A J M
M C H S

A SIGNIFICANT STUDY ON FILIPINO EXPRESSIONS USING A CONFLICT THEORY PERSPECTIVE

A Performance Task Output in partial fulfillment of the requirements in Social Studies 11 – Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics

presented by Carla Lumba
Alyssa Padilla
Lilia Umali

Grade 11 – Ban

to

Ms. Mary Ann Lascano
Department of Social Sciences
Miriam College High School

28 August 2015

INTRODUCTION Filipino culture, especially our language, continues to grow, thanks in great part to television and social media. The importance of language is essential to every aspect and interaction. It propels everyday life and keeps us in touch with one another. Through many historical instances, we have developed further insight into increasing our ability in the way of language by telegrams, post, telephone, e-mail, instant messaging and text messaging. People talk in some form everyday whether it be calling a friend to check on them or catching up on different online forums. Language is used to inform the people around us of our different feelings, desires and questions. Through the years, people have been making a list of new vocabulary on the board. Demands on our time have become bigger because of this rise in talking and so we shorten words and sentences. People have become inconvenienced by how much explaining there is and so “slang” is born. These are alternative words or phrases that express either something new or something old in a new way. Its colorful metaphors are generally directed at decency. It is brief, even witty but it can also be disrespectful. Slang, then, contains not just words but words used in a different way in a certain social context. When an individual applies language in a new way to express themselves, they may be creating slang, but the new expression will die unless it is picked up by others. If the speaker is a member of a group that finds that the new concept has an expressive feedback towards an idea, person, or social institution, the expression will gain reputation and impression according to the agreement of attitude within the group. A new slang term is commonly used in a subculture before it appears in the dominant culture. Filipino slang is a continuously growing and evolving list. There are idioms that date back to our grandparents’ era, an endless gathering of clever gay lingo, expressions influenced by the Spanish and American colonization, and pop culture-referenced street slang. Filipinos are fond of creating words and borrowing foreign terms and use them to add excitement to their spoken language. Filipino slang words come and go, and usually the life of a slang word depends on where it was made (example: television, radio shows) and how frequently they are used. Some examples of Filipino slang are abbreviations, like HOHOL (Hang-out hang-out lang) and KATUGA (Kain, Tulog, Gala). Others are words that have been stretched into more parts of speech than initially like Ikaw Na! which some people have begun to take as more of a compliment than an insult or Edi wow, which has evolved into a statement that puts forth the right amount of “I don’t care” and “please be quiet.” While “pa” and “more” mean essentially the same thing, linking them gives us new levels of emphasis. Like when people use expressions like: Selfie pa more or kain pa more. There is also the term hugot thanks to Antoinette Jadaone and her independent film That Thing Called Tadhana for which brought this expression into the public consciousness. Hugot interprets as a drawing out, in this context usually in honor to deep feelings. People have come to associate it with any statements or declarations of honesty and emotion. Beh is appearing as the Filipino version of “BAE,” which apparently means “Before Anyone Else” as something to call your significant other. It’s a shorter way to say baby and people often have a habit of dropping syllables for ease of speech. Push mo ‘yan was born out of our strong sense of community and wish to give each other cheer. It is like an alternative way of saying “push the limit, you can do it!” and it is not appeared to be sarcastic at all. Over the past few years, so much more people have adopted with these expressions in everyday life and speech. Between this and the distinct Filipino capacity to play with and generate from existing words, Pinoy slang has truly evolved into an aspect of linguistics.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
How did these Filipino expressions evolve?
In particular, the following research questions will be answered: * When did people start using these expressions? * How often are these expressions used by people? * What do people think of these expressions?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Slang is used by all types of people who share situations or interests. Slang helps members of subcultures recognize each other quickly and simply. Members of sub-cultures that have picked up and use group-specific slang gain a sense of fitting and assimilation to the group. One vital tip in learning a new language is to immerse yourself in it as much as possible. Movies, books, and music are all contributing assistants to language learning, but you won’t get very far if you can’t but that is not enough to understand key slang phrases. Changing the connotation changes the context of the sentence, hence triggering the student to have a difficult time with comprehension. Putting in effort to learn slang offers a chance to study the language much better and effectively. Slang is unavoidable, no matter what language. A number of people resort to slang on a daily basis, whether it be writing or speaking. The new terms are applied online and via contemporary modems every single day. Keeping up with slang is an imperative way to keep yourself present regarding not only what is happening in the world around you, but also to keep up with the evolution of the language. Slang can go a long way to helping you to converse more informally, but it can also help you when it comes to knowing precisely what to say. Shared language creates a bond between its speakers, especially when those speakers are limited to a specific group of people. Along with the feelings of competency that slang produces, comes a sense of power, not only from the idea of having mastered something new, but from the newfound ability to filter communication. Slang is also a form of creative expression. To some it may seem like a butchering of language, but to others, it can be the rearranging of a set of building blocks. Linguistic elements can be combined and rearranged in almost unlimited ways to fit the needs of a particular group or situation. Through slang,individuals share emotional and social experiences, so it reinforces relationships. Some semanticists describe slang as the “poetry of everyday life.” It is a form of play, or entertainment.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Below are the terms and their meaning as used in this research. Bekinese | 1. -Swardspeak (also known as Bekimon or Bekinese and "gay lingo") is an argot or cant slang derived from Englog (Tagalog-English code-switching) and used by a number of homosexuals in the Philippines. | Beh | -Bekinese/Pinoy version of “BAE,” which supposedly means “Before Anyone Else” as a reference to your significant other | Edi Wow | - Compared to “Ikaw Na!”, which some people have begun to take as more of a compliment than an insult -has evolved into a statement that puts forth the perfect amount of “I don’t care” and “please be quiet. | Hugot | - context usually in regard to deep feelings. People, mostly millennials, have come to associate it with any statements or declarations of honesty and feelings | Push mo yan | - an alternative way of saying “push the limit, you can do it!” Not sarcastic at all. |

