The Lexicon of Philippine English

THE LEXICON OF PHILIPPINE ENGLISH

Author: Maria Lourdes S. Bautista

1. Introduction

Over the last three years, Maria Lourdes S. Bautista has collaborated with Susan Butler and her team at Macquarie Dictionary to compile a list of Philippine English words for inclusion in an Asian English dictionary. The Macquarie Dictionary initiated this project in 1992, focused on collecting various forms of English fiction and non-fiction, as well as English language newspapers from countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and the Philippines, which are known for their established varieties of English. The texts were scanned to create an Asian English database.
The objective was for the computer to identify words absent from the Macquarie headword list for Australian English. These identified words were sent to native speakers engaged in lexicography for selection and preliminary definition. The final list was further evaluated by a larger group of native speakers. This corpus serves as a foundational resource for developing a Philippine English dictionary. However, being based on printed sources leads to the reliance on a more formal lexicon.
To supplement the Macquarie database, Bautista referred to prior works on Philippine English, such as those by Llamzon (1969), Gonzalez and Alberca (1978), Gonzalez (1983b), Tabor (1984), and Cruz and Bautista (1995)—the latter efforts identified Filipinisms, or unique expressions found in Philippine English. Observations from current newspapers, broadcasts, and personal conversations (with credits to Johnson, personal communication 1995) also informed her research.
The focus of this paper is primarily on the English spoken by educated Filipinos, particularly within the acrolectal range. It includes assessments against entries in both the Macquarie Dictionary and Webster's, acknowledging that Standard American English is the exonormative standard for English in the Philippines.

2. A Provisional List of Philippine English Words

Lexicographers suggest that a lexicon expands through various processes:
(a) normal expansion,
(b) preservation of terms that have become rare in other varieties,
(c) coinage, and
(d) borrowing (per Butler, personal communication 1996).
Bautista will categorize Philippine English words using these processes; notably, the first three contribute English-form words, while borrowing leads to words that deviate from English form.

A. Normal Expansion

Two sub-processes are classified here:

A.1 Extensions or Adaptations of Meaning

Common instances of meaning extensions include brand names used in a generalized manner in the Philippines:

  • pampers – meaning disposable diapers
  • pentel pen – referring to a color marker
  • to osterize – utilizing a food blender
  • Brand names like Colgate for toothpaste, Nescafe for instant coffee, and Kotex for sanitary napkins still resonate among older Filipinos.
    This extension process is observable in both Philippine and Australian/American English with terms like xerox, band-aid, frigidaire, and kleenex being included in both dictionaries.
    Citations from the Macquarie corpus of Asian English (ASIACORP):
  • osterize 1989
  • Halupi, Corazon S. Alvina and Felice Sta. Maria: "George Bernard Shaw preferred osterized mango to eating the fruit with hands."
  • xerox 1992
  • Telling Lives, Elvira Mata: "I asked her to send a xerox of her palms."
  • band-aid 1989
  • Halupi, Corazon S. Alvina and Felice Sta. Maria: "There are anti-seasickness tablets called 'band-aid.'"

Less obvious adaptations include:

  • bets referring to presidential candidates,
  • brown-out indicating a temporary loss of electricity,
  • deep as a modifier meaning puristic or hard-to-understand language (as in deep Tagalog),
  • province used for areas outside Manila,
  • stick mean as a cigarette,
  • tong for extortion money, and
  • topnotcher meaning someone who ranks highest in a contest/exam.
    Citations from ASIACORP:
  • bets 1990, A Time in the Life of the Filipino, Napoleon G. Rama: "The intention is to expose the party's cheating nature by offering genuine opposition bets."
  • brown-out 1991, Gagamba: The Spider Man, E. Sionil Jose: "During June, there was a brown-out in Makati."
  • province 1992, Killing Time in a Warm Place, Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr.: "I pretended to come from the province, Davao, to justify our plight."
  • stick 1989, Halupi, Corazon S. Alvina and Felice Sta. Maria: "A stick of cigarette was offered by street vendors."
  • tong 1990, Flowers from the Rubble, Conrad de Quiros: "Jeepney drivers were angry over burgeoning extortion (tong) and penalties."
  • topnotcher 1991, Gagamba: The Spider Man, F. Sionil Jose: "Emma regarded me a bright topnotcher from high school to college."
    Bautista also points out that the terms bath and sleep have different meanings within Philippine English. For instance, bath typically means shower rather than using a bathtub, and contrastingly, I slept late yesterday in Philippine English implies going to bed late, whereas in American English, it suggests waking up late.

