![]() Although they soon fell out of use in the United States, these words continued to be popular in the Philippines, eventually becoming characteristic features of Philippine English vocabulary. Three items that have long been considered typical of Philippine English, carnap, carnapper, and comfort room, turn out not to be originally from the Philippines at all, having been first attested in American publications from the mid-20th century. The research that OED editors have carried out on these Philippine English words has also uncovered some surprising facts about their origin. These Philippine English borrowings are also highly productive, readily combining with other words to create interesting hybrid expressions: Filipino balikbayans come home with balikbayan boxes full of gifts kikay Filipinas never leave home without their kikay kits thirsty Filipinos flock to the sari-sari store to buy refreshing buko juice or buko water. Even the Philippine English word barkada, which comes from the Tagalog word for a group of friends, can ultimately be traced to the Spanish word barcada, a boatload. Until now, Filipinos still throw despedidas for people who are going away, and charge embezzlers with estafa. Vestiges of the country’s Hispanic past can be observed in the many words of Spanish origin that have survived in its languages, including Philippine English. One particularly interesting instance of borrowing from Tagalog is the initialism KKB, which stands for ‘ kaniya-kaniyang bayad’ (‘each one pays their own’), the Filipino way of saying ‘to go Dutch’.Īnother rich source of loanwords for Philippine English is Spanish, the language of the foreign power that ruled over the Philippines for more than three hundred years before the arrival of the Americans. All the previously given examples and several other items in this OED update are loanwords from Tagalog, the regional language on which the Philippine national language, Filipino, is based. This places English in constant contact with other languages from which it can borrow a wealth of new words. In the Philippines, English is primarily acquired as a second or even third language alongside local vernaculars. Their generosity and hospitality are evidenced by their fondness for giving pasalubong, while their loyalty and deep sense of gratitude can be seen in the importance they place on maintaining good business relationships with their suki, and on repaying an utang na loob. The boundless optimism of Filipinos and their unshakeable belief that things will work out in their favour in the end is reflected in the phrase bahala na. ![]() Other words in the update reveal certain aspects of the Filipino psyche. Many of the new Philippine additions to the OED are words referring to specific elements of Philippine culture, such as greetings and terms of address ( mabuhay, kuya) items of traditional dress ( barong or barong tagalog, baro’t saya) as well as native delicacies ( halo-halo, pan de sal, sinigang) and food customs ( baon, pulutan). ![]() Some of these unique lexical innovations have found their way into the OED for the very first time in this latest update. ![]() Throughout the years, Filipino English speakers have been adapting the vocabulary of this once foreign tongue, using it to express their own identity and way of life. Decades later, the Americans left an independent Philippine republic, but their language remained in the islands and continues to thrive as an important medium of communication in education, literature, science, business, government and diplomacy. Mabuhay from Oxford as we bring you news of the June quarterly update of the Oxford English Dictionary ( OED), which sees the inclusion of a wide range of words from Philippine English.Įnglish has been spoken in the Philippines since it was first introduced to the archipelago by a newly established American colonial government in the early 20th century.
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