Philippine English

Vocabulary:
A Semantic Study

By Louise Anne P. Porciuncula

MA English Studies: Language

1997-39181

Submitted to:

Dr. Frank Flores

English 207

March 22, 2012

Philippine English Vocabulary: A Semantic Study Page 2 of 14

PHILIPPINE ENGLISH VOCABULARY: A SEMANTIC STUDY

I. Introduction: Philippine English

Without a doubt, English is one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world today.
With a huge number of first language users and an ever-growing number of second language
users, English has been dubbed as the language of international communication, in a world that
seems to be getting smaller, with the onset of global travel, business, and communication.

Today, the English-speaking population is no longer confined to the United Kingdom,

United States, Australia, and other countries were it is spoken as a native language. Decades of
contact, trade, and other events have led to it being used in other parts of the world. In some of
these countries, including the Philippines, English is regarded as one of the official languages,
where it is used along with the local languages in schools, in the workplace, and the media.

The use of English in the many countries where it has “landed” eventually led to the study
of how it is used in these places. In the Philippines, scholarly work on the subject began in the
late 1960s, when Llamson described what he called “Standard Filipino English” (in Bautista,
2000). In 1978, Gonzales and Alberca studied spoken and written English in the Philippine mass
media, and described divergences of Philippine English from Standard American English in
terms of phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon. Since then, other scholars have continued
the study, description and codification of what came to be known as “Philippine English.”

Notably, Philippine English is considered as part of the “World Englishes” paradigm,

which states that “the English language now belongs to all those who use it” (Brown, in Bautista,
2000). In this paradigm, it is regarded as a legitimate variety of English, alongside Indian
English, Nigerian English, Singaporean English, and other “Englishes.”

With this view of Philippine English in mind, this study aims to focus on the meaning of
words and expressions in the language. From a semanticist’s point of view, how can Philippine
English vocabulary be described? In terms of meaning, how are they similar or different from
“standard” English? Answers to these questions were sought and explored in this paper.
Philippine English Vocabulary: A Semantic Study Page 3 of 14

A. The Study

Generally, this study seeks to answer the following questions:

• What are examples of Philippine English words, and their meanings?
• How do they compare to “standard” English usage?
• What can de inferred from these comparisons of meanings?

Meanwhile, the following steps were taken during the conduct of this study:

1. Words and expressions were taken from the Anvil Macquarie Philippine English
Dictionary (Revised Edition, 2010) and classified into six categories, namely: people,
places and things, descriptive words, actions, expressions, and abbreviations.

2. Definitions of Philippine English words and expressions were compared with those from
several “standard” references: The New International Webster’s Comprehensive
Dictionary of the English Language (Deluxe Encyclopedic Edition, 2011);
Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster.com, which are dictionaries on the Internet, and
UrbanDictionary.com, an Internet archive of contemporary American slang.

3. Philippine English words and expressions that were found to have exactly the same form
and definition as those contained in the above standard references were not included.
This is because their existence in other dictionaries would mean that they are also used in
other English-speaking countries, and hence are not unique to Philippine English.

4. Philippine English words and expressions were analyzed from a “semanticist’s”

perspective, specifically focusing on the concepts of lexical ambiguity, polysemy,
homonymy, utterance, and context, and universe of discourse.

B. Definitions & Assumptions

In line with the aims of this study, the following terms and their definitions were
hailed from the book, Semantics: A Coursebook (by Hurford, et. al, 2007), in order to help
analyze the data from the point of view of semantics:
Philippine English Vocabulary: A Semantic Study Page 4 of 14

Sense – the indispensable hard core of meaning of an expression

Lexical ambiguity – any ambiguity resulting form the ambiguity of a word; a word is
ambiguous when it has more than one sense

Polysemy – a case where a word has several very closely related senses

Homonymy – a case where the different senses of an ambiguous word are far apart
from each other and not obviously related to each other in any way