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
How do these filipino expressions affect our daily lives? We will be using a conflict theory perspective. In 1999, according to Willie J. Uy, Filipinos are fond of inventing words and borrowing foreign terms and use them to add spice to their spoken language. Even college students develop their own slang words in school, whether they are rich or poor. Filipino slang words involve borrowing from different languages, like English or Spanish, and giving it a new definition. Another way of coming out with Filipino slang would be giving new and innovative meanings to Filipino words, like luto, meaning game-fixing or cheating (from Filipino for cook), nagladlad ng kapa, meaning to tell people that you’re gay, literally means from remove your cloak in Filipino and pagong, meaning slow but is actually the Filipino word for turtle. These are words from the bekinese language. In 2012, according to Bum D. Teodoro Jr., baklese, bekinese or bekimon language is one of the most dynamic yet informal language models ever to evolve in the Philippines. The baklese terms mirror the understanding of its speakers about the society, pop culture, environment, even international politics. It is spoken by gay people from the boardroom to beauty parlors in every barangay in the Philippines. According to a survey we conducted on August 22, 2015, 42 out of 46 people use these gay Filipino expressions. Most people use these expressions around their friends. Only a few people use these expressions around everyone. Most of the people who answered the survey often use these expressions. Most of them knew these expressions through social media websites. These Filipino expressions became trending because of Vice Ganda. At first, only gay people use the expressions and it was not so trending. But when Vice Ganda used some of the Filipino gay expressions in the noon-time show, Showtime, the expressions began trending even in social media websites and through conversations. Even though Vice Ganda is very famous nowadays, he still has the bad side of being famous, he is going beyond the limits. There comes a time when his jokes are not that funny and entertaining anymore. It is because whenever he throws a punchline or a joke, his joke or expression involves people. He teases people and he doesn’t realize that his jokes or expressions are actually annoying some people. In 2013, according to Alexy Vergara, nowadays people find Vice Ganda’s jokes and expressions tasteless and vulgar, at the expense of leading broadcast journalist Jessica Soho. Vice, in his May 17th concert at the Araneta Coliseum, not only poked fun at Jessica’s weight and hefty build, but appeared quite blasé as he linked her figure to such a serious matter as rape. By now we have either read news reports or seen the incriminating YouTube video wherein Vice, dressed in a beaded and sparkly long-sleeved swim suit, expressionlessly said that if Jessica, a veteran and multi-awarded journalist, were to become an actress and do sexy roles, she would have to be gang raped to appear convincing. He then reverted back to his primary “peg,” which was Jessica’s weight. Chief rapist: “Ilabas na ang lechon (bring out the roasted pig–in reference, of course, to plus-size Jessica)!” Jessica: “Eh, ‘asan ang apple (But, where’s the apple)?”