Saturday, August 18, 2012

Language - a barrier or not?


The emergence of English as the universal language in our society has a continuing effect on us. 


According to a columnist named James Soriano, Filipino was the language of the world outside the classroom. It was the language of the streets and not a language of the learned. It was how you spoke to the tindera when you went to the tindahan, what you used to tell your katulong that you had an utos, and how you texted manong when you needed sundo while English is the language for the learned.


Let us admit it. When an individual is good and fluent in speaking English, he or she can create an impression of being smart, more reliable and can make him or herself belong to a higher society. On the contrary, an individual who does not know how to speak English well can be typecast as a not clever and a dense person.




In my opinion, speaking in English does not make one resistant to idiocy. Language should not be the test of being classified as a learned person. Having English language as one’s mother tongue is a benefit. However, that does not imply that one is more intelligent than the other individual who does not speak the English language well.


A person can succeed regardless of his or her mother tongue; therefore, verbal communication should not be blamed. One can excel in life using any other languages. It is the fault of how the Filipino language is being taught to us; as a result, we are not competent to use it well in all aspects of our daily life.


30 comments:

  1. "...and can make him or herself"
    Don't you think that it should be "himself or herself"?

    "One can excel in life using any other languages"
    Uhmm, how about "any other language"? I just noticed in our past lesson that when we use any other, we use a singular noun after it.

    On the other hand, your blog entry is not only informative but also interesting. Congratulations Jessica! :)

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  4. Hi Aika! I think you have written your post well, but I think that you should have written the second paragraph in the present tense.Though the opinion was stated in the past, the opinion still exists and should therefore be written in the present tense.

    I love how you kept this post simple. Good job! :)

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  5. Hello Aika! I agree with Angel. You are stating someone's idea or opinion; therefore, the second paragraph should be written in the present tense.

    Good job, nevertheless! It's an interesting topic :D

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  6. Hi Aika! I agree with you. Language does not determine a person's ability to succeed.

    You used, "a not clever" to refer to a person. I think the word unintelligent would suit the sentence better.

    Great job on the post! =)

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  7. Hello Aika!

    "According to a columnist named James Soriano" - I think it is better to write it this way: "According to the columnist James Soriano of... (including the name of the publication where the article was published)".

    Nice job!

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  8. Check the capitalization in your title. It should be: "Language - A Barrier or Not?"

    "Having English language as one's mother tongue is a benefit."
    You should place the article "the" before "English" or omit "language".

    Above all, you did well in writing this blog post. :)

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  9. I agree with Angel. I think your second paragraph should be in present tense. :)

    I just love your stand on this matter. You were able to state your opinion and talked about your topic well. Your post is simple, yet it's interesting to read and easy to understand. Congrats, Aika. :)

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  10. I agree with Lyka. Also, with her stated corrections.

    Great job Jessica! You have written a simple post, yet very explicative.

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  12. Hey there Aika! :D

    I agree with the first few comments. Your blog post's second paragraph should have been written in the present tense.

    "...he or she can create an impression of being smart, more reliable and can make him or herself belong to a higher society."

    There's nothing ultimately wrong about this sentence, but it could be changed up a bit so it would sound better.

    "... he or she can leave a good impression on you. We tend to think they are smart, and that they belong to high society."

    Other than that, your blog post is actually spot-on! Associating the language one's capable of with one's intelligence is a common misconception. Yes, one can be considered intelligent when they are capable of speaking different languages, but language is only a subtype of intelligence. Though someone may not speak English well, for all we know, they may be good at Math or Physics.

    GOOD JOB AIKA! :D

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  13. The simplicity of your post is commendable. I think using "big" words leads readers to confusion, and you didn't do that. A simple and informative blog, this is. Congratulations! :-)

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  14. Nice topic, just be careful on using the tenses, though. Anyway, good job!

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  16. Hello, Aika! :)

    "...you texted manong when you needed sundo while English is the language for the learned."
    Shouldn't there be a comma before "while" so as not to confuse the reader?

    There are specific rules and styles when it comes to the capitalization of titles. I remember a speaker back in high school telling our class that the important part was to capitalize the first letter of the first word, but if we wanted to be strict about it by capitalizing everything but the articles--words that aren't important--then we could do so. If I were to follow the speaker's less formal advice, then your title is fine, but instead of a hyphen you should have double hyphenated your title: "Language--a barrier or not?" I think a colon would have sufficed, too.

    The flow of your article and your simple style of writing made your post very entertaining. Congratulations! :)

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  17. Your post is simple but it is entertaining. Great job! :)

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  18. I agree with the corrections.
    Your style of writing is simple yet interesting. Good job Aiks! :)

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  20. I agree with what you said- speaking in English does not make one resistant to idiocy.
    Good job Aikers! :)

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  21. Although I didn't agree with it completely, I still think the ending of this post was a solid one. Good job! :)

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  24. I commend you for writing your opinion in this post pertaining to language as a basis of one's intellect. I agree with you that speaking a foreign language particularly English should not denote superior intelligence to those fluent in using it and incompetence from those who do not. I think we should not measure one's intellect by one's way of speaking; instead, we should take into consideration on how an individual act in the society.

    Aside the minor errors mentioned I congratulate you for writing a wonderful post. Great job! :)

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  25. Though you haven't fully justified your title, you were on the right track. Good job.

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  26. I commend you for writing a blog that emanated not only beauty but also clarity despite the fact that you are bounded by the rules of simplicity.

    Aside from the corrections mentioned above I would like to comment on your short introduction that made me feel as if you are already concluding your post before it is even done. I suggest that when making introductions one should spice up the interest of the reader instead of disturbing his or her attention.

    All in all I appreciate your work. Congratulations!

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  28. Thanks for all your comments, guys! :-) I really appreciate it.

    By the way, here are the references I used:
    http://ph.news.yahoo.com/filipino-not-language-learned-says-columnist-145412295.html
    http://www.google.com.ph/

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  29. Jhecka, I can relate to this article. But I think, one should strive hard to learn English language as an advantage in his/her career. Thank you! God bless.

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