Comments on: Do You Fear the English Language?

By: Luke Paris

Luke Paris — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:16:12 +0000

i am not afraid of english bacause first and foremost, i am a filipino, born filipino, living in the philippines, language is filipino.
why do i have to push my luck speaking english when it is not my mother tounge.
that is one of the problem of filipino, “colonial mentality”. we thought when spek english, we are cool. when when we have a brttish or slang accent, that was cool. and speking in filipino is “not” cool. but did we ever think the the english is a foreign language? it is not ours…..
hope you don’t mind…………..
i am writing english………

By: DJB Rizalist

DJB Rizalist — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:25:35 +0000

Good News Maricar!
We seem to have solved the mystery of the provenance of this line in a poem by Rizal translated into Spanish by Epifanio de los Santos. Thanks to Angela Stuart Santiago.

By: Joe Cruz

Joe Cruz — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:53:23 +0000

Without putting too fine a point upon it, Mang Jose and Manang Josefa need those jobs badly. The masses of caregivers and nurses who have left the country to wipe foreign arses and change soiled nappies, not to mention the bright young minds in the call centers who have signed up to deal with irate callers around the world in the unholy hours of the night evidence so eloquently on thing: We need those jobs where English is Quid Pro Quo.

So, how can you so blithely say: “Another misconception about English is that the language cures all economic ailments” when it’s English that allows these Salt of the Earth compatriots to make a living? What and where, pray tell, would you send them to work? In case you hadn’t noticed of the Philippine economy English DOES bring in the money. You continued: “The ability to speak like an American will certainly not ensure excellent performance in the contact center jobs.” Perhaps. But here we’re placing the cart before the horse, aren’t we? Much better we pass the English proficiency requirement first and get the job before we worry about excellent performance (who brought that up anyway?).

No, Ms. Martin, in closing I think we do our countrymen a disfavor by witholding any opportunity for them to expand their saleable skills. It would be obtuse on our part as educators to turn a blind eye to the reality that in Philippine society, the ability to speak English well opens many, many doors of opportunity.

By: Joe Cruz

Joe Cruz — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:00:28 +0000

I think you have misread the “fear” of English as one of the Fililipino individual’s choice. That is hardly the case. If opportunities to learn Tagalog and English stood on equal ground, you may have had a case for claiming Jose feared and glorified English. However, the reality of the present day is that the educational and cultural scaffolding for the acquisition of English is not there for the majority of the people.

Then the day comes, a very crucial day when the ability to use English with precision and fluency arrives, a day that will either make Joe earn a helluva lot more than a pittance he’s been earning since he left school, or break Joe by condemming him to the faceless nameless toiling masses arrives. And HE CANNOT HANDLE THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. He’s so totally screwed.

LOSING THAT OPPORTUNITY is what he fears. IT MEANS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DECENT LIVING AND THE LIFE OF A SERF. You, in your cozy ivory tower of fluffy ideals, would condemn him to stick with Tagalog because you (who by the way have a choice of either language) have deemed it demeaning for him to LEARN? Do you actually think he is on the same societal footing as you and can, as you thumb your nose at English, eat from the same cake you feast on?

By: DJB Rizalist

DJB Rizalist — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 05:42:52 +0000

No one seems to know among those I believe ought to. I’ve asked. The suspicion is growing that like the apocryphal quote of George Washington and the Cherry Tree (which apparently WAS fabricated), this too arose around the time that the National Language Institute was founded in the Presidency of Manuel L. Quezon. I’ve never encountered a quotation from Rizal that is not easily found in one of the novels, the epistolario Rizalino (his letters to friends and family, both here and abroad) or his occasional journalistic productions.

But this one is an orphan! Still I’d love to be proven wrong, truly. So ask around also. By the way I love your site, especially things like the riddles and legends and all sorts of neat things. I love the languages of the archipelago, but it does no one any good, these unsubstantiated gems or myths about ourselves and heroes.

By: Maricar

Maricar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 05:00:47 +0000

DJB Rizalist,
I have always heard that quote attributed to Rizal, and have had no reason to doubt it. It seems that you do. I’m as interested as you are in finding out if the quote is indeed his.

By: DJB Rizalist

DJB Rizalist — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:35:28 +0000

Can you tell me exactly when and where Jose Rizal said what you said he said?

Or is it true that he never said that and it was made up by “nationalists” much later on?

And tell me, how much of Jose Rizal’s writings don’t “smell like fish.” How much did he write that wasn’t in Spanish. Can you name any single piece of his that wasn’t in Spanish?

I would really like to know!

By: Do You Fear the English Language? « Ilovepinoys

Do You Fear the English Language? « Ilovepinoys — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 04:58:49 +0000

[...] via Inquirer and filipinasoul [...]

By: mer

mer — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 10:41:50 +0000

It my opinion…. being good in english is your advantage specially working abroad. Unfortunately, the problem sometimes you feel intimidated coz’ some kababayan make laugh at you kasi mali-mali ang pronunciation mo ng word or mali ang grammar mo. Pero sa obserbasyon ko, majority ng mga bansang dito sa Asia na di magagaling sa english eh mayayaman like Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, now China, Malaysia and countries in Middle East. Presently Im working outside our country, sa experience ko mas pinupuna pa ng ilang kababayan ko yung grammar ko kaysa dun sa amo kong Amerikano at ibang lahi. Pero alam ko crucial yung trabaho ko pero nahire ako dahil sa skills ko. Iniisip ko lang minsan bakit nakapagcreate yung ibang bansa ng sarili nilang industry using their own language as part of their business. Tama ka, masyado tayong nakatingin sa iba kaya minsan kulang yung pagmamalasakit natin sa sariling atin.