. As Vice Ganda’s fame is rising, his image to the Philippine citizens gets dirtier and dirtier. As for her other facebook friend’s open rant in defense of Vice, lest he forgets, rape in whatever form (meaning whether done to a woman or a man) and in whatever society, is serious. It should never be taken lightly by using it as fodder for a comedy sketch. In yet another twist, the ABS-CBN executive who refused to be identified found it “curious” that only GMA talents seemed to be making a big deal out of it, and only now. Well, my Facebook friend and I as well as countless others are offended by Vice’s nonchalant (“casual” in gay speak) attitude on rape, and we aren’t from GMA. It was plainly a way of making “palusot” (avoiding and/or obfuscating the issue). Instead of addressing the issue, the ABS-CBN executive (whom, I have reason to suspect, is from the network’s corporate communications group) simply dismissed the development as something blown out of proportions by people identified with GMA, ABS-CBN’s rival network. In 2014, According to Juan dela Cruz, Philippine media is losing its path nowadays. TV shows are becoming bad influence to children. In his opinion, Vice Ganda's over exposure on national TV during noontime and primetime is not a good idea. There is nothing wrong with making people happy by means of entertainment, but it comes with responsibility. It's not good whenever Vice jokingly slaps someone on national TV, which is like insulting somebody. He promotes violence. It’s not good that we have a culture of being sarcastic regardless of age and maybe that is the reason why a lot of people nowadays don’t answer us properly. Then he trends expressions invented by him and other gay people. Even the word "confirmed" is being taught to be pronounced as konfeermd! We are teaching our young generation wrong things. Vice Ganda's way of entertaining the public is largely influenced by his talent and experience from his old profession as stand up comedian from comedy bars. Vice Ganda's show should be moved to a time slot where children are already in bed. All we need to do is be responsible. In conclusion, these Filipino expressions are heavily influenced by social media and Vice Ganda. Also, these expressions do annoy other people especially the elderly because it is very informal to use and sometimes when they are used when having a conversation with parents, it is a sign of disrespect to them because you are not talking to them properly. Regardless of who you are talking to and their age, we have the right to talk to them informally and use these so called Filipino expressions but we should regulate our usage of it. You may use them only among your friends but you should use them in the right situations because if you use it out of nowhere, your friends might get annoyed at you.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

No Author. (2015, April 23). 8 Popular Pinoy Expressions and Their Ethymology. Retrieved from http://8list.ph/filipino-slang-etymology/
Ceniza, C. (2014, November 24). 10 Fun Gay Lingo Words You Should Know. Retrieved from http://tenminutes.ph/10-fun-gay-lingo-words/
Vergara, A. (2013, May 29).The ugly mind of Manila’s Vice Ganda. Retrieved from http://alexyvergara.com/2013/05/29/the-ugly-mind-of-manilas-vice-ganda/
Tenoro Jr., B. (2012, September 9). Let’s talk baklese. Retrieved from http://www.philstar.com/allure/2012-09-09/846807/lets-talk-baklese
Uy, W. (1999, November 30). THE NEW FILIPINO SLANG Understanding Taglish when in the Philippines. Retrieved from http://www.philippineasiannewstoday.com/willie-j-uy/4482-the-new-filipino-slang-understanding-taglish-when-in-the-philippines
Dela Cruz, J. (2014, May 11). Is Vice Ganda’s Slapstick Entertainment Good for Children? Retrieved from http://www.blogphilippines.com/2014/05/is-vice-gandas-slapstick-entertainment.html