August 25, 2012Investigating the grammatical features of Philippine English(Ma. Lourdes Bautista)Prepared and discussed by:RUDY P. ESPOSO IIMAEd ELT

FilipinismsEnglish expressions which are neither American nor British, which are acceptable and used in Filipino educated circles, and are similar to expression patterns in Tagalog. (Llamzon, 1969:46)

Aim:To validate the features already identified by using a concordancing program on the one-million word Philippine corpus, the Philippine component of the International Corpus of English (ICE-PHI)

Research Issue:Identify which grammatical features occur in ICE-PHI, and investigate their frequency of occurrence in comparison with their occurrence in the other corpora

Presentation and Discussion:Corpus Analysis using the concordance program in Oxford University Press WordSmith Tools (version 4) applied to the one-million word corpus each for the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Great Britain

One of the + Singular NounForms: with a plural noun (one of the boys) followed by a collective noun (one of the crowd) followed by an adjective in superlative degree (one of the finest)

Table 1. One of the Noun in ICE corpora

CorpusOccurrences of one of the+ Plural noun/ collective noun/ adjective (Standard Use)+ Singular noun(Non-Standard Use)No.%No.%ICE PHI38335893.5256.5ICE SIN 28525689.82910.2ICE HK 40331979.28420.8ICE GB 42341898.85 (?)1.2

Examples: Thats one of the related problem we will also be discussing. (PHI.s) Okay one of the good example is the bottom one. (SIN.s) CRM will become one of the high growth area in the IT industry in the coming years. (HK.w)

British dataset: and that Rupert Sheldrake is one of the leading sort of biologists (GB.s) I mean this is one of the big sort of uh criticisms of the Jackonian period in the eighteen thirties. (GB.s) Possibly one of the best variety of statistical mapping is isoline mapping. (GB.w)

Questions raised: Is the presence of the singular noun influenced by the presence of the number one? Is it due to interference from the first language (in Tagalog, for instance, the plural marker mga is optional in a phrase with isa one: isa sa tanong ko alternates with isa sa mga tanong ko one of my questions)?

MajorityThree of the most common words in the English language are also three of the most difficult to use. We are referring to the articles a, an, and the. (Swales & Feak, 1994:221)

Table 2. Majority in ICE Corpora

CorpusOccurrences of MajorityWith article(Standard Use)Without article(Non-Standard Use)No.%No.%ICE PHI765471.12228.9ICE SIN 625893.546.5ICE HK 877485.11314.5ICE GB 9595100.000.0

Examples: But a survey done by Pulse Asia shows majority of their respondents want President Estrada to keep his post. (PHI.s) The Philippine production system is currently at the pre-industrial stage, i.e. majority of the animals subsist on valueless resources. (PHI.w)

Examples: Uh our own uh indications surveys had uh shown that majority of Singaporeans support this particular relief. (SIN.s) Footprint is an organization of enthusiastic university students towards nature and environmental protection, majority of whom are students or graduates of from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. (HK.w)

Questions raised: Is majority equated with many and therefore an article is not required? Is majority so closely associated with the ready-made phrases majority voting or majority decision or majority opinion in the speakers minds that they omit the article when majority is used as a noun?

Such + Singular NounForms: followed by the indefinite article a/an when it is used as a count noun (such a story) the article is not needed when the noun following such is a mass noun (such information) or a plural count noun (such books) or when such is preceded by a modifier such as no, one, any, first (no such proposal, one such proposal)

Table 3. Such + Noun in Asian Corpora

CorpusTotal number of Such + NounUse of a/an or Standard UseNon-Standard UseIndeterminate UseNo.%No.%No.%ICE PHI25622487.5207.8124.7ICE SIN 28225991.8176.062.1ICE HK 41931875.97116.9307.2

Examples: the House of Representatives is not attempting to raise the standard of ethical perfection for our political leadership nay for all of us. Such person does not walk the earth today even after Jesus Christ redeemed mankind from original sin. (PHI.s)

Examples: But the President said he is willing to do that for the sake of the people if such act would bring down the oil prices. (PHI.w) We hope that with such instrument given to our students thereby they will be able to make use of the CADCAM facilities. (SIN.s)

Examples: but anyway the documents uh of the Po Leung Kuk Archives do reflect such disguise and I will uh explain about uhm the Archives later. (HK.w)

Colloquial Singapore English: Nobody eat uh only him. He doesnt like such thing one you know. He doesnt order this kind. (SIN.s)

Hong Kong data: And so I want to find such kind of job. (HK.s) We have such thing called shop houses. (HK.s)

The indeterminate (i.e. borderline) cases are those where anaphoric reference takes place, with such + noun referring in meaning and form to a previous utterance.

