Philippine English

A variety of the English language that is used in the Philippines.

See also: Notes on English as a Global Language.

Examples and Observations:

• "[T]he latest results from a Social Weather Stations (2006) survey suggest that some 65 percent of the population [of the Philippines] claim the ability to understand spoken and written English, with 48 percent stating that they write English, but with only 32 percent reporting that they speak the language. The same report then goes on to explain that these totals indicate a marked decline in English proficiency compared to results from 1993 and 2000 . . ..
  
  "Ironically, this decline (perceived or real) in English proficiency has come at a time when the utility of the language and the demand for English are probably at an all-time high, as a result of the remarkable growth of the call center industry and related . . . operations."
  (Maria Lourdes S. Bautista and Kingsley Bolton, Philippine English: Linguistic and Literary Perspectives. Hong Kong Univ. Press, 2009)



• "In the Philippines, code switching between English and the local language is extensively used by urban Filipinos comfortable in both languages. . . .
  
  "The most obvious features of the Southeastern Asian varieties [of English] are the loanwords (different for each society and culture because of the differences in the realia or referents in the country, e.g., kinship titles, local food terms, indigenous values) and the loan translations, as well as the lack of mastery of idioms and of standard forms of two-word verbs or verb-plus-preposition combinations (two examples from Philippine English: based from instead of Standard English based on, and result to instead of Standard English result in, in the speech of even educated speakers)."
  (M. L. S. Bautista and A. B. Gonzalez, "Southeast Asian Englishes" in The Handbook of World Englishes, ed. by Braj B. Kachru et al. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009)



• "[T]he Philippines has taken over India as a hub for call centers. Their English is better. The islands attained a score above 7 [on a scale of 1 to 10], putting them within range of a high proficiency that indicates an ability to lead business discussions and perform complex tasks. India? A low 5.57."
  (Kenneth Rapoza, "Countries With the Best Business English." Forbes, April 4, 2012)