Linguistics in Commuting

"Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!" These will get you to the biggest mall in Asia (MOA- Mall of Asia)!

Whether you say "BuenJA" or "BuenDIYA" or "BuenDYA," you are sure to get there.

For commuters, pronunciation does not matter; you just have to make sure that one of two syllables is recognizable. When you take a jeep, you'd make out the origin of the passengers when they announce their destination to the whole world. A lady said, "Bee-ip Mcdo" for BF Mcdo. Farther down you'd hear someone say "Port State" for Fourth Estate, the subdivision fronting the Manila Memorial Park in Sucat, Paranaque. Near my place is "Lupis" for some, which is actually Lopez. Their way of saying places will still get them to where they are supposed to go; the absent-minded usually misses.

A jeepney or bus ride is a rich source of linguistic data. I think the major linguistic groups are represented by at least one speaker in a jeep or on a bus. This goes to say that we have the Philippines properly represented on any public vehicle. That being said, I am not very particular with sounds and pronunciation when I talk to common folks; there is no way that I could use the Call Center English I learned some months back.

My teacher calls the understood mispronunciation used by many as "Folk Pronunciation." I think it's acceptable to use folk pronunciation in jeepneys, markets and streets. Not a single person would really care as long he is understood.

Many are very particular with the pronunciation of English words, even Filipino words. This is understandable since we claim to have English as a second language. The pressure is there to have a near-native sound at least. But can we expect the same from people whose exposure to English is maybe limited to some TV commercials and unintelligible English teachers? Even when we do have some exposure to whatever English, are we assured that our inherited sound system won't get in the way?

"Bahala na! Basta 'yun na 'yon."