Examples: In case of an approved absence, the event is recorded in the faculty class record, but such absence is not counted toward a students excess, as indicated in Section 6.5. (PHI.w)

{such absence > an approved absence}

Examples: A planting holemust be dug and backfilled with a good quality top soil and compost mixture. It would also be advantageous to add more of such soil mixture to form a mound. (SIN.w)

{such soil mixture > such soil and compost mixture}

Analysis:In the Philippine context, the appearance of such without an article preceding singular noun might be the result of applying a simplification rule, something along the lines of use such without an article in all instances since, after all, that is the rule.

Assure + Indirect ObjectThe verb assure requires an indirect object followed by a (that)-clause direct object. (Quirk et al., 1985:1213)

Table 4. Assure in ICE Corpora

CorpusOccurrences of Assure+ Indirect Object(Standard Use) Indirect Object and other non-standard uses (Non-Standard Use)Followed by a simple Noun Phrase (Indeterminate Use)No.%No.%No.%ICE PHI755573.3912.01114.7ICE SIN 423788.149.512.4ICE HK 332369.7721.239.1ICE GB 181794.400.015.6

Examples: The President assured he is not merely laying down the basis to declare Martial Law. (PHI.s) He assured that in addition he is planning to send a set of moldings to inject. (SIN.s)

Examples: this will allow us to investigate the exact cause of the failure and assure that this does not occur again in any future productions. (HK.w)

The indeterminate use category in the table earlier refers to a noticeable variation in the use of assure in the corpora, its use with a simple noun phrase as direct object, i.e. assure not completed by an indirect object and a (that)- clause direct object but assure simply completed by a noun phrase direct object.

Examples: That they would assure the rapid development and improvement of our military capability. (PHI.s) the review process should be set up for efficiency and effectiveness while assuring the protection of public health and environmental safety. (PHI.w)

Examples: And Asias upcoming Tiger Vietnam assures its commitment to foreign investors. (SIN.s) Excellent point I would have to say that that assures the efficiency and power that Lego ad hoc has... (HK.w)

Analysis:The use of assure without an indirect object in the Philippine data may again be the result of a simplification process, abetted by the fact that in Philippine languages noun phrases can be dropped optionally. Since the indirect object can be determined from the context and occasionally seems redundant, that might be the explanation for the inclination to drop it.

WhereinThe canonical use of wherein is given by Collins COBUILD Dictionary (1987:1661), which labels wherein as a formal and old-fashioned word; it is a relative pronoun that means in which place and in which part or respect.

Table 5. Wherein in the different Corpora

CorpusOccurrences of WhereinICE PHI78ICE SIN 0ICE HK 2ICE GB 1

Wherein is used in both speech and writing (surprisingly, in speech so far more than in writing), in dialogic and monologic speech, in informal and formal text categories. It appeared in conversation, class lessons, broadcast discussions and interviews, parliamentary debates, legal cross-examinations, business transactions, unscripted speeches, legal presentations, student untimed essays, social letters, and news press reports among others.

Examples: Yeah just like the Flintstones that Flintstones advertisement wherein the kid one time uhm her Mom went out oh I think went to work. (PHI.s) Conversation Yes one potential danger if you have fall-outs from the volcanic eruption is you get a very irritating skin disease wherein you have a freckle-like uh spots. (PHI.s) Broadcast Discussion

Examples: Then there was the Moscow Treaty wherein Germany and USSR agreed that they will not use violence on each others territories. (PHI.w) Student Exam Essay Dont worry about weight because it is a very small tool wherein you could put the whole container into your back pocket.(PHI.w) Social Letter

But wherein also corresponds to in which, by which, through which, etc. in other varieties of English, when where is inappropriate and the speaker/writer would need to choose the right preposition before which. As further proof, consider the fact that many of the instances of wherein in the data appear to substitute for the Tagalog all-purpose linker and relativizer na, which links words, phrases, and clauses.

Examples: And I dont like her reasoning na she doesnt wanna pay me because its not her priority because I have money. (PHI.s) Will it be some kind of a lovers quarrel na after a short period of time theyre back in bed but under more honorable conditions. (PHI.s)

Thank you very much for listening!

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