Using English at the Expense of Your Own Language

I read this through  tag surfing.  Good blog.  May laman.  Forgot to ask permission to the blogger and original uploader but if you can read this, just disseminating good stuff, that’s all.

credits to riacale and julymale.

——-

You never want to stand out in a crowd.

1 hour ago ago by riacale. Spam? Tags: Brain Scrapings, pretentiousness, Coffee, Shop’, crowd, Bilingualism, Elitism, Filipino, English

california tagalog filipino publictransportation bart metro train sign happy riding translation russian korean german vietnamese thai spanish chinese arabic japanese

Originally uploaded by julymale

There’s just something about fast food chains that is not conducive to writing. A burger joint near my grandmother’s house has free unlimited Wi-Fi that I could use. Yet, I choose to go to a coffee shop that’s about an hour away and involving multiple transfers. Inspiration probably hits me when I can actually hear myself think. With my suspected ADHD, the cacophonous chatter and the crowds easily distract me. People watching entertains me. (Reality show junkie in hiding?)

Although I find coffee shops relaxing, they carry an air of pretentiousness that I find really annoying. It’s a phenomenon that I’ve observed the world over. Take the crowd in the place I am in now, part of what used to be one of the most posh malls in Manila. “English-speaking crowds” fill the tables. For the life of me, I cannot understand why so many Filipinos, especially those with money, abhor or refuse to speak in plain Tagalog (or whatever local language they know). They insist in talking in English when speaking in Filipino is completely fine and acceptable.

In front of me is a father, looks like a successful businessperson. Yes, I eavesdropped on his phone conversation (all about business) and looked over his laptop (spent a lot of time on the PSE website looking at his stocks I assume). He could talk in both Filipino and English yet when his sons came in, he would only talk to them in English. Question is why?

I asked a coworker before who had a similar upbringing about this phenomenon. His father, an executive at a very reputable international company, told him that it was useless to speak Filipino. English is the lingua franca. Okay, I don’t dispute the fact that you do need to learn English but if you are going to live in the Philippines please learn and use the language. Bilingualism is something to be proud of.

Is speaking English something that would separate you from the masses? Separation from the masses attracts attention and sometimes trouble. One of the things you avoid when traveling is to stand out from the masses. You don’t want to be the one person walking, looking lost, and nose inside a guidebook.

I am always amazed by people’s reaction that I could still fluently speak Tagalog. As I’ve told many people, my purpose for speaking English is very utilitarian. I speak English in Canada because most people I know outside the Filipino community can only speak English. When I go home or go out with my Filipino friends, I speak Tagalog.

Okay, rant over. I wasn’t even supposed to write this but quoting Peter Griffin, it just really grinds my gears. The coffee shop crowd sometimes isn’t the most accepting people in world. I do feel bad by being part of it on occasion. Good thing a cute set of ABBA songs are playing on the coffee shop radio. Oh how can you not feel cheered up by Waterloo.