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AMBIGUITY
In filiplno Communication Patterns

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Preface· 9

Pahiwadg 15
;:,h,11ppine Copyright © 1999
0uclished by Jhe Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture (ISACC) when what you see is not exactly what you get
Ali rights reserved
Ambiguity as social maintenance 20
ISBN 971-87 43-09-X

J.ders!anding Ambigu,ty ,n Filipino Comrnur11ca1,on P;.itterns A social calibration 25

:�-,. V.e:oa Paa1lla Magga, Ph D

¥.wori-- by Jess Abrera Language as power relations 31

·o, Masao ng Deretso·
01noy Nga' 1n Sunday Inquirer Magazine
Summing up 37
Des,gn by Ceoric Sison

Notes 38
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INSTITUTE FOR STUDIES IN ASIAN CHURCI i AND CULTUF!E ( ISACC)
<1 Mahnis S1 . UP Village. D1hman. Ouewn City
Tei Nos. 9229420. 9214523. 4352039
Telefax 4352040. 9264432
E-Ma1l 1sacc@amanet net. 1sac:c@1mlCJrg.pl1

'¥> pa,1 ot ltlls r>ubhCi.thc ,n mal' t.>f' rep,o..1ucOO ,n ;)fly loun_ eithcf as "<efO,: r.optes 0t ::1w lacs,rnfle thereof To do so is a violabl of
·.•JPvogtn law :1nd rnat-r� gwlry n:wllf'�. h.1t�r.10 pos!:1hl11 cha10<'!i �I rw�n.�tt("J tlOd<'I. 5."*..1 �'lW
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L �y wly of a p..-e{-ace
ong labeled, somewhat dubiously, as a 'melting pot of the
Orient·, the Philippines, perhaps more than any other culture in Asia,
tends to project a film of familiarity to Westerners who naivdy assume
similarity with their own cultures fo gross terms. Billed as the 'third
largest English-speaking country in the world,' it shows, at IC2St on the
surface, a westerµized layer to the culture easily displayed by such
artifacts as McDonald's hamburgers,· English textbooks and nc:Mpa-
pers, punk and sci-fl youth cults, Coke and Pepsi and Barbie dolls as
shapers of the 'new generation,' a formaLdcmocrat1c system inodded
after the American, and a managerial culture structured by the tight,
abstract, aggressive and depersonalized corporate ethos of the W'C$t.
This surface westernization lends a certain facility to interac­
tions with outsiders, misleading them into thinking that one can
operate significantly within the culture without having to cross
substantial cultural and linguistic barriers. This assumption seems to
•
be held in common by personalities as diverse as multinational .execu­
tives easing their way into the top posts of their. firms' local subsidiaries,
Peace Corps volunteers cager to get going on their development
efforts, UN consultants overseeing UN-funded projects, and mission­
aries coming to communicate the Gospel to masses of Filipinos.

,/·
/•/ , ·10 PAHIWATIG UNDER.NO I NG AMB.I GUITY
Sensitive outsiders, however, begin to realize that the culture
is l1Dt as it seems on the surface. A Southeast Asian expert at Harvard
once remarked that he always feels at a disadvantage psychologically
in <lealing with Filipinos. Tra.ined as they are in w�stern tools and
systems of analysis, there is n o doubt that Filipino s know his lan­
gu age and understand where he is coming from. He, however, feels
chat there are boundaries beyond which his scientific naturalism
could not g o - a gochic, spiritisc ic culture coexisting with techno­
cratic sophi sti cation during the Marcos regime, for instance.·
Linguistic problems present themselves when words familiar
to them in English do not seem co have the same meaning. A 'ho st­
ess' is one who inhabits the streets of Ermita and plies her wares in
rhe flesh trade, not someone who entertains and hosts a grand social
event. 'Salvage' is not to save or rescue from damage or destruction
as normal English means it, bur co do the exact o pposite: to bru tally
kilJ;- usually political dissidents, - hogtie them and du mp them
on the wayside. Filipino s who appear thorou ghly laundered by
western values and who speak in smooth Americanized accents
suddenly revert to Tagalog or whatev�r is their dialect when speaking
of feelings or things best left to the privacy of the in-group, a pattern
of behaviour not q uite in line with the advertised capacity for accom­
modation that Filipinos are famous for.
There is much to suppo rt the observation that while, as an
o pen culture, the Philippines is easy to deal with upon acquaintance,
it is just as hard to know as Sinite cultures when the gregarious
civilities are over and one begins to settle. Unlike the inscrutable
Chinese or the Japanese to whom the fore igner is always 'gaijin ,' the
Filipin o extends a warm and voluble welco me, sociable and uhshy,
asking questions that sometimes seem too personal and forward and
go es out of his way to make the stranger fed at ho me and in familiar
territory. He earnestly seeks to make the o utsider part of the culture.
Yet comes a point when the initiate senses that the friendly incursions
are over; silence descends and the Filipino assu mes a face that while not
altogether indifferent or hostile is stolidly u nreadable and impassive.
IN FILIPINO IMMUN I CAT I ON PATTERNS
11
his intractability of the Filipipo's interactive
patterns tends to be misinterpreted by those
used to starkly direct forms of communicating as rather
roundabout if not downright devious.
·•
flMll·M:e:wrn,yNorWNl SSM'!ll':m:!:c1P'fflP· PD ffll!
The Japanese novelist Endo on ce said that Oriental and
Western cultures may go through the motions of communicating; the
flow of traffic may lead to the illusio n that a cross-cultural transaction
is taking place; yet, he says, between the East and the West there is
really only siJence. 1
Such pessimism over the possibility of cross-cultural under­
standing may not be so mething that a Filipino shares, more open as
she is to outside influences and able to weave much more deftly the
warp and woof strands of her own and other peoples' cultures. Yet ·
there is a sense in which the Filipino is just as hard to penetrate
beyo nd the surface proprieties of her culture.
One aspect that foreigners find especially difficult is the very�
high level of ambiguity in the way she co mmunicates. It is hard to
know exactly when a Filipino is saying 'yes' or 'n o' ,2 when she is
offended and when she wants something. It would seem that the
interplay of v:erbal and nonverbal messages is so complex that the
outsider is left bewildered, wondering when he will ever have the
competence to crack the wall of silence that divides him from the
inside of the culture.
This intractability of the Filipino's interactive patterns tends
to be misinterpreted by those used to starkly direcc forms ofmmmu­
nicating as rather roundabout if not downright devious. The un­
stated assumption that the direct way is efficient and straightforward
unconsciously sets it up as a norm against which more ddicatc
linguistic signs are meas�red.
 .: ................. , ,,.,, ,,

