Francis B. Tatel Dr.

Maria Corazon Castro

MA English Studies (Language) English 299

Tentative Research Problem

Kachru (1992) stated that with the universalization and consequent diversification of

English, the question of norms and models has become a major concern. The dimensions of this

issue includes not only linguistic but also attitudinal and even pedagogical. In general judgment,

the different paradigms of World Englishes have democratized attitudes towards different

varieties of English all around the world. For instance, Bhatia (2209) asserted:

“Asian attitudes toward English are very positive overall. English is no longer viewed as

a ‘colonial’ or ‘oppressor’ language but has become the integral part of the Asian

linguistic heritage. Survey after survey come to the same conclusion that Asia desires to

learn English.”

Responding to the question of which variety to learn, Bhatia, by citing a few authors,

asserted that although there is no unanimous agreement over the issue, there is a strong

preference among Asians to study the variety specific to their own countries. However, it appears

that such is not the case in the Philippines. In an article written by Tupas (2010) about the

attitude of seven Filipino English teachers who took a semester-long module in Second

Language Teaching (SLT) as part of their postgraduate course with a university in the

Philippines, he revealed that they had an ambivalent attitude towards teaching Philippine English

to their students. Despite their admittance that global acknowledgment of Philippine English as a

legitimate English variety is empowering, they recognized the economic imperative of teaching

and learning American English.

 This proves what Pefianco Martin (2010) said: that the existence of a Philippine variety

does not necessarily translate into acceptance of that variety. She reported that in a survey of 185

public elementary and high school teachers of English, 47 per cent reported that their target

model for ELT is American English. This sociolinguistic phenomenon is interesting to study

because as early as 1983, it has been anticipated by Brother Andrew Gonzales when he

expressed his recognition of the existence of a Philippine English but disapproved of its

legitimization on a par with American, British, Australian, Canadian and other varieties of

English in formerly colonized countries. Thus, he recommended adherence to American English

for language teaching.

It is therefore apparent that there is a prevalent silencing of Philippine English in the

academia. Silencing is originally a term used in critical discourse analysis, which Thiesmeyer

(2003) defined as a way of using language to limit, remove or undermine the legitimacy of

another use of language. This silencing of Philippine English (PhilE) in the classrooms is most

probably one of the reasons why, according to Schneider (2007), Philippine English is not likely

to go beyond phase 3 of his Dynamic Model, which is the nativization stage. This might go hand

in hand with the fact that the promotion of Filipino ‘restricts the range of uses of English and,

more importantly, successfully bars it from the role of symbolizing identities, national or

otherwise’ (Wee, 2010).

GENERAL TOPIC
Philippine English

SPECIFIC TOPICS UNDER THE GENERAL TOPIC

Post-colonialism and Philippine English

Silencing and Philippine English

SELECTED TOPIC
Silencing and Philippine English
Silencing of Philippine English in Premier Philippine Universities

DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

Silencing: a way of using language to limit, remove or undermine the legitimacy

of another use of language (Thiesmeyer)
Philippine English: a nativized variety of English which has features that
differentiate it from Standard American English because of the influence of the
first language and the different cultures in which the language is embedded
(manifested in the pronunciation and lexicon) and because of a restructuring of
some of the grammar rules (manifested in the grammar).

RESEARCH QUESTION
Which between lexicon and grammar of Philippine English do English
professors consider more acceptable?