Working Titles:

1) Evaluating the adherence or flouting of cooperative communication using Paul

Grice’s Maxims in the dialogue of The Last Time I Saw Mother
- Data source: The Last Time I Saw Mother, book by Arlene J. Chai
It is a book about a Filipina woman who moved to Australia after an unnerving childhood and a
comparatively mundane adult life. Coming back to the Philippines on a summons from her
mother, she discovers secrets of her family and past, deeply rooted in Philippine history and
culture, causing her to reevaluate her life up until this point. This is a tale of adulthood, tragedy,
and drama. I loved this book and found its characterization and how the interactants
communicate fantastic. I think its significance stems from how in touch it is with Philippine
heritage and history. Despite being almost all in English, this book is one of the most
categorically Filipino books I have ever read.

Reference: Chai, A. J. (1996, July 30). The Last Time I Saw Mother (First Edition). Fawcett.

- Framework: Gricean Maxims

Paul Grice’s cooperative principles are the concepts followed to ensure effective and
cooperative communication. They follow the maxims of quantity, quality, relevance, and manner.
I would be analyzing the message of the dialogue in the book throughout these maxims. Since
this is in book form, it would be easier to evaluate based on the message because there is no
“speaker” to visually evaluate, thus leaving me to analyze only the written form.

2) An evaluation of the linguistic competence of modern Filipino slang based on Dell

Hymes’s Communicative Competence framework
Data source: The use of modern Filipino slang (Jeproks, Jejemon, Bekimon, and Conyo)
The development of new kinds of slang comes naturally with the development of language. This
cultural phenomenon is just proof of the growth of “Filipino” or “Tagalog” as a language.
However, the popularity of these forms of speaking are sometimes difficult for some to
understand, and may even be seen as a bastardization of the language. I think it is interesting to
see the different reactions towards these variations, because different kinds have sprung up
over the years, all with their own quirks. It is also important to understand the trends of the
young people, because only with understanding can we guide in the right direction. With that
said, I want to find out exactly how different these slang are from the actual Filipino/English or
even Taglish language.

Reference: ABS-CBN News. (2014, August 25). Bandila: Jeproks to Jejemon: How the Filipino
language evolves [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OSrgV8o8Rw&feature=youtu.be
- Framework: Dell Hymes’s Communicative Competence
Communicative competence as a framework has four parts. It is used to describe
communication at its most appropriate and effective level with both written and spoken
communication, taking into account the linguistic, discourse, strategic, and sociolinguistic
competence of the speaker. However, for this topic I would like to focus more on the linguistic
competence part. This includes grammar, vocabulary, semantics, morphology, etc.
 3) An analysis of the communication skills of students with varying social media use
using Bachman’s Communicative Language Ability framework
- Data source
This study, conducted in the Philippines, is a correlational study about the social media use of
Filipino students on their English language learning. The study made use of qualitative
analyses, such as observing a more frequent spelling or grammar mistake, or the use of more
foul language, but the students who used social media often had both positive and negative
effects. I think it is interesting to see how the exposure to social media affects our ability to
communicate in school. With so many of our academic requirements being online in its nature,
the transposition to more online activities is inevitable.

Reference: Bulnes, Jensine Kay. (2022). Perceived Impact of Social Media on Filipino
Undergraduates' English Language Learning. International Journal on Integrated Education. 5.
246-258.
- Framework: Bachman’s Communicative Language Ability
Communicative Language Ability as proposed by Bachman focuses on the linguistic and
pragmatic aspects of communication It includes organizational and pragmatic competence, in
turn having grammatical, textual, illocutionary, and sociolinguistic competence under it. Since I
am evaluating the students’ performance in an academic sense, a more rigid grammar-based
framework was chosen.