1
12·
PAHIWAI.IG UNOH.l,NDING AMBIGUITY IN FILIPINO vOMMUNICATION PATTERNS 13

In ch is sh ore paper we take the view chat

the so-called 'indi­
rectness' of th e Filipino's speech habit
s is actually a function of wh at I
w<Juld call a ' high -context' culture, defi
ned as havi�g a high degree of
shared meaning, either because of long
tradition or an intense level of
communal interaction. A 'low-context
' culture would tend co be
craditionless and atomized, hence the
reliance on explicit, elaborately­
coded messages chat convey plainly
ways of organizing systems in a
culture. Oriental cultures, in general,
would tend to be h igh -context
(HC), while relatively young immigrant
cultures like t h e US would
be low-context (LC).
Th is distinction builds on the anthropolog
ist Edward Hall's
definition of ' high-context' and 'low-con
text' messages. He defines
an HC message as "one in wh ic h most
of the information is either in
the ph ysical context or internalized in
the person while very little is in
the coded, explicit, transmitted part of
the n1cssagc." An LC mes..:
sag e, in contrast, is exactly the opposite
: much of the information is
vested in the explicit codc. 1
Di Matabi "'CJ Devet!o
·;ilf ,':.Jr!,/' �,\ 1 r11 .Ji!·;� l i)rr:rr-.1
1
Al ff.,•• someone from a low-context culture
1J�
comes to the Philippines, he would find a
great deal of difficulty in decoding accurately both
verbal and nonverbal messages being transmitted in
ordinary social interaction.
fflt7"'17'i'n"ESGPIMI &!Mt SW nFRP!J..............
/Since culture is communication, we extend this definition to
include chat wordless world of symbolic meaning which is shared by
all participants in the culture and transmitted from generation to
generation through oral and written and other means of perpetuating
internal meaning.
f We also put forward the thesis that HC cultures would tend
to have a high degree of implicit interactive patterns, while LC
cul cures would tend to be more verbally expressive and explicit. This
is pare of the reason why in most LC cultures of the West, verbal
expressiveness is highly valued, while silence in Oriental cultures is
seen as highly momentous and seminally significant, loaded with a
weight of meaning. The deep man is the silent man, while in the
West the culture hero is usually the glib, garrulous corporate man
whose verbal dexterity enables him to sell everything, from tooth­
paste to ideologies.
This means, in pra�tice,. that when someone from a low­
context culture comes to the Philippin�, he would .find a great deal
of difficulty in decoding accurately both verbal and nonverbal m�
sages being transmitted in ordinary social interaction. Communica­
tion is so implicit that even verbal messages do not mean exactly what
their dictionary meanings would imply, and would need to be inter­
preted as merely a small component of_the transaction taking place.
While the nonverbal element in the interactions of people in any
given culture is usually high ( experts in the West put it at 70% of
normal adult conversation ), it is perhaps higher and much more

:;ui1<Jay lnq111rcr Magazine: complex in function in HC cultures like ours.

 • • 1 lllllllllllQQHUUH

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I
I
The following aspects of Filipino communication patterns are
meant as a starter, preliminary signposts to an ongoing study of
indigenous expressiveness. It is merely descriptive, and, in every
sense, pakapa-kapa, since we have taken care co scare from our context
anc::I refrain from being controlled by categories normally used in
communication theory as it has developed in the West. The groping
for categories intrinsic to the culture's interactive systems has made us
for the moment incelleccually lost in the world. However, we are
beginning to see some trees where we could hang some signs for at
least the beginnings of a trail, although we are a long way from

1•
getting out of the woods.

sing pahiwatig as a core concept, we try to

examine how it operates as an instrument of
�a �1
D Le 1w a -1q
verbal and nonverbal expressiveness in a culture when what you see
that is at one accessible and inscrutable to outside
obserYers.
is not exactly what you get

'1'It is in the nature of culture to be invisible, presenting itself in

recognizable form only in contrast with some other culture. Much of
the material in this paper has been gleaned from precisely this con­
trast. The elements surfaced have risen out of observations gathered
from experiences of contact with Westerners. Using pahiwatig as a
core concept, we try to examine how it operates as an instrument of
verbal and nonverbal expressiveness in a culture that is at one acces­
sible and inscrutable to outside obse!l'lers.
 /.
· 16 PAHIWAllG UNDER-NDING AMBIGUITY IN
.
frLt.PrNO COMMUtHCATIOI� PATTERNS
• '1111' t•HIHl"�IU 11