Utterance – the use by a particular speaker, on a particular occasion, of a piece of

language; such as a sequence of sentence, or a single phrase, or even a single word

Context – a small subpart of the universe of discourse shared by speaker and hearer,
and includes facts about the topic of the conversation in which the utterance occurs,
and also facts about the situation in which the conversation itself takes place

Universe of Discourse – the particular world, real or imaginary (or part real, part
imaginary) that the speaker assumes he is talking about at the time of an utterance

Based on these terms, this study hopes to “make sense” of Philippine English words
and expressions. For example, when a Filipino news anchor reports, “A salvage victim was
found in an empty lot,” the word salvage takes on a meaning that is different from what
other users of English would know. In the Philippine context, the utterance would be logical
and understandable, but it would not make sense in an American context.

Nevertheless, this paper assumes that Philippine English is part of a “global family”
of World Englishes. In other words, Philippine English is considered here to be part of the
“universe of discourse” of the English-speaking world, along with American English, Indian
English, and other varieties. Thus, the world “salvage” can be considered as an ambiguous
word, as it contains more than one sense, i.e. to execute without trial (in Philippine English)
and to save anything from fire, danger etc. (in American English). Since these two senses
do not seem to be related in anyway, it can be said that there is a case of “homonymy.”
Philippine English Vocabulary: A Semantic Study Page 5 of 14

Using these concepts, the study seeks to explain ambiguities such as these, as one of
the goals of semantic theory is to “describe and explain ambiguities in words and sentences”
(Hurford, et. al., 2007). Consequently, this would be helpful in helping English users,
Filipinos and foreigners alike, to better understand Philippine English vocabulary.

II. Semantic Study of Philippine English Vocabulary

The words and expressions used in this study were taken from the Anvil Macquarie
Philippine English Dictionary (Revised Ed., 2010) and classified into six groups, namely: people,
places and things, descriptive words, actions, expressions, and abbreviations (Tables 1-6). Each
table lists the definition of each item in Philippine English; the “international” English definition
based on The New International Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language
(Deluxe Encyclopedic Ed., 2011), Dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster.com, or
UrbanDictionary.com; and its counterpart(s), if any. All in all, 44 items were analyzed.

At this point, it must be mentioned that the Anvil Macquarie Philippine English
Dictionary contains both the Philippine English and “standard” English definitions a word.
However, they are labelled specifically as “Philippine English,” and some examples and
explanations on how they are used by Filipinos are also provided.

A. People

Under the “people” category, there are six items: bedspacer, captain ball, faculty,
handicap, officemate, and professor (Table 1). It may be observed that these words, in
Philippine English, do not have the same sense as they do in “international” English.
However, they cannot be considered as cases of “homonymy,” either. Though not closely
related to their Standard English counterparts, the Philippine English definitions are not so
far from them. For example, even though captain ball is not used in other English-speaking
countries, the senses of the words are still “slightly related” to Standard English definitions,
i.e. it refers to the “captain” of a sport that uses a “ball.” Meanwhile, though faculty may
refer to an individual member of a teaching department in Philippine English (in Standard
English, it refers to the entire body of instructors) – their meanings are not entirely different.
Philippine English Vocabulary: A Semantic Study Page 6 of 14

Table 1. People: Dictionary Definitions

Item Philippine English Definition
Bedspacer Someone who stays in a dormitory
or shared room of a boarding house
but does not take meals there
Captain ball The leader of a basketball or
volleyball team
Faculty A member of a teaching department
in a university
Handicap A person with a physical disability
Officemate Someone who works in the same
office as another
Professor Anyone who teaches at the
secondary or tertiary level,
regardless of rank
Standard English Definition / Counterpart
This word is not in other English dictionaries;
the closest counterpart would be renter, but
this does not have the exact same definition
Not in other English dictionaries; counter-
parts: basketball / volleyball team captain
The body of instructors in a university or
college (not an “individual” member)
A physical or mental disability making
participation in certain of the usual activities
of daily living more difficult (not the person)
Not in other English dictionaries; closest
counterparts: colleague or co-worker
A teacher of the highest grade in a university
or college (not just “anyone” who teaches in
college)

