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Throughout the 7,100 island
archipelagos, Filipinos speak nearly 90 languages and
dialects. The three major dialects are Ilocano (northern
Luzon, also the dialect spoken most commonly by
Filipinos in Hawaii and on the U.S. mainland); Tagalog
(central and southern Luzon); and Cebuano (southern
islands) (BYU, 1986). Linguistically, these three
dialects and all major indigenous languages are
historically related ; they derve from "Original
Indonesian" as a subfamily of the Austronesian or
Malayo-Polynesian languages and share most of their
basic grammatical features (Harper & Fullerton, 1994;
Li, 1983). Despite their similarities in grammar and
pronunciation, centuries of isolation have produced
distinct and mutually unintelligible native languages (Gochenour,
1990). Regional divisions and linguistic differences and
barriers have thus endured to the present; they have
created major difficulties in promoting educational and
cultural development (PAPEP, 1982).
For a period of time during the Marcos regime, there was
a popular movement to establish and mandate the use of a
national language called "Pilipino." Pilipino is
primarily Tagalog, the language spoken by a minority of
people in the Manila region. It is highly structured
grammatically and has a rich vocabulary, with words
invented or borrowed from Spanish, English, and other
native dialects. More than half of the population
understand (Harper & Fullerton, 1994). However, because
of its main basis in Tagalog, has never gained full
acceptance by speakers of other dialects, although it is
a required subject of study in the public schools
throughout the islands and is used as a language of
business (BYU, 1986; Gochenour, 1990).
With so many dialects, English has been and continues to
be the unifying language. In fact, the Philippines has
the third largest English speaking population in the
world, after the United States and the United Kingdom (BYU,
1986). English is the language of the public schools
(from fourth grade through college) and is the de facto
national language of business, commerce, law,
government, and often the mass media and popular
entertainment. It is the language of the elite with
status, wealth, and authority. The power of English and
its selective usage is exemplified in the home
environment. Members of a family will typically speak
to one another in their particular regional dialect,
with an added sprinkling of English words. Yet it is
very possible for the father, when admonishing a child,
to summon up a tone of authority by employing a few
English words or shifting entirely into English if he
can. Similarly, educated friends may typically converse
in their local dialect but gradually shift into English
if the subject becomes technical or especially serious.
This shifting may be related to vocabulary, but it often
reflects the way s feel about the language. "Things may
be easier to say in English, or the use of English may
serve to emphasize the importance of the topic. The
speakers may feel that they can be more precise in
English or that English is less personal and not as
potentially threatening" (Gochenour, 1990, p. 38).
The use of English also can affect sensitivities. If,
for example, in an ordinary transaction between two s,
one of them addresses the other in English, it may be
viewed as an attempt to show off and "put down" the
other. Moreover, the tendency to equate facility in
English with social class and intelligence may foster
self-consciousness and insecurity in dialogues with
native English speaking Americans. Many immigrants
pride themselves on being English speakers and may have
demeaned those in the Philippines who speak carabao
(water buffalo) or "bamboo English." However, once in
the United States, they may find their own version of
English to be unacceptable and a cause for embarrassment
(Santos, 1983). Furthermore, when speaking to immigrants
who appear to be fluent in English, Americans usually
presume that their English language comprehension is
extensive, whereas often it is not. This expectation
obviously contributes strain in American interactions,
"tension which the American is certain to feel much less
than the ," who is typically his or her own harshest
critic (Gochenour, 1990, p. 40). Such sensitivity needs
to be considered when communicating with Filipinos whose
English comprehension is better than their expressive
English and who may be insulted when addressed in
childlike English (Harper & Fullerton, 1994).
English in the Philippines often contains an admixture
of indigenous language elements. A Filipino's first
language or native dialect significantly influences his
or her accent, intonation, vocabulary, syntax, and
idiomatic expressions when he or she speaks English
(Santos, 1983). The phonological systems of the various
languages also are a factor. For example, because
Tagalog distinguishes more vowel sounds than do other
dialects, a from Manila finds it naturally easier to
make the distinction in English between, say, "bit" and
"bet" than would someone from Cebu. As previously noted,
the sound of "f" does not occur in most of the
indigenous languages of the islands; thus, Filipino
commonly substitute the "p" sound for "f." The native
English speaker hearing the sentence, "I prepered this
report," could easily be uncertain whether the speaker
meant "I preferred this report" or "I prepared this
report" (Gochenour, 1990, p. 39).
Indigenous Philippine languages are prepositional, verb
initial (i.e., basic sentences have their verbs in the
sentence initial position), and regularly stress the
next-to-last syllable in most words (Li, 1983). Like
many other Asian languages, they also have a single word
for the gender pronouns "he" and "she." Apart from
grammatical and phonological characteristics, it is
noteworthy that one particular dialect called "Chabacano"
(a local language spoken in the area around the city of
Zamboanga in Mindanao) is heavily mixed with Spanish.
