Filipinos are getting some trendy bush up in the Oxford English Dictionary, which has of late took a swivel at Philippine English and included 20 words to its compendium.
Observers note that the OED, which attempts to be a historic recorder of the English language, has been collecting words wherever these words have their roots.
The 20 words came from opinions of different crowds in this country of 106 million people, which started speaking English during the Philippine-American War at the turn of the 20th century after the archipelago republic was under Spain for more than 360 years.
The English words spoken and understood in the Philippines include: ambush interview, n.; bagoong (fish paste among Tagalogs, and boggoong in Northern Philippines), n.; bihon, n.; bongga, adj.; carinderia, n.; cartolina, n.; dine-in, n. and adj.; dirty ice cream, n.; ensaimada, n.; holdupper (holdup man), n.; palay (unmilled rice), n.; panciteria, n.; querida, n.; rotonda, n.; sorbetes, n.; trapo, n.; turon, n.; and viand, n.
To non-Filipinos, dirty ice cream is another food word that may sound surprising to non-Filipinos, but that only means, plain and simple, ice cream which is sold down the streets by ambulant vendors.
It’s been said multiple times over the years that “Filipino food is the biggest new trend” but the addition of Filipino food into the OED spells good for the future of our cuisine. It at least means representation, and all rep, even for something called dirty ice cream, is welcome.
Other words reflect less-considered but long-standing communities.
“Bihon” (“noodles”), which entered English from the Tagalog “bihon”, is derived from the Hokkien “bí-hún” (“rice flour”, “rice noodles”).
Similarly, the Tagalog “pancit” (“noodles”) in panciteria—an inexpensive restaurant typically serving noodle dishes—is ultimately from the Hokkien “piÄn-ê-sit” (“convenience food”), narrowing to mean “noodles” later.
Although in the new Tagalog orthography, there is no letter c.
