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| Don't English Me, I'm Panic!!! image courtesy of spwakattakk.tumblr.com |
Two days ago, James Soriano published an essay on the Manila Bulletin website tackling his fondness of being brought up in an English-speaking environment. Since the article was already taken down shortly after it was published, one can only read quotes of the original article from different sources. Why Manila Bulletin decided to publish such an article is beyond me. And why it was taken down a day after, is even more baffling. They should have not removed it from the site. After all, it is their responsibility to be open to all sides of the story in the name of unbiased journalism, no matter how elitist and arrogant-sounding as they may be. At the very least, the article did spark an interesting discussion among netizens. But MB’s lack of journalistic ethics is not the subject of my sentiments today.***
Before we judge and/or condemn Mr. Soriano, it is imperative that we first see where his sentiments and frame of mind are coming from. The Christopher Lao incident taught us one thing on how social networking can bring the evil mudslinging sides in most of us.
Mr. James Soriano’s essay is actually a rude awakening on how the Philippine education system fails greatly in incorporating civic nationalism on some of its teaching methodologies. It shows how schools and subjects are taught under a subconscious colonial mentality. The sad part is, this isn’t breaking news at all. Our education system is patterned under the framework of the United States’ education process. Think back to the SS Thomas and Thomasites—that is where it all began. We adapted their ideals when it came to educating our then friar-taught minds. Along with western and liberal ideas that we picked up from them, we, as a nation hungry for learning, also adapted colonial mentality. This is something that our nationalistic advocates have long been battling against. We were taught in the American way and whether we admit it or not, our school systems are still closely patterned from our U.S. counterparts. So hearing Mr. Soriano air those sentiments isn’t entirely new at all. He is one of the many generations of students taught in such way by a flawed system.
Our society is still living in the shadows of American imperialism from the early 1900’s. America is still well-instilled in our day-to-day routine. From Hollywood gossip, American music and even our economy with the rise of the BPO sectors, is a testament on how well as a nation we are tied with the American language. It is inevitable to learn and appreciate English given the vast exposure of American culture that we experience everyday. We cannot deny that English is already a part of the identity of the modern Filipino. To say it isn't true would be absurd.
This is also a stern reflection on how our culture glorifies English-speakers, sometimes even without proper merit. Filipinos have long perpetuated the idea that if you speak in English, you must be rich. You must be taught in a private school. You must be privileged. You must be sosyal. Media portrayed people as such. Ruffa Gutierrez, Kris Aquino, need I say more?
But the debate on Filipino ideals versus colonialism is long and deep, and a murky one at that. It will fill this entire blog post if we dive into it, so it would be better for us to leave it be for the meantime. With the important point being that the faulty education system is partly responsible for molding such a student’s way of thinking. It is after all, their job to inculcate values not mastered in the household. And generations of imperalism-infused culture doesn't help either.
No one can deny the utility and efficiency of the English language. It is spoken in more than 126 nations; with the Philippines ranking third among the countries with the most number of speakers (US naturally ranks first, followed by India). And it provides an effective and uniform way of teaching, especially in the sciences. There is no direct translation of deoxyribonucleic acid, enzymes, condensation, etc. in the Filipino language hence teaching subjects and concepts in English is inevitable. Since English is spoken almost everywhere, learning it is crucial for everyone to prosper. It is needed for international business transactions and relations to take place. English serves as the neutral ground when it comes to dealing with international affairs.
While it is an international language, English however is not a universal one. English is not always equal to knowledge. It is not the entirety of learning. And if you think it is, your teachers have failed miserably in instilling what true knowledge and learning implies. They are failures as educators. I suggest you go back to whatever school you came from and get your money back.
The condescending tone of the article, if it was unintentional, can be attributed to wrong word choices and ineffective delivery of the author, which in my opinion can still be forgiven. A lot of writers and journalists still fail at that and Mr. Soriano is no exception to that paradigm.
However, what cannot be ignored is the implication that English is the ‘language of the learned’ against Filipino, or any other language for that matter. It reeks of elitist ignorance. It gives a narrow view on the essence of human knowledge and the value of learning. Human knowledge is universal, it doesn’t need an official vehicle of communication. Knowledge will stand alone as it can be translated in innumerable ways, both verbal and non-verbal. Learning is a stand-alone virtue regardless of whatever medium it is carried through. Sure, English is the language spoken in some well-developed countries. It is the language in business conferences, operating rooms and political debates in our first-world counterparts. It is the language of most educated minds, but certainly not all. If that is so, how do we take into account the contributions of ancient civilizations to the development of knowledge? How about the ancient Sumerians? The Greeks? The Egyptians? The Ancient Chinese who did not have a single utterance in English? Were they not ‘learned’? Were they not ‘knowledgeable’? Generations of historians will certainly disagree.
Conversely, English is not a guaranteed marker of a well-cultured mind. The world is filled with assholes and bigots who can very well converse in English. If you haven’t met any of them, you should definitely get out more and read the news often. An ignoramus can hide in cloaks of logical fallacies and grammatically-correct and well-versed English constructions. In the same way that not all who choose to speak their native tongue is not educated. For all we know, they can also be well-versed in English but they choose to speak in their native dialect because they value their heritage or they were brought up that way. It is just that they are more comfortable speaking in a particular way. And who has the right to stop them? As long as the meaning is passed on without any barrier from one speaker to another, knowledge is possible no matter what language is used.
No matter how ‘educated’ you think you are, you have no right to imply that a certain language is the ‘language of the learned’ against any other verbal system. Such view doesn’t make you sound smart at all, it makes you sound like an overbearing elitist who is confined to the four corners of your English-speaking glass box. You have a narrow view of the society you’re part of and the world you live in. I suggest you get out more and talk to different people for you to be able to grasp the true meaning behind learning and knowledge. It is truly disappointing to hear someone who is as ‘educated’ as that make such a hasty generalization. While it is true that a lot of factors are at fault here: our education system, our colonial mentality and our culture in general for perpetuating such system, in the end, no matter how bombarded we are with colonial images and ways, a well-educated mind has the ability to triumph above all these. It is the mark of a well-educated mind to be able to fully appreciate knowledge regardless of language spoken. It is the mark of a well-educated mind to not succumb to a colonial mentality.
In the end, James Soriano’s rant is a double-edged sword. It’s a slap in the face on how we as Filipinos prefer a foreign entity over own. It’s the sad yet honest truth. But this can also be viewed as a challenge for us to be able to find our own identity as people who are well-adapted in a foreign system yet has the passion to embrace and think highly about our own mark of tongue.
Oh yes, and a dose of respect and humility doesn't hurt either.
***Edit: The article is now back up on the Manila Bulletin website
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