Bricia 1 Kevin B. Bricia Eng 118: Semantics Prof.

Jeena Marquez 12 March 2012 Philippine Hospitality Introduction I love it here. The people are very nice. They are really hospitable. This was the answer given by my American uncle when he was asked by my mother how he found the Philippines. It was his first time visiting the country and at that time, he was not yet very familiar with Filipino culture. This was the first time the concept of hospitality caught my attention. What did he exactly mean when he said that the Filipino people are really hospitable? Why did he describe Filipinos that way? What makes the Filipino people hospitable? Unfortunately, I was not able to ask him these questions directly. I took notice of this concept again years later when I invited some of my friends to finish a group project at home for the first time. Since there were little things left to do with our project, I did not plan to offer them some refreshments. I was thinking that since there were little things left to do, offering them some refreshments will not be necessary. When they arrived, I asked them to sit down and start immediately. Right when we were almost done, my mother appeared and greeted my guests. Noticing that I wasnt offering them anything, she asked me to come to her. She said, Anak, bakit hindi mo sila inaalok ng kahit anong makakain? Dali! Pumunta ka sa kusina at itimpla mo sila ng juice. Ikuha mo rin sila ng snacks. (Son, why are you not offering them anything to eat? Hurry! Go to the kitchen and prepare them some juice. Get snacks for them also.). Hearing my mothers command, my friends told my mother that it was fine and serving them snacks was not necessary. Still, my mother insisted. In the end, I served them some refreshments and afterwards, they thanked me and my mom for it. After this incident, I have always wondered why it is very important for us, Filipinos, to make sure that we are offering something to our guests even if they do not apparently need it or do not explicitly say they need it. Why do we feel inclined to do these things?

Bricia 2 I was reminded of the concept again when we were asked by our professor to translate a poem from English to Filipino in a stylistics class. The translation was going smooth until we reached the middle of the poem. Somewhere in the middle part, the class encountered the word hospitality. For a moment, I thought the concept was very easy to translate since, as my American uncle has said, Filipinos were very hospitable. It is not a foreign concept that would appear alien to a Filipino. I thought that there has to be a word in the Filipino language that could, if not completely, nearly capture the essence of what hospitality is. But after a minute of thinking, the class could not find that Filipino word. The class was only able to utter words that, to some extent, could cover a part of what hospitality means. This incident aroused my curiosity of what this word truly means. Given these three incidents, I have decided to write about what the word hospitality truly means. What I particularly want to tackle in this paper is the Philippine concept of hospitality. Jagor wrote in his book The Former Philippines Through Foreign Eyes, Filipino hospitality is ample, and much more comprehensive than that practiced in Europe. (Jagor 51) How does Philippine hospitality differ from the way other countries or cultures show their hospitality? Why do Filipinos feel inclined to show hospitality to their guests? Despite being a part of the culture, why is there not a gloss that can completely capture the meaning of the concept hospitality in the Filipino language? Questions of this nature will be discussed in the following sections. To be able to discuss what Filipino hospitality is, it is essential to discuss first the meaning of hospitality in the English language. In order to do that, I will use a set of utterances I gathered and Anna Wierzbickas Natural Semantic Metalanguage to explain it. This will be the concern of the first section of my paper. Following this is the discussion about Philippine hospitality. In this part of the paper, the concept of hospitality in the English language will be juxtaposed with Philippine hospitality. This part will discuss what features of Philippine hospitality makes it similar to the English concept of hospitality and the features that set it apart from it. Other questions regarding Philippine hospitality that I mentioned above will also be discussed in this section of the paper. At the latter part of this section, an explication of the meaning of Philippine hospitality will be provided. The next section will concern itself with the comparison of meaning between the concept of being hospitable and one of its possible Filipino glosses that I chose, maasikaso. The final part of the paper will deal with the conclusions we can draw from this paper.

Bricia 3 Hospitality: The English Concept As I have mentioned above, before we are able to explicate the meaning of hospitality in the Philippine context, I believe that it is essential to discuss first the concept of hospitality in English. Perhaps it is a good start to know where this word came from and what meaning the dictionaries provide us. The word hospitality is derived from hospice, the term for a medieval house of rest for travelers and pilgrims. Hospice a word that is clearly related to a hospital also referred to an early form of what we call now a nursing home. (Barrows 4) Given this etymology, it is clear that the word hospitality arose from the idea of people travelling from one place to another and establishing social relations. Molz writes, People and places around the globe are now bound together through mobile networks of environmental, cultural, social and economic interdependencies that transcend territorially bounded societies or nation-states. (Molz, 1) According to Websters Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, the word hospitality is the the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers. [It is] the quality of disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly and generous way. (686) One particular feature of hospitality that can be extracted from these definitions of hospitality is provision of relief (in different forms like food, shelter or even entertainment) to guests or strangers who are in need. Given that the word hospitality comes from the idea that people leave their homes and travel to another place, this provision of relief done by the people living in this new place is a way of making the travelers feel that they are welcome. By extending hospitality, the people who are living in the place are able to establish social relations with the people who are traveling. It is also from this feature where the field hospitality management is deeply rooted. This feature can be seen the following utterances:
1. But we wont LET you walk it wouldnt be Southern hospitality to do it.