B. Places & Things

This category contains the longest list of Philippine English words, a total of 18 items
(Table 2). Of these, six words are derived from a trademark brand or label: betamax, blue
seal colgate, owner jeep, pampers, scotch tape. What is interesting about is how the brands
themselves have become “synonymous” with the actual things they represent. Indeed, it is
not uncommon in the Philippines to hear utterances such as: Pabili po ng colgate, yung Close
Up. (I’d like to buy colgate, Close Up, please. – Close Up is another brand of toothpaste).

Meanwhile, four of the items on the list appear to have a case of “homonymy” when
compared with their Standard English counterparts. Cigarette money, dirty ice cream, dirty
kitchen, and duster all mean one thing in Philippine English, but another in Standard English.
For example, dirty ice cream in the Philippines means that which is sold by street vendors,
but are not actually “dirty.” In American slang, on the other hand, the word has an entirely
different definition, i.e. an unwanted caller or lover. In these cases, the senses of the words
are not related and far apart from each other; hence, there is homonymy.

In contrast, the word bedspace shares a different but closely related sense between
Philippine English and Standard English. While in the Philippines, it refers to “a room for
someone to stay in a dorm or shared room of a boarding house,” in American slang it means
Philippine English Vocabulary: A Semantic Study Page 7 of 14

“the portion of a shared bed in which a person sleeps.” Though not exactly the same, the
senses are still closely related, and a case of “polysemy” can be noted.

Other words, meanwhile, are not as closely related, but not too far apart in meaning,
either. These are flying kiss, give, local, six by six, and step-in. For instance, the word give
in the Philippines may denote “an instalment payable on a purchased item,” such that a
person may ask, Can I pay for this in four gives? Though not the same as the Standard
English definition, the Philippine English definition is still “slightly related” to it, in the sense
that something (payment through instalments) is “given.”

Finally, two words on the list, aircon and kinder, can be deemed to be “synonymous”
with their Standard English counterparts. This is because they share basically the same
sense, except that the Philippine English words have undergone a word-formation process of
“clipping,” i.e. aircon for airconditioning, and kinder for kindergarten.

Table 2. Places & Things: Dictionary Definitions

Item Philippine English Definition
Aircon Airconditioning; an airconditioner; Also
used as an adjective, “airconditioned”
e.g. an aircon bus
Bedspace Room for someone to stay in a
dormitory or shared room of a
boarding house, without meals
provided
Betamax A machine that records and plays back
images and sounds recorded on a
videotape; this word is a Trademark of
a video format developed by Sony
Blue seal An imported cigarette; comes from the
blue seal formerly attached to imported
cigarette packs and liquor bottles;
Also used as an adjective to mean
“imported” or “foreign,” e.g. He has a
blue-seal girlfriend.
Cigarette A small bribe; also called “grease
money money”
Colgate Toothpaste; this word is a Trademark
of a popular brand
Standard English Definition / Counterpart
Not in other English dictionaries; counter-
parts: airconditioning or airconditioner;
the adjective form is airconditioned
This word is in UrbanDictionary.com, but has
a different definition: “The portion of a shared
bed in which one person (e.g. a spouse)
sleeps.” e.g. Please do not sleep in my
bedspace. (American slang)
Counterparts for this in Standard American
English are: video cassette player, video
cassette recorder, VCR
This word is not found in other English
dictionaries.
“Grease money” is in some Internet
dictionaries, and has the same definition as
in Philippine English. However, “cigarette
money” has a different definition; it is a kind
of commodity money, or money whose value
comes from the product of which it is made.
Simply, toothpaste ☺
Philippine English Vocabulary: A Semantic Study Page 8 of 14

