Taglish or Englog is code-switching and/or code-mixing in the use of Tagalog/Filipino and English, the most common languages of the Philippines. The words Taglish and Englog are portmanteaus of the words Tagalog and English. The earliest use of the word Taglish dates back to 1973, while the less common form Tanglish is recorded from 1999.[1]
Taglish is widely used in the Philippines, but is also used by Filipinos in overseas communities. It also has several variants, including coño English, jejenese and swardspeak.
Characteristics
Taglish was originally a manner of speaking in Metro Manila involving the mixing of Tagalog/Filipino and English together. [2][3][4] However, this practice has spread to other areas where both English and Tagalog/Filipino are spoken. It is characteristically a form of Tagalog/Filipino that mixes in English words, where Tagalog/Filipino is the substratum and English is the superstratum. Next to code-switching between sentences, clauses, and phrases in "pure" Tagalog and English, Taglish speech also code-mixes especially with sentences that follow the rules of Tagalog grammar with Tagalog syntax and morphology, but that occasionally employs English nouns and verbs in place of their Tagalog counterparts. Examples:
English | Tagalog | Taglish / Englog |
---|---|---|
Could you explain it to me? | Maaaring ipaunawà mo sa akin. | Maaaring i-explain mo sa akin. |
Could you shed light on it for me? | Pakipaliwanag mo sa akin. | Paki-explain mo sa akin. |
Have you finished your homework? | Natapos mo na ba ang iyong takdáng-aralín? | Finished na ba 'yung homework mo? |
Please call the driver. | Pakitawag ang tsuper. | Pakitawag ang driver. |
English verbs and even some nouns can be employed as Tagalog verb roots. This is done by the addition of one or more prefixes or infixes and by the doubling of the first sound of the starting form of the noun or verb, consistent with Tagalog morphology but usually retaining English spelling for the roots.
The English verb drive can be changed to the Tagalog word magda-drive meaning will drive (used in place of the Tagalog word magmamaneho). The English noun Internet can also be changed to the Tagalog word nag-Internet meaning have used the Internet.
Taglish also uses sentences of mixed English or Tagalog words and phrases. The conjunctions used to connect them can come from any of the two. Some examples include:
English | Tagalog | Taglish / Englog |
---|---|---|
I will shop at the mall later. | Bibilí ako sa pámilihan mámayâ. | Magsya-shopping ako sa mall mámayâ. |
Have you printed the report? | Nailathala mo na ba ang ulat? | Na-print mo na ba ang report? |
Please turn on the aircon. | Pakibuksán iyong érkon. | Pakibuksan 'yung aircon. |
Take the LRT to school. | Mag-tren ka papuntáng paaralán. | Mag-LRT ka papuntáng school. |
I cannot understand the topic of his lecture. | Hindi kó maíntindíhan ang paksâ ng pagtuturò niya. | Hindi kó ma-understand ang topic ng lecture niya.[5] |
Could you fax your estimate tomorrow. | Pakipadalá nalang ng tantiyá mo sa akin bukas. | Paki-fax nalang ng estimate mo sa akin bukas.[5] |
Eat now or else, you will not get fat. | Kumain ka na ngayon kundi, hindi ka tátabâ. | Eat now or else, hindi ka tátabâ.[6] |
Because of its informal nature, experts of English and Tagalog discourage its use.[7][8][9][10]
There are examples of modern books in Taglish: the adventure novel Bullet With A Name (2018) by Kirsten Nimwey,[11] the love novel Aeternum Dream (2018) by Harkin Deximire,[12][13] and more.
Forms
Swardspeak
Swardspeak is a kind of Taglish/Englog LGBT slang used by the LGBT demographic of the Philippines. It is a form of slang that uses words and terms primarily from Philippine English, Tagalog/Filipino, and/or Cebuano and Hiligaynon, and occasionally as well as Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Sanskrit, or other languages. Names of celebrities, fictional characters, and trademarks are also often used.[14][15]
Coño English
Coño English (Tagalog: Konyo) or Colegiala English (Spanish: [/koleˈxjala/]) is a creole of Taglish/Englog that originated from the younger generations of affluent families in Manila.[16] The word coño or Tagalog: konyo, itself came from Spanish: Coño, lit. 'Cunt'. It is a form of Philippine English that mixes Tagalog/Filipino words, where opposite to Taglish, English is the substratum and Tagalog/Filipino is the superstratum.
The most common aspect of Coño English is the building of verbs by using the English word "make" with the root word of a Tagalog verb:
English | Tagalog | Coño English |
---|---|---|
Let's skewer the fishballs. | Tusukin natin ang mga pishbol. | Let's tusok-tusok the fishballs.[5] |
Tell me the story of what happened... | Ikuwento mo sa akin kung ano ang nangyari... | Make kuwento to me what happened... |
And adding the English conjunctions "like so" before using a Tagalog adjective to finish the sentence. Examples:
English | Tagalog | Coño English |
---|---|---|
He stinks! | Ang baho niya! | He's like so mabaho! |
We were all annoyed with him. | Kinaiinisan namin siya. | We're like so inis sa kaniya! |
Sometimes, Tagalog interjections such as ano, naman, pa, na (or nah), no (or noh), a (or ha), e (or eh), and o (or oh) are placed to add emphasis. However, eh as an interjective in English is found chiefly in Canadian English, although stereotypically, and as a tag question or an expression of apathy or lack of enthusiasm in English varieties within the Western world including Australia and New Zealand.
