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Swardspeak

Swardspeak (also known as salitang bakla (lit. 'gay speak')[1] or "gay lingo") is an argot or cant slang derived from Taglish (Tagalog-English code-switching) and used by a number of LGBT people in the Philippines.[2][3]

Description

Swardspeak uses elements from Tagalog, English, Spanish, and some from Japanese, as well as celebrities' names and trademark brands, giving them new meanings in different contexts.[4] It is largely localized within gay communities, making use of words derived from the local languages, including Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Waray and Bicolano.

Usage

A defining trait of swardspeak slang is that it more often than not immediately identifies the speaker as homosexual, making it easy for people of that orientation to recognize each other. This creates an exclusive group among its speakers and helps them resist cultural assimilation. More recently, even non-members of the gay community have been known to use this way of speaking, e.g. heterosexual members of industries dominated by gays, such as the fashion and film industries.

Swardspeak as a language is constantly changing, with old phrases becoming obsolete and new phrases frequently entering everyday usage, reflecting changes in their culture and also maintaining exclusivity. The dynamic nature of the language refuses to cement itself in a single culture and allows for more freedom of expression among its speakers. Words and phrases can be created to react to popular trends and create alternatives to a strictly defined lifestyle. By these characteristics, swardspeak creates a dissident group without any ties to geographical, linguistic, or cultural restrictions, allowing its speakers to shape the language as they see fit, with relation to current times. In this way, the language is not only "mobile" and part of a larger community, but also open to more specific or local meanings and interpretations.[5]

Origin

The word "swardspeak", according to José Javier Reyes, was coined by columnist and film critic Nestor Torre in the 1970s. Reyes himself wrote a book on the subject entitled Swardspeak: A Preliminary Study.[6] "Sward" is an outdated slang for 'gay male' in the Philippines.[7][unreliable source] The origin of the individual words and phrases, however, has existed longer and come from a variety of sources.[8]

Conventions

Swardspeak is a form of slang (and therefore highly dynamic, as opposed to colloquialisms) that is built upon preexisting languages. It deliberately transforms or creates words that resemble words from other languages, particularly English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German. It is colorful, witty, and humorous, with vocabularies derived from popular culture and regional variations.[9] It is unintelligible to people not familiar with the Filipino gay culture or who do not know the rules of usage.[10] There is no standardized set of rules, but some of the more common conventions are shown below:[11]

Examples

See also

References

  1. ^ Alba, Reinerio A. (June 5, 2006). "In Focus: The Filipino Gayspeak (Filipino Gay Lingo)". National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Archived from the original on October 30, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  2. ^ Empress Maruja (July 27, 2007). "Deciphering Filipino Gay Lingo". United SEA. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  3. ^ Leap, William (2013). Globalization and Gay Language. 350 Main Street, Malden: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 558. ISBN 978-1-4051-7581-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  4. ^ Jessica Salao (April 30, 2010). "Gayspeak: Not for gays only". thepoc.net. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  5. ^ Cynthia Grace B. Suguitan. "A SEMANTIC LOOK AT FEMININE SEX AND GENDER TERMS IN PHILIPPINE GAY LINGO" (PDF). University of the Philippines. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 19, 2011. Retrieved December 25, 2010.
  6. ^ Reinerio A. Alba (June 5, 2006). "The Filipino Gayspeak (Filipino Gay Lingo)". ncca.gov.ph. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
  7. ^ "GAY SPEAKS on "SWARDSPEAK"". badinggerzie.blogspot.com. May 13, 2005. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
  8. ^ Norberto V. Casabal (August 2008). "Gay Language: Defying the Structural Limits of English Language in the Philippines". Kritika Kultura (11): 74–101. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  9. ^ Danton Remoto (May 5, 2008). "On Philippine gay lingo". abs-cbnnews.com. Retrieved December 25, 2010.
  10. ^ "Gay Lingo (Made in the Philippines)". doubletongued.org. November 16, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  11. ^ Empress Maruja (July 27, 2007). "Deciphering Filipino Gay Lingo". United SEA. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  12. ^ Reinerio A. Alba (June 5, 2006). "The Filipino Gayspeak (Filipino Gay Lingo)". ncca.gov.ph. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
  13. ^ "Gay Lingo Collections". July 5, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  14. ^ Norberto V. Casabal (August 2008). "Gay Language: Defying the Structural Limits of English Language in the Philippines". Kritika Kultura (11): 74–101. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  15. ^ Lisa Yannucci. "Philippines Children's Songs and Nursery Rhymes". mamalisa.com. Retrieved December 25, 2010.

Bibliography

External links