Philippine E-Journals

T’boli Tourism English in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato

Doreen Tampus

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

In the emergence of globalization, as people, technology, media, and the economy mobilize, the English language also follows this movement. English has become the lingua franca of many countries worldwide. The extent of the spread of English reaches even a cultural heritage community like Lake Sebu, in the province of South Cotabato, in Mindanao, Philippines, because of tourism. In gathering information relevant to this research, Schneider's (2016a) social parameters were adapted, such as user characteristics in terms of age, gender, and professional status; usage conditions and speaker's attitudes to political conditions and the languages involved. This paper argues that there is a unique variety of Philippine English among T'boli tour guides influenced by their L1, which I call "T'boli Tourism English." It is characterized by Schneider's (2016a) hybridity of English, Schneider's (2016b) "grassroots Englishes," and it is located in the third circle of Martin's (2014) "circles within circles.