From ASIACORP:

  • both 1989, Gems in Philippine Literature::House Full of Daughters, Kerima Polotan-Tuvera: "The daily essentials included a bath, clean clothes, and other obligations."
  • sleep 1989, Gems in Philippine Literature::Remembering Laughter, Conrado V. Pedroche: "He must have slept late the previous night."
  • blow-out 1989, Gems in Philippine Literature::Sa Pula, Sa Puti, Francisco 'Soc' Rodrigo: "I invite you for a blow-out tonight."
  • motel 1992, Telling Lives, Carolina S. Malay: "A motel connotes women's voting rights and civic projects."

Filipinos often confuse word pairs like come and go, bring and take due to their equivalent Tagalog words: punta for both and dala for both. The usage of these words is inconsistent compared to their English counterparts.
From ASIACORP:

  • bring 1991, Gagamba: The Spider Man, F. Sionil Jose: "It was deemed appropriate to bring home for one’s wife."

Furthermore, Bautista highlights instances where a Philippine English term may contradict the meaning in Australian or American English, such as:

  • salvage meaning to conduct summary executions in Philippine English versus to save in American English.
  • prep school indicating preparatory education before grade one in Philippine English instead of preparatory for college in Australian or American English.
    Citations from ASIACORP:
  • salvage 1990, Flowers from the Rubble, Conrad de Quiros: "The state's actions included salvaging dissenters."
A.2 Shift in Part of Speech

This normal expansion also encompasses altering the part of speech of an existing word. Common transformations include using nouns as verbs, as well as creating new verb forms like fiscalize, which emerged from the noun fiscal to represent the act of supervision. Such instances from other varieties include:

  • Using horn as a verb in Singaporean English.

Innovative verbs include manualize referring to preparing manuals for tasks, and words like conscienticize, taken from liberation theology.
Citations from ASIACORP:

  • fiscalize 1990, A Time in the Life of the Filipino, Napoleon G. Rama: "Congress is perceived to fiscalize the president."
  • actualize 1989, Pasyon and Revolution, Reynaldo Clemena Ireto: "Behavior is influenced by real and prospective factors to be actualized."
  • concretize 1989, Gems in Philippine Literature: "Apply Philippine historical context to the stanza."

More informal shifts have led to nouns functioning as adjectives, such as:

  • traffic meaning ‘congested’ (e.g. "It was so traffic today")
  • high blood implying someone is overly emotional or angry.

Additionally, shifts in grammatical categorization can be seen in the transformation of mass nouns into count nouns on occasion (i.e., equipments, furnitures, researches). There are also shifts from transitive to intransitive uses of verbs like enjoy or offord and idiomatic usages found uniquely within the Philippines.

From ASIACORP:

  • equipments 1992, Manila Bulletin: "Machine proposal will require acquisition of Swedish equipments."
  • furnitures 1992, Manila Bulletin: "The applicant couldn't afford a needed furniture."
  • researches 1990, 'Where there are no slaves,' L.L. Guerrero and J.M. Flores: "He found nothing in his researches."

Bautista emphasizes that there are unidiomatic combinations in Philippine English, such as based from, cope up with, and fill up a form, which deviate from Standard American English. Concerns arise about incorporating these forms into the lexicon.

Citations from ASIACORP:

  • based from 1992, Manila Bulletin: "Any venture must be based from a solid local base."
  • fill up 1991, View from the Middle, Asuncion David Maramba: "I will be asked questions about terms when I fill up next forms I receive."
B. Preservation of Items Which Have Become Lost or Infrequent in Other Varieties

Some words, like folk, are more prevalent in Philippines than in Australia/America, with collocations such as provincial folk or city folk showcasing unique usages in Philippine English. Another term, solon, referencing a lawmaker, has a different context in Philippine English compared to its historical connotations in Australian English. The word viand, meaning food, is largely unused in Australia and America while remaining in regular use in the Philippines.
Citations from ASIACORP:

  • city folk 1991, View from the Middle, Asuncion David Maramba: "We city folk only dream of such serene scenes."
  • solon 1990, Flowers from the Rubble, Conrad de Quiros: "The contrast between a solon and a confidence man is notable."
  • viand 1991, View from the Middle, Asuncion David Maramba: "Some viands go untasted during meals."

The phrase family way appears more frequently in Philippine English for 'pregnant' than elsewhere, and expressions like nary and wherein, which are now archaic in other Englishes, still show prominence. Other terms, such as by-and-by, once commonplace in Filipino English, are now outdated. The origin of these archaisms often traces back to educational materials from the late 19th to early 20th century.

