Bakit-Why? An analysis of the Sociolinguistic Motivations behind Taglish
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2013
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Linguistics
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Thesis (B.A.)
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Abstract
Taglish, the mixture of Tagalog and English, is prevalent among Filipinos inside and
outside of the Philippines. It is found nearly everywhere in the country and in diasporic
communities in the United States: it is present in quick exchanges of strangers in the
streets, throughout dialogues in various media programs, as well as formal discourse in
places like universities and courthouses. In this thesis paper, I identify the underlying
foundations and uses for code-switching in Taglish, switching between Tagalog and
English in specifically sentential-level. Through a corpus of Taglish instances collected from
Philippine media, Youtube, and live informants, I analyze code-switching to propose its
meaningful use among its speakers. I draw on current linguistic and ethnographic data to
assess the advantages that code-switching offers to Filipinos in the Philippines as well as
the United States. Through linguistic and anthropological lenses, I uncover how Taglish
allows Filipinos to alter their perceptions of self and establish inclusion to certain
established groups. By identifying the intricacies of its syntax and sociolinguistic
motivations, I suggest that the use of Taglish in the motherland and abroad does not pave
the way for either complete adaptation or rejection of the English language in the country,
but rather offers an enrichment of communication among its speakers.