1

DISCOURSE

AND

STYLISTICS

IN PHILIPPINE LITERATURE IN
AMBIVALENCE

ENGLISH: OF

Introduction
Because little of the native tradition persists and
little transfer of indigenous discourse patterns has
taken place, it is Philippine only in theme and
subject matter.
Andrew Gonzales,
On English in Philippine Literature in English
Philippine Literature in English began as early as the first decade of
the previous century, a little after a decade of American colonial rule (which
began in 1988) (Gonzales 29).
It is quite indicative of the Filipinos almost embarrassing eagerness
to learn the foreign language of the new colonial masters that as early as
1903, a group of talented Filipino males were ready to be sent as
pensionados to the United States, having learned to speak or write English
in barely less than five years, under the tutelage initially of the American
soldiers who set up make-shift schools near their barracks and
subsequently, after the Organic Act of 1901 establishing the Philippine
educational system, from the Thomasites (American public school teachers
who began to arrive aboard the U.S.S. Thomasite in 1901) (Gonzales 29).
From a population with no knowledge of English, officially counted for
the first time in the census of 1901, as many as 885, 854 out of a literate
population of 3, 138, 634 or 28% were listed as being able to read English
by the next census of 1918 (Gonzales 29).
The University of the Philippines began in 1908. As early as 1909,
there were published poems in English written by young college students
for the Philippine Free Press and by 1910 the College Folio, the literary
magazine of the university. The first Philippine novel in English (Galangs
Child of Sorrow) appeared in 1916. By 1925, Paz Marquez Benitez
published the first Philippine short story in English entitled Dead Stars
(Gonzales 29).
Thus began the Philippine Literature in English and thus began the
Filipino literary artists second apprenticeship under a foreign mentor in a
new tongue. The first mentorship of course was under the Spaniards, and
flourished for a bare quarter century, during the last decade of the
nineteenth century (Gonzales 29).
In expressing their vision in a second language, in a borrowed tongue,
which they acquired through schooling in English, the low-land
Christianized Filipinos were repeating a similar experience in Spanish
(Gonzales 29-30) thus affecting their learning of the English language.
The Clash of English and Filipino

2
When a first language speaker begins to learn a second language, the
most immediate transfers noticeable are in the area of phonology,
vocabulary and syntax which are carried across and more subtly, semantic
features, tense/aspect, gender categorizations and subcategorizations, less
overt but nonetheless operative are transferred. As the learner advances, he
begins to translate and unless he learns otherwise, he soon translates firstlanguage collocations literally in full expressions (calques, with semblance
of transliterations) (Gonzales 30).
Less well described, perhaps because our awareness of these realities
has become heightened only when our theoretical models provided us with
paradigms that went beyond the sentence into discourse and context, are
transfers of presuppositions, knowledge of the world arising from ones
culture, society and personal history [in relation to idiolect]. These nonovert features soon become inferable from the linguistic thematizations of
their world. In the case of an individual living in a different society and
culture, s/he may attain a degree of biculturalism, or to some extent, in the
Philippine setting, a form of language mixing or pidginization (Gonzales 3031).
It can be noticed that from 1905 to 1940 was the time of the
[language] incorporation of English in Philippine Literature. Hence, it would
be ideal have this romantic notion among these textsfollowing Western
standards.
On the one hand, from 1945 to 1960 (even up to the present), we have
this relatively free to boldly and blithely go where almost no one else will
bother going (Dalisay Jr. 145) tradition. Particular ideologies or schemas
for writing are befuddling the literature proliferated by time (or period) and
social/political/cultural constraints. Perhaps, as Gonzalez puts it, the
Philippine literature in English is Philippine only in theme and subject
matter, that is, the English language remains coloniala problem of
owning phonology, lexicon, syntax, and discourse patterns of the language
brought by the American regime.
The above paradigm seems to be an approximation of what has
happened to English in once colonized countries of Britain and the United
States, certainly English in the Philippines. It has given rise to what are
referred to in the literature now as the new Englishes or more soberly
new varieties of English and more specifically, Philippine English, or to
use Llamzons term, Standard Filipino English.
Discourse and Stylistics in Literary Texts
Discourse may be defined as language in use (Schiffrin 23). It is
either spoken or written. Whereas speech has its own discourse strategies,
it also employs stylistic devices in order to communicate more effectively.
Also, in written texts such as poetry and short story, the discourse found in
these works is stylistically driven or containing cohesive devices in order to
attain effectiveness/rhetoric.

