Mutual intelligibility versus mutual imbecility

I’ve always wondered why English has its reputation for being the highly regarded language of the universe. Why not the language structure of the high-class Brits that is similar to American English?  What about the intricate Latin, or maybe the poetic language of the Japanese? Like any other universally accepted concept out there, being recognized has its banes and boons. English has had its share of somewhat drastic alterations. Take for example the many faces of English in the Philippines where it is considered as our secondary language.

We’ve walked this planet long enough to have noticed that conversations using the universal language as a medium aren’t constant. More often the changes in the lingo have turned from acceptable transformations to a just plain rude way of communication. With the various twists the Filipinos have done to the English language, I would rank the Conyos and the Carabaos as the most amusing if not the most annoying transformations of the English lingo.

According to UrbanDictionary.com, “conyo” is used in our country as a semi-derogatory term for people who seem to be high-class and vain about their social status and speak in Tag-lish, or Tagalog mixed with English. This certain topic went viral on various social networking sites because apparently people found the language of the not so elite to be humorous.

You can admit that it made you smirk one way or another; I won’t judge you. The “Yaya” fever isn’t something I approve of but anyway that’s a completely different topic.

The Carabaos on the other hand are Filipinos who speak in “carabao English”. The term is used to classify people who speak English even though they have little grasp of the language. Here’s something I found on the Net that will best differentiate the Conyos from the Carabaos.

If that letter isn’t a crime against the most basic laws of grammar then I don’t know what is, and if you read through every single word on the photo then I apologize for putting you through all of that.

The whole point of showing you all this is not to discriminate nor categorize these speakers in a negative way. It is to point out that it may be comical to speak in “conyo”, in “carabao English”, or in any other Filipino-made type of the language, but it contradicts the fact that English is a tool for mutual intelligibility in our country. Perhaps speaking in “Yaya” form or sharing similar writing skills with “The sexiest Girl of D.M.” is a phase before we become natural speakers of the real English language. If so, then let’s hope that after that a decade or two there will be less of the mutations and more of the correct expression of the language of the world.


(Images from: www.twitter.com, www.google.com )