Philippine Normal UniversityNational Center for Teacher Education

Taft Avenue, ManilaCollege of Languages, Linguistics, and Literature

DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS, BILINGUAL EDUCATION, and LITERATURE

Anong words ang binaborrow pag nagtataglish?

Affixes and Syntactic Categories of Borrowed Words

in English-Tagalog Code-Switching

In Partial Fulfillmentof the Requirements in

LING507 (Morphology and Syntax)S.Y. 2013 / 2nd Semester

Saturday 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Submitted by:Bernard M. Paderes

Master of Arts in Linguistics

Submitted to:

Ms. Russel LomboyFaculty

March 2013

I. Introduction

Code switching, or more commonly known as Taglish in the Philippines, has been

viewed negatively by English teachers in the Philippines. It can be seen through the

stringent English-only policies implemented in different academic and corporate

institutions. It is believed to be an evidence of incompetency to use English which is

deemed to be the language of the educated.

However, this negative view of code-switching has been gradually changing these days

as more studies are being conducted regarding the benefits and advantages of this language

contact phenomenon. One of these is that of Bautista (as cited in Cruz, 2009) who claims that

although the use of Taglish could be an evidence of the lack of proficiency in the one of the two

languages, or what she calls “deficiency-driven code switching”; there are also instances where

the use of Taglish is used for communicative efficiency, or what she calls “proficiency-driven

code-switching.” Likewise, Lim (2012) claims that Tagalog-English code-switching is “not

the kind of English that anything goes. “ It is governed by a system, and not all code-

switched utterances or sentences are acceptable.

Also, as opposed to the common practice in most classrooms in the Philippines in

which students are not allowed use Tagalog or Taglish, Bernardo and Gaerlan (2012)

suggest that ESL/EFL teachers should not be viewed as being an English-only advocates or

being against the use of the students’ mother tongue in their learning experiences. Instead,

ESL/EFL teachers should acknowledge the importance of using languages strategically or

by design, depending on the requirements of the different learning tasks or activities.

II. Literature Review

Code-switching is defined as a back and forth movement between two languages or

dialects. Contrary to the belief that it is an evidence of poor grammar, it even reflects that

the grammars of both languages are working (Fromkin, 2003).

Sj berg (2011) identified the different forms of code-switching in Taglish, namely:ӧ

(1) inter-sentential switching, (2) tag-switching, (3) switching of single lexical elements,

(4) switching of phrases, (5) lexical borrowing, (6) ”Taglish” (the use of constructions from

one language with lexical elements from another) and (7) double realization (the repetition

of material from both languages with the same semantic meaning). This study focuses

more on lexical borrowing or the assimilation of a loan word from one language into

another.

According to Baklanova (2006), there are at least five main strategies that Tagalog

employs to morphologically assimilate borrowings or loanwords from languages such as

Sankrit, Malay, Chinese, Spanish, and English. These strategies are (1), phonological

citation, (2) simplification, (3) annulment, (4) wrong interpretation, and (5) hybridization.

However, this study is limited to the phonological citations

Phonological citations or unassimilated borrowings take place when the borrowed

word keeps its original phonetic, semantic, and orthographic appearance intact when it is

used in the recipient language.

i.e. bigyan ng oportunidad (from the Spanish word ‘opportunity’)

maglaan ng target (from the English word ‘target’)

In addition to this, what seems to interesting with this phenomena is that the

phonological citations in Tagalog, despite of their unassimilated status, are still implanted

into the morphological system of Tagalog (Baklanova, 2006).

i.e. nag-withdraw siya kahapon

“He/she withdrew money yesterday.”

Naka-attach ditto ang litrato ko.

“My photo is attached here.”

In another study conducted by Nolasco and Tangco (2002), they investigated the

patterns and constraints that occur when English lexical items are encoded into Tagalog

verbal constructions. Their study reveals that there are three affixes frequently occur

whenever English lexical items are used on Tagalog verbs, namely: MAG-, MA-, and I-. In

addition to the identification of these morphemes, their study also shows that the used of

these verbs are determined largely by semantic and pragmatic factors.

a. MAG-/NAG- construction is used for intransitive function such as

Nag-mature siya. “He/she matured.”

b. MAG-/NAG- could also perform an anti-passive function.

…hindi niya kailangang mag-promote ng pelikula.

“…he doesn’t have to engage in film promotion.”

c. The I- form is used for transitive function.

Nagpromise naman…si direk na I-e-edit nya ‘yon.

