Pronoun choice of Filipino urban households helpers

Date of Publication

3-2008

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics

Subject Categories

South and Southeast Asian Languages and Societies

College

Br. Andrew Gonzalez FSC College of Education

Department/Unit

English Language Education

Thesis Adviser

Mildred Rojo-Laurilla

Defense Panel Chair

Leonisa A. Mojica

Defense Panel Member

Corazon V. Balarbar
Cecilia Genuino
Rochelle Irene G. Lucas
Marilu Ranosa-Madrunio

Abstract/Summary

The paper studied how language, specifically the use of second person pronominals exhibits different social dimensions when used by a seemingly marginalized group in the Philippine context – the group of household helpers (hhps). The reason for the study is because, language is believed to be the single, most reliable indicator of one’s social and physiological characteristics and this indicator is most prominent when socio-economic level between interlocutors is wide. The researcher used triangulation – observing the respondents, recording interactions, and interviewing selected respondents – in gathering the corpus for the study. Analysis was done is two folds. First is the application of a simple frequency count and tallying of the pronouns followed by the comparison of the frequency distribution in order to determine whether the given variable elicited more plural or singular pronouns. Second is the qualitative analysis of the occurrences in order to identify and verify their link to different social dimensions. Results of the study show that the use of plural pronouns seems to exhibit politeness and this preference is mostly influenced by the role relationship of the interlocutors, the educational attainment of the hhps, and the age of both interlocutors. The use of singular pronouns, on the other hand, appears to exhibit linguistic power, but it could also exhibit solidarity. The preference for this form is mostly influenced by the length of stay of the hhps in the household, the place of origin of the hhps and setting of the conversations.

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Format

Electronic

Accession Number

CDTG004786

Shelf Location

Archives, The Learning Commons, 12F Henry Sy Sr. Hall

Physical Description

xxiv, 142 leaves

Keywords

Filipino language—Pronoun; Household employees—Philippines—Language

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5-26-2022

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