History of the Ingglisera: How to address the lesser Baldwins
In Emotional Weather Report, today in the Philippine Star.
If the judge-inquisitor had been The Baldwin, Alec, instead of the lesser sibling, our answer would be:
“None whatsoever since we are perfect, but the biggest mistake you ever made was marrying Kim Basinger instead of us. By the way, we actually love you more now that you’re fat.”
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
September 19th, 2010 at 06:02
just a few hours ago, i had to call our helpdesk in manila who don’t think it’s an urgent issue if i talk to them in tagalog..
so everytime i call them now, i speak in english..
sayang, minsan gusto ko pa naman talagang makakausap ng kababayan…
bakit ba pag nag ingles ka lang saka ka lang seseryosohin? bakeeet?
September 19th, 2010 at 06:42
You’re damn right. Pinoys’ knowledge/fluency in English has deteriorated so much over the last 20 years because of frequent tinkering by politicians with the curriculum of the public educational system. If I remember right, Tagalog was made the medium of instruction/teaching in the late 80’s for all levels, as opposed to the earlier’s system of teaching in English starting at Grade IV.
Then in 2007, the public school system reverted back to English as the medium of instruction, but most schools still conduct classes in Tagalog.
I say Tagalog not Filipino to highlight the general Pinoy ignorance that our National language is officially called “Pilipino.”
While still working overseas, I noticed that most Pinoys, when asked what their first language is, would write down Tagalog, not Pilipino, and then some would jot down their own local dialect/s. So, when we did statistics to determine the percentage of learners from the Philippines (by mother tongue), we didn’t capture the real numbers of clients coming from Phils.
This under representation taken on a national scale, I suspect, could have led to non-recognition of the Pinoy strength (e.g : political clout) in countries where there are lots of Pinoy immigrants.
There’s everything to gain in being fluent in both Pilipino and English, and one’s own dialect. A boy born into a Tagalog/other dialect- speaking household will learn the language automatically anyway, so why deprive him of learning English at an early age at school?
And then we should get rid of these Korean “soaps” dubbed in Pinoy, and replace them with American soaps. The fastest way to acquire fluency/accent/hearing is to watch American soap operas. That’s what our ESL teachers always advised our English learners (from all over the globe).
September 19th, 2010 at 14:26
We need more English programming. And by English, I mean British. Fry and Laurie! French and Saunders!
September 19th, 2010 at 16:49
English programming indeed! I’m sure people working in call centers would appreciate the humor in The Office and The IT Crowd. Being Human is a good drama on the BBC, but then one of the big networks might just want to do their own remake…actually, that might be interesting if they throw in a tiyanak.
September 19th, 2010 at 22:44
Great article, many thanks.
My American doctor commented how amazing it is that I don’t have a a “foreign accent” even if I wasn’t born in the States. So I said, “What accent do you want? I can do it for you.”
September 20th, 2010 at 06:33
I meant “though” I wasn’t born…
Dammit, I need coffee.
September 20th, 2010 at 11:36
Pati Barney tinagalog. Pano matututo ng inglis ang anak ko?
September 20th, 2010 at 18:57
Why the hell did they have to dub Barney? o_o Both my siblings loved Barney and Sesame Street when they were small. I think it contributed a lot to their learning the English language.
But you know what really ruined Filipinos’ comprehension of English? Tag-lish. All over Metro Manila one could hear colegialas and yuppies combining the two languages and mispronouncing words because it’s “sosyal”. ARRGH! Can’t they just choose one?! I blame Star Cinema and ABC-CBN for spreading that misconception.
Some also judge call center agents rather harshly. Say what you want about call center agents and their tutored, wannabe accents. At least they are trying hard to learn and get used to speaking English. :)
September 20th, 2010 at 20:52
the call center accent is necessary. you won’t be understood most of the time if you don’t use the other party’s accent. however, it’s a different story if you’re talking to a filipino, i guess. magmumukha kang maarte to people who don’t understand. sometimes using the accent outside of work is unconsciously done though, can’t be helped.
September 21st, 2010 at 05:20
I remember the exact time that it dawned on me that English was my first language: when I failed second grade Pilipino. The strange irony was that my mom was a radio announcer and broadcasted in Pilipino for the longest time. Needless to say, I ended up getting personalized remedial classes, figuring out the difference between a pangngalan and pang-angkop to name a couple. I’d like to think that in the end, it was a great idea for my parents to instill the English language in us as a medium of speech and writing at an early age. I surely had an edge culturally fitting in once I moved out of the country and landed a job.
September 21st, 2010 at 09:43
When I first moved to New York, I got so sick and tired of everyone asking “You English is so good – where did you learn it?” and having to answer how English was the medium of instruction, etc.
Finally, after the n-th question, I just looked at the questioner and said “Oh, it wasn’t that hard. English is a really easy language. It was about a 20-hour flight from Manila to New York, and I just learned it all on the plane.”
Then I turned and walked away.