“The director promised that he will edit/cut that portion of the film.”

d. The MA-/NA- construction is used to fulfill the resultative function.

Subalit siya ay nakorner ng mga police authorities.

“He was cornered by the police authorities.”

Not only affixiation, but Tagalog verbs also call for the process of reduplication

particularly in verb aspects. However, there seems to be a problem when Tagalog borrows

words such as English and Spanish. There are verbs with complex clusters and such

combinations are not native to Tagalog (Quills, 1985 as cited in Ross, 1996). So, when

reduplication is employed, the onset is simplified in the reduplicant. The following

examples illustrate the template for one-syllable reduplication in Tagalog is CV, which

associates the first C and the first V in the base, skipping the second C (Ross, 1996).

i.e. a. from Spanish

nag-trabaho “x worked”

nag-ta-trabaho “x worked”

b. from English

nag-type “x typed”

nag-ta-type “x is typing”

Scope and Limitations

The present study aims to investigate lexical borrowing in Tagalog-English

codes-switching. Specifically, it aims to investigate the syntactic categories of the

words that are borrowed and the possible Tagalog affixes these words would make

use of. However, this study limits itself to the form of words rather than the

semantic and pragmatic aspect.

II. Methodology

According to Sjoeberg (2011), borrowing occurs when forms denote things

or concepts that are considered new to the indigenous culture. The data for the

present study was obtained Ricky Lee’s Para Kay B.

Para Kay B is the first novel of an award-winning screenplay writer Ricky

Lee. It is famous for its use of Taglish and colloquial language.

III. Data

A. Nominal Constructions

Affix   Sentences Syntactic Category

KA- 1  "... bigla niyang sasabihin sa ka-date…” Noun   2 “E ‘yung ka-date kong me nunal sa ilong.” Noun   3 "...nagpalagay na rin siya ng boobs na ka-size ng kay Irene." Noun   4 "Kaya si Donald ang ka-dinner nila ngayon." Noun   5 "sa katabing townhouse ay may ka-date din." Noun   6 "May mag-asawang madalas mag-imbita ng ka-threesome." Noun   7 "Ka-aasthma attack ko lang kaninang umaga…" Noun

   8"Habang kausap ang mga kasing-corrupt na ka-deal ng Congressman…" Noun

   9 "Tutal yung kapartner niya parang patay na rin."  

   10"Dahil kapa-patronize sa lahat ng produktong ini-endorse…" Verb

   11 "Ngayong napagod na kayo kata-try ng i-change ako…" Verb   12 "...imamatch ka sa ka-compatible mo." Adjective

Table A.1

KA- construction is an expression of equality. It is placed before an unaffixed

adjective (Schachter and Otanes, 1965). However, the table shows that the prefix KA- in

English-Taglish code switching is attached to nouns, verbs, and adjectives.

Affixes   Sentences Syntactic Category

PAGKA- 1  "Kasipagan at pagka-orderly na alam ni Ester na…" Adjective   2 "Si Ester…ay may pagka-childish pala." Adjective

Table A.2

PAGKA- construction is a quality nominalizer which has a meaning similar to

English suffixes –ness and –ance. In the data, this construction is attached to adjectives.

B. Verbal Constructions

Affix Sentences Syntactic Category

MAG- 1 "Gustong mag-panic ni Irene…" Noun  2 "Gusto ng boyfriend mong mag-threesome?" Noun  3 "Actually minsan lang mag-bra at magdamit babae si AJ." Noun  4 "Ang kapal kapal mag-makeup." Noun  5 "Yakag dito ng yakag na mag-Bora sila. Noun  6 "Pero lumayas matapos mag-high school…" Noun  7 "Mag-Jollibee ka muna." Noun  8 "Lumabas si Bessie para mag-breakfast." Noun  9 "Magbi-beach tayo." Noun  10 "…halos wala silang kamalayan ng mag-joyride sila…" Noun  11 "…mag-reach out ako sa kanya?" Verb  12 “Mahusay akong mag-memorize, patuloy ni Irene.” Verb  13 “Kailangn niyang mag-focus sa kanyang trabaho.” Verb  14 "Inudyukan si Jake na mag-propose kay Erica sa TV…" Verb  15 "Pwede naman ako mag-hire ng nurse…" Verb  16 "Nang mag-take na ay emote na emote si Erica." Verb

17 "Posibilidad na mag-produce sila ng pelikula…" Verb18 "Nagsimulang mag-type si Lucas…." Verb