Other Filipinos know a fair number of Spanish words that
have entered their particular regional dialects, and
many people and places have Spanish names. However, as a
functional language, Spanish is clearly peripheral, and
a relatively small number of Filipinos (primarily
Spanish mestizos) speak it fluently (particularly
because it was used exclusively by the wealthy, land
owning families during the period of Spanish rule, and
no more than 10% of the population ever spoke it). In
fact, despite nearly 4 centuries of Spanish dominion,
the Philippines is one of the few former colonies of
Spain where Spanish did not become the national language
(Gochenour, 1990; Harper & Fullerton, 1994; Winter,
1988).
The Philippines is regarded as the only nation in Asia
that is predominantly English speaking, and Filipinos
often are assumed to be fully proficient in the English
language. The preceding discussion, however, serves to
illustrate the reality of an extremely multilingual
country where English is a second language. It also
offers cautions and considerations regarding the
dynamics of communication with English-speaking.
Languages of the Philippines
Republic of the Philippines. National or official languages: Tagalog (Pilipino,
Filipino), English. 72,944,000 (1998 UN). Literacy rate 88% to 89%. Also
includes Basque, Dutch 506, French 698, Standard German 961, Hindi 2,415,
Indonesian 2,580, Italian 97, Japanese 2,899, Korean, Sindhi 20,000, Vietnamese,
Arabic. Information mainly from L.A. Reid 1971; SIL 1954-1999. Christian,
Muslim, secular, traditional religion. Blind population 1,144,500. Deaf
population 100,000 to 4,232,519 (1998). Deaf institutions: 17. Data accuracy
estimate: A1, A2. The number of languages listed for Philippines is 172. Of
those, 169 are living languages and 3 are extinct. Diversity index 0.85
Read more ...
Pros and Cons of Speaking the Language -- Why Speak
Tagalog, Why Speak Visayan (Visaya)/ Cebuano
What are the pros and cons of learning Filipino
languages? Let's say you speak Tagalog or Cebuano-Visaya (Visayan) now.
Pros:
You will endear yourself to quite a few natives. You
will seem more familiar and special. Especially people from
working classes as well as peasantry and farmers and the poor in the
squatter areas will like you a lot.
These are beautiful and sophisticated languages with
great literature of you care to look for it. Besides they are
acoustically pleasant to one's ear. Tagalog sounds like someone is
playing a piano and Visaya sounds like a bubbling brook. They
"taste good" when you speak them.
Cons:
You will now be removing the respectful distance that
exists between you and the average Filipino. If you make a
mistake you will be made fun of. If when you spoke only English some
Filipinos would be polite and happy to practice their English with you,
and would see you as a high class person, now they are in the
position to mockingly mimic your pronunciation and make fun of how
you speak.
You also shock many natives by the mere fact that you
are speaking
Visaya/Tagalog, etc. It can be annoying.
Some people may suspect that you are some kind of spy or
call
you "wise"( negative meaning).
You will understand bad things some people say about
you. It may be
good or it may be bad. Ignorance is bliss, some say.
You will also be put in an awkward situation with
educated Filipinos
who are not used to speaking Philippine languages with
foreigners.
You will be speaking in Tagalog and they will be
answering to you in
English.
RP languages are hard to learn since good books are not
easy to come
by. The Grammar is hard. In addition to that, the
languages are now
so diluted with English even if you speak them
correctly, many
natives may not understand you as the words may be too
deep or
archaic for them.
IF you do not learn Tagalog or
Visayan/Cebuano
Pros:
I can see many expats in RP who do not know more than
two or
three words in the local languages and have no plans to
study them.
Most of the time they are as happy as larks walking
proudly with a
beautiful Filipina by their side ho is as happy as a
lark, too,
running businesses and enjoying a great life overall.
They may not
be able to endear themselves to the working classes or
do serious
missionary work but many do not feel the need to. The
precious time
that is taken by the grueling study of the devilishly
hard grammar
and vocabulary is spent enjoying one's life in the
beautiful country
to the fullest.Business meetings are conducted in
English, the wife
and kids want to speak English at home and the people
treat you with
polite deferment when you speak English to them. They
say "Yes, sir"
to you. You represent a powerful civilization that they
have grown
to admire- that of the English-speaking world, US in
particular.
Cons:
You will miss on some newspaper and periodicals that are
in
local languages and you may not be able to relate to the
working
classes, be a missionary or in any way work on a
folkloric/grass
root level. You will not be able to understand Tagalog
movies or
song lyrics.
And most people do not mind that at all. Neither the
locals nor the
expats.
Filipinos are so polite, they strive to accommodate
foreigners and do
not want to inconvenience them by making them feel
uncomfortable in
any way.
I speak Tagalog fluently now and Visayan/Cebuano on an upper
intermediate
level and have experienced the pros and the cons
described. [David Kessel 10-19--05]
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