BECAUSE THE FILIPINO LANGUAGE IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE POOR

Just when you thought that the snidey remark on the Pinoy fashion sense by a Filipino is by far, one of the most trashy opinions you'll read and hear online, here comes James Soriano, who took advantage of the 'freedom of speech' so that the world would have a piece of his 'brilliant' mind.
In his well- written article, Soriano has made us realize one thing: His brain is that of a Stegosaurus.


James is the last dinosaur, not Denver

Photo Credits: eeburah.com
James Soriano pointed out that he is privileged to have grown up speaking in English, which is apparently, the language of the 'learned' according to him.
I wonder how the Japanese, Spanish, German, Korean, etc. would react to this. Because I'm pretty sure, he will get the apt reaction he deserves from the Filipino nation.
The arrogance of this man is astounding. I admire his bravery for publishing his conyotic thoughts that are tasteless, tacky, rude, disgusting, and senseless. Congratulations, you are on your way to becoming infamous!
Manila Bulletin, please filter the articles that are being published on your site. This is purely racist.
James, just in case your Stegosaurus brain doesn't know, the Filipino language is one of a kind. The rolling Rs and Ls, the solid Ts, the prominent 'enye' and 'nang' sound have basically enabled us to adapt and survive in other parts of the world where people speak totally different languages. Filipinos do not have problems with learning and speaking a new language because basically, we do not have troubles with letter pronunciation and enunciation. Our language is as flexible as our people. It's a language that has an edge.
But I guess my fellow Filipinos wouldn't mind when you called our language the 'Language of the Poor'. Because overall, you have a bigger problem. You're neither an American or a Filipino. An Askal who thinks he's an American Bulldog. A fake bag who keeps on selling himself as a CLASS AAAAAA.
Marapat lang sa iyo ang kasabihan sa wikang Tagalog:
"Ang langaw, kapag nakatungtong sa Kalbaw, pakiramdam niya'y mas mataas pa siya sa Kalabaw."
You are the epitome of what conyo children shouldn't be. Parents, please guide your children.
And James, do yourself a favor. Search for your identity and write a better article!
Here's his trash. Read on. :)
P.S. I have read and heard that this James Soriano is from Ateneo. I have nothing against Ateneo, but these people taint the image of good schools such as ADMU. It's hard to pin- point what's to blame: the way these kids were raised or the way our culture reveres ENGLISH as the 'SOSYAL" language.
Language, learning, identity, privilege
By JAMES SORIANO
August 24, 2011, 4:06am
Source: http://mb.com.ph/articles/331851/language-learning-identity-privilege
MANILA, Philippines — English is the language of learning. I’ve known this since before I could go to school. As a toddler, my first study materials were a set of flash cards that my mother used to teach me the English alphabet.
My mother made home conducive to learning English: all my storybooks and coloring books were in English, and so were the cartoons I watched and the music I listened to. She required me to speak English at home. She even hired tutors to help me learn to read and write in English.
In school I learned to think in English. We used English to learn about numbers, equations and variables. With it we learned about observation and inference, the moon and the stars, monsoons and photosynthesis. With it we learned about shapes and colors, about meter and rhythm. I learned about God in English, and I prayed to Him in English.
Filipino, on the other hand, was always the ‘other’ subject — almost a special subject like PE or Home Economics, except that it was graded the same way as Science, Math, Religion, and English. My classmates and I used to complain about Filipino all the time. Filipino was a chore, like washing the dishes; it was not the language of learning. It was the language we used to speak to the people who washed our dishes.
We used to think learning Filipino was important because it was practical: Filipino was the language of the world outside the classroom. It was the language of the streets: it was how you spoke to the tindera when you went to the tindahan, what you used to tell your katulong that you had an utos, and how you texted manong when you needed “sundo na.”
These skills were required to survive in the outside world, because we are forced to relate with the tinderas and the manongs and the katulongs of this world. If we wanted to communicate to these people — or otherwise avoid being mugged on the jeepney — we needed to learn Filipino.
That being said though, I was proud of my proficiency with the language. Filipino was the language I used to speak with my cousins and uncles and grandparents in the province, so I never had much trouble reciting.
It was the reading and writing that was tedious and difficult. I spoke Filipino, but only when I was in a different world like the streets or the province; it did not come naturally to me. English was more natural; I read, wrote and thought in English. And so, in much of the same way that I learned German later on, I learned Filipino in terms of English. In this way I survived Filipino in high school, albeit with too many sentences that had the preposition ‘ay.’
It was really only in university that I began to grasp Filipino in terms of language and not just dialect. Filipino was not merely a peculiar variety of language, derived and continuously borrowing from the English and Spanish alphabets; it was its own system, with its own grammar, semantics, sounds, even symbols.
But more significantly, it was its own way of reading, writing, and thinking. There are ideas and concepts unique to Filipino that can never be translated into another. Try translating bayanihan, tagay, kilig or diskarte.
Only recently have I begun to grasp Filipino as the language of identity: the language of emotion, experience, and even of learning. And with this comes the realization that I do, in fact, smell worse than a malansang isda. My own language is foreign to me: I speak, think, read and write primarily in English. To borrow the terminology of Fr. Bulatao, I am a split-level Filipino.
But perhaps this is not so bad in a society of rotten beef and stinking fish. For while Filipino may be the language of identity, it is the language of the streets. It might have the capacity to be the language of learning, but it is not the language of the learned.
It is neither the language of the classroom and the laboratory, nor the language of the boardroom, the court room, or the operating room. It is not the language of privilege. I may be disconnected from my being Filipino, but with a tongue of privilege I will always have my connections.
So I have my education to thank for making English my mother language.

