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10. The grip of English and Philippine language policy

  • Beatriz P. Lorente
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The Politics of English
This chapter is in the book The Politics of English

Abstract

The grip of English in the Philippines signifies an enduring and flawed image of national development that is monocentric with an English-dominant core. It traces the trajectory of this dominance of English in the Philippines from its introduction as the de facto medium of instruction in the public school system during the American colonial era to its incorporation as the indispensable competitive edge of Filipinos in the current era of globalization. This privileged position of English in the country’s linguistic economy has been reinforced by the Filipino elite’s symbolic struggles over power in the wake of post-colonialism and the country’s structural insertion at the margins of the global economy as a source of cheap, English-speaking migrant labor. The grip of English in the country may be mitigated by the introduction of mother tongue based multilingual education (MTBLE). The framework of MTBLE appears to conceive of national development in terms of widening access to valuable material and symbolic resources such as literacy and higher levels of formal education. As the MTBLE is still in its infancy, the extent to which it can live up to its promise remains to be seen.

Abstract

The grip of English in the Philippines signifies an enduring and flawed image of national development that is monocentric with an English-dominant core. It traces the trajectory of this dominance of English in the Philippines from its introduction as the de facto medium of instruction in the public school system during the American colonial era to its incorporation as the indispensable competitive edge of Filipinos in the current era of globalization. This privileged position of English in the country’s linguistic economy has been reinforced by the Filipino elite’s symbolic struggles over power in the wake of post-colonialism and the country’s structural insertion at the margins of the global economy as a source of cheap, English-speaking migrant labor. The grip of English in the country may be mitigated by the introduction of mother tongue based multilingual education (MTBLE). The framework of MTBLE appears to conceive of national development in terms of widening access to valuable material and symbolic resources such as literacy and higher levels of formal education. As the MTBLE is still in its infancy, the extent to which it can live up to its promise remains to be seen.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Preface vii
  4. 1. Language policies, language ideologies and local language practices 1
  5. Part I. South Asia
  6. 2. The politics of Hinglish 21
  7. 3. Globalization and multilingualism 37
  8. 4. Kaduva of privileged power, instrument of rural empowerment? 61
  9. 5. The interface of language, literature and politics in Sri Lanka 81
  10. Part II. Southeast Asia
  11. 6. Governing English in Singapore 105
  12. 7. Uncertain locale 125
  13. 8. The encroachment of English in Malaysian cultural expression 145
  14. 9. “They think speaking in English isn’t good, you know” 167
  15. 10. The grip of English and Philippine language policy 187
  16. 11. Nimble tongues 205
  17. Part III. Asia Pacific
  18. 12. English vs. English conversation 227
  19. 13. Language policy and practice in English loanwords in Japanese 249
  20. 14. English speakers in Korea 269
  21. 15. English, class and neoliberalism in South Korea 287
  22. 16. Conclusion 303
  23. Contributors 317
  24. Index 321
https://doi.org/10.1075/wlp.4.13lor

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Preface vii
  4. 1. Language policies, language ideologies and local language practices 1
  5. Part I. South Asia
  6. 2. The politics of Hinglish 21
  7. 3. Globalization and multilingualism 37
  8. 4. Kaduva of privileged power, instrument of rural empowerment? 61
  9. 5. The interface of language, literature and politics in Sri Lanka 81
  10. Part II. Southeast Asia
  11. 6. Governing English in Singapore 105
  12. 7. Uncertain locale 125
  13. 8. The encroachment of English in Malaysian cultural expression 145
  14. 9. “They think speaking in English isn’t good, you know” 167
  15. 10. The grip of English and Philippine language policy 187
  16. 11. Nimble tongues 205
  17. Part III. Asia Pacific
  18. 12. English vs. English conversation 227
  19. 13. Language policy and practice in English loanwords in Japanese 249
  20. 14. English speakers in Korea 269
  21. 15. English, class and neoliberalism in South Korea 287
  22. 16. Conclusion 303
  23. Contributors 317
  24. Index 321
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