Over the past few years, I have noticed that whenever I need help from customer service over the phone, it is usually a person with an accent of Indian descent. Also, the older I become, the more I come to notice every time I visit the doctors that there are more and more doctors of Indian descent working in hospitals. What this tells us: the jobs that were once held by Americans are being sent over seas to the people of India therefore making their economy grow. This is a great opportunity for them but it is a constant struggle for us Americans to find jobs. It causes our country as a whole not to expand economically, increase in unemployment rate, taxes, gas prices, foreclosures, and causes stress and turmoil for millions struggling to survive in the U.S.
The history of the English language in the Philippines has expanded throughout the years. Around 1565, Spanish was introduced after Conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi founded and settled the first Spanish settlement on Cebu. The language began to decrease after Spain left to the United States. This is where the language Tagalog derives from considering that both languages are alike. Tagalog was chosen as the national language in 1937 out of a total of 171 native languages spoken in the country. Tagalog is the official language of education and its major uses are the broadcast of media, cinema, and its use in the military. This native language is often used in the home and communicating with friends and family.
English has strong roots with Philippines and it has been exposed since 1762. Today, it is the dominant language in business, government, the legal system, medicine, the sciences and education. Majority of textbooks are printed in English instead of Tagalog. Filipino’s find English to be more formal and should be used in school, government, and various ceremonies. In America, schools require to take a foreign language mainly the most common one is Spanish and in the Philippines, theirs is the similar but only in English. Sometimes they even speak both at the same time whether its formal or not. It is very common here especially in the United States. Whenever I am around my family they start off in Tagalog and switch to English and then back to Tagalog. This situation has been called Taglish. Representatives view English as the wave of the future, with science, world trade, and the Internet. I agree to this and see how the language impacts the world.
English plays a big role in the world basing it as many see it as a global language and it is needed to succeed. It is the language of business, higher education, diplomacy, aviation, the Internet, science, popular music, entertainment, and international travel. These things could help Philippines in order to gain economically since it has been struggling as a country.
When you mentioned, in the Philippines, that the language to learn is English and the language most people take in the United States is Spanish, it made me think of Puerto Rico. When my daughter was going to grade school in Puerto Rico, it was required of her, until third grade, to learn some English. Her school was not the only one doing this. There were a lot of schools that had the English language taught and be mandatory. My daughter already spoke English, but most of the other kids did not.
ReplyDeleteI agree that English is the wave of the future. In many foreign countries, especially vacation spots, most of the time there is accommodations for English speakers. There may be menu’s in English, people who can translate for you or speak it, and some vacation spots post signs in their language and English. Also, other countries see English as the language to learn for their children to succeed in today’s world. Everything we use English for here, media, music, government, internet, or business, is being used in other countries. Musicians that sing only in English are big deals in some places where English is not the primary language.
I think many of us have experienced times when we speak to people from customer service and they have a foreign accent.. I have noticed the many different doctors that aren’t American, but it has never actually made me think of why this is the way it is. It does seems like a great opportunity for them, but I don’t think that necessarily means that it’s a constant struggle for us. Maybe because of competition it may be a struggle, but it isn’t a struggle when it comes to getting a job. Are unemployment rates really caused by foreigners coming and making better lives for themselves here? I can relate to the custom in your family to switch back and forth from Tagalog and then to English, we usually do that with my family, but in Spanish, so we call it Spanglish. I said the exact same thing when it came to success and speaking English in the world. I personally think its needed to succeed and unfortunately it is necessary, maybe even by force, to know it fluently. I don’t know if you were trying to say that the Philippines would benefit a lot more if they knew English and if they studied English, but this seems like a good idea. I don’t think its just the Philippines at this point, its other countries as well. Once again I’m going to stress the fact that it unfortunately comes with success.
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