Module 5

English in the Multilingual Philippine Society

After a thorough exploration of language planning and policy in the Philippines, in the
educational sector and in the society in general, you have now arrived at the point of exploring
English as a Philippine language and its possibility to be considered one of the mother tongues in
the Philippines. Two essays will be discussed in this module: 1) When I was a child I spake as a
child: Reflecting on the Limits of a Nationalist Language Policy by Danilo Manarpac and 2)
Anguish as Mother Tongue: English in a Multilingual Context by Michelle G. Paterno. The first
essay argues that English in the Philippines is different from American and British English, and
thus can be considered our own language. The second essay extends this argument by advancing
the assertion that Philippine English could be considered a mother tongue in our country.

If I’m asked, “Do you write correct English?,” I would say, “Of course, it’s correct. I’m the one
writing it. You’re not the one writing it. It is correct.” In other words, we have our own — I
sense this all the time — we have our own way of thinking. We have our own way of feeling, by
which we then use this language called English. So that English is ours. We have colonized it
too.
--Gemino Abad (1997)

I. Introduction

Jan Blommaert wrote in his essay Language Policy and National Identity, “It is a
sociolinguistic truism that societies are almost by necessity multilingual, in the sense that many
varieties, genres, styles, and codes occur, despite self-perceptions of societal monolingualism.
Societies do reflect and sustain the sociolinguistic regime in a country, that is, the relative
hierarchies normatively maintained and the dominant ideas surrounding them. Such ideas
would include ownership, membership, and authority: ‘this is our language,’ ‘we are Americans
and speak English,’ ‘this language doesn’t belong here,’ ‘he doesn’t speak the language well.’

II. Mother Tongue

A. A Taught Mother Tongue vs. A Vernacular Language

Ivan Illich (1981) makes a distinction between a taught mother language and a vernacular
tongue. The former is a vernacular language that is taught in school whereas the latter is a
vernacular language that is not taught in school.

Question: After reading the two essays, which official language in the Philippines can be more
likely considered a taught mother tongue? Defend your answer.
 B. The Functions of a Mother Tongue

Srivastava (1981) has examined the early socialization function, the identity function and
the psychic function of the mother tongue and has concluded that these functions are often
shared by two or three languages in a multilingual setting.

1. The Early Socialization Function

The mother tongue is the language used by a child in his/her first experiences and
interactions with the community. Pattanayak (1981) suggested that when one language
is confined to the intimate domain and another language is used in all other domains,
the latter may be called the Culture Language. This relationship between a home
language and a culture language may involve a dialect and a standard or a vernacular
and the taught mother tongue or two mother tongues. What is important is to note that
the early socialization of the child may take place through one, two or more mother
tongues.

Question: Which among Bicol, Filipino and English is generally the “culture
language” of the Philippines based on Pattanayak’s definition?

2. The Identity Function

A mother tongue is the expression of the primary identity of a human being. It is the
language through which a person perceives the surrounding world and through which
initial concept formation takes place. The child is acclimatized to its environment
through naming each object, phenomenon and mood of changing nature. Thus the flora,
fauna, the colours of the sky, the rhythm of the rainfall and everything that excites the
child and encourages exploration of the mysteries of nature assume a name and a
habitat in the child's mind.

3. The Psychic Function

The mother tongue is the medium through which the child also establishes kinship with
other children and with the adults around. This assures the child that outside his or her
limited ego there is a society from which help can come at a time of stress. In societies
where joint families exist, such naming captures the complex three dimensional
relationship which binds the society together. Terms expressive of relation such as
mother's brother's son, father's sister's daughter, bind the ego not only with the peer
group but also with the generation above and the generation below.

Directions: Complete the tables below with information from the second essay to make explicit
that English is James Soriano’s mother tongue.

Function James Soriano’s Experience

 Socialization

Identity

Psychic

III. Ownership of English

This table on the paradigm shift in the conceptualization of English is borrowed from the book The
Relocation of English: Shifting Paradigms in Global Era by Mario Saraceni (2010, p. 5).

Question: Based on the argument presented by Manarpac, can we claim that English is owned by
the Filipinos if subjected to the new conceptualization summarized by Saraceni?

Questions:

Paper #1: When I was a child I spake as a child: Reflecting on the Limits of a Nationalist Language
Policy

1. What does Manarpac refer to as cultural anxiety among Filipinos?

________________________________________________________________________
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 2. According to Manarpac, the fact that most Filipinos cannot acknowledge the reality that
we own a certain variety of English is beyond simple linguistic issue. It is a cultural issue.
What does he mean by this?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Paper #2: Anguish as Mother Tongue: English in a Multilingual Context by Michelle G. Paterno.

1. What linguistic issue concerning the implementation of mother tongue education is

explored in this essay?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

2. What does Paterno refer to as English-anguish among Filipinos?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Paper #1 & 2: When I was a child I spake as a child: Reflecting on the Limits of a Nationalist
Language Policy & Anguish as Mother Tongue: English in a Multilingual Context by Michelle G.
Paterno

What are the socio-cultural reasons why most Filipinos can’t seem to acknowledge or even
consider English as a Philippine language?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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