Dirty ice Ice-cream made by small, local This is in UrbanDictionary.com, but has a
cream manufacturers and sold by vendors on different definition: “A guy you date once,
the streets and they won’t stop calling you.” e.g. I had a
great date, but then he called me 26 times;
he’s just like dirty ice cream. (US slang)
Dirty A kitchen for everyday use or used by This word is not found in other English
kitchen maids, as opposed to a kitchen used dictionaries.
for show or by the owner of the house
Duster A loose-fitting light coat that is usually A cloth used for removing dust
worn inside the home
Flying A kiss given as a part of a greeting in An air kiss
kiss which the person offering the kiss
stops short of touching the other
person and appears to kiss the air
Give Instalment payable on goods bought To transfer the possession or title of to
from sellers of clothes or jewellery in another without compensation of any kind
workplaces or schools, e.g. I’m paying
for this in four gives of 500 pesos.
Kinder A school or class for very young Kindergarten
children which prepares them for
primary school
Local A telephone extension number, e.g. Pertaining to a prescribed place or a limited
What’s your local? portion of space
Owner A jeep used for non-commercial Not in other English dictionaries; counterpart
jeep purposes is the Jeep, a “small military motor vehicle
having 4-wheel drive & a ¼ ton capacity;
used by US army during & after WWII.”
Pampers Disposable diapers; from a trademark This is not found in other English dictionaries
Scotch Adhesive tape; from a trademark Adhesive tape
tape
Six-by-six A large truck Called a six-wheel drive in the US; also has
a different meaning in UrbanDictionary.com:
“someone 6 feet tall & 6 feet wide” (slang)
Step-in A woman’s slipper with a heel Used as an adjective to describe any
garment or footwear that is put on by being
stepped-into, e.g. a step-in robe

C. Descriptive Words

Table 6 below shows descriptive words in Philippine English. Of these, two cases
of homonymy can be observed, with the words bold and busted. In Philippine English, a
“bold film” has come to mean that which contains nudity and sex. The use of the word bold
here is different from (and only slightly related to) the Standard English meaning, which is
“possessing, showing, or requiring courage; audacious, fearless, spirited.” The word busted,
likewise, denotes a meaning that is specific to Philippine English. When a person is “busted”
Philippine English Vocabulary: A Semantic Study Page 9 of 14

in a romantic relationship, that means he or she has been rejected by his or her lover. This is
not related to its meaning in Standard English, “to be caught doing something wrong.”

Meanwhile, there appears to be a case of polysemy in two of the items: dine in and
high blood. Their definitions in Philippine English are closely related to their Standard
English counterparts, with only some slight differences. In the Philippines, “to dine in”
means to have a meal inside a restaurant, while in Standard English, it means to “eat at
home.” Similarly, while high blood is always used together with the word “pressure” in
Standard English (e.g. He has a high blood pressure), the term alone can be used as an
adjective or as a noun in Philippine English, e.g. My uncle has high blood.

Notably, two items in the list are not in other English dictionaries. The word
colorum, meaning “unlicensed or unregistered” is unique to Philippine English. Likewise,
the expression onion-skinned is also not in Standard English references. The reason for this
could be that these words are used in situations that are unique to the Philippine context. In
public transportation, for instance, there are many “colorum buses” (buses not legally
registered or licensed). Onion-skinned, meanwhile, appears to be a translation of the Filipino
expression “balat sibuyas,” which means “overly sensitive.”