3
More so, the stylistic mentality is always on the lookout for one or
more of the following:
pattern
repetition
recurrent structures
ungrammatical or language stretching structures
large internal contrasts of content or presentation (Toolan 2).
Also, a linguistic means by which sentences are woven together to
make texts, a process called cohesion, is also taken into account in stylistic
analysis. It includes cohesive devices such as reference, ellipsis,
conjunction, and lexical cohesion (Toolan 23-31).
Meanwhile, a tool for analysis of discourse is the Speech Act Theory
as formulated by John Austin and was later incorporated into linguistic
theory by John Searle (Schiffrin 49). Speech acts are illocutionary acts or
the speakers intention(s). This can be divided into different classes:
representatives (e.g. asserting), directives (e.g. requesting), commissives
(e.g. promising), expressives (e.g. thanking), and declarations (e.g.
appointing) (Schiffrin 57). These speech acts can also be regarded as the
functions of language usethus making them [a] discourse feature.
In this light, the discussion in this paper will attempt to search for the
Filipinoness for the texts to be analyzed, that is, Filipino discourse and
stylisticsthat bring about the ambivalence toward the Philippine literature
in English.
Short Story
The texts, Bread of Salt (Gonzalez) vis--vis Araby (Joyce) are to be
analyzed in the category of prose. These texts show stylistic and thematic
similarities [and differences]the development of the puppy love theme of
these two short stories explores difference of culture in the context of love.
In an Irish setting, the admiration of the protagonist (a boy) toward
Mangans sister is strongly evident in these passages:
(1) her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to
romance
(2) her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and
praises
(3) her name was like summons to all my foolish blood.
(4) I imagined that I bore my chalice safely through a throng of
foes.
On Joyces style, he employs parallelism and repetition of structures in
sentences 1-3 which create the image of the girl, Mangans sister, more
vividly. Another noticeable feature of these sentences is the use of the
refererence her which signifies the boys consistency in his cognitive
processesthe reference her further emphasizes the significance of the

4
use of the lexical item chalice in sentence 4, the images in sentences 1-3
are thrown in this word by virtue of referencing, parallelism, and repetition.
Thus, the reader would be aware that the chalice is [also] referring to the
girl which the boy admires because of the said stylistic/cohesive devices.
Whereas Bread of Salt is undeniably in Philippine settingwith the
symbol of pan de sal for the Filipinoness of the storyit has a positivist
persona in his daydreaming [quality]. A suitable question would be: How is
Bread of Salt affected by the English language/Joyces Araby?
The maxim, Kung sino ang bukambibig, siyang kabig ng dibdib
(whose name you speak of frequently is the one you love), stresses the
personas adoration of Aidas name (just like in Araby) which is shown
from the following passages:
(5) Her name, I was to learn many years later, was a convenient
mnemonic for the qualities
to which argument might aspire.
(6) It was perhaps on my violin that her name wrought such a
tender spell.
Repetition of name is a lexical cohesion. This cohesive device is also
present in Araby. Therefore, this would also be a question of style
appropriationwho approximated whom? If it is true that Gonzalez is
guilty of acquiring Joyces style such as the continuous overflow of
powerful feelings that is romantic having the typical fate of
disenchantment, melancholy, weakening self-possession, and ambivalence
(Beck 104), then we can argue that Gonzalez insertion of the symbol of pan
de sal is the only Filipino aspect here. In the point of view of foreign
readers, the exoticization of the bread of salt is noticeable.
However, if context is provided, the gist of the story as being Filipino
in the treatment of the puppy love theme would be justifiable. In an almost
Spanish setting (Aida is a haciendera), the discourse in the story filters
Filipinoness by means of collocation (lexical cohesion) or co-occurrence
between the lexical items mnemonic (sentence 5) and violin (sentence 6).
If transposed into speech acts, these words play an important role as
Filipino discourse in representatives and expressivesFilipinos are
generally verbose when it comes to the concept of love; to the extent of
being metaphorical, thus using stylistic devices not only in speech but also
in writing. One classic example in Filipino discourse would be the speech
act with the commissive illocutionary act in mens traditional courting:
susungkutin ko ang mga tala at ang buwan para sayo/aakyatin ko ang mga
bundok ibigin mo lamang ako (I will get the stars and the moon for you/I
will climb mountains for your love).
This story also affects the English language in such a way Filipino
experience is being filtered in terms of Filipino discourse and speech acts.
The short story as a text uses the aforementioned cohesive devices in order
to weave together the stretches of [Filipino] discourse that is highly
charged with emotion, specifically in the context of [Filipino] puppy love.

