pinoy english

most filipinos understand,write and speak english,tagalog and their respective  languages.english is  used in education,churches,religious affairs, print and broadcast media and business,though the number of people who use it as a second language far outnumber those who speak it as a first language.Movies and tv programs in english are not subtitled and are expected to be directly understood.

Pinoy english shares vocabulary with other english dialects,but it shares most similarities with american english.

some words and  phrases and their respective  definitions are peculiar to pinoy english and may not appear in most english dialects.some examples are:

• barbecue -roasted meat.(must be cut into pieces and put into a stick)
• biodata -A resume.
• biscuit – a cookie in the U.S and biscuit in the UK.furthermore,it in the philippines it is pronounced /biskwit/ rather than /biskit/.
• boundary -an amount public transport drivers pay their operators daily
• brown out -power failure. often referred to as black out in british and american english and temporary reduction in power in canadian english
• carabao – a water buffalo
• chit –a bill(in restaurants)pinoys often draw a rectangle with 2 fingers when they ask for it.
• commute -always used to refer to the act of taking public transportation.
• commuter -one who takes public transportation(rarely used to refer to motorist often excludes them)
• coupon bond -bond paper.pronounced as /kopon/ not /kyupon/
• course -term used to define whole academic programs leading to either associate’s or bachelor’s degree.
• C.R.(comfort room) -toilet,bathroom
• dine-in – “for here” in american english
• Duster -a loose house dress
• for a while -used on the telephone to mean “please wait”
• get /go down (a vehicle) -“get off”.derived from tagalog context “bumaba ka” literally meaning get down
• gimik – to go out and have fun
• motel -love hotel,a hotel or motel used primarily for sex.often used with the word “short time”
• officemate -co-worker
• open/close the light/computer/tv -turn/switch on/off the light/computer/tv
• overtake -to pass a slow moving vehicle
• remembrance – used when the majority of the english world uses the word “souvenir”(a french loanword)
• rubber shoes -used to refer to sneaker or athletic shoes
• rotonda – derived from the spanish meaning roundabout
• step -in – stylish ladies sandals minus the strap
• short time – used to describe a short time (2-3hrs) at a love hotel for sex
• stow away -run away from home
• the other day -refer to the day before yesterday
• thrice –three times. although appearing in the english dictionary, its only in the philippines where this word is used much more than “three times”
• gay -in the U.S refers only to homosexual,in the philippines, it includes homesexuals,transexuals,crossdressers and effeminate men
• tomboy -a boyish lesbian. a “tomboy” ia almost always presumed to be a lesbian,although the word rarely used for feminine-looking lesbians.
• avail -means to buy something.americans say “take advantage” instead