THE OTHER SIDE OF ENGLISH

      It is undeniable that the English language and its attendant culture continue to dominate Philippine society in modern times. It is not surprising that English is given institutional priority for it is widely believed that for our country to prosper and advance like industrialized nations in Europe and North America we have to emulate Western models of modernization and progress, where the English language is always a crucial component. We fail to realize that the reality present in non-Western societies may be totally different from the West, so theoretical models should be carefully evaluated and critiqued before deciding whether their fundamental principles should be applied or rejected. The influence of the English language in today’s world is unquestionable for globalization relies on it as a tool for an unrestrained exchange of zillions of information needed to integrate different peoples of diverse backgrounds.

      However, developing and industrializing nations like the Philippines should be wary of the ideological foundation of the extant international economic polarization that the English language helps to perpetuate in different societies the world over. In Philippine setting elite groups control and dominate the politico-economic life where discourse is conducted in English—a language that history will never vindicate of being an instrument of elitism during the American period. This reality, that continues to plague Philippine society today, impedes the capacity of the majority of the population to participate in much needed public discourses that will define our goals as a nation as we tread the 21^st Century. Only those who are highly competent in English get to articulate their ideas where more often than not reflects the vested interests of their class; to the disadvantage of a great number of Filipinos whose participatory power is undermined just because they don’t speak ‘proper’ English. The social hierarchy is thus reinforced by this language contrary to the belief that it promotes upward mobility. Not everybody gets good English training to qualify in top positions in business and government vital in national policy making. Only a limited few ends up speaking and writing the language with above average competence so others end up occupying lower positions where ascent to a higher caste remains but a fantasy.

      There is more to say about the role the English language plays in Philippine social life. We should remember that its status will never be completely understood if we don’t recognize how unequal power relations are supported by this foreign idiom, and how the hegemony it creates over national life alters our perceptions of how we see ourselves as a nation wanting to take-off and yet finds itself moored for many reasons where the language issue is always one of the decisive factors. Therefore, an intelligent and critical understanding of Philippine contemporary history demands a closer look at the other side of English—a language we venerate without understanding.