Come right in. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

2. In return we would like to extend our hospitality should you care to come and

have coffee with us, but preferably when my mother is at home. Sophies World, Jostein Gaarder

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3. On the tablein token that the sentiment of old English hospitality had not

been left behindstood a large pewter tankard, at the bottom of which, had Hester or Pearl peeped into it, they might have seen the frothy remnant of a recent draught of ale. Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
4. If you should have no objection to receive me into your house, I propose

myself the satisfaction of waiting on you and your family, Monday, November 18th, by four oclock, and shall probably trespass on your hospitality till the Saturday seennight following, which I can do without any inconvenience, as Lady Catherine is far from objecting to my occasional absence on a Sunday, provided that some other clergyman is engaged to do the duty of the day.I remain, dear sir, with respectful compliments to your lady and daughters, your well-wisher and friend, WILLIAM COLLINS Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
5. They assembled in camp toward supper-time, hungry and happy; but now a

difficulty arose hostile Indians could not break the bread of hospitality together with- out first making peace, and this was a simple im- possibility without smoking a pipe of peace. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain This provision of relief or entertainment can be greatly supported by its strong collocations like extend. This collocation stresses that hospitality requires the sharing of ones resources. The collocation bread of shows that hospitality is strongly related to the provision of food.
1. In return we would like to extend our hospitality should you care to come and

have coffee with us, but preferably when my mother is at home. Sophies World, Jostein Gaarder
2. And in extending hospitality to the other, how should we define our

individual, communal or national self? Mobilizing Hospitality, Jennie Germann Molz Two other collocations that can support this feature is the word generous and exquisite. The word generous and exquisite seem to point out that to be hospitable, one must want to share ones resources to the people who need it.

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1. It will be an honor, said Ollivander with a little bow, the very least I can do

in return for your generous hospitality. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
2. I thought with sudden fierce longing of Rossi, pouring out far finer coffee

than this for himself and mehis exquisite hospitality. The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova Another strong collocation of hospitality is the phrase law of. A law is something that is conventionally created and promulgated. It is something that must be followed to maintain the order of something. This collocation seems to point out that hospitality must always be practiced. A person must always show hospitality to those people in need.
1. For what is it to make folks gape at a wretched beggar or a beggarly clown, or,

against law of hospitality, to jest at strangers because they speak not English so well as we do? Defence of Poesie, Sir Philip Sydney
2. Besides, I now considered myself as bound by the laws of hospitality, to a

people who had treated me with so much expense and magnificence. Gullivers Travels, Jonathan Swift
3. With some difficulty, the leader of the caravan brought all his people together

and gave them his instructions. The group was to remain there at the oasis until the conflict between the tribes was over. Since they were visitors, they would have to share living space with those who lived there, and would be given the best accommodations. That was the law of hospitality. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho Other utterances seem to show that a person who receives the hospitality of someone is expected to be reciprocated by a simple expression of gratitude or by a beneficial deed.
1. It will be an honor, said Ollivander with a little bow, the very least I can do

in return for your generous hospitality. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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2. Bless your dear heart! cried Peggotty. I know you will!And she kissed me

beforehand, in grateful acknowledgement of my hospitality. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens

3. "But I would like to say thank you for your hospitality." - Shadowbound, Erin

Kellison Other interesting collocations of hospitality are the words abuse and trespass. These collocations seem to imply that the relief provided by the one extending his/her hospitality can be exploited by the ones who receive it if they always receive it.
1. Both of you have lied and abused the hospitality of this school." -Stargazer,

Claudia Gray
2. If you should have no objection to receive me into your house, I propose

myself the satisfaction of waiting on you and your family, Monday, November 18th, by four oclock, and shall probably trespass on your hospitality till the Saturday seennight following, which I can do without any inconvenience, as Lady Catherine is far from objecting to my occasional absence on a Sunday, provided that some other clergyman is engaged to do the duty of the day.I remain, dear sir, with respectful compliments to your lady and daughters, your well-wisher and friend, WILLIAM COLLINS Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. "Relax. I'm not gonna sleep here. I wouldn't abuse your goddamn hospitality."

Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger Given these features of hospitality, I propose this explication: Hospitality1
(a) people think something like this: (b) if a person(y) needs something, someone(x) thinks something like this:

(c) I can do something good to y

(d) Because of this, I need to do something good to y

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(e) Because of this, I want to do something good to y (f) If I do not do this, I will feel something bad

(g) because of this, x does something good to y

(h) because of this, y feels something good (i) because of this, x can feel something like this:

(j) y needs to do something good to x

(k) if x does something good to y all the time, y can think of something like

this:
(l) I know x will do something good to y all the time (m)

because of this, y can do something bad to x

Components (a) (b) and (c) show that hospitality deals the provision of relief to people in need. Component (d) reflects the assumption that hospitality is like a law and must be always practiced. Components (e), (f) and (g) show that hospitality must be something that a person is willing to do. Components (h), (i), (j) shows that the act of hospitality can lead to the expectation that hospitality should be reciprocated. Components (k), (l), (m) show that if always done, hospitality can be abused by the ones who receive it. Philippine Hospitality Now that we have established the concept of hospitality in English, we can now begin to explore the meaning of Philippine hospitality. There seems to be both similar and different features between the English concept of hospitality and Philippine hospitality. One of the similar features is that both deal with the provision of relief (again, in different forms like food, shelter, and entertainment). However, Philippine hospitality seems to give more importance to the provision of food to guests or strangers. According to OBoyle, This welcoming disposition that invites the guest to enjoy himself is all encompassing, born of a tradition where the meanings of food and home are intertwined with the joy of bringing people together, of making them feel good about themselves and others. (OBoyle Introduction)

Bricia 8 Also, Philippine hospitality does not only extend to people in need but to anyone present unlike in the English concept of hospitality. This is best exemplified in how the Filipinos treat visitors as well as strangers during fiestas. Usually, no written invitations to this party are sent out. No invitations to this party are necessary. Everybody takes it for granted that he is welcome. (Rodriguez 92) Filipinos are undoubtedly proud of their hospitalityespecially during fiestas when no stranger is allowed to go hungry, and the best dishes are served to celebrate another good year blessed by the towns patron saint. (Alvina 156) The good Filipino hostess is not supposed to show any surprise when she sees total strangers in her house during the town fiesta. The chances are that he [the stranger] has been brought by one of her friends or by the friend of the friend of one of her friends. (Rodriguez 94) When the Filipinos invite someone to eat, they are not contented to merely calling out his name. Actually the good hearted hosts pull the visitor from his seat and conduct him to the table to eat. (Rodriguez 92) Filipinos do not limit their hospitality towards people who are in need. For as long as there are people who are present, Filipinos will extend their hospitality. An essay entitled Tugging included in Halupi: Essays on Philippine Culture talks about tugging people to invite people to eat: At Central Market in front of Quiapo, Manila anyone seeking a meal will find it hard to decide where to eat. Every food counter has several men and women who invite prospective customers and actually pull them to their food outlets The tug is done with no harm intended. But the tug at the sleeve of the sudden arm-to-arm entwining is not a new selling tactic. The tug finds its origin in the old Filipino saying: A sincere invitation is augmented by a pull (Ang tunay na paanyaya dinadamayan ng hila). In other words, the host has to accompany guests to tablehas to drag them. (Alvina 142-143) There is also a sense of belittling of what one has in Philippine Hospitality. Rodriguez writes, In Western countries what they have at home, they referred to as best thing of its kind. While here in the East we depreciate or belittle it In the West seems to run thus: This is a fine thing. If it were not I would not offer it to you. It will be insulting to give anything except that is nice. Contrast this with our process of reasoning. We say: You are a worthy person and no gift is good enough for you. The one I am offering to your worthy self is poor and insignificant, but I hope you will look at the heart that prompts the giving.