Tagalog: 'No/Noh / A/Ah (contractions from Tagalog: Ano, lit. 'What') are used for questions and are added only to the end of a sentence. Tagalog: Ano, lit. 'What', is also used for questions and is placed in the front or the end. It may also be used as an interjection, no?, (equal to the Spanish ¿no? and the German nicht?) and is pronounced as /no/ or /nɔ/, with a pure vowel instead of the English glide, which shows influence from Spanish in Filipino.
"E"/"Eh" (added to answers to questions) and "o"/"oh" (for statements) are used for exclamations and are added to the front only. Tagalog: pa, lit. 'yet' (not yet; not yet done; to continue; still) and Tagalog: na, lit. 'already; now' can be placed in the middle or end. Tagalog: naman (particle used to soften requests or put emphasis) is placed anywhere.
English | Tagalog | Coño English |
---|---|---|
I feel so hot already; please fan me now. | Naiinitan na ako; paypayan mo naman ako. | I'm so init na; please paypay me naman. |
You wait here while I fetch my friend, all right? | Hintayin mo ako habang sinusundo ko ang kaibigan ko, a? | You make hintay here while I make sundo my friend, a? |
What, you will still eat that apple after it already fell on the floor? | Ano, kakainin mo pa ang mansanas na'yan matapos mahulog na iyan sa sahig? | Ano, you will make kain pa that apple after it made hulog na on the sahig? |
English adjectives are often replaced with Tagalog verbs. The language also occasionally uses Spanish words or Spanish loanwords from Filipino/Tagalog, like baño/banyo ("bathroom"), tostado ("toasted") and jamón ("ham").
English | Tagalog | Coño English |
---|---|---|
They're so competent! | Magaling sila! | They're so galing! |
Where's the bathroom? | Nasaan ang palikuran? | Where's the baño? |
Keep my ham on the grill. | Itago mo lang ang hamon ko sa ihawan. | Make tago my jamón on the grill. |
I want my ham toasted. | Gusto kong tostado ang hamon ko. | I want my jamón tostado. |
The feminine sound of Coño English makes male speakers sometimes overuse the Tagalog: pare, lit. 'dude; pal; bro; buddy' to make it sound more masculine. Sometimes Tagalog: tsong, lit. 'dude; pal; bro; buddy' is used instead of pare or along with it:
English | Tagalog | Coño English |
---|---|---|
Dude, he's so unreliable. | Pare, ang labo niya. | Pare, he's so malabo, pare. |
Dude, he's so unreliable. | Tsong, ang labo niya. | Tsong, he's so malabo, tsong. |
See also
- Pseudo-anglicism
- Code-switching
- Bislish, code-switching between Visayan and English
References
- ^ Lambert, James. 2018. A multitude of 'lishes': The nomenclature of hybridity. English World-wide, 39(1): 31. DOI: 10.1075/eww.38.3.04lam
- ^ "The Globalization of English". WebProNews. March 7, 2005. Archived from the original on December 30, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
- ^ Virgilio S. Almario. Wikang Taglish, Kamulatang Taglish.
- ^ PAGASA VOWS : No more jargon, just plain 'Taglish,' in weather reports. The Philippine Daily Inquirer. March 23, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Taglish is not the enemy". October 30, 2006 12:00 AM. The Philippine Star.
- ^ "Experts discourage use of 'Taglish'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. November 4, 2009. Archived from the original on February 11, 2015.
- ^ "Tagalog, English, or Taglish?". Manila Bulletin. March 20, 2005
- ^ "Filipino English, not Taglish". Manila Bulletin. September 7, 2004.
- ^ "Stop using 'Taglish,' teachers, students told". Manila Bulletin. June 1, 2006.
- ^ "Manila Journal; Land of 100 Tongues, but Not a Single Language". The New York Times. Published: December 02, 1987.
- ^ Nimwey, Kirsten (April 15, 2018). Bullet With A Name (in Tagalog). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. 302. ISBN 9781982011222.
- ^ Deximire, Harkin (July 12, 2018). Aeternum Dream (in Tagalog). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. 372. ISBN 9781718940918.
- ^ "Aeternum Dream (Second Book)". DeviantArt. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ "Gayspeak: Not for gays only". Philippine Online Chronicles. 30 April 2010. Archived from the original on 1 December 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
- ^ "GAY LANGUAGE: DEFYING THE STRUCTURAL LIMITS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN THE PHILIPPINES". Kritika Kultura, Issue 11. August 2008. Archived from the original on March 24, 2009. Retrieved December 25, 2010.
- ^ The Routledge concise history of Southeast Asian writing in English. Routledge. 2010. New York City.