Republic of the Philippines

UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN PHILIPPINES

UNIVERSITY Town, Northern Samar
GRADUATE STUDIES
SUBJECT: LANG.LIT. 807a (Structure of English)
NAME: Richelle C. Cantong, MALL-I
PROFESSOR: Prof. Perlita B. Loverita

A Contrastive Analysis of Filipino English and

American English
In every region in the world that speaks English, youll
notice unique slang and quirky usage. These different ways of
using English add to the language, make it stay alive and keep it
evolving.
While

Filipinos

generally

regard

American

English

conventions and rules as their frame of reference for correct

English, whos to say the way(s) we use English isnt (also)
correct?
Depending

on

the

way

you

see

it,

its

either

bastardization of a language or an indigenization of it. Now,

now, its not as if were not guilty of doing the same to our own
Filipino languages. See how broadcast journalists have been using

the Tagalog word kaganapan (fulfilment or consummation) to mean

pangyayari (event).
The linguists and dictionary-makers can decide whether some
of our more unique Filipino English terms and usage are (already)
considered correct or not. Meanwhile, the rest of us non-experts
just use them in daily life.
Here are 8 instances of Filipino English terms/usage that
may elicit much gnashing of teeth and knotted eyebrows or knowing
nods and flat out laughs.
1. Stuck-up / Stuck
Pinoys have been heard saying Na stuck-up yung gulong ng
sasakyan sa putik.
Dont let your eyebrows get stuck-up together (tee hee), but
stuck-up means arrogant.
2. Nothing to worry / Nothing to worry about
Pinoys have been heard saying Nakahanda na lahat. You have
nothing to worry.
The line is usually with an about at the end, but if
youre in the Philippines and you forget the about, hey, no
worries!

3. Pull a chair / Pull up a chair

Pinoys have been heard saying Pull a chair.
If you simply pull a chair, you could end up pulling it all
over the place. If you add the word up after pull, it will
mean to bring a chair close to where you are and to sit on it.
4. Simplier or Simply-er / Simpler
Speaking of simply, Pinoys have been heard pronouncing
simpler as simplier.
If youre having a fight with a pronunciation-Nazi, better
not pronounce simpler incorrectly, or things could get uglier.
5. Last (date) / In (date)
Pinoys have been heard saying Last 2013. (Or any other
date in the past.)
Usually, the correct way is to say In (date), and to use
last only to refer to the most recent occurence. For example,
when you say Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, it would mean
you are referring to last years Christmas and not the one in
1982.
Bonus: Pinoys also are used to saying last last (date) to
mean the (date) before last. For example, Last last Christmas

in other English-speaking regions would be said as The Christmas

before last, or The Christmas two years ago.
6. Home buddy / Homebody
Pinoys have been seen spelling homebody as home buddy.
Perhaps its not surprising that one of the friendliest
people in the world have ascribed a context of friendship into
the term homebody, transforming it into home buddy and making
it mean, ostensibly, a friend who likes to hang out at home?
That said, homebody means a person whose life and interests
are centred on the home. It may or may not be one of the
characteristics of being an introvert.
7. (Verb) already / Already (verb)
Pinoys

have

been

heard

saying

(verb

in

past

tense)

already.
Since we usually append na to Tagalog statements that
denote actions done in the past, that may be where the already
counterpart in English comes from.
Just so you know, the usual way to say it is I already
(verb in past tense). Perhaps you knew that already?
8. Good morning Maamsir / Good morning

Pinoys have been heard saying Good morning maamsir.

Unless youre going for the androgynous look, it can be
pretty annoying sometimes when you certainly know you look like
the gender youre supposed to be and then to have someone call
you a maamsir.
However, life is too short to constantly hate on this little
quirk. After all, if you put yourself in the shoes of the person
greeting you, you can well imagine that its no joke to work in
the service industry. It can get pretty stressful when youre up
on your feet the whole day on the receiving end of instructions
from stressed out (and sometimes rude) customers.
What if we look at maamsir as a word generated out of a
need for efficiency? What if we just look at maamsir as a
quintessentially

Pinoy

way

of

expressing

our

world-famous

courtesy and hospitality (and even gender-equality!)? Onli in da

Pilipins!