When Bb. Pilipinas 2008 Miss World, Janina San Miguel answered this way: “I did not expect that I came from, I came from one of the top 10. Hmmm, so, but I said that my family is the most important persons in my life”, this probably is part of the Philippine evolution of English. Though this is not exactly what poet Gemino Abad proudly declared that Filipinos have "colonized the English language", this somehow points to the situation that Filipinos are slowly making its own English language adaptation.
The Filipino English is a culture in itself. It is a dialect that has its own right, just like all other English languages in the world. The standard American English that Filipinos are forced to learn in school may not be the only one kind of English language in this world after all. According to Isabel Pefianco Martin, president of the Linguistic Society of the Philippines (LSP) and a member of the International Year of Languages Committee Philippines, all languages are equally perfect and complete from the linguistic standpoint. In other words, no language is inferior to the other. This includes our so-called “carabao” English.
But who are we to decide what is correct and wrong English when all that Filipinos want to do is merely transform the language into a form with Philippine prestige? So what if "every now and then" means “often” to us when in standard American English it means "occasionally"?
Filipino English is correct here in the Philippines, just as American English is correct over there. The ownership of the English language is already shared across continents and cultures. Nobody owns the language anymore. In fact, in reference to Isabel Pefianco Martin’s article, “non-native” speakers of English are beginning to outnumber “native” speakers in the world today. In international English Language Teaching circles, academics do not talk about English in singular terms anymore. There is widespread recognition that several Englishes exist around the four corners of the world.
Many foreigners observe that Filipinos are better speakers than Americans. We say English more clearly than any other non-native English-speaking countries. We understand English-speaking visitors better than they understand us because we are used to hearing different forms of English. The complexities of hearing and saying the English language have given birth to our own version, which should never be measured as second-rate.
The outburst of Filipino English in society is not restricted to the ‘less educated’. Even in Filipino educated circles, the expressions, which are neither American nor British versions, are acceptable and frequently used. The hundreds of Filipino professional bloggers are into this Filipino English culture as well. Nobody is complaining. The reason is simple: if enough educated elites in the blogosphere ‘commit’ these errors, then these errors in effect have been accepted by the blogosphere as the standard, as highlighted also by Teodoro Llamzon in Standard Filipino English (1985).
Nanette Fernandez, assistant professor of English from the Ateneo de Manila University and a founder of the Ateneo Center for English Language Teaching, said, the 'nativized' form of English that Filipinos speak is correct even if it is different from the English spoken in other parts of the world.
Yes, Filipinos have their own our brand of English language that is a valid and colorful. And Filipinos must regard that with confidence and pride. What is the use of our being the third most populous English speaking country in the world if we do not have our own variety?
Finally, when someone tells you: “You are like a Balikbayan box, because I get excited when you arrive.” You can answer this way: “You are like constipation, because you take my breath away.” Funny? Yes, and will always be. Welcome to the quirks and twists of Filipino English!
by: Jeffrey Salas (Certified World Languages Translation Staff)
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