5
To wit, the word pan de sal is also a lexical cohesive device to
reiterate bread of salt, a repetition, thereby filtering Filipino experience to
the English written discourse.
For one, in Tara FT Serings Reconnaisance, it is also interesting to
note that language interference is present in the short storys discourse.
This is present in some of the sentences in the text:
(7) [The thin, feathery, tall grass swayed with the wind in an endless
wave of goodbye.]
There was no returning now.
(8) The high afternoon sun rippled in its own heat
In sentence 7, language interference comes in the line There was no
returning now, a semantic code switching. In Filipino terms, it is Wala nang
balikan (even though we cannot call it transliteration, it is still highly
Filipino in discourse by virtue of edited no more returning, which is
realizable on the cognitive process). Whereas in sentence 8, the high
afternoon sun refers to mataas na araw sa tanghali; it have undergone the
same process with sentence 7.
Poetry
Experimentation in pure form comes with Jose Garcia Villa, perhaps
the most consummate craftsman among the pre-war poets of the
Philippines, with his experiments, undoubtedly very much influenced by the
experimentation in verse and poetry going on in the United States. Villas
poems, in the late 1930s and the postwar ones play with two aspects:
metathesis (or reversed consonance) which consists of inversion of
Consonant+Consonant combinations to Consonant+Consonant
sequences in alternating lines like in eyepits [t+s], Christ [s+t] (which
contribute to the so-called phonetic cohesion), and prolonged sprung
rhythm in his famous comma poems, which diverges from the sing-song
rhythm of the favorite English meter, the iamb, forces pauses and results in
a version of continuing sprung-rhythm through a succession of stressed
syllables (please see Appendix for his poetry) (Gonzales 35).
Villa was the first Filipino poet who took art for arts sake to its logical
conclusion and using the resources much as a first language speaker does.
He embodied the Filipino having perfected his art as form and his mastery
of the English language (Gonzales 35).
Beside the formalist stylistics, one young adult writer/instructor has
also experimented with his discourse in poetry by mixing elements of
formalism, comics imaging, and some transliterations. In his M.A. Thesis
entitled Jolography, Paolo Manalo discusses in his critical essay After
Words: Understanding Poetry Through Understanding Comics, that the
utterance or discourse present in his poetry might provide a contextthe
place where the poems happensince most of the pieces require an
understanding of English and Tagalog for the reader to further appreciate
the play of languages where English is a broken main language (55). He

6
points out that his collection is from these language collisions in the
codeswitchings of the younger generations of Filipinos (55). He comments:
It happens here [in this collection] perhaps as a
bias for how I approached the problems and
possibilities of the English language as a non-native
speaker of who writes and reads with it in the
academe but goes home speaking Tagalog, but most
of the time is victim of code switching and exposed
to so much of it from both young and old it seems to
have inhabited the everyday realities creating a
distorted reality where I locate myself writing.
He also reviews in his essay Maggays article called Paglalaro ng
Salita in his book Pahiwatig/Kagawiang Pangkomunikasyon ng Filipino.
Manalo cites that several strategies of how Filipinos play with their
languages. In cases when Filipinos encounter the collision of English
(sometimes Spanish) with Tagalog, the English (or Spanish) root words are
used but are affixed following the rules of Tagalog thus introducing new
words into the latter language (71). Perhaps this shows that many Filipinos
might only have a limited vocabulary in Tagalog and thus forces an EnglishTagalog coinage to substitute for their ignorance. In certain cases
language play is at work (72). He asserts, Once more, these are the spaces
and realities that I considered(72)
Furthermore, Manalo observes that To see is to believe it might be
overheard as To see is to bilibidhomonymity (phonetic cohesion) forces
a relationship between the two utterances; and is a strategy of collision
[between English and Tagalog] (72). Here is an excerpt from his poem
Jolography:
O, how dead you child are, whose spoiled
Sportedness is being fashion showed
Beautifulling as we speakin Cubao
There is that same look: Your Crossing Ibabaw
Following what he calls Jolog Speak Poetick, O, how dead you child
are is a transliteration of patay kang bata ka which means loosely, youre
dead meat; while beautifulling is a transliteration of nagmamaganda
which means feeling beautiful. (Manalo 46).
On the one hand, Rolando Tinios Valediction sa Hillcrest is a proof
that it is the cultural merging of the alien and the native, as Manalo (76)
further discusses because of its real code switching like in the line: Sa
steep incline, pababa sa highway/Where all things level, sabi nga
Philippine poetry in English, as Abad claims, is a native clearing, we
are not its (English) subjects and prisoners, for we have in turn colonized it,
as it were (Abad What for Me a Poem Is 168).