17

(!) �

',
I

westerner's house at
mealtime. He is
I asked, "Kumain ka
na ha?" He smiles
and scratches his
head. Casting his
eyes on the floor he
feds his stomach
and says, "Busog ako." Taking this as indication that
he does not want anything, the family proceeds with
the meal, leaving him alone and forlorn in the living
room.
Having finished the meal, the missionary goes
back to the sala to talk with him for a while. The
Filipino stands up and hurriedly says goodbye, grin­
ning earnestly and with some diffidence. It becomes
clear orice he has gone that he hasn'i: eaten yet. The
foreigner feels guil ty at having breached a social .
norm, wishing Filipinos we�e a little more able to
obey the biblical command to "let your 'yes' be 'yes'
and your no , · no.
C ) C t1'
· th some variations,· this story would be funiliar to all
Filipinos who have had the experience of being taken at face value by
people_ coming from more straightforward cultures. It is also a story
that rings a bell among outsiders in the culture who feel frustration at
their inability to read accurately cultural cues in spite of some ac­
quaintance with the local laoguage.
. f Undoubte�ly: nonverbal cues are p�rhaps the �a.rcl�t to learn
1n any culture. This 1s so not only because body language JS usually
uncoded in many cultures but also because the same bodily signs and
gestures might carry different meanings in different cultures. To 'beat
one's breast' in some cultures is sign of penitence, but in Central
Africa it is a form of trumpeting, like 'patting oneself on the back' as
English speakers would put it. Remorse in these parts is expressed by
beating one's head instead. Filipinos of the same sex publicly hold
hands while walking down the streets, a function g( the high lcvcl of
f',-
touching in the culture, but co the English and,o'-tlicr Westerners this
is a sign of homosexuality.
j It used to be s�pposed that facial expressions arc universal.
"The particular visible pattern on the face, the combination of
muscles contracted for anger, fear, surprise, disgust, happiness is the
same for all members of our species."" However, this fails to take into
account the fact that culture determines whether or not the emotion
will be displayed or suppressed, in which settings and on what occa­
sions, and to what degree.
 _,,../: '

