History of the English Language (ENGL 102)

PHILIPPINE ENGLISH
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

✓ Discuss and describe Philippine English and its sub-varieties

✓ Identify some features of Philippine English

INTRODUCTION

English has always been one of the official languages of the Philippines and is spoken by more
than 14 million Filipinos. It is the language of commerce and law, as well as the primary medium of
instruction in education. Proficiency in the language is also one of the country’s strengths that has
helped drive the economy and even made the Philippines the top voice outsourcing destination in the
world, surpassing India in 2012. The influx of foreign learners of English is also on the rise due to the
relatively more affordable but quality English as a Second Language (ESL) programs being offered
locally.
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.”

ACTIVITY

Give a three-sentence statement about the

newspaper headline and share it to your
classmates.

ANALYSIS

What makes Philippines the world’s best country

in business English?

Why is Philippines recognized globally as one of

the largest English-speaking nations having at
least some degree of fluency in the language?

ABSTRACTION

Philippine English is a nativized variety of English (similar and related to American English) native
to the Philippines, including those used by the media and the vast majority of educated Filipinos. English
is taught in schools as one of the two official languages of the country, the other being Filipino
(Tagalog). It has evolved tremendously from where it began decades ago. This particular variety of
English has undergone changes due to colonialization by Spaniards, Americans, and the Japanese which
further developed the language.
History of the English Language (ENGL 102)

PHILIPPINE ENGLISH
Philippine English vocabulary is influenced by other languages, like in the words veranda for a
terrace or a porch, carabao for a water buffalo, or siesta for an afternoon nap. There are many words
which are believed to be American but are Philippine English. Moreover, certain words are defined
differently in Philippine English compared to American English.

Some English words used differently in the Philippines

It is the version of the all-you-can-eat buffet, which offers unlimited food and
Eat-All-You-Can drinks at a fixed time or price. With the Filipinos’ immense love for food, it does not
come as a shock to see long lines in restaurants or diners with this kind of service.
Bedspace Not limited to the space in a bed, the term began to mean an entire room in general
that people can rent for use and are eventually called “bedspacers”.
Double deck A double deck is the popular term for the bunk bed, which is also known as the
double bed.
Overpass A structure referring to a bridge made from cement or steel that people can use to
get to the other side of the street. A way going underground is called an underpass.
Comfort Room With a variation from different establishments who opt to use the term “restroom”
, the comfort room (abbreviated as C. R.), is the prevailing room for the bathroom.
Boodle fight Conceptualized by Philippine Military Academy cadets to strengthen the
camaraderie between participants, a boodle fight is a gathering usually serving rice
with viand or pancit in banana leaves and eaten using bare hands.
nosebleed A state of bafflement (often induced by being spoken to in English).
as in! Used for emphasis (as in is a conjunction and a preposition.) They are used to drive
a point emphatically.
gimmick sometimes could refer to a marketing strategy or a trick, but more often used to
refer to going out to have a good time.
Figure 1

Vocabulary

A. Loanwords from Spanish

Due to the colonization of the Spaniards, it was unavoidable that vocabulary in the Philippines
was developed. There are terms that Filipinos borrowed and are still using up until now. Certain words
like calle to kalye, guapo to gwapo, viaje to biyahe, asukal, bintana, despedida etc.

B. Loanwords from Local Usage

“Open the light/radio.” (turn on the light/radio)
“Kill the TV.”(turn off the TV)
“Since before”
“Joke only” (I’m teasing you)
History of the English Language (ENGL 102)

PHILIPPINE ENGLISH
C. Local Neologisms- newly coined word or expressions
Captain-ball (team captain in basketball)
carnap (to steal a car)
hold-upper (someone who engages in armed holdups)

Comparison between Philippine English and Standard English

Philippine English Standard English
go here come here/go there
avail of take advantage
fill up this form fill out this form
for a while/for a moment one moment (informal)
hold on the line May I put you on hold?
I’ll go ahead see you later
bottomless refillable
hand carry carry-on luggage
Let’s take lunch Let’s eat lunch
Figure 2

To further understand the view of Philippine English vocabulary, the meaning of words and
expressions in the language from a semanticist’s point of view, read Philippine English Vocabulary: A
Semantic Study by Porciuncula (2012). In terms of meaning, how are they similar or different from
“standard” English?

Pronunciation

The pronunciations given are those in use among educated urban speakers of standard English
in the Philippines.
VOWELS
i fleece, kit u foot, goose ur cure
ɛ dress ɛr nurse , letter eɪ face
ɑ trap, father, lot, cup, alpha ɑr start ɑɪ price
o hawk, cloth, goat ir here ɑʊ mouth
or force er square oɪ choice
CONSONANTS
b big /biɡ/ k kit /kit/ s sit /sit/
d dig /diɡ/ l leg /lɛɡ/ ʃ ship /ʃip/
dʒ jet /dʒɛt/ m men /mɛn/ t tip /tip/
f fig /fiɡ/ n net /nɛt/ tʃ chip /tʃip/
ɡ get /ɡɛt/ ŋ wing /wiŋ/ w win /win/
h head /hɛd/ p pit /pit/ v vet /vɛt/
j yes /jɛs/ r red /rɛd/ z zip /zip/
Figure 3
History of the English Language (ENGL 102)

PHILIPPINE ENGLISH
Educated Filipinos aim at an AmE (American English) accent, but have varying success with the
vowel contrasts in sheep/ship, full/fool, and cap/cop. Few Filipinos have the /æ/ in AmE mask; instead,
they use /ɑ/ as in AmE father. The distinction between /s, z/ and /ʃ, ʒ/ is not made: azure is ‘ayshure’,
pleasure ‘pleshure’, seize ‘sees’, cars ‘karss’. Interdental /ɵ, ð/ are often rendered as /t, d/, so that
three of these is spoken as ‘tree of dese’.