7
Is Philippine Literature in English Ambivalent?
Abad says, when we write in English, we write comfortably to its
grammar and syntax, but find our own voice because our meanings are
drawn from our response to our time and scene (Abad Standards in
Philippine English 168); that is why there is an issue of whether a poem is
translatable or untranslatable [from its original language]. There are such
nuances in a language for instance in Tagalog, you will not be able to find
the exact translations in english for naglilihi or pakikipagpalagayang-loob.
These lexical items/things are basically cultural. Thus, when we try to
communicate them in English, we somehow lose the real essence of these
words. This dilemma creates the ambivalence among writers and critics
themselves on how to redefine Philippine literature in Englishs identity.
Moreover, if we would assess Gonzales claim that Philippine
literature in English is Philippine only in theme and subject matter, then
he is partly wrong, because as what Manalo points out language play is at
work in the works mentioned earlierand it is foregrounding in stylistics
termsthe purposive distortion of language. Hence, we cannot say that this
literature is Filipino only in content; it is also Filipino in form.
Is English A Filipino Colony?
In the Philippines, the willing reading public (as opposed to a captive
audience of students forced to read Philippine literature) is pitifully small
(Hau 183). If this is the case, we also have a problem of calling those works
in English literature because literature is meant to be read. If we are to
claim that we have colonized the English language only in terms of the
countrys literary production, then it would be difficult to assume that we
also have colonized the English language as a language for everyday
discourse. Following Tupas claim: [what] the new role of English in the
Philippines and in post-colonial societies tell us isto forget the centrality
of colonialism as well as its effects long after it has been gone. (Tupas
51). But why do we have to forget that English is a colonial language? Are
we being nationalistic when we speak or write in English?
However, it is quite known in the Linguistics Society of the Philippines
that the debate between Gonzales and Tupas had been ceaseless. Gonzales
asserts that English is a neo-colonial language, meaning the acceptance of
English by Filipinos is evident through the appropriation of English within
their own cultural needs, thus emancipating themselves from the clutches
of American English, which seems to be still colonial because of the word
American; while Tupas further comments that we should always connect
Philippine to English to create our own identity as Philippine English is
among the World Englishes (Tupas 53 & 56).
Conclusion
In the long run, answering the questions raised earlier, speaking or
writing in English is not really depriving us of our nationalism; instead, it is
a way to assert our identity. Every critic mentioned above has good and

8
sound arguments; synthesizing them is a better way toward the banishment
of ambivalence in Philippine literature in English.
According to Jose Dalisay Jr. in one of the forum in U.P. Lingua
Francas Lecture Series about Philippine Literature in English on June 23,
2005, the appropriate word for colonized [English] is Filipinized,
indigenized, or appropriated to Philippine setting (please see Appendix for
more of his comments). This lessens the probability of totally submitting to
the notion that English is still a colonial language.
Knowing the fact that the English language has enjoyed a privileged
status particularly in Philippine formal education since US President
McKinley declared it a medium of instruction of the Philippine public
educational system in 1900 affecting our Bilingual Education Policy
(Bernardo 17), it is inevitable that English in Philippine literature is
befuddled with contrasting attitudes because of the so-called purists or
nativists. The educational system and the intervention of the state are still
capable of power relations in the usage of English in the Philippines.
What is the future of Philippine Literature in English?
There is a future. In fact, the one who said that it
has died out is the one who is dead now*. Philippine
literature in English is very much alive.
Professor Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr.

WORKS CITED
Abad, Gmino H. What for Me a Poem Is. In Ordinary Time Poems,
Parables, Poetics
1973-2003. Quezon City: U.P., 2004.
_____________. Mapping Our Poetic Terrain: Filipino Poetry in English from
1905 to the

