when I talk English because I know Tagalog and there's some parts where you have to say things differently form how you pronounce things in English. It's really nothing to stress about. Some people have accents like I do. Maybe the teachers can't speak English that well but they are trying as much as they can. :)

Foxgirl

I think its all in the Wanting to!

tranquil

1. Less application.

The government passed a law that the mode of communication must be in Filipino (including human anatomy and physiology).

2. Less exposure.

The dwindling number of proficient people speaking the language directly lessened the knowledge of the students in english.

3. Weak foundation.

Most families now have both parents working outside the home. These parents hire caregivers to look after their children. Some caregivers are given instructions to speak english to the children. As the caregivers spend a lot of time with the children, the children they look after become taglish (tagalog-english) speakers.

As long as that person can get her/his point understood, it's good. If you find it unbearable, please tactfully teach the person, perhaps she/he is simply unaware. It does not really matter what one's background is. As long as that person has a desire to improve her/himself and does something about it, it can be done.

gab

well i have currently gone abroad for a while and it is not only hard to learn the language, but to use the tounge correctly for ceartain sounds. i noticed that most people cant say "th" or "r"

windblown

If you will just properly observe, citizens of 'english speaking' countries cannot speak proper english also. If it means, using the right grammar. How can you expect the Filipinos to do it right also?

When it comes to pronounciation, its because we have different accents. Even the Americans and British sometimes are having a hard time understanding each other.

I am not good with my english (verbal and oral) but I am working on it. I am living now in another country and I can tell you Filipinos are competetive when it comes to english language.

Otaku in Need

Hmmm.... Well if you want a simpler version of some of the answers up there here it is:

1. We have low-quality public school education. Especially in the remote provinces.

2. You seem to ignore the fact that this is a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY!!! Most of the young population can't even afford to finish grade school!

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: