hidden pixel

Philippine English Information

Philippine English is the variety of English used in the Philippines 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, a standardized version of Tagalog. Sub-varieties of Philippine English is emerging based on the regional location of the speakers. Code-mixing is one of the most prevalent example of emerging sub-varieties among Ilokano, Bisaya, Cebuano speakers.

English is used in education, religious affairs, print and broadcast media, and business, though the people who use it as a second language far outnumber those who speak it as a first language (see List of countries by English-speaking population). Still, for highly technical subjects such as nursing, medicine, computing, and calculus, English is the preferred medium for textbooks, communication, etc. Very few would prefer highly technical books in the vernacular.[1][2] Movies and TV programs in English are not dubbed.[3]

Contents

Orthography and grammar

Because English is part of the curricula from primary to tertiary education, most Filipinos can speak fairly fluent English, although there might be differences in diction and pronunciation.[4] Most schools in the Philippines, however, are staffed by teachers who are not native Anglophones and thus think using Austronesian instead of Germanic grammatical structures. Non-standard usage arises from their second language acquisition of English.[5]

Philippine English follows American English orthography and grammar,[6] except when it comes to punctuation as well as date notations. For example, a comma almost never precedes the final item in an enumeration. Dates are also read with a cardinal number instead of an ordinal number (e.g. "January one" instead of the "January first") even if the written form is the same.

Phonology

Most of the native Malayo-Polynesian languages of the Philippines do not contain the [f] phoneme. Thus, some Filipinos substitute [p] for [f] when they pronounce English words containing [f]. Some even pronounce English words that normally do begin with [p] with an [f] through hypercorrection due to confusion over which pronunciation is required.

Like [f], the [v] sound is also virtually non-existent in most major native languages of the Philippines. Partly because the [v] and [b] sounds in Castilian Spanish (specifically the Iberian dialect, the basis for teaching the Spanish language and its pronunciation in the Philippines) are not distinguished and both are pronounced as [b], some of the older generation of Filipinos would pronounce the letter [v] in all English words as [b].

Languages of indigenous minorities that had limited contact with the Spanish colonial government often retain the [v] sound. The [f] sound also occurs in some of them. Examples are the Ivatan language, Ibanag language, and languages of the Lumad tribes in Mindanao and Visayas. All of them are minor indigenous languages of the Philippines. The Ibaloi tongue in the Baguio-Benguet area of Northern Luzon also has naturally occurring [f] and [v] sounds, as in sifa (interrogative who) and divit (a traditional wrap-around skirt). The modern spelling of the name of one of the most numerous ethnic groups of the Philippines, the Manobo tribes of Mindanao, is actually the hispanized spelling of the original Manobo word Manuvu.[7]

A phenomenon among the older generation of Filipinos is their pronunciation of all the English words starting with s + consonant such as star, spade, stampede, slide, stigma, statue, sky, stable, strict, and stew. These words are pronounced by some of them as "istar/estar", "istampede/estampede", "istigma/estigma", "istatue/estatue", "istable/estable", "istrict/estrict" and "istew/estew" because these older people were exposed to the Spanish language and were used to the Spanish system wherein there are no words starting with s + consonant, but instead es + consonant. Thus, estrella (star), estampida (stampede), estigma (stigma), estatua (statue), estable (stable), estricto (strict) and estofado (stew).

Another issue is supersegmentals. In pronunciation, emphasis often tends to be put on the "wrong" syllable in a word or on the "wrong" word in a sentence as compared to North American English or British English.

Vowels

Consonants

Among mother-tongue speakers, the phonology of Philippine English almost completely resembles that of the North American variant (thus, Philippine English is a rhotic accent), while the speech of those who are not native speakers is influenced to varying degrees by indigenous Philippine languages. Since many English phonemes (such as [f] and [v]) are not found in most Philippine languages, pronunciation approximations are extremely common.

Some examples of non-native pronunciation include:

The above list applies mainly to Tagalog speakers; a number of other indigenous languages, mentioned previously, employ phonemes such as [f], [v], and [z]. This form of mispronunciation, caused by the limited sound inventories of most Philippine languages compared to English (which has more than 40 phonemes), is generally frowned upon by Anglophone Filipinos, in particular, and businesses dealing with international clients.

Industries based on English

The abundant supply of English speakers and competitive labor costs have enabled the Philippines to become a choice destination for foreign companies wishing to establish call centers and other outsourcing operations.[8][9][10][11] English proficiency sustains a major call center industry, and as of 2005, America Online (AOL) has 1,000 people in what used to be the US Air Force's Clark Air Base in Angeles City answering ninety percent of their global e-mail inquiries. Citibank does its global ATM programming in the country, and Procter & Gamble has over 400 employees in Makati, a central Manila neighborhood, doing back office work for their Asian operations including finance, accounting, Human Resources and payments processing. See Call center industry in the Philippines

An influx of foreign students, principally from South Korea, has also led to growth in the number of English language learning centers,[12] especially in Metro Manila, Baguio City and Metro Cebu.

Vocabulary and usage

Some words and phrases and their respective definitions or uses are peculiar to Philippine English. Some examples are:

Philippine English vocabulary
This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (July 2008)
  • Aircon — An air conditioner.
  • Accomplish — To complete a form - all government forms specify they are to be "accomplished".
  • Aggrupation — A political group. From the Spanish word agrupación.[13]
  • Ala — Filipinos prefer to spell "a la," or more correctly "à la," as one word.
  • Already — Filipinos use this word to state that they have finished doing something, even though it was completed past the original deadline. In standard English, by contrast, "already" is used only when something was completed ahead of schedule.
  • Apartelle — A budget hotel. From apartment + hotel + le. Other terms used are "apartel," "apartment hotel," and "condotel."
  • Apartment — In the Philippines, this is the word used to refer exclusively to a unit in a building that is being rented out for residential purposes. It is also used to refer to the entire building containing those for-rent units.
  • Armalite — The US M16A1 rifle, regardless of whether it is made by Colt, Hyrda Matic, or locally by Elisco/Armalite (part of the Elizalde conglomorate which was licensed by Colt to make the rifle for the Philippine Government. Later in 1983, it purchased the real ArmaLite Inc.). Despite the introduction of the M16A2, it is still widely used in the Philippine Military and Police.[14]
  • Artist — A movie/television actor/actress. From Spanish artista.
  • Baby Armalite — The short barrel version of the M16A1 known as the CAR-15 and similar to the current M4 carbine. First made by Elisco under Colt license in the late 1970's and locally, by Colt, Hyrda Matic, or locally by Elisco/Armalite (part of the Elizalde conglomorate which was licensed by Colt to make the rifle for the Philippine Government. It is used in the Philippine Government Military and Police.[15]
  • Ball pen — A ballpoint pen.
  • Banana cue — Sabá (cooking banana, similar to plantain), rolled in brown sugar then deep fried and skewered. The hot oil caramelizes the sugar giving the banana cue a crunchy quality. Name thought to have come about because the bananas thus prepared were served skewered, in a manner similar to Pinoy Barbecue.[16]
  • Bargirl — A hostess, dancer, or prostitute in a strip club or a Philippines "cabaret.
  • Barbecue — Grilled meat, but not in the American sense: the Philippine barbecue is meat cut into pieces (usually the fat is included for pork barbecues) and skewered, in a manner commonly called kebab cookery outside of the Filipino community.
  • Bedspace — The use of a bed at private home, rent for which is paid by a lodger or boarder known as a "bedspacer."[17]
  • Biodata — Similar but inferior to a résumé; a form that lists a person's accomplishments.
  • Birdie - (offensive) (slang) the penis.[18]
  • Biscuit — A loan word from British English, known in Tagalog as a Biskotso, which is an American cookie.
  • Blow — To vomit.
  • Blowout — To Filipinos, this means to throw a party, versus in American English, it's when your car has a flat tire.
  • Blue seal — An imported version of a locally produced cigarette, usually untaxed. From the blue seal labels found in cigarettes for export or tax free use. Usually of higher quality than the locally produced equivalent.[17]
  • Bold — Nude. Maybe because movies showing nudity were considered bold, as in daring. Possibly from the 1960s when conservatism in society was only beginning to break down. A movie with nude scenes is known as a Bold movie. In the 1970s, the term for such movies was "bomba film," whereas in the 1980s it was "S.T. (sex trip) movie." These were also called T.F. (titillating films).
  • Boodle fight — A gathering where food (usually pansít, or steamed rice and sardines) is served on old newspapers or banana leaves spread over a table and eaten with bare hands by a group of people. Although it is the practice for some Filipinos to eat with their hands, a group of people eating this way from one source is an unnatural and contrived practice in Philippine culture. This way of eating was devised by PMA cadets, and does not represent authentic Philippine culture, but instead symbolizes fraternity and equality among PMA members by their sharing the same food without regard to rank. The term is taken from pre-World War Two West Point slang meaning "any party at which boodle (candy, cake, ice cream, etc.) is served."[19]
  • Boom-boom — A vulgar expression for sexual intercourse.
  • Boston — A type of metal or rubber pad placed in the heel and/or front of the sole of a shoe for antislip purposes.
  • Boundary — An amount public transport drivers pay their operators daily; any excess belongs to the driver as his daily wage.
  • Boy — An affectionate nickname, used for certain men, to describe boyish facial features, combined with a second word which describes their [[employment, hobby, or body type.
  • Bring home — A noun-phrase mostly encountered in the Visayas, this is used in reference to food at fiestas or other social gatherings packed by the host for guests to "take home". It is often shortened to the acronym 'BH'.
  • Bull ring — A class ring about the size of a standard American men's class ring, worn by some members of the military, police, fire service, Bureau of Corrections, coast guard and merchant marine. The term "bull" refers to the ring's large size in comparison with Philippine class rings of civilian colleges, which are smaller. A "super bull ring" is a large class ring comparable in size to those of American institutions such as The Citadel, Norwich University, and VMI.
  • By and by — Later.[17]
  • Cabaret — (pronounced /KA ba ret/) A strip club.
  • Cabinet (furniture) — This refers to "closet."
  • Cadette — A female cadet. From French. The Philippine pronunciation is derived from West Point slang. "cdtte" is the usual abbreviation of this term.
  • Calling card — Refers to a business card. A call card, on the other hand, is a phone card.
  • Camote cue — It is similar with Bananacue, but using sweet potato.
  • Canteen — A loan word from British English, normally used for cafeteria. Canteen in American English is a water container.
  • Car park — A loan word from British English, which is a garage parking or a parking lot.
  • Cargo train — A loan word from British English, which is a freight train.
  • Carnapper — A car thief.[20] Motor vehicle theft (carjacking) is known as Carnapping.[20]
  • Cent — A centavo. "¢" the symbol for "cent" is also used as a symbol for "centavo." Formerly, "ctvs" was commonly used as the abbreviation for "centavo." "ctvs" appears to be a combination of "ctvo" the correct English abbreviation for "centavo(s)" and cs the correct Spanish abbreviation of "centavos." Cénts is a Spanish abbreviation for céntimos and "centavos."
  • Certain — Used to emphasize (what?) or to denote (what?)(specify???), as in e.g., "The desk officer of the UP police, a certain Corporal Kalibo, told the Inquirer ...", or "What we're really pushing for is diversification, maybe have a certain bucket in fixed income, a certain basket in equity-based funds and then a certain portion in the peso and dollar funds," (emphasis added). The word is used more in Philippine English than in other dialectal forms.[21]
  • Chancing — To make a sexual advance. To "cop a feel." Mostly used by Filipinos of the Silent Generation and the Baby Boom Generation, this refers to advances by either gender that "take a chance" toward some form of suggestive bodily contact.[17]
  • Chicken — Something which is easy or easily accomplished. The final exam was chicken "The final exam was easy." This is derived from the expression "chicken feed."
  • Chit — A restaurant bill or a card.
  • Chocolate man or crocodile — Refers mostly to policemen in charge of traffic in Manila. Also refers to some politicians. From the formerly khaki uniform in use by the police (Nowadays Philippine police uses a blue uniform).
  • Coast guardian — A coast guard (US) or coastguardsman (UK).
  • Colgate — Refers to toothpaste. It is a genericized trademark.
  • Combo — Can refer to a musical band in addition to standard meanings.
  • Comfort room — The Filipino term for bathroom/restroom. Usually abbreviated as "C.R."[17]
  • Commuter — One who takes public transport, as opposed to motorists ("drivers").
  • Cong. — An abbreviation for congressman. This abbreviation is normally used for the terms "congress" and "congressional."
  • Cotton bud — A loan word from British English, which is a cotton swab.
  • Coupon bond — Bond paper, with the coupon diverging in meaning from accepted uses of the word, e.g. "a stub". The word coupon is also used with that meaning in Philippine English. Coupon bond is pronounced /ko'pon bo'nd/, possibly due to the ambivalence of Philippine languages with the vowels o and u, as happens in most loanwords/co-optations in Tagalog.
  • Course — While Philippine English is mainly modeled after American English, some British words, phrases or usage have found their way into it, as with the word "course" which means the same way it's understood in the UK and Australia as the entire program of studies required to complete a degree. Americans use the word "academic major" for the entire program, and use "course" to mean a unit of teaching for which academic credit is given.
  • DOM — A dirty old man.
  • Dine-in — "Eat in," "for here" (vs. Take-out). This is commonly used by fast food attendants who have to ask whether a customer's order is a take-out or a "dine-in" one (i.e. eat within the establishment). "Dining in" means something else in the United States.
  • Dirty kitchen — In a private home, a separate kitchen intended for the household help.
  • Dollar-speaking — Usually someone who speaks in English in public. Also "Spokening Dollar"
  • Dormmate — Someone who stays in the same dormitory.[17] A Dormer is a dormitory resident.
  • Double deck — A bunk bed.
  • Drive-in — Refers to motels, rather than outdoor theaters.
  • Duster — A sun dress. "Although she is wealthy, she wore a duster to the market so she would not be overcharged." The horsemen and cowboys, in the American Old West, wore linen dusters to protect their underclothing from dusty, dirty trails and roads. Also, a cleaning instrument (a duster in other parts of the world) is known as a feather duster.
  • Eat-all-you-can — All-you-can-eat.
  • Eisenhower jeep — An M38A1 jeep.
  • English — An English-speaking, white American.
  • Entertain — A word you will mostly hear, from a worker, when in a government office or a business building such as "how can I entertain you" or if they claim to be busy they will than reply "I cannot entertain you at this time." The true English word which is really be thought of is "assist."
  • Estafa — Used in English-based Philippine law for the crime of fraud or embezzlement or small-scale economic cheating activity. From Spanish "con art".
  • Ex. — The abbreviation of the phrase "for example.", supplementary to E.g. This is used only in writing, and is read as "Example...".
  • Feeling... — A term most commonly used by youths to call someone who one thinks is trying to act or be something they're not. Usually preceded by a noun or adjective, for example "feeling close" (or "F.C."), someone who acts like they're close to another when the other person hardly knows them or doesn't know them at all.
  • Filipino time — The habit of Filipinos not being on time.
  • Fill-up — To fill out a paper or document, e.g. Please fill-up this form. From British English.
  • Fiscal — The title/position equivalent to public prosecutor.
  • Fiscalize — To serve as a check and balance; commonly used by politicians.[17]
  • Five-six — Borrowing or lending money with 20% interest.[17]
  • For a while — Used on the telephone to mean "please wait" or "hold on." A literal translation of Tagalog Sandalî lang (correctly: "Just a moment").
  • FX taxi — A type of share taxi. Share taxis in the Philippines are usually Toyota Tamaraw FX, an Asian Utiliy Vehicle (AUV) based on the Toyota Kijang sold in Indonesia.
  • Gay — Refers to effeminate homosexual men only as opposed to homosexuals in general. It also refers to male-to-female transgenders (e.g. transsexuals and cross-dressers). Based on the use of the Filipino word bakla. (See LGBT culture in the Philippines.)
  • Get down / go down (a vehicle) — "Get off." Derived from Tagalog context (Bumabâ ka, literally meaning "(you) get down").
  • Gets? — "(Do you) understand?" Slang from "Do you get it?". The usual reply is Ah, gets. ("Ah, (I) understand.")
  • Gimmick — A planned or unplanned night out with friends. Also, any offering during evening hours by clubs, bars and restaurants to lure customers in.
  • Go ahead — Leave in advance ("I'll go ahead" means "I will leave now, earlier than you guys"). "I'll go ahead " is a literal translation of Tagalog Mauna na akó, which means "I'll leave you now" more than "I'll go before you now".
  • Green jokes — Dirty jokes (subsequently, to be "green-minded" is to have a dirty mind, e.g. always giving sexual connotations to everything). Loan translation from Spanish "chistes verdes." By contrast, it's interesting that in standard usage the term "blue" means "obscene" or "pornographic" and is used in terms such as: "blue jokes"; "blue films"; "blue movies"; and "blue stories."
  • Haggard — Motorcycle cop; somewhat obsolete, more commonly used now is 'hagad'.
  • Hand carry — Refers to carry-on luggage (when flying on commercial aircraft).
  • High-blood — A term used on someone who is quick-tempered or easily angered (Mag ha-high blood na naman yan, meaning "They're going to get angry again"); or as an adjective, ("Huwag kang high blood", meaning "Don't be angry" or "Don't get angry"); a person or thing that is displeasing and makes one annoyed or angry (Nakaka-high blood ka, literally meaning "You make me really mad"). Can also mean the literal term for something that's likely to cause, or give someone "high blood pressure". (Na ha-high blood ako, literally meaning "I have high blood pressure", or "I'm suffering from high blood pressure".)
  • Hold departure order — An executive/judicial order to hold the departure for a foreign country of a criminal suspect.
  • Holdupper — A holdup man, or stickup man.[17][22]
  • Hollow blocks — Cement, concrete, or foundation blocks.
  • Hostess/GRO — A female waiter in a beerhouse. The same word is used to denote a prostitute, although the very word "prostitute" denotes people who ply the streets for customers. From the beerhouse practice of asking a female waiter out, in exchange for money, to have sex with her. GRO is an abbreviation for "Guest Relations Officer" and has the same source.
  • Hyper — This prefix is used as an adjective to describe a person who is high-strung. From the term "hyperactive."
  • Jeepney — Mass transit vehicles originally made from US military jeeps. (See "Owner" below).[20]
  • Jingle — To urinate. It is not clear whether the now-defunct Jingle Chordbook Magazine popular in the decades 1970s-80s used the urinating cupid on its masthead logo before the slang term came into circulation, thus inspiring its conception and street usage, or whether the image was inspired by the slang term.
  • Junk shop — A shop that sells scrap and recycled materials.
  • Jutes — Cannabis. In American English, Jute is not a type of Cannabis.
  • Kennedy jeep — A 1960 M151 MUTT jeep.
  • Kidnapable — A person who, because of his or her high social standing or considerable wealth, is a likely target for kidnapping for ransom. While this could be heard and can be considered part of Philippine street English, it is usually used tongue-in-cheek. Additionally, Filipinos would just about join any English or Philippine English or Tagalog verb with the suffix '-able', but all with a certain amount of humor understood in the usage.
  • Kodaki — Take a photo. A verb form of the genericized trademark Kodak.
  • Live-in — An unmarried couple who lives together in a sexual relationship; to 'live in sin'
  • Load — Refers to prepaid credits on a prepaid mobile phone. Load can be acquired by "electronic reloading".
  • Lowbat (or lowbatt) — A blend of the words "low" and "battery", the term is often used when the battery power of an electronic device (such as a mobile phone) is running low and about to die, or has already died.
  • Malicious — Refers to sexually perverted speech or actions, such as sexual innuendo. Distinguishable from standard English usage which refers to harmful intent, without sexual connotations.
  • MacArthur jeep — A Willys MB.
  • Macho dancer — Refers to a male stripper in a Philippine gay bar.
  • Marine tank — An Amtrak, specifically an LVT-5.
  • Masteral/s — University studies required to obtain a Master's degree. The word is obviously adapted for the master's degree program from the modifier

"doctoral" used in the doctorate program.[17]

  • Meat house — A small house where meat is stored for drying or a smokehouse for curing meat or fish, through a smoking and drying process.
  • Metro aide — Refers to public street cleaners or broom sweepers employed by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
  • Mickey Mouse money — Refers to obsolete WWII Japanese occupation paper currency in the Philippines.
  • Middle name — Usually the mother's maiden surname. Filipino culture is highly patriarchal and family-centered, so the name reflects the ancestral roots of the person, with the surname from the father, and the middle name from the mother. In some legal documents middle names are written in the Spanish style, appearing after the surname and are preceded by "y" which is a Spanish conjunction.
  • Minced beef — Ground beef.
  • Mineral water — Is freely used to mean any PET bottled water or any water in carboys provided by bottled-water sellers, regardless of whether these are correctly or falsely mineral, purified or distilled drinking water.
  • Mistah — A graduate of the Philippine Military Academy. From "mister."
  • Morning star — Having "sand" in your eye, after awakening from sleep.
  • Motel — Used mostly to refer to a love hotel, a hotel or a motel paid at an hourly rate, used primarily for sex. Often used with the word "short-time" as in the construction "short-time motel."
  • Motor — Shortened term for a motorcycle, or moped (see Scooter, below).
  • Necrological service — While "necrological" is often used in standard English to refer to military records or listing of casualties and the dead, in the Philippines "necrological service" is used by funeral homes to refer to a pre-burial event consisting of eulogies and songs, especially over a deceased celebrity or public figure. Outside this page, this Philippine English phrase as such may have been first noted in writing in the Taglish elegy of Filipino poet V.I.S. de Veyra for English-language Filipino poet Ophelia Alcantara Dimalanta titled Requiem Para Kay Ophie (Dimalanta)---Makata, Kritiko ng Wika which mentions "necrological service" among other Philippine English words and phrases.[23]
  • Nightclub — Used to refer exclusively to strip clubs, especially among the older generation. To avoid confusion, real nightclubs are instead referred to as "dance clubs" or simply as "clubs."
  • Nipa hut — An indigenous house used in the Philippines.
  • Nosebleed — A person who cannot speak or pronounce English or any other foreign language well.
  • Number two — A mistress. The recipient of illicit affection by a married/involved man or woman.[17]
  • Ocular inspection — Although, a familiar phrase in ophthalmology, this is widely used in Philippine business and government to refer to a necessary inspection of a location for such purposes as a (near-)future event or project or for an assessment by an investigative body.
  • [Open/kill] the [light/computer/TV] — Turn or switch [on/off] the [light/computer/TV]. From Tagalog bukas (open) and patay (dead). The literal translation of Buksan/Patayin mo ang ilaw. "Turn on/off the light."
  • Overpass — Commonly used to refer to a pedestrian overpass, pedestrian separation structure or pedway. In North America, an overpass often means a bridge or road crossing over another road.
  • Owner-type (or Owner jeep) — A customized Jeep-derived vehicle for private, non-commercial use. Usually constructed in bright stainless steel.[17]
  • PX goods — Any import restricted imported grocery item. From Post Exchange due to the illegal but lucrative business in then US military bases in the Philippines in exchanging such goods for cash. Sold in so-called PX stores. Prized for their quality and variety. The stores (and goods) died out when trade was later liberalized, probably in the 1990s, opening the door for the availability of imported goods in the Philippines.[17]
  • Pack Up — Used instead of "wrap up" when referring to movie sets, presentations, etc.
  • Parlor/Salon — Refers to a hair/beauty salon. "Salon" originally meant a place to gather.
  • Pension house — A family-owned guest house or boarding house.
  • Pentel pen — A marker, regardless of manufacturer. A genericized trademark from the Pentel brand of markers (similar to the American usage of Sharpie.
  • Petrol - A loan word from British English referring to gasoline derived from refined petroleum.
  • Polo — Used in the Philippines to mean the dress shirt. In the US and the UK, the phrase "polo shirt" refers to the golf or tennis shirt.
  • Pershing cap — A service cap.
  • Pistolized — An adjective to describe a long gun with its shoulder stock removed and replaced with a pistol grip.
  • Practicumer — Refers to a student who participates in a course of study that involves the supervised practical application of previously studied theory; an intern. (Practicum - internship)
  • Presidentiable — A person aspiring to become the President of the Philippines.
  • Professional — To be proficient, skillful; used colloquially e.g. "I'm a professional driver" denotes that I drive very well, not that I drive as a profession.
  • Promise — Used for taking an oath
  • Railway — A loan word from British English possibly, stemming from the fact that the first railroad in the Philippines was built by the British.
  • Ref — Refrigerator, as opposed to the American English "fridge", which was derived from the early 20th Century, American refrigerators made by Frigidaire.
  • Remembrance — A souvenir or memento.
  • Revival — Cover version
  • Rotonda/rotunda — rotary intersection, roundabout, or traffic circle. Adopted from Spanish.
  • Rhum — This French word listed in Webster's Third New International Dictionary is the preferred spelling of rum. This variation in spelling is a little similar to "whiskey" (U.S. and Ireland) and "whisky" (Scotland and Canada).
  • Rubber shoes — Sneakers, athletic shoes, or gym shoes.
  • Rugby — Rubber cement. A genericized trademark from the Rugby brand of wood glue popular in the Philippines.
  • Sala — Refers to either a courtroom or the living room. In international English, specifically in architecture, sala would otherwise refer to sala Thai. From Spanish.
  • Sala set — Living room furnture.
  • Salvage — A slang word for summary execution, the meaning evolved from frequent usage in sentences such as 'The corpse was salvaged from the Pasig river,' when the real meaning is 'The corpse was found floating on the Pasig River among the salvage(refuse).' The word may have also been a pseudo-anglicism of the Spanish word Salvaje (pronounced the same as the Tagalog word 'Salbahe'), meaning "like a wild animal", "feral". When used as a verb it means "to maul", "to attack viciously".[17]
  • Sari-sari store — Refers to a small, neighbourhood convenience store or booth. Sari-sari is Tagalog for "mixed variety" or "sundry", but the term is generally used in Philippine English. Sometimes called a "variety store" in the Canadian sense.
  • Scooter — A moped or small motorcycle.
  • Scotch tape — Transparent adhesive tape. A genericized trademark.[17]
  • See-through fence — A chain link fence. Also cyclone wire fence, a term used even in government specifications.
  • Senatoriable — A person aspiring to become senator.
  • Service road — A non-limited frontage road or access road running parallel to a higher-speed road, usually a freeway.
  • Short-time — Refers to a "short-time hotel," where prostitutes, within roughly three hours, perform their illicit services.
  • Sidecar — A public (for-hire) vehicle consisting of a bicycle and an attached passenger sidecar.
  • Sign pen — A pen similar to a technical pen used for signing documents. From Pentel Sign Pen.
  • Slang — May refer to strong foreign accents and pronunciation, e.g. "Your English is very slang", often implying that someone is hard to understand or that the speaker has an American accent. Distinguishable from standard English usage which refers to very informal usage of vocabulary and idioms, rather than pronunciation alone.
  • Slippers — Sandals and flip-flops.
  • Snake — A slang word for an eel.
  • Snopake — British correction fluid company, which is the world's first producer of liquid correction fluid. It is a genericized trademark.
  • Soft Drink — Soda pop.
  • Sounds — Referring to music; especially when heard through an ear phone.
  • Space wagon — A minivan.
  • Sponsor — A college or high school honourary cadet colonel.
  • Squatter area — A shantytown.
  • Step-in — Stylish ladies' sandals minus the strap.
  • Stick — An individually sold cigarette in the Philippines versus a sold sealed pack of cigarettes.
  • Subdivision — A gated community. Also known as a Village.
  • Technical sergeant — A non-commissioned officer grade just below master sergeant and just above staff sergeant in the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, and Philippine Marine Corps. The defunct Philippine Constabulary also had this grade. Derived from the U.S. Army grade used during World War II. Presently in the American military, only the U.S. Air Force uses this grade.
  • Third lieutenant — The lowest commissioned officer grade of the American colonial gendarmerie, an organization which existed from 1901 through 1942. The American colonial army also had this grade from 1935 through 1942. Similar to the American colonial army, the Spanish army in 1898 had a rank structure with four company grade officer ranks: captain; first lieutenant; second lieutenant; and ensign (alférez). In contrast, the Philippine army in July 1898, like the present Philippine army, had three company grade officer ranks: captain, first lieutenant, and second lieutenant.
  • Toga — Refers to the commencement/graduation gown.
  • Tomboy — A boyish girl. A "tomboy" is almost always presumed to be a lesbian, although it may also refer to straight girls who dress and act like boys (see Gay, above). The word is rarely used, if ever, for feminine-looking lesbians.
  • Topdown — A convertible automobile.
  • Torà tóra — A T-28 Trojan aircraft formerly used by the Philippine Air Force and utilized during the counterinsurgency wars in the Philippines in the late 70s and 80s. The name "torà tóra" is derived from the film, Tora! Tora! Tora!. This movie features aircraft which resemble the T-28 Trojan in that they had a low wing and a single radial piston engine.
  • Traffic — Implies a traffic jam or heavy traffic. Usually used as an adjective, referring to heavy traffic volume.[17][22]
  • Traffic lead — Unarmed traffic police.
  • Tricycle — A public (for-hire) vehicle consisting of a motorcycle and an attached passenger sidecar.
  • Trolley — A loan word from British English, which is a cart or baby stroller.
  • Trooper — Any serviceman. Normally this term refers specifically to a soldier in a cavalry or airborne unit. In the U.S. this term is also used for state policemen, whereas in the U.K. it is also used for special forces soldiers.
  • Trying hard — Refers to an unsuccessful social climber. (outdated)
  • Turco — Carpenter term for an anti-rust paint used in roofs. A genericized trademark from the Turco brand.
  • Under de Saya — Literally meaning, a husband "under the skirt" of the wife, as in a henpecked husband who can't say no to his wife.
  • Vendo — Refers to a vending machine, that usually, sells snacks and soft drinks, like Coca-Cola products. The slang term is originally, from the American Vendo Company operating in the Philippines.
  • Via-satellite — This phrase has been used by Philippine television channels RPN 9 and Q TV to refer to satellite-fed foreign shows delayed by several minutes or hours in contrast to live television broadcasts. For instance, RPN 9 might show a random NBA game coverage either "live" or simply "via satellite". Q TV, meanwhile, since 2008 has been broadcasting American Idol "via satellite" (with more or less a 10-hour delay), except for the finals which have been traditionally shown "live".
  • Vice governor — In the provinces of the Philippines, the second-in-command, to the provincial governor and similar to a lieutenant governor in the U.S. states, territories and commonwealths.
  • Videoke — Karaoke with lyrics on a television monitor was first coined in the Philippines in the 1990's.
  • Vulcanizing Shop — An automobile and truck tire repair shop.
  • Washday — A work day where an employee can wear casual clothes, as uniforms, are usually laundered that day.
  • We accept — Usually found on business signages, cards and flyers, the phrase "we accept" is used to refer to what orders or requirements the business can accommodate. American businesses would use the phrase "we do", as in "we do lettering" instead of "we accept lettering".
  • Wet market — A street market.
  • Xerox — As a noun, it means a photocopier; as verb, to make a photocopy of. A genericized trademark from the Xerox brand of photocopiers.

Certain phrases uncommon outside of the Filipino community often crop up in Philippine English:

See also

Philippines portal
Language portal

References

  1. ^ Author David Crystal remarks that English is used in technical contexts for intelligibility, and Taglish is used in social contexts for identity, noting that similar situations exist in other countries (e.g., as with Singlish). See Crystal, David (2003). English as a Global Language (2, illustrated, revised ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 189. ISBN 0521530326
  2. ^ Espinosa, Doray (1997). "English in the Philippines". Global Issues in Language Education (Language Institute of Japan) (26): 9. http://jalt.org/global/26Phil.htm. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
  3. ^ Rowthorn, Chris; Bloom, Greg (2006). Philippines. Lonely Planet Country Guide (9th ed.). Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1741042894. http://books.google.com/?id=aaUR07G0yAcC&pg=PA105&lpg=PA105&dq=Philippines++By+Greg+Bloom+english+dialogue#v=onepage&q=cinemas&f=false.
  4. ^ Isabel Pefianco Martin (April 12, 2008). "Fearing English in the Philippines". Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20080412-129893/Fearing-English-in-the-Philippines. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
  5. ^ As of 1995, only about 27,000 of over 68 million Filipinos spoke English as their Mother tongue, Andrew Gonzalez. "The Language Planning Situation in the Philippines". Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (multilingual-matters.net) 19 (5&6): 492. http://www.multilingual-matters.net/jmmd/019/0487/jmmd0190487.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-04 (Table 1)
  6. ^ Gonzalez, A. (2009) The Transplantation of American English in Philippine Soil, in A Companion to the History of the English Language (eds H. Momma and M. Matto), Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK. doi: 10.1002/9781444302851.ch31
  7. ^ http://litera1no4.tripod.com/manobo_frame.html
  8. ^ Mellisa Sabuero (April 22, 2003). "Call it a boom: Philippine call centers". Asia Times, http://www.atimes.com/. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/ED22Ae02.html. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
  9. ^ Carl Marc Ramota (2004). "Economic Woes Drive Bright Graduates to Call Centers". Bulatlat, http://www.bulatlat.com/. http://www.bulatlat.com/news/5-7/5-7-graduates.html. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
  10. ^ Diana G Mendoza (October 1, 2010). "Philippines: Call Centre Boom Breeds New Culture – and Risky Behaviour". Global Geopolitics & Political Economy, http://globalgeopolitics.net/. http://globalgeopolitics.net/wordpress/2010/10/01/philippines-call-centre-boom-breeds-new-culture-and-risky-behaviour/. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
  11. ^ Carlos H. Conde (August 13, 2007). "English getting lost in translation in Philippines". The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/13/business/worldbusiness/13iht-english.1.7096773.html. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
  12. ^ Jonathan M. Hicap (September 13, 2009). "Koreans Flock to the Philippines to Learn English". Korea Times, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/12/117_51729.html. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
  13. ^ "aggrupation". MSN Encarta Dictionary, http://encarta.msn.com/. http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_561535527/aggrupation.html. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
  14. ^ A Historical Review of Armalite. ArmaLite, Inc.. http://www.armalite.com/images/Library%5CHistory.pdf. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  15. ^ Lingao, Ed (2003). "Arming the Enemy". Public Eye: the Investigative Reporting Magazine (Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism) IX (3). http://www.pcij.org/imag/PublicEye/arming.html. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  16. ^ Overseas Pinoy Cooking.Net website accessed on 6 November 2010
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Roger B. Rueda. "Philippine English (I)". The News Today :: Online Iloilo News and Panay News. http://www.thenewstoday.info/2005/03/15/opinion6.htm. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  18. ^ http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090529125541AAb4Ex8
  19. ^ "Glossary of Army Slang". American Speech (JSTOR, citing Duke University Press) 16 (3): 163–169. October 1941. doi:10.2307/486883. ISSN 0003-1283. JSTOR 486883
  20. ^ a b c "Philippine English". MSN Encarta Dictionary, http://encarta.msn.com/. http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861725584/Philippine_English.html. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
  21. ^ Jeannette Andrade (August 28, 2007). Hazing eyed in death of graduating UP student. Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://services.inquirer.net/express/07/08/28/html_output/xmlhtml/20070828-85196-xml.html. Retrieved 2008-09-03 . Doris Dumlao (August 17, 2008). Mutual funds for P1,000 a month. Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id=20080817-155215. Retrieved 2008-09-03 . Michael Lim Ubac (April 24, 2008). Suspected smugglers, Customs, LTO officials charged. Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=132341. Retrieved 2008-09-03 . . (the construction "a certain ..." occurs several times in each of these examples.)
  22. ^ a b Borlongan, Ariane Macalinga (2007). "Innovations in Standard Philippine English". Current Research on English and Applied Linguistics: A De La Salle University Special Issue (De La Salle University , Academia.edu). http://dlsu.academia.edu/ArianeBorlongan/Papers/100117/Innovations_in_Standard_Philippine_English.
  23. ^ V.I.S. de Veyra's poem "Requiem Para Kay Ophie"
  24. ^ Examples: . “So if they see policemen about to conduct a security survey, they should ask me first because I will be the one who will know about it. They will have to talk to me,”, Security survey for Lapu banks suggested. Philippine daily Inquirer, citing Cebu Daily News. March 17, 2008. http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/metro/view/20080317-125231/Security-survey-for-Lapu-banks-suggested. Retrieved 2008--9-03 ; . “If I will be the one who will talk and explain, that will be self-serving,”, Anselmo Roque (January 18, 2007). Ecija school faculty bares university exec’s mess. Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view_article.php?article_id=44274. Retrieved 2008-09-03 ; . “Whoever wins on the issue of secret ballotingwill be the one who will win the speakership,”, Norman Bordadora (July 22, 2007). Arroyo can deliver SONA sans Speaker—Salonga. Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=78073. Retrieved 2008-09-03 .

Further reading

External links

Languages of the Philippines and Philippine languages
National language Filipino
Official languages Filipino • English
Recognized regional languages Bikol • Cebuano • Chavacano (Spanish-based creole) • Hiligaynon • Ilokano • Kapampangan • Kinaray-a • Maguindanao • Maranao • Pangasinan • Tagalog • Tausug • Waray-Waray
Recognized auxiliary languages Arabic • Spanish
Language groups Borneo-Philippines • Northern Philippine {Northern Luzon (Batanic) • Northern Cordilleran • South-Central Cordilleran} • {Central Luzon (Sambalic)} • Central Philippine {Bikol (Coastal • Inland • Pandan) • Visayan (Aklan • Bisakol)} • Southern Philippine
Dialects and accents of Modern English by continent
Europe
Great Britain
Ireland
Other
North America
United States
Canada
Other
Oceania
Australia
Other
South America
Africa
Asia

Categories:

 

The above information uses material from Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Some facts may not have been fully verified for accuracy. [Disclaimers]
This page was last archived by our server on Sun Apr 15 21:02:34 2012.
Displaying this page or its contents does not use any Wikimedia Foundation's resources.
The owners of this site proudly support the Wikimedia Foundation.

More Information Results for "Philippine English"
[Hide]▼
'Philippine English' Images
'Philippine English' Definition

Matching Results for Philippine English:

Chavacano
The common name for the six dialects of the Philippine Creole Spanish spoken in the Philippines

arnis
A stick made of rattan, bahi, yantok, yakal or kamagong, used in Philippine stick fighting. Traditional Philippine stick fighting, a martial art ...


from: Wiktionary: philippine english,
Tue Nov 1 05:31:50 2011
'Philippine English' Quotes

Matching Results for Philippine English:

Philippine-American War
McKinley claims God told to take Philippines. Hold a moment longer! Not quite yet, gentlemen! Before you go I would like to say just a word about the Philippine business.

List of Manga/Anime shows in English
This page was last modified on 27 August 2011, at 06:35. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License; additional terms may apply.

Filipino proverbs
Unless otherwise stated, the following proverbs are in Filipino, the national language of the Philippines, where they are called salawikain. Since the Filipino language ...


from: Wikiquote: philippine english,
Sun Sep 4 22:22:16 2011
[Hide]▲