9
Present. The Likhaan Anthology of Philippine Literature in English
from 1900 to
the Present, 2nd Ed. Quezon City: Likhaan and U.P., 2002.
_____________. Standards in Philippine English: The Writers Forum. In
English is an
Asian Language. Edited by Ma. Lourdes S. Bautista. Sydney: The
Macquarie, 1997.
Beck, Warren. Araby. Joyces Dubliners: Substance, Vision and Art.
Durham, New York:
Duke UP, 1969.
Bernardo, Allan B.I. McKinleys Questionable Bequest: Over 100 Years of
English in
Philippine Education. World Englishes. 23 (2004): 17-31.
Dalisay, Jose Y. Jr. The Filipino Short Story in English: An Update for the
90s.
The Likhaan Anthology of Philippine Literature in English from 1900
to
the Present, 2nd Ed.
Gonzalez, Andrew. On English in Philippine Literature. Solidarity. 96
(1986): 29-42.
Hau, Caroline S. Authorizing the Personal and the Political. Necessary
Fictions Philippine
Literature and the Nation. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila UP, 2000.
Llamzon, Teodoro A. Standard Filipino English. Manila: Ateneo de Manila
UP, 1969.
Manalo, Paolo. Jolography. M.A. Thesis. U.P., 2003.
Schiffrin, Deborah. Approaches to Discourse. Cambridge: Blackwell, 1994.
Sering, Tara FT. Reconnaissance. In Paolo Manalos Bootleg (CW 10
Reader). From
Philippines Free Press, 9 October 1999.
Toolan, Michael J. Language in Literature: An Introduction to Stylistics.
London: Arnold,
1998.

10
Tupas, T. Ruanni F. The Politics of Philippine English: Neocolonialism,
Global Politics,
and the Problem of Postcolonialism. World Englishes. 23 (2004): 4758.

ENTRIES: MISPRINTED, JOURNAL

FROM

OF

THE

U.P. LINGUA FRANCA

POWDER ROOM

Watching beauty pageants is seeing parades of panties. Im sure

almost all of the bratty boys in the whole wide world wouldnt admit they
have watched one. Girls at home, perhaps your mother and her kumare,
your sister and her kikay bestfriend, have been watching beauty pageants
and havent missed one yet. And you would say, Oh yeah, youre just
frustrated to become beauty queens. Youll only get unpleasant replies
such as: Shut up! or Are you envious of us? Why dont you join us here?
But the most surprising, among others, is that your only one trusted ally,
your macho daddy, comes home early from work and eagerly would ask,
What time is the Miss Universe replay? I just want to see Miss Philippines
undies. You would really mumble, Oh my God.
The Beauty Pageant is live from, lets say, Cayman Islands! Of course,
everyone at home would scream their lungs out when their favorite Miss
Philippines ramps on stage with her national costume made out of coconut
tree and intentionally slightly slips down the floor but rises again
immediately just like a Miriam Quiambao. And when you ask your dad what
is his favorite portion of the Panty, I mean, Beauty Pageant, his reply would
always be, The swimsuit.
Girls at home and their favorite part is, they would shout in unison,
The final question! I wonder what Miss Philippines is going to say. I hope
its not dumber than Miss Blah, Blah, and Blah. The question would always

11
be like, What is the essence of true beauty/ [a] woman? And you would
hear answers like, Love cures all or Thank God Im here tonight and,
of course, the most popular I want world peace. Thats all. Thank you.
What if the final question is this?:
How many panties do you have?
You would think thats a good question, just right for the Parade of
Panties; your dad would say thats OK too. What if the final three candidates
are ladies from countries who do not usually or just couldnt get the pageant
title or even make it to the Top Ten, Ill be honest, like from Japan and
China? I bet you know why. And, Miss Philippines would not be excluded in
this scene.
The three final lovely and competitive candidatesMiss Japan, Miss
China and Miss Philippines wear their best two-piece swimsuit. Miss Japan
wears a red-hot brassiere and refreshing apple green panty. On her left is
Miss China wearing a white two-piece ready for telling about world peace.
And we shouldnt forget our Miss Philippines who beams radiance with her
dazzling red and blue brassiere (red on the left and blue on the right) and
white panty with a yellow star on each of the three corners, and in the
center, a yellow sun with eight rays. Miss China and Miss Philippines have
headphones with loud rock music, Linkin Park and Metallica, respectively,
for them not to hear the final question.
Miss Japan walks too confidently in front of the stage, approaches the
host and bows to the audience. The host asks, Oh Japan here. Is that a sign
of respect? Miss Japan answers, Ahmm Ahmm Translatoru please
The interpreter comes and translates his question and Miss Japans answer,
She meant yes and shes very thankful youve asked that because thats
how Japanese are brought up, to bow everyday. The host now asks the final
question: How many panties do you have? Miss Japan answers, No needu
translatoru. I understandu the questionu very goodu, and funny very. I
have Translatoru pleasee! The interpreter translates, I have three

