ENGLISH may have arrived in the Philippines as a colonial language, but Filipinos did not leave it unchanged, linguists said.
Prof. Rachelle Lintao, former chairperson of the UST Department of English and president of Linguistic Society of the Philippines, said Filipinos transformed the language through “nativization,” a process discussed by scholar Edgar Schneider in his work “Dynamic Model of Postcolonial Englishes.”
“Such patterns of politeness, even local institutions acquiring English names, pronunciation, discourse, conversational aspects—all these things fall under the term ‘nativization,’” Lintao told the Varsitarian.
Through nativization, English undergoes structural and cultural changes that reflect the identities, experiences, customs, and practices of local speakers, and linguists begin to recognize these as features of what is known as “Philippine English.”
Lintao cited expressions such as “barangay captain,” “batchmate,” and “schoolmate” as examples of how Philippine English reflects the social relationships that Filipinos consider important enough to name.
The same process is evident in the term “sari-sari store,” which, according to Lintao, refers not only to a place to buy goods but also to a community space for Filipinos.
The Philippines, considered one of the most linguistically diverse places in Southeast Asia, has developed expressions such as “kilig,” “gigil,” “load my phone P50,” “value meal,” “solo meal,” and “family meal” that correspond to distinct social and economic realities, Lintao said.
The Filipino word “gigil” entered the Oxford Dictionary in March 2025, following “kilig,” which was added in 2016 under the Philippine English entry category.
For Lintao, these expressions demonstrate that Philippine English is rooted in the experiences of its speakers, particularly when certain concepts have no direct equivalent in standard English.
“We make use of the English language in expressing Philippine reality and the culture that we have as a nation,” she said.
Kaela Madrunio, a forensic linguistics alumna of Aston University and a faculty member at the Philippine Normal University, said Filipino speakers transformed English to suit their perceptions of language, resulting in distinct structural, pragmatic, and rhythmic features.
“It was Filipinos who made English their own. What emerged was not simply a borrowed language, but a variety that carries traces of Filipino identity, experience, and worldview,” Madrunio said in an interview with the Varsitarian.
Citing Andrew Gonzales, a renowned scholar and linguist at De La Salle University with expertise in sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics, she pointed to the use of “wherein” in spoken discourse as a possible indicator of Philippine English usage.
Other familiar expressions include “result to” “based from” and “researches” as a countable noun.
“These features may raise a few eyebrows among those who strictly adhere to traditional grammar rules, but they reflect distinctive patterns associated with Philippine English usage,” Madrunio said.
Despite these developments, Madrunio said many Filipinos continue to police and penalize Philippine English because of its association with prestige and correctness conforming to American or British standards.
Lintao argues that Philippine English can be accepted in local settings when it remains intelligible, comprehensible, and acceptable to its speakers.
She clarified that legitimizing the local variety does not mean abandoning grammar rules, and Filipinos must maintain proficiency standards for examinations and professional settings abroad. Prince Cassel O. Trono