/_1a· PAHIWAIIG. lJNOc ··ANDING AMBIGUITY IN FlllPIN .....;OM.MllNICATION PATTERNS 19

C
A stranger who smiles can be taken as a sex maniac amon
g the
Ja _p anese, impolite and brazen co the Korean, o r super
ficial co the ulture determines whether or not the
Vietnamese.5 What to the American is friendliness may
be seen in emotion will be displayed or suppressed,
r o ther c o ntexts as rather forward. A smile to a Filipi
n o can mean in which settings and on what occasions, and to what
anything, from emba rrassment to an cager desire to please
and not degree.
m:ake yo u lose face. The famo us 'oriental po ker'fa... ce'
can be occa-
sioned by a deep o ffense, the need for strict decorum, an 9\!EIS'P!S'':"'JjA
intense
X passion, knavery or great mental or emoti onal suffering.
Interpreta­
tion depends on complex permutati ons o f context interacting
with
any number of verbal and nonverbal signals.
'f D�ffi�ulry in reading the 'text' of another �ulturc �y leads_
to evaluative Judgments. In the case above the misunderstanding was
elevated into a moral issue: the 5lipino was pc�
�
somehow unable to come across with forthright rectiwc',_
parent plainness.. The truth was that what looked like waffling to an·
outsider was plain language to a fellow culture-bearer: the smile and
the scratching and the casting of eyes on the floor meant he was
nahihiya and did' not wish to be too forward, saying 'I am full'
instead of saying an outright 'no' because }iis culture thinks it is polite
and good breeding tci be purposely obscure and allow the host to pick
up the cue and press the invitation at least three times as sign of
earnestness. What to an insider is simply another language system
beco mes· to an outsider a matter of moral concern.
It has been said that all cultures arc a:t bottom reasonable.
Aspects that oii ·the su�face may seem hidcow or devious have their
own internal logic, as with some islands in the Pacific where men arc
buried alive in their prime so they would be fit and strong enough to
hunt and survive in the afterlife. This is true with communication
• systems a/ well.
. .-
' )ndirection,_or, my preferred word, ambiguity, in Filipino
interactive pattems is a function of the very high degree o�c.ompl�­
ity and elaborateness in Filipino social relations. !tis a ridi, ddicate,
�ocAy Lat\<J"a<je ind intricate expressiveness born out of a culture whose social pm­
f-'INOY NGA1 ni Jess A!J1era mar and vocabulary is subtly and infinitely nuanced.
Sunday Inquirer M;:1gazine
 /-C::·
• •
.
20 PAHIWATIG UNDERSTANDING AMBIGUITY
·r
at"bi<:J"ity a.r
focial l"'ai...te ....ance
he importance of pahiwatig can be seen in the host of words
chatdenote artful indirection in communicating wants or feelings.
Patricia de Peralta and Angeles Racelis have catalogued some of these
words, ranging from an emphasis on purposive obliqueness: padaplis;
pahaging, pasaling, pasagid- all words that have to do with deliber­
atel-y and calculatedly missing one's aim when firing on.a target - to
verbu inferentials whose real object is the overhearer, like pasaring or
parinig. 6
It takes a great deal ofpakikiramdam or feeling out to guess
accurately different kinds of pahiwatig or hints.
One kind has co do with sending a complex of messages
suggesting hurt or offense, something chat is usually not communi­
cated directly. Pagsasawa!ang-kibo is one way of intimating this. It
could mean some failure to live up to expectations that are part of the
exactions of being relationally close. It could also mean pagdaram­
dam, a delicate feeling of hurt inside, or sama ng loob, a deeper sense
of rese11tment that rankles the guts. When accompanied by s�llen­
ness, such silence signals galit or anger. When the silence is so deep
chat the face becomes impassive - like a mask - it can mean either
depth of offense intensely controlled or severe suffering within;
In a world of such silence, the ability to read pertinent cues
requires a highly refined scale of ascertaining the degree and nature of
the emotion being expressed. The practice of pakiramdaman, a keen
sensitivity co a complex of verbal and nonverbal cues interacting with
a given communicaciop context, enables the inhabitants of the·
culture to feel out infinite permutations of these three demerits.
Mataragnon characterizes this heightened sensitivity as involving
deliberate care, manifested in "hesitation to react, in attention to
subtle cues and nonverbal behavior, in mental role-playing ( ifl were
in che other's situation, how would I feel)."7
-\
_ ... _ . ·-· ...... _ ...... J IIJIUPMMIUQIIIJ
I
IN FILIPINO COMMUNICATION PATTERNS 21
Being 'high context', che culture has a high degree of mean­
ing shared by all participants. Verbal input, therefore, functions as a
kiQd of short-hand: much is suggested and much is assumed.
J. Pahiwatig, for instance, has a verbal component which, whik plain to
insiders, is always ambiguous to outsiders; what is heard is rarely what
it is on the surface. Through pakiramdaman, one reads its subtle
meanings in the various combinations of context and.nonverbal cues
th�t accompany the speech.
hrough pakiramdaman, one reads its subtle
meani_ngs in the various combinations of context
and nonverbal cues that accompany the speech.
This is dear in another kind of pahiwatig, which revolves
around evocative ways of expressing the need or want of something.
This kind has a verbal element which is easily misunderstood apan
fropl the context in which it is expressed. Paglalambing is to do sweet
little acts of love or kindness, or even to feign tampo so that one gets
some pamin or notice. Paglalangis is to do servi(:CS or utter compli­
mentary remarks that are more overtly suggestive of wanting sohle­
thing, an oily kind of endearment meant as grease to facilitating a_
desired response. Paa/a-a/4 is to refer to objects or mattcn that
would indirectly call to mind a promise or some favor that is being
anticipated from a parent or a friend. Puwetk bang awitan is a half­
• joking way of expressing a desire to secure something someone has,
usually a valuable object one wears in one's person which has taken
the fancy of the suppliant. It starts as a compliment, which in tum
elicits the reply, "Oh, talaga... Gusto mo?", ( "Really... Would you like
to have it?") an offer that one normally expects will be turned_do�­
In cases where there is a great deal of closeness, it is likdy that one
will not be too shy-to take the offer, and chw make awit.
 /
22 PAMIWATIG UNOE,ANOING AMBIGUITY
In all of these. cases, a certain degree of closeness serves as
basis for the expectation of reciprocity. One docs not do lambing or
half.sweetly retreat into meaningful silence when the object of the
message is someone not likely to be sensible of what it means to the
scnc:ler, or n�t close enough to be part of that circle where one feds at
liberty to exact emotional feedback. While paglalangis may involve a
connection that is rdativc�y more formal and distant, like that of a
patron, the use of'it is nevertheless operative only within a relation­
ship that already recognizes some �utual obligation. Paa/a-ala is a
happy bell-ringing that manages to.avoid being forward because done
in a context where the bond is secure and sensitive to the claims of
duty or affection. Nagpapattlaala fang is what we say when we drop
b rad ints towards desired ends, usually accompanied by a naughty
orJ a owing smile. .
J Bonifacio sees pahiwatig as a way of easing difficult interactive
transactions. It enables the culture to�.th-i.arerpei;sonal
r� "mapanati/i ang magandang pagpapalagayan sa lipunan. "8 It
_
is, I guess, a way of confronting painful aspects of our social relations
I
I
K�wal'\ at Al'\o
PiN(!Y NGJ\I r11 Jess Abrera :_;uricfciy Inquirer Magazine
•
IN FILI PINC COMMUNIC4 TION PATTERUS 23
Rfaced by,bato-bato sa langit, tamaan ayhuwag
�����������������
·I
�-�-�:
magalit, criticism that is meant to sting is hedged
about as merely a kind of stray arrow, yet negative
feedback is somehow put across and in a way that
hurts no one, walang napahiya.
�­
\ F....l,i! K>-115»�-:tfl"lPrV#,,.,.,,.....,a,,u;;n..;;,,,,�,__,_.
while maintaining maximum concern for the kapwa tao ( fellow
human ), that sense of the 'other' whose inner self one shares and
identifies with.
It is important to grasp that this is more than just SIR.
(m,ooth interpcr.sonal relations') , which implies easy surrender of
paninindigan ( literally, 'to stand on', conviction) for the sake of
maintaining surface harmony. Enriquez has long ago pointed out
that while the culture has accommodative values, it also has
confrontativc valucs.9 A good example of this balance bctwccn
confrontation and accommodation is the pahiwatig that concerns the
sending of public messages meant as a gentle chiding or humo!Pus
critique. Prefaced by bato-bato sa langit, tamaan ay huwag m4ga/it,
this involves making a satire out of public figures, or poetical com�
mcnts on issues and foibles of the day. Herc, one is careful to preface
remarks meant to sting as merely a kind ofstray arrow, walang
tinutukoy in particular; yet negative feedback is somehow put across
,\ and in a way that hum no one, walang napahiya.
Pahiwatig is not merely a concern for externa.lity, for preserving
the labllJ ( outside ) aspect of hiya,.1° which is good form. It is sensi­
tive regard for the kapwa tao's 'face', which is really mo.re than surface
j. amorpropio or concern for mata ng tao ( people's eye). Given the
Filipino's wholistic orientation, which secs the part as also the whole,
'face' is more than just one's public image or social standing; it is the
seat of one's integrity of being, one's dangal or pagkatao ( pcrsonhood ).
In chis sen�. co expose someone co public shame, or iJNthiya, as with
...."""�·-,,�--........
�
 · 24
PAHIWATIG UNOE ..,.ANDING AMBIGUITY IN
"
FILIPINO COIHIUNICA T 101< P� TTERNS 25

a 1;ood dressing-down or a no-holds.: barrcd verbal fireworks, is nor

only to violate social boundaries; ic is co cross that invisible line where
ff . a focial calibratiot\
ll
. personhood suffers degradation and demands redress.
One wonders, for instance, why it is chat a stray remark f- t would seem that to the Filipino expressiveness is directly
among a group of half-drunk men in a corner score could cause a proportionate to the degree of intimacy he shares with the one he is
Sll<lden flare-up or a flash of glinting knives aimed at each other's talking to. Social scientists in search of more indigenous research
methods have long been aware that accurate data-gathering happens
th mats. My guess is chat something viral, something deeply honored !, in a context where a strong relational clement is present. In a culture
in that place where most of us live, has been fatally injured. The •I!·
that readily adjusts to expectations of outsiders, quality of informa­
damage is more than depreciation of one's social standing, since most
tion is directly proportionate t.o che degree ofpakiltipagpalttgayang­
Filipinos could withstand and even gladly countenance a lot of
teasing or biro that put them down. What has been stung to· the
loob, that levd of interaction where the researcher is no longer an
outsider, ibang tao, and begins to be treated with a confidentiality
quick �s perhaps that sensitive spot where one puts the weight of one's
whole person, yung Lugar na kung saan nakasalalay ang dangal o that is sharply different from the more formal and elaborately indirect
ways of communicating to an outsider.
pagkatao. Amor propio is a bad word for this; it connotes a peevish,
infantile pride char reacts badly to pejorations. Dangal ( dignity, , ..
. .I I
honor) is a better word, something we violate at our peril by a
careless word or insufficient attention to rhc fastidious norms by
'f. which Filipino society regulates interactive behaviour. Niyurakan ·
ang aking dangal is not exaggeration even when used casually or ·half­
hµmorously by trendy youth or gay society. It is an accurate descrip­
:,I!
I
tion of what happens when communication becomes ruthlessly
direct, :without regard to preserving someone dse's 'face' or pagkatao.
Where heart or intelligence is wanting, it is a g,eat protection to
society chat good manners in the form of such delicacy should not
also be absent.
This is not to say that the Filipino is incapable of frankness or
.• . ;:
.,.'!'\
·-�:
straightforward expressiveness. There arc contexts in which she can
. .,
•
}'
be very, very plain, where the signals, both verbal and nonverbal, are
unmistakable. The following section illustrates some of these contexts. Sig� Jang, anak, buly�wan mo kg; dag_ uwi mo ng_�a/JJti . sko'
naman an9. mapro-rollba�a yo;...._ sa suntokl ·�.

· Pakikipa<]-"'it\;iyat\
f;i lbal'\<J Tao at Di lbat\<J Tao
PLAIN FOLKS ni Nonoy Marcelo
file Mania CMll'lide
/�
25 PAHIWATIG UNOER�NOING AMBIGUITY IN
•
FILIPINO COMMUNICATION PATTERNS 27

Santiago and Enriquez have come up with a scale calibrating

the= level of interaction between a researcher and his informant. It
starts with pakikitungo ( formal civility) from one end of the scale to
pa.l.ikiisa ( full identification ) at the other end of the scale. These
/
levels of interaction correspond co degrees of intimacy possible at
eac� level. Borrowing from this model, we can perhaps construct a
diagram that illustrates the relationship between level of expressive­
ness and mode of interaction, to wit:
r� IP
distinction
m�iguity increases as social.distance
'l11 increases. The culture makes a sharp
-- -···· -·- between the ibang tao and the di ibang
\ !�����r:tsitivity to the �e..thatneedS-to.be..tra-
\ Vf:��!��-�-��!�Y.��lls..elaborate-pa,aka/ye wbfcb on
the part of an outsider requires the offering of florid
exc-,ses· about having to intrude into one's presence.

11'1
inz 6
w 5
�
VI
in
IX
4

�.
w. 3
· Conversely, ambiguity increases as social distance increases.
u. The cultttre makes a sharp distinction between the ibang tao and the
0 2
w
w
IX
di ibang tao. Towards the former the interactive pattern is �laboratcly
C,
w oblique and polite, characterized by a strict adherence to rules �f
a hospitality and congeniality. The latter, on the other hand, is tttated
DEGREE OF INTERACT.JON
with a cavalier casualness whose level of frankness even some West­
IBANGTAO 01-IBANG TAO
l erners would find rather shocking.

i
I ll
CIJ .::,:. . <U
0 fu' D
O>
C
:J
.c
E
:J
0
{ij � .8O> �
Ol
en
�
j2 The culture's known inclination for pleasing and accommo­
� � D <U
� dating ou.tsiders expresses itself. for instance, in the interactive devices
<U 52 5':
� a..
5':
� � 5l 5':
CIJ 5':
� x a. <U a. fu'
a. by which it manages to hide all manner of unpleasantness. One
j2
CIJ
5':
CIJ f? a.
a. ro
a. strategy is silence. an exquisite form of politeness which is often
�
a. � misconstrued by outsiders as agreement, or worse. that one has
j2
nothing much to say. Silence in formal settings like a classroom or a
�
a. public forum is not to be read as lack of interest or a curious dead­
.. ness. Often, this is a sign of the sociai" distance that exists, or the
' unwillingness to publicly contradict someone in authority or some­
one especially vulnerable, like a blithely unknowing outsider. If
L-h(g:neral, .as the level of intimacy increases. v..erhaland negative messages are ever sent, they usually take the form of elabo­
nonverbal expressiveness also increases. One moves, not only towards rate and circuitous circumlocutions-pa!igoy-liioy as they say­
increasing self-disclosure, but also towards increasing verbalization of prefaced and bracketed by numerous remarks meant to cushion the
inner mental and emotional. states. impact, like the ritual prologues of Sumo wrestlca.
________ __....... ,,...,,._. ,., .........
,,,..
28 PAHIWATIG: UNOER.NOING AMBIGUITY
,.
IN FILIPINO COMMUNICATION .PATTERNS 29

