International Journal of English and Literature (IJEL) ISSN 2249-6912 Vol. 3, Issue 1, Mar 2013, 45-50 TJPRC Pvt.

. Ltd.

EMERGENCE OF PHILIPPINE ENGLISH: SEEING IT FROM THE CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

JOHN N. CABANSAG Isabela State University, Echague, Isabela, Philippines

ABSTRACT
The evolution of the Philippine English started from the American occupation in 1898 and continued its linguistic development in Philippine standards through the present times. The ability to speak English among Filipinos ranges from a smattering of words and phrases through passive comprehension to near-native mastery. When the English language arrived in the islands through western colonialism, its linguistic characteristics have become unique. Its development was coupled by the patterns of regional uniqueness as a result of indigenous cultures in the country. It is therefore the premise of reviewing thematic studies that deal with culture in the evolution of Philippine English as a language.

KEYWORDS: Philippine English, Western Colonialism, Linguistic Characteristics INTRODUCTION

In the Philippines there are some 85 mutually unintelligible though genetically related languages of the MalayoPolynesian family. These languages of the home serve as substrates whose features have variously influenced the development of Philippine English. In this sense, culture and language learning have a multi-dimensional relationship. Cultural knowledge embedded in a language is important for its speakers on the one hand; and on the other hand, this knowledge has an impact on the philosophy of its learners. Correspondingly, language learning is a window opening to new horizons by building up connections to other cultures, but may also be a form of assimilation promoted by the domination of its culture especially when the language itself is dominant in the world arena. Thus, language teachers may sometimes find themselves in the dilemma of trying to avoid creating fluent fools, but at the same time trying to avoid becoming a tool of linguistic imperialism (Phillipson, 1992).

OBJECTIVE
This research article review sought to unravel the characteristics of Philippine English such as phonology, verb (analysis of modal would), grammar, written models, code switching and social issues. It also endeavored to review the role of culture in the evolution of Philippine English.

METHODOLOGY
Systematic review of the characteristics and the role of culture in the evolution of Philippine English was done by considering the thematic grouping of the following articles/researches: The Evolving Study of Philippine English Phonology (Ma. Lourdes G. Tayao), The Polysemy of Inayan Across Tribal Groups in Mountain Province: Exploring Evidence of Culture-Specific Ethical Conceptions in Language (Purificacion G. Delima, Ph.D.), A Systemic Functional Analysis of Philippine English Newspaper Editorials (Dennis Herrera Pulido), Classroom Discourse in Selected Philippine Primary Schools: A Corpus-Based Analysis of Language Use (Danilo T. Dayag, Leah E. Gustilo, Eden Regala-Flores,

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Ariane M. Borlongan and Maria Eda C. Carreon), On The Origin of Philippine Vowel Grades (Lawrence A. Reid), The Verb in Philippine English: A Preliminary Analysis of Modal Would ( Ma. Lourdes S. Bautista), and Malaysia at Pilipinas: Mga Problemang Pangwika (Benjamin C. De La Fuente) which have been published in refereed journals of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, Philippine Studies, and World Englishes.

DISCUSSIONS Characteristics of Philippine English

Phonology Philippine English is rhotic, but the local /r/ is an alveolar flap, not an American () English retroflex, (2) It is syllable-timed, following the rhythm of the local languages; full value is therefore given to unstressed syllables and

schwa is usually realized as a full vowel, (3) Certain polysyllables have distinctive stress patterns, as with eligible, establish, cermony, (4) Intonation is widely characterized as singsong. (5) Educated Filipinos aim at an American English accent, but have varying success with the vowel contrast in sheep/ship, full/fool, and boat/ bought. (6) Filipinos have the // in American English mask; instead, they use /a/ as in American English father. (7) The distinction between /s, z/ an/ , / is not made; azure is ayshure, pleasure pleshure, seize sees, cars karrs, (8) Interdental /0, / are often rendered as /t, d/, so that three of these is spoken as tree of dese. Among mother-tongue speakers, the phonology of Philippine English almost completely resembles that of the North American variant, while the speech of non-native speakers is influenced to varying degrees by Tagalog and other indigenous Philippine languages. Since many English phonemes are not found in most Philippines languages, pronunciation approximations are extremely common although never among native Anglophones. Vocabulary and Usage Philippine English shares vocabulary with other English dialects, but it shares most similarities with American English. Some words and phrases and their respective definitions or uses are peculiar to Philippine English and may not appear in most English dialects. Some examples are: Aircon An air conditioner. Accomplish To complete a form - all government forms specify they are to be "accomplished". Aggrupation A political group. From the Spanish word agrupacin. Ala Filipinos prefer to spell "a la," or more correctly " la," as one word. Alread Filipinos use this word to state that they have finished doing something, even though it was completed past the original deadline. In standard English, by contrast, "already" is used only when something was completed ahead of schedule. Apartelle A budget hotel. From apartment + hotel + le. Other terms used are "apartel," "apartment hotel," and "condotel." Apartment In the Philippines, this is the word used to refer exclusively to a unit in a building that is being rented out for residential purposes. It is also used to refer to the entire building containing those for-rent units.

