Beyond the accent and diction: Teaching English the Filipino way
At an early age, we already train our children to speak English. As much as many of us are addicted to Western and K-drama series, we want our children to sound like native Americans when communicating in that desired language. We believe that those who can speak English eloquently have a better chance of excelling and being recognized by their teachers. Somehow, this becomes a standard of intelligence—without even knowing that learning a language should preserve the social, political, and cultural identity of the speaker.
What pushed me to write this is the experience of an English teacher during her presentation. She couldn’t pronounce words correctly, at least based on international standards. She has a problem with her diction and enunciation, or to put it in Filipino, “pilipit ang dila.” One might advise that particular teacher to speak like a native English speaker or learn to pronounce words following international phonetic standards.
This event made me think of what culture we have regarding teaching the English language. We hold in high regard those who deliver speeches with proper diction and enunciation. We applaud and envy those who speak English naturally and with confidence. Meanwhile, some of us mock or silently laugh when someone mispronounces or seems to struggle speaking English because of what we call “pilipit ang dila.”
This imbues a culture of inferiority and social isolation among our learners. The question is, should we allow a “pilipit ang dila” to deliver the lesson in English? Yes. As long as the grammatical structure, delivery, or the content is correct, why not?
The way that Warays, Batangueños, Ilocanos, and Cebuanos speak the language is not funny at all and should be acceptable. It does not steal the social and cultural identity of the person; instead, it preserves and nurtures our individuality.
That there are many Filipino English teachers abroad is an indicator that we are good at the language. However, speaking English should not create a notion of privilege. It is not limited only to the educated and elite. Many try to exaggerate their pronunciation because it reflects a certain economic status in life. When we ask our students why they did not respond in English, most admit that they want to sound like natives and are afraid that they might mispronounce English words.
Filipino English is an acceptable variation of English. However, we are still caught up in the idea of sounding like an American. We blend the sounds we produce and even use expressions within the context of American or British culture.
It is time to accept our voice and sound. We should not feel inferior when someone speaks English with a different pronunciation. Whatever it sounds like is acceptable. The end goal must be communicative competence, as stated in our curriculum.
As Rizal said, “Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika ay higit pa sa malansang isda.” English is just one of the languages we use to communicate. But we should not judge anyone if they have a twisted tongue, and it should not be a standard for whether they can teach English or not.
Robinson B. Valenzona,
robinson.valenzona@gmail.com