� mbiguity drops considerably when the
_ interaction is between those who are not
ibang tao. A mere look of the eye from a parent can
send noisy children scurrying out of the room, while a
lift of the eyebrow is warning that one is dangerously
close to misbehaving.
Lt'!'•�:?!r-��._Gt"i1PE'E'Wu,r..fW:,.,. J!l'f
Sensitivi ty to the distance chat needs to be traversed socially
entails elaborate pasakalye which on the part of an outsider requires
the offering of florid excuses about having to intrude into one's
presence. As a sign of respect, the third person plural is.used, as in
"Maaari po ba sila.ng maabala?" Po and opo, normally used as auxilia­
often at its highest: one may say punta kayo ( do come ) and repeat it
a number of times as protocol requires and still come across as fairly
opaque because of a number of nonverbal signals that go with it. In
turn, the other may say sisikapin ko ( I will try) or titingnan ko
( I'll see), which often means, co the insider, that chances ate, lfe or
she will nonurn up when the .appointed day comes.
Ambiguity drops considerably when the interactlon is be­
tween chose who are not ibang tao. Sa totoo fang ( the truth is... )
surfaces as a constant preliminary opening to an exchange of confi­
dence. Verbal and nonverbal signals contract into cryptic shorthand
· for otherwise complex secs of interactive meanings. A mere look of
che eye from a parent can send noisy children scurrying out of the
room, while a lift of the eyebrow is warning that one is dangerously
close to misbehavi_ng.

f'Hldl/
ries in addressing elders or those in authority, are also applied to the
ibang tao as a form of courtesy, sometimes in their variants ho and oho . NGA I
. In the course of a social visit, ipagpaumanhin or pasensiya na
po kayo continually punctuate the conversation of both visitor and·
host, the visitor being sensible of the kagandahang loob being ex­
tended to him at such great length, and the host being conscious that
what he has laid out is perhaps simply not enough to meet the
exacting standards of what his cul cure sees as true hospitality, all the
while deprecating his efforts as good breeding requires.
Social exchanges are fraught with elaborate and complicated
signals meant to make out exaccly where the bottom line is, plumbing
the demarcation lines between the requirements of stringent courtesy
and the solid ground of genuine connectedness which pulls one into.
the orbit of the culture's inclusiveness: Invitations, for example, need
to be repeated and insisted upon at least three times, as sign of
earnestness. Likewise, the one invited has to demur the same number
of times, or at least show some reluctance, allowing some rope for the
other to gracefully withdraw out of the proffered invitation if it":'.� Loob
merely thrown in for courtesy's sake. It is here where ambiguity isW, PINOY �A! ni Jess Abrera Sunday lrqe Magazine
 PAHIWATIG: UNDER�NOING AMBIGUITY
OJ>. EDUCATION LIPMY
Part of the discipline participants in the culture grow up with is
eye-reading: makuha kayo sa tingin, parents would say. Thus, one knows
exactly when taas ng kilay is a kind ofpaglalait or a way of showing airs,
and when it is merely a sign of taray or a way of reining in some piece of
effrontery. One learns co distinguish when irap is a form ofpahiwatig
that one has sama ng loob and therefore needs some noticing and
humoring and when it becomes a glaring indication of galit.
Through pakiramdaman, one is able to tell whether courtesies
are mere pabalat-bunga and whether praises and coinpliments are
simply bola. Likewise, a culture-bearer knows that ornate rhetoric or
flovvery language - mabul,tklak as old folk would say - is mostly
reserved for the consumption of strangers and outsiders;pumuporma.
There is a class ofpahiwatig which is loud and gregarious and
unmistakably aimed at impressing the peanut gallery, something
quite the opposite ofthe modest delicacy behind much of our lin­
guistic ambiguity. Under this would be that display of bravura we
call pabonggahan - flashy exhibition of one's wares - and its older,
more traditional form:pakitang-gilas. Bbth are a kind of 'contcxting'
- making people sit up and take notice of what one is capable of
doing or having, particularly in a situation where people do not know
much about each other or one is a newcomer and under pressure to
make some initial impression.
A dass ofpahiwatig similarly naked in meaning is that com­
plex of nonverbal signs denoting resentment or hostility. If. in the
case of a stranger., offense is covered over and carefully understated·
and kept out of the way, in the case of someone near, as with a family
member or a lover, it is expressed in no uncertain terms. This usually
takes the form ofpagdadabog, an unspoken anger patently shown in
such behaviour aspabalabag napagrasara ngpinto, pagpadyak ngpaa
and pagbabagsak ng mga bagay.
')(Through a variety of such high-context nonverbal signals,
Filipinos communicate plainly to eac� other and y et control the Bow
of information discernibl* to outsiders, the leak calibrated according
to th� degree of social distance that exists.
IN
,,
FILIPINO COMMUNICATION PATTERNS· 31
A
la"'<J"a<]e ar poweY .--elatio"'f
mbiguity as a patter� of communication is also a func-
tion of power relations in the Filipino social structure. The great
divide between the 'ibang tao' and the 'di ibang tao' is here paralleled
by the sharp split between those at the top and those at the bottom of
the heap. Interaction between those in authority and those subject t
them is characterized by highly formal modes of address. Where J
there is unequal power relations, silence and non-confrontational
behaviour is resorted to.
B.AKIT BA. 'TtlWING. • t-V,G.� • (HINC,(: HO '"'5<.0 t-V6-
�Jjf_ _ J_
SAL.ITA >l,(,o �IHll"AC3 .. 'llt411-\A,9 M!!!=)'oft.�
l<A1
. l"''a"'irap fa pacAer.�.
nl�<j ""f'\'an«J«J�
APOG ni Tet Roxas The Mania Stardard
I.._ The Filipino has a formal sense of 'place', a respect for hierar­
chy which expresses itself in a strong sense of propriety. Hiya, for
instance, 1w less to do with the preservation of form as with delicate
respect for the positional nuances of one's social relations. It is
nakakahiya to be a.delantado or too forward, especially with those
who are one's social superiors. Thus, one keep� silent unless spoken
to, and is careful not to venture information that is more than being
asked for. More formal aspects of this sense of propriety is mani­
fested in the language: terms of respect like po and opo for ciders;
kinship terms ate or kuya for older siblings, evidencing more minute
distinctions than the genC:rational gap; the use of the third person as a
kind of dist2ncing when before a stranger or a person in authority.
Nonverbal ttcognition of authority is 5.een as well in such gestures as
-···--�............
r-· . •
r,. ------- -
.
32 PAHIWAIIG UNOEH�NOING AMBIGUITY IN FILIPINO COMMUNICATION PATTEl'INS 33

