This is the introduction to the lecture delivered by Jose A. Carillo as resource person during the “Refresher Course on English Grammar and the Basics of Responsible Journalism” held in Lucena City, Philippines, last July 23, 2011.

From a language standpoint, we Filipinos are such a lucky people. By a fortunate accident in our history, English has been our second language for almost 100 years now, and I think you’ll agree with me that it’s such a good thing.

Let me share with you what I wrote about this good fortune of ours in my English-usage column in The Manila Times in 2003 or more than eight years ago: “Nearly 50 years of American colonization had deeply Anglicized the way we Filipinos think and run our lives—the way we name ourselves and our institutions, the way we consume, the way we educate ourselves, the way we inform and entertain ourselves, the way we do business, and the way we muddle through with our politics. English is in our soul, in our tongue, in our stomachs, in our scent, in our clothes, in our shoes, in our printed word, in our airwaves and bandwidths, in the very air we inhale and exhale. We can argue to death that this may not be exactly a good thing, but that is precisely what we Filipinos have become—Asian by geography, skin, and temperament but decidedly American by taste, inclination, and aspiration.”

Our other good fortune is that over the past half century or so, English has become the world’s global language. In a very real sense then, our English-language legacy has given us a strong competitive edge over many other nonnative-English-speaking nations in the world. It’s a built-in competitive edge that makes the Philippines the second largest labor exporter in the world today—second only to Mexico—and also today’s world leader in the call-center industry, eclipsing even India in size and growth. And the English language gives us this competitive edge at a time when most of our neighbors in Asia—South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia, Thailand, and lately China—have just started to appreciate the value of English and are now breaking their necks and spending fortunes just to learn its basics and make themselves more competitive global players.

This is why I think the Philippines must aggressively nurture its English-language legacy rather than sideline it ostensively in the name of nationalism. We should vigorously hone our English writing and speaking skills to protect and further strengthen this legacy. In short, we must make ourselves proficient in English not only in reputation but in reality, and I think the country’s leaders, educators, teachers, and civil servants should take the lead in this effort. And on the part of Filipino journalists, you must not be just passive participants in this undertaking. This is because aside from your work as disseminators of news and opinion, and whether you like it or not, you are actually de facto role models for good English grammar and usage in this country. You therefore shouldn’t set a bad example by being slipshod in the English of your news stories, feature stories, and commentary.  

This is why I’m delighted that you have invited me to conduct this refresher course on English grammar for journalism. I think it’s a clear indication that you are taking your English seriously and that you are truly desirous of polishing it to a good shine—to an English that’s demonstrably better than the English of our nonnative English-speaking counterparts elsewhere in Asia and in the rest of the world.

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A few days ago, I received this e-mail from a reader of my English-usage column in The Manila Times:

Here’s my open reply to the letter:

Dear Euclid,

To speak fluent and convincing English, you need at least four major attributes: a good grasp of English (and by this I mean its vocabulary, grammar, semantics, and structure), logical and clear thinking, good pronunciation, and confidence and empathy with your audience.

It takes years to develop all of these attributes, and those still sorely deficient in most of them by the time they finish college don’t stand a chance at all of landing an English-language call center job. A clear, demonstrable command of spoken English is a must for this job, so all things being equal, applicants who don’t meet this criterion can’t hope to compete with the thousands who have already cultivated their spoken English to a high level. They may possess the intelligence and native charm to impress people in their regional tongue, but if their spoken English is way below par, it would be much better for them to pursue occupations that don’t give too much premium to good spoken English.

It’s true that through my English-usage column, I aim to help people improve their written English, but I would like to emphasize that there’s a whole world of difference between being able to write good English and being able to speak like a good native English speaker. Writing and speaking are two different disciplines, and I’m afraid I can only teach the former. Good writers aren’t necessarily good speakers, and good speakers aren’t necessarily good writers. In fact, it’s an open secret that there are many excellent English-language writers and editors who speak dreadful English, as there are many excellent English-language lecturers, public officials, and TV talk-show hosts who can hardly write a coherent English paragraph, much less a cohesive English exposition.   

As to logical thinking and clarity of thought, Euclid, I fear that these are such in short supply these days. People allow too much politics, ideology, religious fanaticism, and superstition to bend and twist their thinking into such ludicrous shapes. Scores of people getting crushed to death in a TV show stampede? Blame the current national leadership for the grinding poverty that had desperately made those people want to get rich quick by participating in that TV show. A huge chunk of a denuded moun­tainside collapsing to bury a whole village and most of its population? Blame the current national leadership, the rain, or the people themselves for perhaps forgetting to pray the night before for the absolution of their sins. I just hope that you aren’t one of the legions of our people who have been rendered largely incapable of rational thinking by their social milieu, because if you are, Euclid, even impeccable English won’t land you a job in a call center or in any other job that needs clear, straight thinking to produce the desired results.

Good English pronunciation is, of course, something you learn from good English speakers as role models and from years of practice, practice, practice. Only these can eliminate the flaws and gaps in your articulation and build your confidence when addressing an audience. But frankly, Euclid, if you still have serious doubts about your pronunciation up to now, forget that call center job. By dint of hard work you may ultimately achieve passable English diction, but by then your regional accent would have already clung to your tongue and vocal chords so tenaciously that there’d be no hope for you to sound like a native English speaker ever. (February 27, 2006)
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*Euclid Paraiso is a pseudonym of the letter writer, who at the time of the writing of this letter lived in San Pedro, Laguna.

From the weekly column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in The Manila Times, February 27, 2006 © 2006 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

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