Did you already get your TIN NUMBER? Did you fall in line? Was it traffic so you were late today? Anyways, let’s talk about the lesson that I really love to discuss with my students. FILIPINISM. Are you ready? In 3….2….1…. lights open!
Like all other language, English is quite a problem to all foreign learners. Some of the rules are easy to explain but some are just tricky and often cause problems and difficulty even for advanced students and teachers. We, Filipinos are very fond of using the English language especially when expressing our feelings on social media but some of us are not aware of the mistakes we are making. The examples below are some of the common mistakes, we Filipinos make when using English. You can share them with your friends to avoid being made fun of in the future: 😉 hihihihihi
TIN NUMBER – “ATE, MAY TIN NUMBER KA NA?” no…no…no… DO NOT SAY TIN NUMBER BUT “TIN”! Would you like to mean Tax Identification Number “Number”?
“PA XEROX NGA PO!” ohh.. PHOTOCOPY PLEASE!
“Sorry I am late! It was TRAFFIC!” Well this may sound correct but it’s SO WRONG! Traffic refers to the flow of vehicles on a road or high way. So it is more proper to say:
“Oh! Sorry I’m late! There was a HEAVY TRAFFIC!”
“ANYWAYS” – for heaven’s sake! Why do we love the letter “S” so much that we always add it to the words we use. ANYWAY, ANYWAY, ANYWAY! Okay? Anyways, ohhh… I mean, anyway, let’s move on to the next word.
OPEN AND CLOSE THE LIGHT – Seriously? Like a window? We should also open and close the like? What about saying “TURN ON OR TURN OFF THE LIGHT?” That will sound better! Hihihi
“FOR MY OPINION” – the most common mistake college students make. Often heard when someone’s reporting in front of the class. The correct term is: IN MY OPINION.
COMMIT A MISTAKE – We were bombarded by this phrase during my elementary days by our teachers. I only found out it was wrong when I was corrected by my college professor!
“Hey, girl! You should say: MAKE A MISTAKE instead!”
“CAN YOU REPEAT THAT AGAIN?” – Redundancy at its finest! It is better to say the following:
- I’m sorry?
- Excuse me? I didn’t get what you said.
“IT’S MORE HARDER….THAT’S MORE BETTER” – Degree of adjectives. Always remember that ER in the end of the word means more so no need to add the word more when you use the words SMARTER, BRIGHTER, COLDER, BOLDER and all other adjectives that ends with ER. It will be better!
And of course….. the most common term students hear at schools:
FALL IN LINE…. Oh no! teachers should rather say:
“Stand in a queue” or “line up” or “make a line”
Since most Filipinos are not aware of these corrections, these wrong terms and phrases have appeared to be acceptable but in the English speaking world, this should be avoided. They have to be corrected and to be taught to promote the good use the language as well as to be understood better.
So now that you know about it, kindly spread this to your friends! Let them find the common errors that they must have been possibly making for a long time! 😉
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