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I. Introduction
The spread of English around the world has offered us a diverse range of varieties of English.
Within the framework of Postcolonial English varieties, I have investigated the Philippine
variety of English, which was a result of and emerged from its colonial background.
In Braj Kachru's model of World English dialects, Philippine English belongs to what are
called the `outer circle' countries and is used in the major institutions as a legacy of
colonisation.
1
As a result, English has a great historical importance and serves as a lingua
franca between the different ethnic and language groups.
To fully understand the make-up of Philippine English, we need to take a look at the
derivation and spread of the language. Aside from introducing general facts about the country,
I will examine the origins of the language and the arrival of English in Philippine history.
Furthermore, I will briefly explore the present-day language situation, especially the different
local languages and the code-switching or code-mixing between the two official languages
Filipino and English. By looking at the characteristic features of Philippine English, I want to
show the general, phonological, morpho-syntactical and lexical differences from General
American English. Finally, I want to discuss the significance of Philippine English for a
teacher of foreign languages and to draw conclusions regarding the impact of English on the
Philippines.
II. Basic facts
The Philippines are located in Southeast Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the
South China Sea, east of Vietnam. The land has an area of 298,170 km² and is slightly larger
than Arizona. The Philippines consist of 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, of which
only eleven are bigger than 2500 km². The biggest islands are: Luzon, Mindanao, Samar,
Negros, Cebu, Leyte, Mindoro, Panay and Palawan. Only 1000 islands are bigger than 1 km².
An estimated population of 91,077,287 (July 2007) lives in the Philippines. The capital of the
Philippines is Manila and the largest town is Quezon City. Religious affiliations include
Roman Catholic 80.9%, Muslim 5%, Evangelical 2.8%, Iglesia ni Kristo 2.3%, Aglipayan
2%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.6% and none 0.1% (2000 census). In
addition to a mixture of religions there are also several languages. The two official languages
1
cf. Bloomer et al. (2005). Introducing Language in Use, 414-416.
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are Filipino (based on Tagalog) and English, but about 180 languages and dialects exist on the
island.
2
When investigating the English language of the Philippines it is important to consider the
history and the arrival of the languages beforehand.
III. History
3.1 Negritos
It all began about 30000 years ago with the arrival of the Philippines' aboriginal inhabitants:
the Negritos. Negritos are various ethnic groups in isolated parts of Southeast Asia. The
population includes the Aeta, Agta, Ayta, Ati, Dumagat and at least 25 other Philippine tribes.
The exact route of and the reasons for their immigration to Asia are still a matter of great
speculation and controversy.
3
The name Negrito, which means little Negro, refers to the small stature of the people. It was
given by Spaniards who supposed that the Negritos were from Africa (see appendix).
The Negritos, however, differ not only in appearance from `true' African Negroes, but also
genetically.
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The Negritos speak Borneo-Philippine languages, also called "Outer Hesperonesian" or
"Outer Western Malayo-Polynesian" languages. Borneo-Philippine languages are a subgroup
of the Austronesian language family and have many small groups of languages, with the most
important languages being Tagalog, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilokano, Kapampangan, Malagasy
and Tausug.
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3.2 Spanish Colonization
An important person who mentioned Negritos living in the island of Panglao was Ferdinand
Magellan. By the 14
th
century A.D. extensive trade was being carried out with India,
Indonesia, China and Japan. In 1521 Ferdinand Magellan explored the Philippines and
claimed the island for Spain. He built up friendly relations with some of the local chiefs and
tried to convert them to Roman Catholicism. Later, he was killed in a dispute with indigenous
2
cf.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/rp.html
[15.2.2008]
3
cf.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negrito
[13.2.2008]
4
cf.
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00113204%28198108%2922%3A4%3C421%3ATGOOTP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H
[13.2.2008] 421-422.
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cf.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines#Languages
[14.2.08]
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