Table B.1

Affix   Sentences Syntactic Category

NAG- 1“E, ‘yung nakadate ko na nagyoyoga kasabay ng poodle niya?” Noun

2"…nagta-tantrums dahil iniisip na may nagawa na naman itong mali." Noun

3 "...Gabing-gabi nagbi-blender ka." Noun4 "Hindi naman nagsi-cellphone ang nanay niya…" Noun5 "Walang nagsi-swimming ngayon." Noun6 "namatay ang asawa ko habang nagda-jogging…" Noun7 "Sa di kalayuan, may nagti-taping ng teleserye." Noun8 "Nagtsa-chant sila ng love spell…" Noun9 "…nag-panic siya." Noun

10 "Sa halip ay nag-high five sila." Noun

11"…kung saan nagku-costume siya ng iba't ibang produktong sponsor…" Noun

12 "…nag-brownout sa simbahan…" Noun13 "Kumembot-kembot si Erica at nag-flying kiss pa. Noun

14"...nag-levite pataas ng pataas hanggang sa umabot sa kisame." Verb

15"….nag-suggest ang husband biya na bakala naman ang kunin…" Verb

16 "…sukang sukang nag-walk out ito." Verb17 "…carabao lang daw ang naggu-grow old." Verb18 "Oo nga, pero nadu-do kami!" Verb19 "Isang relasyong hindi nag-work." Verb20 "…sa pila ng mga nagpapa-register." Verb21 " Afew weeks ako nag-check in doon ang writer upang…" Verb22 "Nag-settle ulit ito sa upuan." Verb23 "…nagli-leak ang aircon ng kabilang kwarto…" Verb24 "nagri-review para sa exams." Verb25 "Madalas sa gabi ay nag-i-sleepwalk ito Verb26 "…ang huling image na nag-stay kay Erica…" Verb

27"Malungkot siyang nagti-trace ng daliri sa image niya sa salamin…" Verb

28 "Nagiimplement ng umano'y medical missions…" Verb29 "…kaya lahat kami nagsu-suffer!" Verb30 "…nagpi-perform ito para maibsan ang hirap ng mga tao." Verb

Table 2.B

Affix Sentences Syntactic Category

NA- 1“Pinipilit ni Irene tanggalin sa isipan ang nai-imagine niyang mga…” Verb

  2 “pero pagtinting niya sa sahig ay na-imagine naman ni Irene...” Verb

  3“…naimagine niyang binibigyan ng asawa niya ng orgasm ay ang…" Verb

  4 "...hanggang na-conjure niya ang kanyang ina?” Verb  5 "Na-meet ko na siya…" Verb  6 "Na-excite si Sandra sa mga posibilidad." Verb  7 "Halos lahat ng tao ay na-inspire…" Verb  8 "Na-realize niya na dahil sa nararamdaman…." Verb  9 "May hindi ka pa kasi nari-resolve." Verb  10 "Na-OD (overdose) ata siya." Noun  11 "Hanggang hindi nai-in love ang anak ko sayo…" Adjective  12 "Na-in love ka sa isang memory." Adjective

Table 2.C

MAG-, NA-, and NAG- constructions form verbal aspects in Tagalog. However, the

table shows that these prefixes are not only attached to verbs but also with nouns and even

phrases that function as adjectives.

Affix Sentences Syntactic Category

I-    1 “….i-file ang record sa presinto.” Verb  2 "...imamatch ka sa ka-compatible mo." Verb  3 "…nang casually i-drop nito ang conversation." Verb  4 "Lahat ng kantang iku-compose nito ay para kay Sandra." Verb  5 "…paulit-ulit na i-check ang pintuan…" Verb  6 "Pero idi-dismiss lang siya nito ng mabili na tingin." Verb  7 "Dahil kapa-patronize sa lahat ng produktong ini-endorse…" Verb  8 "Katatapos lang i-cross out ni Mrs. Baylon ang pinakahuling…" Verb  9 "Ngayong napagod na kayo kata-try ng i-change ako…" Verb  10 "Naghahanap ng bestudang pwedeng i-recylce…" Verb  11 "H'wag mong subukang i-classify ako…" Verb

  12"Hiniling lang niya kay Lucas na kapag ipa-publish na ay palitan ang…" Verb

  13 "…may karapatan siyang i-edit…" Verb  14 “...ibina-blind date nito okay Irene.” Noun  15 "As if pwedeng i-make over ang ganoong klaseng babae." Noun  16 "…mas magandang ipa-package ang kanilang…" Noun

Table 2.D

I- contruction is an object-focu prefix. In this construction, the subject of the

sentence is the object or the goal of the action. Same as other verbal contructions, it can

also convert English nouns to Tagalog verbs.