Bricia 9 It is a poor little memento. Please excuse its worthlessness for I know that this gift is not of sufficient worth for such a one as you. (Rodriguez 92) Philippine hospitality, like the English concept of hospitality, also requires the feeling of need and willingness to provide for the guests and total strangers. Filipinos feel the need and are willing to show hospitality because for Filipinos, serving other people the best of what they have leave them an honor and a promise of true friendship. (The Filipino Hospitality) OBoyle says that what makes Philippine hospitality special is that its special quality, she thinks, comes from its being-inbred in the Filipinos. Hospitality is a pleasure learned in childhood and passed from generation to generation. It is a trait which stems from the generosity of spirit and love of life. (OBoyle Introduction) Why is it very important for Filipinos to show this hospitality? Quiambao answers this. He writes, this hospitality is the extension of the close-family ties. In the Filipino culture, parents were expected to take care of their children even as children were obliged to take care of their aged parents. This close-family tie in the family of the Filipinos is a Spanish influence that has come mainly through Roman Catholicism. Filipinos have developed through centuries the trait of hospitality for which they are well known. (Quiambao) I agree with Quiambao. I actually believe that this is the reason why there is no single word that can fully capture the sense of hospitality. The concept of hospitality is deeply rooted in our culture to the point that the people do not notice it anymore. As Quiambao has put it, it is the extension of the close family ties and it has developed through centuries. Filipinos practice hospitality but for them, it is the natural thing to do. Unlike the English concept of hospitality, Filipinos need to feel that their guests are satisfied with what they are providing. In the Philippines, the popular gauge of a successful meal is if the guests feel full (Alvina 157) Given these information, I propose the explication of Philippine hospitality as follows: Hospitality2
a. people think something like this: b. if a person(y) is near someones(x) place, x thinks something like this: c. I can do some good to y.

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d. I need to do something good to y. e. I want to do something good to y f. if x does not do this, x feels bad

g. because of this, x does something good to y

h. x needs to feel this i. j.

y feels good because of this, x feels good

k. if y does not feel good, x feels bad

Components (a) and (b) show that Philippine hospitality deals with the provision of relief to anyone who is present. Components (c) reflect the belittling of what one has in Philippine hospitality. Components (d) (e), (f) and (g) show the need and the willingness of the Filipinos to show hospitality. Components (h) (i), (j) and (k) shows that Filipinos need to feel that his or her guests felt good about his act of hospitality. It also shows the fear of the Filipino to considered as someone lacking in hospitality. Hospitable Vs. Maasikaso After discussing what Philippine hospitality is, it is now the time to compare hospitable with one of its Filipino glosses, maasikaso. Vicassans Pilipino-English Dictionary defines maasikaso as attentive to ones duty or obligation. (251) Given this definition, let us try to explicate its meaning. (Si x ay) Maasikaso
(a) x needs to do something to someone(y)

(b) x thinks something like this:

(c) I will feel bad if I do not do something good to y (d) because of this, x does something to someone

Bricia 11 (e) because of this, y feels something good (X is) hospitable (a) x can do something good to someone(y) (b) because of this, x needs to do something good to y
(c) because of this, x wants to do something good to y

(d) because of this, x does something good to y (e) because of this, y feels something good (f) because of this, x can feel something like this: (g) y needs to do something good to x (h) if x does something good to y all the time, y can think of something like this: (i) I know x will do something good to y all the time (j) because of this, y can do something bad to x

Compared to hospitable, maasikaso is composed of fewer meaning components. For a person who is maasikaso, there is a need to do something. On the other hand, hospitable the person has a capability of doing something good for another person. From this, the need and desire arises to do something. For a person who is maasikaso, the motivation behind doing something is the state of feeling bad about not being able to do something. But for a hospitable individual, it is the need and the desire which arises from the capability to do something which drives the person to do something. Conclusion Hospitality is not a simple concept as most of us think. As I have mentioned above, hospitality in the Philippines is deeply rooted in the culture. It is an off-shoot of another salient Philippine value which is the close-family ties. Throughout the centuries, Filipinos have been

Bricia 12 practicing it. But perceiving it as an act of hospitality is difficult for them. This is the reason why there is no single word in the language that can fully capture what it means in the English language.

Works Cited: Alvina, Corazon S. and Felice Sta. Maria. Halupi: Essays on Philippine Culture. Quezon City: Capitol Pub House, 1989. Print. Barrows, Clayton W. and Tom Powers. Introduction to Hospitality Management in the Hospitality Industry. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons: 2009. Web. Hospitality. Websters Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. 1989. Print. Jagor, Fedor et al. The Former Philippines through Foreign Eyes. The Echo Library, 2007. Web. Maasikaso. Vicassans Pilipino-English Dictionary. 2006. Print.

Bricia 13 Molz, Jennie Germann and Sarah Gibson. Mobilizing Hospitality: the ethics of social relations in a mobile world. USA: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2007. Web. OBoyle, Lily Gamboa and Reynaldo G. Alejandro. Introduction. Philippine Hospitality: A gracious tradition of the East. New York: Acacia Corp. 1988. Print. Quiambao, Jacob S. The Filipino Family and Society. Readings on Philippine Culture and Social Life. Ed. Amparo Lardizabal. Manila: Alip & Sons, 1976. Print. Rodriguez, Eulogio Balan. Philippine Culture. Manila: Alip & Sons, 1953. Print. The Filipino Hospitality. Camperspoint. Web. February 19, 2012. http://www.camperspoint.com/spip.php?article59