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7 Comments

  1. OMG! I googled him right away. Imagine referring to 'Pilipino' as the language he used to speak to katulongs, tinderas and manongs who are by the way Filipinos din. Grabe huh. Baket sa States ba or sa Britain ba do they speak to other people (servers or workers) using ibang language or dialect I don't think so, they use their native dialect which is English ganun din dito sa Pinas..Very stupid article I must say! Buwan ng Wika pa naman ngayon. Sorry for commenting on 'Taglish' apekatado kasi ko..hehe!

    Love your blog.

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  2. Wow. I know there are people who hold racist views in society, but I never thought they'd actually come out in public with it. The irony is a long time ago, people used to come here to enjoy the fresh air, lovely scenery, and hospitality. Much of it has been neglected, but this guy obviously overlooks the genuine warmth that still exists in our culture.

    I have had the opportunity to listen to religious hymns sung in different languages, and I still prefer those sung in our native tongue. The flexibility you mentioned is there, and there is grace in how we pronounce our vowels in song- it simply sounds glorious.

    Tunay na kahanga-hanga ang wikang Pilipino. Hindi ito dapat ikahiya, bagkus ay dapat itong alagaan at mahalin. Nakarinig na ba kayo ng mga taong bumabalagtas? Kahanga-hanga. Aaaminin kong medyo mahirap intindihin, pero meron itong pagpapakita ng respeto at pormalidad na hindi matatapatan ng Ingles.

    Regarding the Filipino blogger you mentioned... I actually follow her *cough* and I like her style, though it is a little too gyaru for my taste. Admittedly the populace favor casual jeans for general days, though we can and do dress up grand for special occasions.

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  3. First time ko lang magcomment dito dahil mas mahilig akong mag-observe kaysa mag comment, pero ngayon na nabasa ko 'to, hindi ko mapigilan na magulat, mainis, at mapamura.

    Paano ito nasasabi ng isang pinoy sa lenggwahe ng lahi niya? Hindi ko ma-gets e...kahit ako mismo na hindi purong pinoy, pero ni minsan hindi ko kinakahiya na nagtatagalog ako at mas lalo na, hindi ko inisip kahit minsan na ang Filipino language ay para sa mahirap lamang. Does he even know what he's talking about?! Does he even know that he is also insulting himself and his ancestors by saying these things?!

    Hindi porket fluent siya sa English o kung ano mang lenggwahe pa ang gusto niyang matutunan, e may "pinagaralan" o mas "nakakaangat" na ang tawag sa kanya, hindi lahat ng may "pinagaralan" ay may breeding.

    Mas masahol pa siya sa mga skwater dito. At least sila proud sila sa lahi at kutura nila, hindi katulad niya na simula pa lang ay nakikisiksik na siya sa isang kultura, lenggwahe, pagiisip at lahi na hindi naman sa kanya. Feeling "learned" lang siya, kadiri! pwe!!!

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  4. Beauty Junkee, while I support your incredulity against an insult to the Filipino language, I frown upon your insults to Soriano and your call to Manila Bulletin to filter the articles they publish.

    First, I expected you to handle the matter with poise, dignity, and tact. Bashing the author on your blog exudes none of those. You are a blogger, you have a large number of readers; if you are insulted by the author whom you say has a brain of a "Stegosaurus," then don't stoop to his level.

    Second, calling for the filtering of the articles in a newspaper site could promote oppression of the freedom to speak and express oneself. True, this freedom should be availed of responsibly, but isn't that what Soriano did? He expressed himself in an article; he kept referring to himself and his beliefs and he did not impose those beliefs on the reader. These show responsibility. These show that Soriano wrote and submitted this article to let people know what he believes in and to just let the people make their own beliefs based on his words. Ergo, if the reader agrees with him, then it's fine; if the reader disagrees, then it's fine, as well.

    Lastly, being a blogger, you can influence people. Posting this bash fest leaves your readers with a negative take on the article that influences their way of thinking. It is the same as gushing about a beauty product and encouraging your readers to try it at all cost, even though their skin type and sensitivity is different from yours. Caution is needed and, at the end of the day, it is up to the readers to decide what they would do, how they would react, and what they would support.

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  5. Nakakatawa lang na inilathala ito sa buwan ng wika. :P

    Ikinararangal ko ang pagiging bihasa sa wikang Filipino kahit pa nais ko pang matutunan maging ang mga malalalim na termino nito. (Oo, sa totoo lang ang dami kong gustong malamang malalim na salita na hindi ko alam ibig sabihin).

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  6. hmmmm.. the aforequoted article is very sad. spoken by a person who i feel very sorry for.

    it seems like the writer thinks that speaking english is a mark of a learned person whereas, english is spoken by street vendors, cab drivers, manual workers in the US and other english speaking countries. similar jobs, similar situations though the location is different.

    apparently he sees it as a mark of having a higher social status which he needs the world to know about. a snotty snobbish display of childishness at its peak.

    i might be wrong but i have always been under the impression that the language of the learned is latin. :)

    oh well, he's popular now - haha! congrats to him whoever he is! i am sure he has piqued the attention of people now.

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  7. Thank you all for taking the time to comment on this issue. :)

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