Such exhortations to patience - 'maghunus dili ka,'

,;x n the presence of authority or unequal power 'huminahon ka,' pagpasmsiyahan or pagbigyan na Lang- arc perhaps
relations ambiguity increases. Expressiveness is coping strategies learned during centuries of colonization, when
suppressed, interaction is characterized by extreme uncongenial governments offered ·no hope of redress and one sur­
formality and tentativeness, this time with the added vived by reliance on one's own inner resources and quiet subversion
factor of intense control where the rank and status of the powers that.be. While there is certainly a generosity in the
differential requires rigid courtesies even in the face culture that makes it genuinely accommodating, almost to a fault,
of emotional tension. such social adjustments are perhaps also shrewd survivalist mechanisms
in a situation where power relations are essentially asymmetrical.
MD=·!JS7'!".!!!'X·�· rm uz·.:..gr·,1• �..,..,i;. _,,.,.�··
1

A picture of how such a combination of acquiescence and

resistance operates can be seen in the ase of Filipino seamen who
stolidly suffer verbal abuse by their superiors. Beneath the display of
the kissing of hands or pagmamano of elders one generation removed, docility is cunning recalcitrance: Filipino seamen have been known to
the scratching or bowing of the head and the averting or casting spit or boil socks for soup when preparing food for th� hlgh.,.handcd
down of the eyes when talked to by a superior. officers. 12 T he lack of verbal protest is no guarantee of submission or
XThe Filipino's language of the·cyes forbids him to look at an capitulation.
authority figure directly, as this is considered brazen. To stare at It would seem chat in the presence of authority or unequal
anybody for that matter, yung tititigan ka nang walang kurap, is an ace power relations ambiguity increases. Expressiveness is suppressed,
of daring that is considered fresh .and provocative. To steal glances in and as with one's dealings with outsiders, interaction is charactem.ed
an underhanded manner, tinging pailalim, is co come across as by extreme formality and tentativeness, this· time with the added
seethingly rebellious, a dangerously subversive plotter in the making. factor of intense control where the rank and status differential re­
When chis happens an authority know� chat his messages are merely quires rigid com:tesies even in the face of emotional tension. The·
being endured in silence;'an underground rebellion will soon erupt relationship between social status and degree of ambiguity can be
hot upon his heels. illustrated thus:
Rigid propriety controls strictly the flow of communication
between social. dasses. Communication is top-down
. and dominates
inc�rcourse, unless those bc:low are expressly encouraged co express 4
�
the��ves. T his is especi�lly evident in child-raising patterns, where • w5 3
We,
yo��,fhildren are taught not to 'talk back' even at older siblings, ,:x:_
c,a:i 2
n<;,}�o �enci�n parents, in deferencc t� t�1e status a�co�ded to age w:E
_ . Ccc
an� the pecking order of the family. 1,gil or tumahtmtk ka na Lang is u.
0
the advice one often hears when a quarrel is afoot. Likewise,
padamahin mo na Lang is the usual counsel when someon<; a little 2 3 4

more distant relationally commits a trespass. SOCIAL DISTANCE

 34 PAHIWATIG · UNOEA.NDING
Oo, .......a .... i .... iwala ....a ako
....a baha fa L..,�aY ....lyo kaya ka ....a-late...
PINOY ni Boy Togonon The Manila Chronicle
For chose at the bottom of the social ladder, expressiveness
...-,contracts as they come in contact with chose at the top. However, for
those at the top, expressiveness expands in proportion co their power.
Since license to speak one's mind is dirccdy proportionate to
social force, one can imagine the silence in which the poor arc sub­
merged, repressing verbalization of protest or need. Relegated as they
arc co the underside of society, their consciousness hardly has oppor­
tunity to surface in the marketplace of discourse. Mistakenly as­
sumed to be dumb and inarticulate, they tend to be dismissed as an
uncritical, inert mass, subject to the machinations of unscrupulous
opinion leaders.
AMBIGUITY
t· IN FILIPINO
" COMMUNICATION PATTERNS
. . l IUIIIIIUHHIIIIUi
35
'/ ince license to speak one's mind is directly pro­
portionate to social force, one can imagine the
silence in which the poor are submerged, repressing
verbalization of protest or need. This deep silence on
the part of the marginalized is further reihforced by
the use of English as a power language.
·«1� ·.:;-,m.r:,.....:-;p;p;,.:ra�·4'r9V>:K?!Ur1P1,rn�
r 1' This deep silence on chc part of the marginalized is funhcr .
; reinforced by the use of English as a power language. Studies show
! that speakers of standard English rate higher than those who speak a
/ mixture of English ·and Tagalog, or those who are cumbered by heavy
o{ regional accents. le has also been observed that where authority
13
needs asserting, English is used to create soinc social distance, as with
the example of a UP professor who normally lectures in Fi�ipino but
shifts co English to remind students of his social status. 14
The formidable clout of English as a status language means
X that hardly any traffic of discourse flows across the social divide. It
has been noted that Filipinos when speaking to their peers use
Taglish; to those below, Filipino; and to authority figures, English. 1s
This in effect indicates a vast distance in universe of discourse be­
tween those who arc bilingual and those whose consciousness have
remained outside the intellcction of the English language system.
This culcural alienation among the social claSses is evident in
• the increasing evaporation of an audience for literati who write in
English, while comics and other such media which arc d�scr to the
cognitive and linguistic orientation of the submerged masses con-
. tinue to proliferate; A vast subterranean culture exists just under­
neath the dominant culture of the influential classes. Known as the
'great cultural divide',
· • character of
it accounts for the schizophrenic
the culcure.

