Class Notes 1

• Philippine English is a legitimate nativized variety of English. It is the language used by Filipinos in controlling domains such as science and technology, the judiciary, the legislature, bureaucracy, higher education, scholarly discourse, and the like. While it shares some of the linguistic properties ascribed to other varieties of English, especially those used in Asia, it has features that are unique to it. 
• The Philippines is home to over 100 million people spread across 7,107 islands in Southeast Asia. Among the more than 100 mostly Austronesian languages spoken in this densely populated archipelago is English, making the country one of the largest Anglophone nations in the world.
• Unlike most postcolonial nations, the Philippines did not inherit English from the British but from the Americans. When the Philippine-American War ended in 1902 and the islands officially became an unincorporated territory of the United States, the new colonial administration quickly introduced English as the primary language of government, business, and education. It established a new public school system and sent American English-language teachers all over the country. These American teachers were called Thomasites after the name of the ship they arrived in, the USS Thomas. 
• So effective were American efforts to make English the second language of the Philippines that within a few years, Filipino schoolchildren were learning it from Filipino teachers. By the 1920s Filipino writers such as Paz Marquez Benitez and Jose Garcia Villa had begun producing literary works in English. Within a few decades, English had been woven into the fabric of Philippine society, and not even independence from the United States in 1946 could unravel the threads of linguistic assimilation. 
• Who are the two Filipino writers who had begun producing literary works in English in the year 1920?

  Paz Marquez Benitez and Jose Garcia Villa
• Today, English is constitutionally named as one of the Philippines’ official languages, and it continues to be an integral part of local life and culture. English is the language of business, science, technology, government, education, and international communication. It is present in the country’s print and broadcast media, and in its vibrant artistic and literary scene. Filipino proficiency in English drives a thriving, world-leading outsourcing industry, as well as a rapidly growing education sector that is attracting increasing numbers of international students.
• The Philippine variety of English has evolved beyond the American standard, having developed distinctive features of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and discourse determined by the native languages and culture of its Filipino speakers.
• English, once a completely foreign language, has been embraced by Filipinos and made their own.
• The continuing presence of English in the Philippines gives rise to thorny issues related to national and regional identity, educational policy, and language politics.
• Despite these issues, it cannot be denied that in the little over a century that it has remained in their islands, Filipinos, with their rich indigenous heritage, colorful colonial history, and multiplicity of languages, have made an indelible mark on English.
• Filipino writer Gemino Abad famously stated that 'English is ours, we have colonized it too'.
• Philippine culture is a complex, colorful mosaic combining indigenous Asian features with varied Western influences.
• The country’s rich diversity is reflected in its languages, including Philippine English, whose vocabulary is abounding in words and phrases that are uniquely Pinoy.
• The first Philippine additions to the English lexicon came in the form of plant and animal names borrowed from local languages.
• The following are just a few of the words that can be found in the Oxford English Dictionary with quotations dating back to the 18th century, before English came to the Philippines but right when English-speaking authors began writing about the region’s flora and fauna: abaca, n (first attested 1751) – a kind of banana plant, Musa textilis, native to the Philippines, the petioles of which yield a strong fibre; the fibre itself, used for making paper, ropes, matting, etc.; Manila hemp.
• taclobo, n (1885) – A bivalve mollusc, of great size, the Giant Clam (Tridacna gigas) of the Indian and China seas.
• tamarau, n (1898) – A diminutive black buffalo, Bubalus mindorensis, peculiar to the island Mindoro, in the Philippines.
• ylang-ylang, n (1876) – an anonaceous tree (Canangium odoratum) of Malaysia, the Philippines, etc., with fragrant greenish-yellow flowers from which a perfume is distilled; hence, the perfume itself.
• Balikbayan box is a carton shipped or brought to the Philippines from another country by a Filipino who has been living overseas, typically containing items such as food, clothing, toys, and household products.
• Barangay is a village, suburb, or other demarcated neighbourhood; a small territorial and administrative district forming the most local level of government; from Tagalog.
• Barkada is a group of friends; from Tagalog, ultimately from Spanish barcada ‘boat-load’.
• Despedida party is a social event honouring someone who is about to depart on a journey or leave an organization; a going-away party; a blend of Spanish and English.
• Estafa is criminal deception, fraud; dishonest dealing; from Spanish.
• Kikay kit is a soft case in which a woman’s toiletries and cosmetics are stored; blend of Tagalog and English.
• Pan de sal is a yeast-raised bread roll made of flour, eggs, sugar and salt, widely consumed in the Philippines, especially for breakfast; partly from Tagalog, partly from Spanish.
• Pasalubong is a gift or souvenir given to a friend or relative by a person who has returned from a trip or arrived for a visit; from Tagalog.
• Sari-sari store is a small neighbourhood store selling a variety of goods; blend of Tagalog and English.
• Sisig is a dish consisting of chopped pork, onions, and chillies; from Kapampangan.
• Suki is a buyer or seller involved in an arrangement whereby a customer regularly purchases products or services from the same provider in exchange for favourable treatment; also the arrangement itself; from Tagalog.
• Batchmate is a member of the same graduation class as another; a classmate; formed by combining batch with mate.
• KKB is ‘Kaniya-kaniyang bayad’, literally ‘each one pays their own’, used esp to indicate that the cost of a meal is to be shared.
• Mani-pedi is a beauty treatment comprising both a manicure and a pedicure; formed by clipping and blending the words manicure and pedicure.
• Presidentiable is a person who is a likely or confirmed candidate for president; formed by adding the –able suffix to president.
• Carnapper is a person who steals a motor vehicle; a car thief; formed following the model of kidnapper.
• Comfort room is a toilet; an old-fashioned American euphemism that continues to be widely used in the Philippines.
• High blood is angry, agitated (e.g., I am so high blood because of this traffic jam!); use of a noun phrase as an adjective.
• To go down, phrasal is to alight from a vehicle; to get off a bus, train, etc., esp at a specified stop; a translation of the Filipino verb bumaba.
• Salvage is to apprehend and execute (a suspected criminal) without trial; complete semantic change from the original English meaning ‘to rescue’.
• Filipino English is characterized by distinct phonological, lexical, syntactic, and pragmatic features that reflect the influence of Tagalog and other indigenous languages on the way English is spoken and written in the Philippines.
• English is used in various domains of everyday life in the Philippines, including formal settings like schools, offices, courts, and hospitals; informal settings like homes, markets, streets, and bars; and entertainment venues like cinemas, concert halls, and nightclubs.