The English language and Filipinos

Filipinos all learn English at school. Universities teach entirely in English. Therefore communicating with your lady and her family should be a piece of cake, right?

Ummmmmm. Yes, you would think so! But there are a few issues you will come across.

Firstly, it’s taught in school. I was taught French and German in school. Now I can say “Sava? Oui, sava!”, and “Vas ist das? Das ist ein hunt!”…..and that’s about it! (And please excuse my spelling!) Just because I was taught it doesn’t make me multilingual! And the same applies to Filipinos.

In reality? Many Filipinos walk into the classroom chattering in Tagalog or whatever their local dialect is….get their lessons in English….then walk out speaking Tagalog again. And maybe their teacher isn’t all that flash in English either. We had a tutor for our kids before, and I overheard “De teacher clean de whiteboard fastly!” I think I shuddered at the time. A relative (teacher) told the class that “umbrella” was spelt “ambrella”. And when I hear counting "Firrrrst (or pirrrrst), se-kond, turd…..", well…….

And there’s a stigma here about being “maarti”, which could be translated into Aussie as “up yourself”! Somebody who speaks English rather than the local dialect is seen as being maarti. They risk ridicule. Trying to explain that they are trying to improve their future prospects would make no difference. They will not go home and speak English with their families!

So despite English being the second language, for most Filipinos (especially the less-educated), it isn’t what they are comfortable with. And if they are not comfortable, they will invariably be shy and be less likely to try very hard.

Second issue? The poor girl is there listening to an Aussie destroy the English language before her eyes (and her aching ears). She hears an Aussie say “YaknowIwasjus’sayin’chunaan’shedidn’getme!” (Translation: “I was just saying tuna, and she didn’t get me”). Why on earth would she know a word that she pronounces phonetically like “Two-nuh” when somebody says “chhhunuhhh”?? Filipinos pronounce every letter in every word, eg “salmon” is pronounced “sal-mon”, and not “sam-n” like we do. And they don’t mumble like we do either, nor do they let all their words run together.

And remember too that whilst Aussies, especially urban Aussies, are accustomed to hearing English spoken in umpteen different accents on a daily basis, here they are not!

Therefore? Speak slowwwwwly! Speak clearrrrrly! Try to copy the way words are pronounced here. Avoid weird Aussie expressions. They don’t have too many “dunnies” here, and “brass razoos” have little value. Snags rarely get tossed onto barbies either, more's the pity!

One more thing? Kids! Nieces, nephews, and stepkids if you marry a single mum! Kids are sponges. They learn fast! Personally, I think English is a silly language. The grammatical rules are absurd. Spelling in Tagalog is really sensible. But fact remains, English is the international language. If they want to get a really good job either here or overseas, English skills will make them stand out from the pack. Try to encourage them!

If you want to get a visa for your Filipina lady so you can bring her to Australia and watch her English skills improve, please go to www.downundervisa.com