Filipino English is not
an inferior English and can stand proud with the different varieties of the
language, this according to an expert.
Philippine English is
"not slang, not wrong, not carabao English, or any other derogatory word
that's been used over the years,"
Dr.
Salazar said, just like British, American, Australian, and Singaporean
variants, Philippine English plays an important role in the historical
development of the language, which OED seeks to document.
(photo credit to owner) |
"What OED does is it tells the history of the
English language through the development of its words, and that story is not
complete if we don't tell the part that Philippine English plays," she
said in a recent webinar sponsored and organized by the Philippine Embassy in
Spain.
"Philippine English, just like American English
or British English, or Indian English or Singapore English, are all part of the
same story," she added. "We all have a role to play in this.
Philippine English has as much of a place in the history in the lexicon of the
English language as all these other varieties."
According to Salazar, adding Philippine English
words to OED takes them months of work, but was quick to reiterate that
"it's worth it."
"These words like 'bongga' or 'kilig,' you
might find them silly but they do say something about our culture and they are
worth spending hours and months researching," she said.
The Filipino English
Accent
Filipinos have their
own unique way of speaking in English, and that this is something that should
be embraced, Dr. Salazar points out.
"I've
been living in the UK for seven years now, and nobody's ever told me, 'I don't
understand you.' And I speak with a totally Philippine English accent,"
she said.
"The
accent and the words that we use, these are a reflection of our identity, of
our culture," she explained. "And adapting languages to suit a
communicative means is something that everyone does. Americans adapted British
English, Australians did the same, people in New Zealand do the same. So why
can't we do the same?"
Salazar
went on to share that the Philippine accent is "one of the most
understandable accents in the world," saying this is "one of the
reasons why our call center industry is so successful."
"We don't need to sound American to speak English correctly," she stressed, adding, "We don't have to waste our time in the classroom trying to twist our students' tongues in shapes that they can't make."
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Report from ABS-CBN News
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