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Article published In:
Language Ecology
Vol. 1:2 (2017) ► pp.185–212

Language contact in the Philippines

The history and ecology from a Chinese Filipino perspective

| National University of Singapore

This article narrates the sociohistory of the Philippines through the lens of a Sinitic minority group – the Chinese Filipinos. It provides a systematic account of the history, language policies, and educational policies in six major eras, beginning from the precolonial period until the Fifth Republic (960 – present). Concurrently, it presents a diachronic narrative on the different linguistic varieties utilized by the ethnic minority, such as English, Hokkien, Tagalog, and Philippine Hybrid Hokkien (PHH). Following an exposition on how these varieties were introduced to the ecology is a discussion focused on contact that highlights potential theories as to how Philippine contact varieties like PHH emerged. How this account contributes to the overall language ecology forms the conclusion. Overall, this article delineates the socio-historical sources that intrinsically play a significant role in the (re)description of Philippine contact varieties. In its breadth, this article goes beyond providing second-hand information, and presents ideas that can be crucial for understanding how Philippine contact languages work.

Keywords: Chinese Filipino, language contact, language ecology, Philippine contact languages, sociohistory
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Period 1: Pre-colonial Philippines (before 1521)
  • 3.Period 2: Spanish colonization (1521–1898)
  • 4.Period 3: American occupation (1898–1946)
  • 5.Period 4: Post-colonization (1946–1965)
  • 6.Period 5: Martial law era (1965–1986)
  • 7.Period 6: The Fifth Republic onwards (1986 – present)
  • 8.Language contact in focus
  • 9.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 12 January 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/le.1.2.04gon
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