Table 3. Descriptive Words: Dictionary Definitions

Item Philippine English Definition
Bold If a film / book is “bold,” it shows sex in a mildly
indecent manner, e.g. a bold movie (informal)
Busted If you are “busted,” a loved one tells you that
they no longer love you, e.g. They went steady
for a long time & then he got busted (informal)
Colorum Unlicensed or unregistered, e.g. a colorum
jeepney; also used as a noun, which means an
unlicensed or unregistered property / business
Dine-in Having to do with food eaten inside a fast-food
restaurant
High Upset, in a bad mood, e.g. Why are you so
blood high blood? (informal); also used as a noun,
meaning “high blood pressure”
Onion- Thin-skinned, overly sensitive; a translation of
skinned Tagalog balat- sibuyas (skin-onion)
Standard English Definition /
Counterpart
Possessing, showing, or requiring
courage; audacious, fearless; spirited
Caught out doing something wrong &
therefore in trouble, e.g. You are so
busted! (Informal)
This word is not found in other
English dictionaries.
This is used as a verb, meaning to
“eat at home” (not inside a restaurant)
This is used usually with the word
“pressure,” e.g. He has a high blood
pressure.
This word is not found in other
English dictionaries.
Philippine English Vocabulary: A Semantic Study Page 10 of 14

D. Actions

When it comes to Philippine English words that denote certain actions, there were 10
items all in all (Table 4). Of these, two cases of homonymy can be observed, with the words
chancing and salvage. As mentioned earlier, salvage in Philippine English refers to the
killing of a person, e.g. A salvage victim was found in an empty lot. However, the word has a
very different sense in Standard English: “the act of saving anything from fire, danger.” The
two definitions could not be more different! In the Philippine English dictionary, it was also
added that the word could have come from the Spanish word salvaje, which means “savage,
cruel.” Hence, the influence of Spanish sheds more light in the case of the word “salvage.”

Meanwhile, three words, bring, chit-chat, and deliver, are observed to have closely
related (though not exactly the same) meanings in both Philippine English and Standard
English. For instance, in the Philippines the word bring is sometimes used where other
English speakers would use “take,” e.g. Let me bring you to the airport. Nevertheless, it can
be noted that their meanings are not so different, in the sense that something (or someone) is
being moved from one place to another. Thus, it can be assumed that bring signifies closely
related senses in Philippine English and Standard English, and has a case of polysemy.

A couple of words are only “slightly related” in their Philippine English and Standard
English definitions: close and marketing. In the Philippines, it is very common to hear
utterances such as “Can you close the light, please?” instead of the Standard English, switch
off or turn off the light. Still, these words all signify the “closing” or “turning off” of
something, and hence are still related.

The table also presents three words that have no counterparts in Standard English:
carnap, fiscalize, and five-six. The explanation for this could be similar to those for colorum
and onion-skinned, in that these words are common in the Philippine context. For example,
when a person says, “Umutang siya sa five-six” (He got a loan from five-six), Filipinos
would automatically understand five-six as “the lending of money at a high rate of interest.”
An English speaker from another country, however, would not be able to understand it at all.
Philippine English Vocabulary: A Semantic Study Page 11 of 14

Table 4. Actions: Dictionary Definitions

Item Philippine English Definition
Bring To “bring” someone somewhere is to
accompany them there, e.g. Let me
bring you to the airport; In Philippine
English, “bring” is sometimes used
where other speakers would use “take”
Carnap If you “carnap” a motor vehicle, you
steal it.
Chit-chat Used as a verb; if you “chit-chat,” you
talk a lot about nothing in particular
Chancing Act of casually touching someone as a
preliminary to a sexual approach
without that person’s consent (informal)
Close If you “close” a light or an electrical
appliance, you turn it off.
Deliver When a woman “delivers” a baby, she
gives birth to it. e.g. She delivered her
baby last week.
Fiscalize If you fiscalize a government / organiza-
tion, you call attention to its abuse of
authority, e.g. It is in the interests of the
public to fiscalize the administration.
Five-six The lending of money at extremely high
rates of interest (informal)
Marketing Shopping for food / daily needs, e.g. My
mother does the marketing after school.
Salvage If the police or the army salvages
suspects, they execute them without
trial; This word is borrowed into English
from Spanish salvaje (savage, cruel).
Standard English Definition /
Counterpart
In Standard American English, the
Philippine usage of bring is not acceptable
because bring implies that something is
moved from elsewhere toward the speaker,
whereas take implies that something is
moved from the speaker to somewhere
else, e.g. Let me take you to the airport.
This word is not found in other English
dictionaries.
In American English, you “chat” to other
people, but you do not “chit-chat” to them.
Chit-chat is the conversation in particular.
To occur accidentally; to happen
The closest counterparts would be to turn
off or switch off the light.
When a doctor or midwife “delivers” a baby,
they help the woman in giving birth, e.g.
Our doctor delivered two babies last night.
This word is not in English dictionaries, but
fiscal is, meaning “of or pertaining to the
treasury or finances of a government” (used
as an adjective, not as a verb)
This word is not found in other English
dictionaries
In Standard American English, shopping
would be used for this definition.
The act of saving anything from fire,
danger, etc.

