English In Filipinos Colleges And Universities

[alsuave]

 

 

 

Is there such a thing as a Philippine English dictionary? I'm kind of curious to see if all the mispronunciations and misspellings I encounter out here are actually good Philippine English.

 

I don't know for sure but I believe mispronouncing English words comes from parents and teachers who do not know how to pronounce the words correctly.

 

A good example is, This May a 1st cousin is coming to live with us who pronounces her first name as Annjaniece ( Ann/ja/niece ) When I asked to see her Birth certificate I discovered that her name is actually two names Ann Janice.

I guess, but as a Spanish speaker, I can't help but noticed how they've managed to destroy a whole lot of Spanish words. Those words are all part of the Filipino language now though. You could certainly speak Tagalog without using any bast---ized Spanish, but I don't think anyone does outside of an academic setting. So I'm wondering the same thing about all the inconsistencies I see in Philippine English. Is it that most Filipinos don't learn proper English, or are they speaking correct Philippine English?

 

 

It would be really hard to speak Tagalog without Spanish loan words.  I'm sure the French say the same thing about how English has disgraced the French words they have adopted.  Language is a living, evolving entity and how the native speakers use it makes it correct regardless of academic tut-tutting.  Frankly, I have to turn on the subtitles on videos if it features Irish, Scottish, Australian or Cockneys cause I can't understand what they are saying -- and it is supposedly English!

 

I know it's possible to speak Tagalog without using Spanish. My wife takes a class in university where they do that. I guess it's kind of erudite Tagalog.

Edited February 22, 2014 by alsuave

[JJReyes]

I don't know for sure but I believe mispronouncing English words comes from parents and teachers who do not know how to pronounce the words correctly.

 

This is a tricky issue because it depends on vowel sounds in the native tongue. For example, there is no "c" sound in Filipino. It is pronounced similar to the "k" sound. When my brother returned home after his plebe year at Virginia Military Institute, he spoke English with a Southern drawl. Everyone thought it was funny. I had unwittingly picked-up "Valley Talk" as spoken by classmates from San Fernando Valley while desperately avoiding a Texas accent from classmates who were from that state.

 

Classmates from the United States during our high school years made fun of our heavy accent. We collective referred to them as, "Barbarians" because they could only speak one language while everyone else spoke three, four or even five languages. 

 

My wife observed that I revert to Philippine English whenever I am in the Philippines or with a group of Filipinos. 

Edited February 22, 2014 by JJReyes

[jpbago]

 

It takes them too long to translate words from their native language to be fluent in English.

 

Koreans for the most part are the same way.  Despite studying English for many years, and being able to read English out loud perfectly, conversational ability in English just seems to elude them.

 

 

This is the problem PI is having with call centers. It seems that they are reading from a roll-o-dex.

[jpbago]

 

 

Is there such a thing as a Philippine English dictionary? I'm kind of curious to see if all the mispronunciations and misspellings I encounter out here are actually good Philippine English.

 

I don't know for sure but I believe mispronouncing English words comes from parents and teachers who do not know how to pronounce the words correctly.

 

A good example is, This May a 1st cousin is coming to live with us who pronounces her first name as Annjaniece ( Ann/ja/niece ) When I asked to see her Birth certificate I discovered that her name is actually two names Ann Janice.

I guess, but as a Spanish speaker, I can't help but noticed how they've managed to destroy a whole lot of Spanish words. Those words are all part of the Filipino language now though. You could certainly speak Tagalog without using any bast---ized Spanish, but I don't think anyone does outside of an academic setting. So I'm wondering the same thing about all the inconsistencies I see in Philippine English. Is it that most Filipinos don't learn proper English, or are they speaking correct Philippine English?

 

 

Kamusta ka?

[Miguk]

I know it's possible to speak Tagalog without using Spanish. My wife takes a class in university where they do that. I guess it's kind of erudite Tagalog.

 

Of course it is possible, but why would you want to make things harder?  Saying "isara ang durungawan" instead of "serado ang bintana" is going to get you either misunderstood or laughed at.

[Miguk]

My wife observed that I revert to Philippine English whenever I am in the Philippines or with a group of Filipinos.

 

My son's British girlfriend does the same thing. When she stays with us long enough you would never know she is British.  Very strange.

[Miguk]

This is the problem PI is having with call centers. It seems that they are reading from a roll-o-dex.

 

Really?  I have found for the most part Filipinos are excellent English speakers.  Even my wife's rice farming uncles in the province are fluent (albeit with a rather heavy accent).  In the cities it is almost a given a majority of people speak fluent English (from my experience - limited mainly to Luzon).

[alsuave]

I know it's possible to speak Tagalog without using Spanish. My wife takes a class in university where they do that. I guess it's kind of erudite Tagalog.

Of course it is possible, but why would you want to make things harder? Saying "isara ang durungawan" instead of "serado ang bintana" is going to get you either misunderstood or laughed at.

I agree with you. That's why I said previously that you would only do it in an academic setting.

[Miguk]

 

 

I know it's possible to speak Tagalog without using Spanish. My wife takes a class in university where they do that. I guess it's kind of erudite Tagalog.

Of course it is possible, but why would you want to make things harder? Saying "isara ang durungawan" instead of "serado ang bintana" is going to get you either misunderstood or laughed at.

I agree with you. That's why I said previously that you would only do it in an academic setting.

 

 

Ah sorry I wasn't trying to be difficult.  Deep Tagalog (as the wife calls it) is not my specialty - and I don't hear her or anyone she talks to using it either in daily conversation.  I imagine it is like written versus spoken English.  There are some words that I am sure I have never heard said out loud but have only read/written them. (Dichotomy anyone? :lol:

[Americano]

 

This is the problem PI is having with call centers. It seems that they are reading from a roll-o-dex.

 

Really?  I have found for the most part Filipinos are excellent English speakers.  Even my wife's rice farming uncles in the province are fluent (albeit with a rather heavy accent).  In the cities it is almost a given a majority of people speak fluent English (from my experience - limited mainly to Luzon).

 

 

Maybe in Luzon the people realize its important to be an English speaker if you plan to advance in life. Some of the large companies only hire employees who are fluent in English. This has been reported in the national news. In Mindanao the opposite is true. The percentage of people who are fluent in English is very low. They are taught English in school but don't speak it at home or have any interest in learning to speak English. The 18 year old who lived with me and my wife for 8 months heard us speaking English every day but she never took part in any English conversations so when she went back home at the end of 8 months she still had the same English skills that she arrived with which is almost zero. After 10 years of being taught English in school all she can say is Good Morning, Good Afternoon, yes, no and thank you. And, she can't do simple math problems. Her family thinks she is very smart. If she is smart by their standards then what does that say about them?