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Verb (Analysis of Modal Would) In Philippine English, the local (i.e. non-standard in comparison with Standard American English) uses of would could have come from a convergence of imperfect learning, non-assertiveness and simplification. It is worth noting that exactly the same kind of local usage with regard to would also occurs in Singapore English (Platt, Weber, and Ho, 1984: 74; Alsogoff and Ho, 1998: 141-2) and, as we have seen, in Brunei English. In other words, these could be considered as learners errors. However, a more plausible explanation could be that the students were being ` exposed to non-standard would that was expressive of particular nuances for Bruneians: would expressed non-assertiveness and indirectness, especially in the contexts of intentions, invitations, and offers. Grammar The following features occur at all social levels: (1) Loss of the singular inflection of verbs: The family home rest on the bluff of the hill; One of the boys give a report to the teacher every morning. (2) Use or present perfect for simple past (I have seen her yesterday I saw her yesterday) and past perfect for present perfect (He had already gone home he has already gone home). (3) Use of the continuous tenses for habitual aspect: He is going to school regularly He goes to school regularly. (4) Use of the present forms of auxiliary verbs in subordinate noun clauses rather than past forms, and vice versa: He said he has already seen you He said he had already seen you; She hoped that she can visit you tomorrow; She hoped that she could visit you tomorrow; He says that he could visit you tomorrow; He says that he can visit you tomorrow. (5) An apparent reversal of the norms for the use of the definite article: He is studying at the Manuel Quezon University; I am going to visit United Sates. (6) Verbs that are generally transitive used intransitively; Did you enjoy?; I cannot afford; I dont like. Code-Switching A register has developed for rapport and intimacy that depends on code-switching between Filipino and English. It is largely confined to Metro Manila and other urban centers and used extensively in motion pictures and on television and radio as well as in certain types of informal writing in daily newspaper and weekly magazines. Examples: Dahil tired tayo, I have to quench my thirst, nauuhaw ako. What shall I do? Ok.Thirsty, nauuhaw ako. (Because we are tiredI am thirstyOkay, Im thirsty) Raffy? Ok. I have to drink water, what else? Aside from the water, ano pa yung dapat kong inumin? (What else should I drink?) Fruit juice. Ok fruit juice. How about the children, when you are tired, ano iniinom niyo? Rafael? Sige, huwag kang mahiya Rafael? (What do you drink?...Go ahead, dont be shy) Written Models Because of the influence of reading and writing and the academic context in which English is learned, local speech tends to be based on written models. Filipino generally speak the way they write, in a formal style based on Victorian prose models. Because of this, spelling pronunciations are common, such as lee-opard, subtill for subtle, and wor- sester- shire sauce for Worcestershiresauce. Style is not differentiated and the formal style in general use has been called the classroom compositional style. When style differentiation is attempted there may be effects that are comical from the point of view of a native speaker of English: The commissioners are all horse owners, who at the same time will

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appoint the racing stewards who will adjudicate disputes involving horses. Neat no? (From a newspaper column); Now the tandem [pair] is making its dreams come true, so its not Goin Bananas forever for Johnny (from a gossip column).