E. Expressions

Some of the Philippine English items were classified as “expressions” (Table 5). Of
these, three can be said to have cases of polysemy: at the back of, for a while, and cope up
with. Specifically, the expression “for a while” can be described as having closely related
senses in Philippine English and Standard English. In the Philippines, when someone says
“Please wait for a while” on the phone, this usually refers to a short period of time. In
Standard English, however, a “while” can signify either a short or long period of time.
Philippine English Vocabulary: A Semantic Study Page 12 of 14

In contrast, the expression “go ahead” differs greatly between Philippine English and
Standard English. While the Standard English definition is “to start or continue, often after
obtaining permission” (usually in a speaking activity), in the Philippines when a person says
“I’ll go ahead,” it is usually in a situation where he or she is planning to leave an event
before other people do, and is a way of politely saying goodbye.

On the other hand, three Philippine English expressions were not found in other
dictionaries, but they do have counterparts in Standard English: at my back (behind me), joke
only (just kidding), and take lunch (have lunch).

Table 5. Expressions: Dictionary Definitions

Item Philippine English Definition Standard English Definition / Counterpart
At the Behind, e.g. The pool is at the back In Standard American and British English, “at
back of part of the house (behind the house). the back of” would mean “in the back part of,”
e.g. The supplies are at the back of the shop,
i.e. in the back part of the shop, not behind the
shop.
At my Behind me, e.g. My friend is at my “Behind me” would be used in the same
back back (behind me). situation.
Cope The same meaning as “cope,” which “Cope with” would be used in the same
up with means to deal with something situation (no need for the word “up”).
successfully although it is difficult.
However, “up” is added, e.g. She
coped up well with the increased work.
For a An expression used to ask a telephone Dictionary.com defines a “while” as a “period or
while caller to wait for a short time interval of time” (long or short). Hence, another
speaker of English may take the Philippine
English “for a while” to mean “a long time.”
In front Opposite “Across from” or “opposite of” would be
of used in the same situation.
Go To leave before other people, e.g. I To start or continue, often after obtaining
ahead have to go ahead because someone’s permission
waiting for me at home.
Joke Used to indicate that something is “Just kidding” or “only joking” would be
only meant teasingly & not seriously, e.g. used in the same situation. e.g. Don’t be upset
Don’t be upset – joke only! (informal) – I was just kidding!
Take To have lunch, e.g. Do you want to “Have lunch” would be used in the same
lunch take lunch here? situation. e.g. Do you want to have lunch here?

F. Abbreviations

In this study, six items were classified as abbreviations (Table 6). Basically, this
means that in the Philippines, they are often uttered in the abbreviated form. Notably, four of
Philippine English Vocabulary: A Semantic Study Page 13 of 14

them have counterparts in Standard English: CR (toilet), KKB (Dutch treat), OCW (overseas
worker), and KJ (killjoy -- the whole word -- is usually uttered in American English).