12
panties: One for Monday, one for Wednesday which Im wearing right now,
and one for Friday. Thanks, Miss Japan, the host says.
Its Miss Chinas turn. She can speak a little English. OK, Miss China:
How many panties do you have? asks the host. Miss China answers, Good
evening to all watching there especially in Shanghai. Actually, I have Im
shy. I have seven panties from Monday to Sunday. I now wear my panty for
Thursday. And its really my favorite Sorry times up Miss China,
interferes the host.
May we call in Miss Philippines? She approaches the host while
waving her right hand like Sandara Park. Are you ready Miss Philippines?
asks the host, It seems that you are popular among the audience. This is
the final question Philippines, the question thatll determine whether youll
have the crown tonight: Lady, how many panties do you have?
At home, everybody doesnt blink eyes and lends ears to Miss
Philippines answer. Thats really a difficult question. But I really have
(the audience cheers her) Oh, thank you. I really have By the way, hi to all
my kababayans, mahal ko kayo. Im a little shy, but I really have just twelve
panties, she says while giggling. When do you use them? the host asks.
Yes! I have twelve panties one each for For what? Its almost time,
comments the host. Miss Philippines now proudly says, Yes I have twelve
panties one each for January, February, March, April, May, June, July (now
the audience shouts the months with her until December!) Very well said,
Miss Philippines, the host compliments.
Guess who won. Be nationalistic.

Pan Ray
Tonight, Im going to eat
what my mom says
A rat in the ocean
cant swim can fly

13
As I close my eyes
I can see its stinging spine
leaving its poison
in my mind, but
to touch a ray is to touch
its slimy, elusive: whip;
A pancake I cant eat
A poor creature to a shark.
Made
from fresh oranges
to powdered juice
I loved it.
Lukewarm.
Ice cold.
Sore throat.
From tetra pack
to an obese jar
with white plastic cover/handle
Transparent. Powdered orange juice
inside.
I loved to see it.
I held the cover
from white ball
to broken glasses
the powder was sand
Broken glass and sand
are crystals on the cemented floor
My buttocks needed newspaper.
My lolas alfombra, on flesh
I closed my eyes.
(I dont want to close my eyes when Im taking a shower.)
*I love you lola
Entry: Philippine Daily Inquirers Column: YOUNG BLOOD
The Grass of Life*

14
What could be the reason behind the escalating diaspora of Koreans in
the Philippines? If we are to compare the economic status of [South] Korea
to the Philippines, I guess that would be far-off between these countries.
What do the Philippines have that Korea does not possess?
To answer the queries above, we must first examine the current
relationship between these countries. The recent APEC was held in Korea
where the Philippines was one of the participating countries. One irony
would be the discussion of poverty in the conferencethe Philippines, being
Third World, was contributing to the pool of ideas as well to combat poor
living. For one is the importation of highly-industrialized equipment like
cars, appliance, and the like from Korea. So what is there that is left for the
Philippines?
How about culture? Korea can be considered having a homogenous
culture whereas the Philippines is heterogeneous, so to speak. What
determines culture? If we claim that it is language, then the Sapir-Whorf
hypothesis is right. The Philippines has two major languagesFilipino and
English; whereas Korea has its sole Korean language.
Of course, Koreans wouldnt be here for the Filipino language, for
what is considered the cosmopolitan language? Sure it is English.
I have been teaching Korean students English for almost three years
but I guess the way they see the Philippines is not going to the dogs. They
have high regards of our educational systemsome opt to study in high
schools and universities here in the country. Even though I have had hard
times with them looking out for their mispronunciations such as Rondon
and Palis, I have conceptualized that they are beginning to love our
country. They keep on saying that signature shirts here are much cheaper,
Boracay is awesome, and Filipinos speak good English.
Beside the fact that lots of Filipinos have good grasp of the English
language, we could say that English pedagogy in the country has also been
empowered. If this reputation would linger on, perhaps this situation could
trigger a boom in the countrys economy in general. English is business;
and the business is English.
To digress, if Korea would also consider the English language its
second language, another irony could be derived in this light of KoreanFilipino relationship. We teach them English yet we do not know that after
ten years or more, they would not be looking for Teacher Juan dela Cruz
anymore; if and only if Korea would treat English as language of their
system. Imagine a country loyal to their native language (like Japan) which
uses the English language as its medium of instruction, mass media, or even
legal documentsthat would be a real revolution. The global influence of
English encompasses the language in business, science, law, and the
internet, that is why. Could we ask for more?
Another digression: Is it ironic to say that the one who had been
taught English is the one who is teaching English now?
No, it is not.
*the Korean diet (507 words)