PAHIWATIG UNOEA-NOING AMBIGUITY
�·-·
IN FILIPINO COMMUNICATION PATTERNS
The apparently happy coexistence of such disparate and
schismatic tendencies in the culture tends to deceive foreigners into
thinking they could operate significantly and with some facility
within rhe culture without learning its local languages and going deep
into its layered ramifications. Outsiders would do well to note that
even among competently bilingual Filipi�os (a rare specie), English is
a purely formal medium. At home or in social contexts where the
emotive is ascendant, the Filipino reverts to her language. 16 Filipino
or the local dialect remains the language of her feelings, the window
to her soul. An outsider who has not taken the trouble to cross the
linguistic barrier will likely remain in the periphery of rhe indigenous
consciousness. Ir is a world that will be shut to him even after many
years of stay. Even under cover of friendliness, it will baffle and
conf�und.
C: pino or the local dialect remains the language of
,-_ ��r feelings, the window to her soul. An outsider
who has not taken the trouble to cross the linguistic
barrier will likely remain in the periphery of the indig­
enous consciousness. It is a world that will be shut to
him even after many years of stay.
! Filipino c�lture has once been described as 'tropical gothic'.
Instinctively, one senses that it has a gothic density, an ambiguity that
confronts us with its deep silences, its mysterious suggestiveness, its
wordless signs and portentous symbols, gestures whose implicit
meanings are hidden in the recesses of the culture.
, ,,a1111111,n111111
-
37
,,
p
Abiguicy or co�:cri:�n :::� �
meaning, is a funct.!9n of the high degree of context
in which Filipino�ommunication patterns operates.
Pahiwatig as a communication strategy.lias a meaning
that is shared by all participants in the culture.
Silence is a strategy of retreat or withdra.wal in
the face of social offense, a tactical recourse when up
against unequal power relations. Pakiramdamttn i\
employed wherever the communication situation
requires sensitivity, as with a stranger, or delicate
maneuvers intending feedback while preserving
harmonious social relations. Apparent indirectionis
rooted in a concern for social maintenance and a deep
respect for kapwa tao and boundaries within the social
structure.
While the majority culture revolves around
the meaning of silence and pahiwatig, there is a degree
of verbal and nonverbal expressiveness which increases
in proportion to relational closeness. Social status
and linguistic orientation determines the flow of
communication among classes in the social structure.
The strength of the base culture is such that
one needs to cross linguistic and cultural barriers to be
able to penetrate the interactive system md operate in
context.
 ...
e e
illif'rirttMtCdteMe• at fiet •It 7 •"* • • ..... I 111NIIIIIIU .. IIIIIIU

38 PAHIWATIG · UNDERSTANDING AMBIGUITY IN FILIPINO COMMUNICATION PATTERNS 39

NOTES
I. The novel, ticled The Silence, is a fictional account of the incursions of Catholic
missionaries into Japan in the 16th century, and the subsequent clamping
down due to perceived cultural threat which eventually resulted in the booting
out ofJesuits, Franciscans and other orders in the early half of the 17th
century.
2. An initial· study on this is Joan Rubin's "How to Tell When Someone is Saying
'No' ", Topics in Culture uarning, 1976, pp. 4, � 1-65.
3. See Edward Hall's Beyond Culture, Anchor Press/Double Day Garden City, NY
19,76 p. 91.
12. Refl�rred to by Virgilio Enriquez in Filipino Psychology in the Third World,
Psychology Research House, 1977.
13. Tucky (1968) in his study of personal ·reactions to ways of speaking English
and Tagalog, mentioned in "Regional Accents and their� on Social
Distance Preference of P hilippine Science High School Students," by Hden
Saldana, Yeung Yeung Yu, Zeny Baduel, in Proksnnika at /(jnesika. Amdia
Alfonso, ed., pp. 244-283.
14. Cf. Violeta Villaroman-Bautista and Elizabeth G. Lim, ..Mga Maglcaibang
lntensidad ng Magkasinghulugang Salitang Pilipino at Ingles sa Pagbatol ng
Karanasang Perseptwal," Siko/ingwistikang Pilipino, lkalawang Aklat,
Kolehiyo ng Agham at Sining, UP, 1976, p. 507.

4. Cf. Ekman's support for Darwin's theory that 'facial expressions are universal', 15. Cf. Erny M. Pascasio, "Philippine llnguisti� Resca.rch: Theoretical and
quoted in LaRay M. Barna in "Stumbli,!g Blocks in lntercultural Communi­ Methodological Trends," paper presented at the 1981 NRCP Conference, UP
cation", p. 323 in !nttrcultural Comm1111ication: A Rell/Ur by Somovar and Los Banos.
Poreer.
16. Cf. Sollee ( 1963)., mentioned by Villaroman-Bautista and Lim, op.cit pp. 504-
5. Ibid., p. 324. 523.

6. Patricia de Peralta and Angeles D. Racelis, "Wika at Llpunan, Kaasalang

Pangwika, Bilinggualismo at Suliranin sa Pag-iisip at Pagpapahayag,"
Siko/ingwistikang Pi/ipino, Ikalawang Aklat, Kolehiyo ng Agham at Sining, UP
1976.

7. Rita H. Macaragnon, Pakiramdam in Filipino Social Interaction, unpublished

paper. Ateneo de Manila University, 1983.

8. Cf. Bonifacio ( 1973), quoted in de Peralta and Racelis, op. cit.

9. Virgilio G. Enriquez, "Indigenous Personality Theory" in Indigenous Psychol­

ogy. a Book ofReadings. Akademya ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino, 5-B Marilag, UP
Village, Diliman, Q.C. 1990 pp. 285-309.

10. Cf. Sala1.ar, Zeus ( 1981), referred to by Enriquez, ibid. p. 296.

11. Carmen E. Santiago at Virgilio G. Enriquez,· "Tungo sa Makapilipinong

Pananaliksik," Sikolohiyang Pilipino, Ttorya, Mttodo, at Gamit, edited by
Rogclia Pe-Pua, UP Press, para sa Akadcmya ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino, 1989
pp. 155-160.