THE ROLE OF CULTURE IN THE EVOLUTION OF PHILIPPINE ENGLISH

As long as languages have existed, there also have been cultures. Culture is a vital part of the communication process. Learning a language without its culture is a recipe for becoming a fluent fool. A fluent fool is someone who speaks a foreign language well, but does not understand the social or philosophical content of that language (Bennett, 1993, p. 9). This is to say that even though one may know the language, they may not be successful in the target language because of their lack in cultural language. A language consists of culturally loaded rudiments (Pennycook, 1989; Phillipson, 1992; Alptekin, 1996). While learning a foreign language, it is likely for its learners to need cultural information for better communication. In thus appropriating English, Filipinos paradoxically have likewise emancipated themselves from American English and have taken the code for their own creative uses, an emancipation which is bound to result in novelty in the creative uses of patterning of English at the lexical and syntactic level, in addition to semantic and phonological innovation. What this will mean is that Philippine English has become and will continue to become distinctively different from American, British, Canadian and Australian English. Undoubtedly, this is the partial reason why non-Filipinos find reading Philippine newspapers and Philippine prose, especially the academic prose of college students, so different and even deteriorated, because expressive not only of Philippine realities and Philippine sentiments, values, beliefs, and sensitivity and temperament but also of Philippine syntax and thought patterns. Sociolinguistically, this follows the inexorable results of the localization and indigenization of English, which undoubtedly upsets many Miss Grundies, latterday Thomasites, brown Americans, and sociolinguistically nave Filipino teachers of English. The Filipino has appropriated English and modified it into a Philippine variant not only out of any loyalty to his former colonizers but as a matter of convenience, to have a language of wider communication, not only for his contacts with the West but even for his contacts with his ASEAN neighbors, and to have the language of science and technology which he vitally needs for the development of his country. Here is no language loyalty to his former colonizers; certainly, his is not an integrative motivation for learning a language but purely an instrumental one.

CONCLUSIONS
The Philippine English has evolved from the native speakers of the language who served as models in schools and other social organizations during colonization. Dialects that characterize Filipino cultures remained asa dominant influencing factor in dealing with linguistic mechanics. Filipinos have also taken the language for their own creative uses, an emancipation which is bound to result in novelty in the creative uses of the patterning of English at the lexical and syntactic level, in addition to semantic and phonological innovation. The choice of Philippine English as a medium of instruction and official language should not be viewed as a continuation of linguistic imperialism, but as a form of linguistic emancipation parallel to the development of economic and cultural emancipation in the Philippines.

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This linguistic emancipation gives Filipinos the right to change English. They are able to do this not because of their loyalty to their former colonial masters, but simply out of convenience or for a purely instrumental reason.

In the context of classroom teaching, these ideas imply the end of American cultural content and the emergence of Philippine cultural content, for what will be taught will be Philippine English as it is used in the domains where English is used in the Philippines, largely or relatively culture-free content in science, mathematics, and technology.

REFERENCES
1. Bautista, Ma. Lourdes S. (2004). The verb in Philippine English: A Preliminary Analysis of modal would. World Englishes, Vol. 23. No. 1 2. 3. Bada, E. (2000). Culture in ELT. Cukurova University Journal of Social Sciences, (6), 100-110. Dayag, Danilo T., Leah E. Gustilo, Eden Regala- Flores, Ariane M. Borlongan, and Maria Eda C. Carreon. (2009). Classroom Discourse in Selected Philippine Primary Schools; a Corpus-Based Analysis of Language Use. British Council Manila. 4. De La Fuente, Benjamin C. (2009). Malaysia at Pilipinas: Mga Problemang Pangwika. Malay Tomo VII, Blg. 1-2, 1989-1990. De La Salle University, Philippines. 5. Delima, Purificacion G. (2006). The Polysemy of Inayan Across Tribal Groups In Mountain Province: Exploring Evidence of Culture-Specific Ethical Concepts in Language. Paper presented to the 9th Philippine Linguistics Congress (25-27 January 2006). Organized by the Department of Linguistics, University of the Philippines. 6. 7. 8. Kapili, Lily V. 1988. Requiem for English?.English Today 16 Oct. Cambridge: University Press. Llamzon, Teodoro A. 1969. Standard Filipino English.Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila Press. Pulido, Dennis H. (2011). A Sytemic Functional Analysis of Philippine English Newspaper Editorials. TESOL Journal. Vol 4(1), pp. 52-63. Time Taylor. 9. Reid, Lawrence A. (2006). On the Origin of Philippine Vowel Grades. Oceanic Linguistics, Vol. 45, No. 2. University of HawaiI Press. 10. Tayao, Ma. Lourdes G. (2004). The Evolving Study of Philippine English Phonology. World Englishes, Vol. 23, No.1, pp. 77-90 11. In Pride, John B. (ed.). NewEnglishes. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House. 12. Tinio, Rolando S. (1990). A matter of language: Philippines Press. 13. Gonzales, Andrew B.(1992). Philippine English. Readings in Philippine Sociolinguistics (2nd Edition). De La Salle University Press, Inc. Manila. 14. Tupas, T. Ruanni F. (2004). The Politics of Philippine English: neocolonialism, global politics, and the problems of post colonialism.World Englishes,Vol. 23,issue 1. Where English fails.Quezon City: University of the