Meanwhile, the term PX has closely related senses in Philippine English and Standard
English. In both cases, they come from a US army store that sells goods to military
personnel. In the Philippines, however, PX is also used as an adjective that describes any
imported product from the United States, e.g. That store sells PX chocolates.

In contrast, the term TNT denotes entirely different senses in Philippine English and
Standard English; thus, a case of homonymy is observed. In the Philippines, the letters stand
for tago ng tago (hiding and hiding), and commonly used to refer to Filipinos staying as
illegal immigrants abroad (hence, their need to “hide”). Meanwhile, TNT in the US stands
for trinitrotoluene, a compound used as an explosive.

Table 6. Abbreviations: Dictionary Definitions

Item Philippine English Definition
CR Comfort room (informal)
KJ A killjoy (informal)
KKB Each participant paying for his or her share of
the food or entertainment, e.g. When we go
out tonight, will it be KKB? This word is
borrowed into English from Tagalog kanya-
kanyang bayad (individual payment)
OCW Someone employed outside the Philippines
for a period specified in a contract; now
called Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW)
PX If goods, such as consumer items, are PX,
they are imported, especially from the US,
e.g. That store sells PX chocolates. This
may have come from the name of a store at a
US military installation that sells goods to
military personnel & authorized civilians.
TNT A Filipino living as an illegal immigrant in
another country, e.g. I hear he’s now a TNT
in California; borrowed into English from
Tagalog tago ng tago (hiding and hiding).
“International” English Definition /
Counterpart
In other places that use English, public
toilet, restroom, powder room, toilet
room, washroom, etc. are used.
The word “killjoy” is also in other English
dictionaries; however, the whole word is
usually uttered (not the abbreviation).
The counterparts of this would be “Dutch
treat” or “going Dutch.” This originates
from the concept of a “Dutch door,”
because previously farmhouses in the
Netherlands consist of two equal parts.
Not found in other English dictionaries; the
closest counterpart would simply be
overseas worker
PX stands for “post exchange,” which
means “a commissary on a US Army post;
a retail store that sells equipment and
provisions to military personnel.” (used as
a noun, not as an adjective)
TNT has a different definition; it is short for
“trinitrotoluene,” which is a “yellow,
crystalline compound used mainly as an
explosive.”
Philippine English Vocabulary: A Semantic Study Page 14 of 14

III. CONCLUSION

As mentioned earlier, this study sought to study Philippine English vocabulary from a
semanticist’s perspective. In doing so, comparisons across Philippine English and Standard
English references were done, in an attempt to describe differences and similarities in meaning.
Some words were found to have closely related senses (polysemy), while others had entirely
different senses (homonymy). Still, there were those who were somehow “in between,” not
closely related and yet not too different, either. In addition, there were words that are not
contained (or have counterparts) in Standard English dictionaries, and hence can be considered
as unique to Philippine English.

Likewise, the role of context was also mentioned in some of the explanations. Here,
Philippine culture and practice appears to play a significant role in the development and use of
Philippine English expressions. Indeed, only time can tell what the future holds for this
“Filipino” variety of English. For the moment, it is good to see scholars who are interested and
doing research on the subject, especially in describing the various aspects of Philippine English.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anvil-Macquarie Philippine English Dictionary, Revised Edition. (2010). Pasig City,

Philippines: Anvil Publishing, Inc.

Bautista, Ma. Lourdes S. (2000). Defining Standard Philippine English: Its Status and
Grammatical Features. Manila, Philippines: De La Salle University Press, Inc.

Gonzales, Andrew & Wilfredo Alberca. (1978). Philippine English of the Mass Media. Manila,
Philippines: Research Council, De La Salle University.

Hurford, James R, Brendan Heasley, and Michael B. Smith. (2007). Semantics: A Coursebook,
2nd ed. U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

The New International Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language, Deluxe
Encyclopedic Edition. (2011). U.S.A.: Typhoon Media Corporation.

Dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster.com, and UrbanDictionary.com (Internet References)