Affixes   Sentences Syntactic Category

MAGKA- 1 "...ayaw pa niya munang magka-boyfriend…" Noun  2 "…magkaka-World War III…" Noun

NAGKA-  1 "Hindi nagtagal at nagka-boyfriend na rin siya." Noun

   2“…magsasampung taon na siyang hindi nagkaka-orgasm." Noun

Table 2.E

MAGKA- is a possessive existential construction. This construction is used to suggest

existence. The table shows that it is attached to a unaffixiated noun.

C. Adjectival Construction

Affix   Sentences Syntactic Category

NAKA- 1“…alaala ay naka-file sa kayang utak in cross-reference to...” Verb

  2 "For a while hindi naka-react si Ester." Verb

  3“E, ‘yung nakadate ko na nagyoyoga kasabay ng poodle niya?” Verb

  4 "….ang mga sundalo ay naka-deploy na…" Verb  5 "…sinigurado niyang naka-lock ito." Verb  6 "May naka-red ribbon…" Noun  7 "O kaya ay naka-metrosexual daw na ayos." Noun  8 "…naka-leather or naka-jutes…" Noun  9 "…naka-wheelchair na namamando sa mga alalay…" Noun  10 "Naka-T-shirt na kupas si Jordan…” Noun  11 "…naka-plunging green blouse at natural lipstick…" Noun  12 ",,,naka-evening gown na pula at may tiara pa sa ulo." Noun

Table C.1

NAKA- is an adjective prefix which can be followed by nouns (limited to things or

accessories that can be worn or put on) and verbs by roots. The table shows constructions

that conform to the requirement of the Tagalog construction except for sentences 7 and 9.

Affix Sentences Syntactic Category

-NG 1 "May made-in-Chinang kandado…" Noun

  2 "May kabit palang OFWng asawa sa Dubai!" Noun

Table C.2

The suffix –NG is a single-word modifier of nouns. It is attached to words that end in

vowels. The table shows obscure constructions such as a phrase that functions an adjective

and a acronym.

Affixes   Sentences Syntactic Category

PINAKA-  1 "….siya ang may pinaka-adavanced na pananaw." Adjective

Table C.3

PINAKA- construction is used as an adjective intensifier. It is used to express a

superlative degree of adjectives.

V. Conclusion

The study seems to show that the principles underlying the processes of

affixation in Tagalog are also the same principles that work for Taglish

constructions, specifically when Tagalog affixes are attached to borrowed words.

However, it is to note the interesting finding about Taglish verbs in which Tagalog

affixes are used to convert English nouns into Taglish verbs.

Reference

Baklanova, Ekaterina. (2006). Morphological assimilations of borrowings in Tagalog. Paper presented at the Tenth International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics. January 2006. Puerto Pricesa City, Palawan Philippines.

Bernardo, A.B.A., and Gaerlan, M.J.M. (2012). Non-native English student learning in English: reviewing and reflecting on the research. Retrieved March 20, 2013 from http://blog.nus.edu.sg/eltwo/files/2012/11/Non-Native-English-Students-Learning-in-English_editforpdf-2fr3dmc.pdf

Borlongan, A.M., Lim, J.H., Roxas, R.E.O. (2012). Understanding student’s attitudes towards English-Tagalog code-switching in classroom instruction. TESOL Journal ,Vol. 7, pp. 70-77 Retrieved March 18, 2013 from http://tesol-journal.com/PDF/V7_A6.pdf

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Ramos, Teresita V. and Cena, Resty M. (1990). Modern Tagalog. University of Hawaii Press.

Ross, Kie. (1996). Floating phonotactics: Variability in infixation and reduplication of Tagalog loanwords. Masteral Thesis. University of California, Los Angeles.

Schachter, P. and Otanes, Fe. (1965). Tagalog reference grammar. UCLA.

Sj berg, Gustav. (2011). ӧ You like the way we talk mo na? Tagalog-English code-switching compared to the Matrix-Language frame model. Academic paper. Stockholms Universitet Retrieved March 19, 2013 from

http://www.ling.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.25202.1317732433!/menu/standard/file/Gustav_Sjoeberg_C-uppsats_September_2011.pdf

Tangco, R.D. and Nolasco, R.M. (2002). “Taglish" verbs: How English loanwords make it into the Philippine languages. Paper presented at the Tenth Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society.