PINENGLISH' OR PINOY ENGLISH

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

SCHOLARS have noted that globalization has led to an emerging global culture. This is true, as indicated by an emerging global English, or "Globlish," which seems to be in every culture that acknowledges English as an international language.

But just as the emerging global English takes root in every culture, the Philippines seems to have developed its own brand of English, which is distinct from the mainstream English.

The Filipino English, or "Pinenglish," is indeed having a life of its own, as it evolves to reflect a very different Filipino culture.

The Philippines is probably the most different country in East Asia.

Except East Timor, ours is the only Christian nation in this part of the world. Physically, a Filipino is essentially Malay in looks, but his temperament is Latino. But he speaks English well unlike other East Asians.

The Filipino English, is different from the English spoken by the Americans or the British. It has its own set of phonetics and idioms. An average American or Briton find difficulties understanding some English words, which a Filipino uses in daily social intercourse.

In politics, an American refers to a presidential candidate as a standard bearer, but Filipino prefer to call him a "presidentiable," a term which has yet to find its place in the standard Webster's dictionary. We have terms like "vice presidentiable" and "senatoriable" to refer to those running for other posts.

An American calls it a political party, and a British political aggroupement, to refer to groups of individuals with the same set of political beliefs and objectives. But a Filipino call it a "political aggrupation," which is another term that could not be found in the dictionary.

In business, anything that is bought on staggered payment basis will always be a good or service acquired on installment. While a Filipino has occasionally use the word, he prefers to call it as a thing bought on "tears," which is the English equivalent of "paiyakan."

Hence, every installment is a "give," a term which is not easily discernible by other English-speaking people. It is the English term for "bigay," or "hulog."

Police works could be messy, but Filipinos have specific terms, whose differing usage could hardly be explained. The dictionary says salvage means to save or help. 

But in Filipino parlance, "salvage" means summary execution, which is the exact opposite of its actual meaning. It has evolved from the Spanish word "salvaje," which literally means bad.

This term has surfaced in the 1970s, when the dreaded Marcos police and military operatives kidnapped political activists, who later surfaced as victims of rubouts.

The wireless telephony boom of the early 2000s has led to the emergence of new words that are essentially Filipino. 

A tryst or rendezvous among cellphone users is an "eyeball," which has a different connotation for the Americans and British.

Other Filipino English words that have meanings: a refrigerator is a "frigidaire"; a pack of toothpaste is "colgate"; while a traditional camera is "kodak". 

Going to SM or Robinson is "malling," while, in other cultures, it is shopping. Hotels in other countries have no equivalent for our "short time."

When going to a restaurant, a food server will call the bill a "chit," which is almost identical with the word "check." Food servers, particularly those from the South, had a hard time pronouncing check; chit is easier.

In other countries, the lavatory is called the toilet, but in the Philippines, they euphemistically call it a rest room.

Scholars have no explanation for this Filipino English, but I always believe in the Filipino sense of individualism. 

A Pinoy always wants to be different from the rest of the world.