Saturday, January 13, 2018

Infanticipating

They say Filipinos can speak English very well. So well in fact that the whole world has taken notice.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-20066890

That is from 2012 and I can attest that the market for Filipino English teachers has grown and continues to grow considerably. 

But though they may be able to speak English well it really drives me nuts to see things like the following:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/959813/faeldon-gets-furlough-to-be-with-infanticipating-wife
Infanticipiating? Why not just write "expectant?" Why try to get cutesy but combing two words to make a third word that is not a word.  These nonsensical portmanteaus are what I have dubbed "Filipino shorthand" and are to be found most especially in the newspapers. 

Filipinos may be good English speakers (actually they are just the cheapest English teachers) but with these kind of word combos it will be a wonder if they don't start speaking in their own version of Nadsat* before long.


*Nadasat is the slang spoken throughout "A Clockwork Orange." Read the book and forgo the film.

3 comments:

  1. Filipinos are butchering the English language on a daily basis, & having the gall to argue with native English speakers about the proper use & pronunciation of English...

    Only in the Philippines!

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  2. "infanticipating" has been in use in American English for at least sixty years, they even use it in old episodes of "I Love Lucy" for God's sake. Looks like the Filipinos know the English language better than you do!

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    1. It's just supposed to be funny. I don't think "infanticipating" is a "real" word. It is a portmanteau. So silly to see it in a headline. Thanks for reading.

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