From ASIACORP:

  • nary 1989, Halupi, Corazon S. Alvina and Felice Sta. Maria: "A rural home contained nary a modern convenience."
  • wherein 1992, Telling Lives, E. Lolarga and A.L. Sarabia: "Diliman is a residential area wherein the University stands."
  • by and by 1989, Gems in Philippine Literature: "She was gradually scratching him."
C. Coinage

Coinage expands the lexicon through neologisms characterized by several processes:

C.1 Analogical Constructions

Philippine English creates terms like awardee, honoree, mentee following the same pattern of employee. Unique innovations include jubilarian for degree finishers in October, reelectionist, and bedspacer (lesser-known terms not featured in conventional dictionaries).

Citations from ASIACORP:

  • awardee 1989, Gems in Philippine Literature: "She was a Palanca awardee for the essay in 1982."
  • jubilarian 1991, View from the Middle, Asuncion David Maramba: "Why wait till you're a jubilarian?"
  • reelectionist 1990, A Time in the Life of the Filipino, Napoleon G. Rama: "A non-reelectionist is deemed a stronger leader."
  • bedspacer 1990, Flowers from the Rubble, Conrado de Quiros: "He was considered a potential bedspacer."
C.2 Clippings

Philippine English features unique clippings not recognized elsewhere: ballpen (for ballpoint pen), aircon (air-conditioning), Amboy (an overly pro-American Filipino), kinder (kindergarten), promo (promotion), and supermart (supermarket).

Citations from ASIACORP:

  • ballpen 1990, Flowers from the Rubble, Conrado de Quiros: "The memory endures alongside a small hand clutching a ballpen."
  • aircon 1991, View from the Middle, Asuncion David Maramba: "There are no electronic distractions, just quiet aircon."
C.3 Abbreviations

Common abbreviations include NGO (non-government organization), OCW (overseas contract worker), and uniquely CR (comfort room) in Philippine context. Some abbreviations, like KJ (kill joy) and TNT (tago-ng-tago for illegal immigrants), are specifically Filipino.

Citations from ASIACORP:

  • CR 1990, Confessions of a Volcano, Eric Gamalinda: "Guests were provided toiletries and a domestic helper alongside access to the comfort room."
  • TNT 1991, View from the Middle, Asuncion David Maramba: "The lengths to which one goes to avoid deportation mark the plight of many TNT individuals."
C.4 Total Innovations

These reflect creativity, producing words like Imeldific (ostentatiously excessive), Taglish (Tagalog-English blend), number two (a mistress), and trapo (from traditional politician).

Citations from ASIACORP:

  • Taglish 1991, View from the Middle, Asuncion David Maramba: "Taglish has gained acceptance as we freely alternate between languages."
C.5 English Compounds

Philippine English also produces notable compounds: bar girl, dirty kitchen, toilet humor, Filipino time (imprecisely referring to lateness), and macho dancer.

Citations from ASIACORP:

  • bar girl 1992, Killing Time in a Warm Place, Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr.: "She was a captivating bar girl, embodying the spirit of the night."
C.6 Combinations of One English Element with One Borrowed Element

Examples blend English terms with local terms, like bakya crowd (lower socioeconomic class crowd) and balikbayan box (the box for bringing home items).

Citations from ASIACORP:

  • bakya crowd 1990, A Time in the Life of the Filipino, Napoleon G. Rama: "The adoration of values is often seen among the bakya crowd."
D. Borrowings

Bautista categorizes borrowings by semantic fields, typically including terms from Spanish, Chinese, or Tagalog. Borrowed words cover domains such as flora and fauna, national identity, culture, politics, and life expressions. Examples are pasalubong, barkada, yaya, and beso-beso.

From ASIACORP:

  • pasalubong 1989, Halupi, Corazon S. Alvina and Felice Sta. Maria: "Thoughts of home involve the concept of pasalubong."
Observations and Reflections

The resulting patterns hold implications for both speakers of Philippine English and speakers of other varieties of English. Filipino speakers view newly coined terms through a lens of familiarity, while speakers of other English varieties may find Philippine terms unique yet occasionally confusing. Borrowed words cause minimal misunderstanding due to their distinct representations, yet the ordinary English terms that carry different meanings across cultures introduce potential miscommunication.

Survey Highlights

A survey gauged the acceptance of 40 questioned words. Many respondents acknowledged informal words like sayang, KJ, and CR as common while identifying terms such as brown jokes as less acceptable in more formal settings. This reflects a divide in vocabulary preference based on formality context and highlights a growing acceptance of Filipinisms in professional discourse.