Unlike in many other varieties of English, consonants cannot take on the function of vowels in
Philippine English (there are no ‘syllabic consonants’). Philippine English is similar to U.S. English in
retaining /r/ after vowels wherever it occurs, e.g. mar /mɑr/, unlike British /mɑː/.

Stress

Philippine English is syllable-timed, following the rhythm of the local languages; full value is
therefore given to unstressed syllables and schwa (Ə) e.g. heaven /hƐvƏn/ is usually realized as a full
vowel and is pronounced /hƐvƐn/. Certain polysyllables have distinctive stress patterns, as with elígible,
establísh, cerémony. Intonation is widely characterized as ‘singsong’.

PhE does not exhibit the same stress patterning as U.S. English. Like HKE and SME, PhE also has
a more syllable-timed rhythm than many other varieties, with each syllable having a similar duration.
Levels of stress may therefore be perceived as less distinct than in AmE. PhE also differs from U.S.
English in specific word stresses. Mesolectal speakers appear to have a broad tendency to pronounce
first-syllable-stressed words in U.S. English as second-syllable-stressed (e.g. colleague, baptism), and
vice-versa (e.g. bamboo, percentage). Slightly more complex patterns (and even greater variability)
appear to exist for longer words.

Code-switching is one characteristic of Philippine English. Filipinos tend to mix their language in
between sentences. For example: I didn’t know that she was the one who killed her husband kasi
(because) she looked so kind a person.

Another characteristic is redundancy. These terms and phrases have appeared to be acceptable
in Philippine English.

Can you repeat it again?

ATM machine
PIN number/ TIN number
moral lesson
like for example
color blue
number 20
Currently, I live there right now.
Figure 4
History of the English Language (ENGL 102)

PHILIPPINE ENGLISH
Sub-varieties of Philippine English

1. Taglish is a portmanteau of the words "Tagalog" and "English" which refers to the Philippine
language Tagalog infused with American English terms. It is an example of code-switching.
Examples:
Paki-explain mo sa akin.
Finish na ba yung homework mo?
Ang lesson natin today ay Philippine English.

2. Jejenese started because of the frequent use of “jejeje” instead of “hehehe”. The use of
“jejeje” was due to the fact that in Spanish, “j” sounded like “h”. Hence, “jejeje” substituting as
“hehehe”. Along with this is the use of cellphones, this text lingo became a trend.
Examples:
I would like to know more about you, care to tell me your name? Hehehehe!
i wuD LLyK tO knOw moR3 bOut u. crE 2 t3ll mE yur N@me? jejejejeje!
3ow ph0w! mUsZtAh nA? (Hello! how are you?)
iMiszqcKyuH! (I miss you)

3. Swardspeak is a language that came from the mixed language with the names Taglish/ Englog.
It is used by gay people in the Philippines. Gay people use Swardpeak to make themselves feel
special. The language changes a lot. People who use the language are called "Bekimons". This
word is from the words bakla (gay).
Examples:
nyorts – trousers kyota - bata
julalay- assistant kyoho - stinky
jowabelles- lover jonta - to go somewhere

4. Conyo English is a creole of Taglish and Englog that originated from the children in rich
families of Manila. Coño English sounds more gentle and feminine. This is prominent among the
young and upper class.
Examples:
"Let's make tusok-tusok the fish balls."
(Let's pierce the fish balls with bamboo sticks.)
"You make hintay here while I make sundo my kaibigan."
(You wait here while I fetch my friend.)
"I'm so init na. make paypay me naman o."
(I'm so hot. Please fan me.)
History of the English Language (ENGL 102)

PHILIPPINE ENGLISH
ASSESSMENT/APPLICATION

a. What are some unique expressions from Philippine English and their more commonly
understood equivalents? List five (5) expressions that are not yet discussed in this module.

b. Investigate the grammatical features of Philippine English.

References:

Gomez, A. 2016, January 21. 11 English Words Used Differently in the Philippines .
Retrieved from https://primer.com.ph/tips-guides/2016/01/21/11-english-words-used
differently-in-the-philippines/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317869788_Characteristics_of_Philippine_English

Nacasabog, M.G. 2017, July 30. Sub-varieties of Philippine English. Retrieved from
https://prezi.com/c-jh3qxsq_zj/sub-varieties-of-philippine-english/

Oxford English Dictionary. Pronunciation model: Philippine English. Retrieved from

https://public.oed.com/how-to-use-the-oed/key-to-pronunciation/pronunciations-for-world-
englishes/pronunciation-model-philippine-english/

"Philippine English." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. Retrieved October 16,
2020 from https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and
maps/philippine-english

Valdeavilla, R. 2018, March 13. Conyo: The Philippine Language That Defined a Social Class .
Retrieved from https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/conyo-the-philippine-
language-that-defined-a-social-class/