Have you ever heard of the word “Barok English”? It sure sounds funny, but yes! Ladies and gentlemen there is such a thing as “Barok English”. ‘Barok English” also known as “Carabao English” or “broken English” are scraps of English words tied together.
(http://kchanneluap.blogspot.com/2008/01/ua-knowledge-channel-ang-estudyanteng.html) another definition is, “Carabao english” is the connotation that is more or less refers to broken English. (http://georgedelapaz.blogspot.com/2007/10/carabao-english.tml, Jayred, October 10, ’07, 5:05am)Here are some examples: “I ran into some errands”, “First and for all”, “Let’s give them a big hand of applause”, “Well well well. Look do we have here!”, “What are friends are for?”, ““Where’d you came from?”, “It’s as brand as new” and etc. (http://butchito.multiply.com/journal/item/24/oh_shocks..._the_best_of_carabao_english._, Aug 7, '07, 9:13 PM) these are just some of the words we often hear and sometimes we actually think that these words are correct. It may be funny but we should correct the person who said it in order for him/her to learn to say the correct word.
Many of us Filipinos have this “sickness” we think that we pronounce certain words correctly but, the sad truth is, it is wrong. A good example was when I was in a doughnut store and I was having a hard time choosing on what doughnut I should get, so I asked the sales clerk “Is there anything new from your selection of doughnuts?”, and the sales clerk said “sir! Meron po! Try nyo ang babarian donat namin” At first I couldn’t get what he was saying, it was garbled and I couldn’t get it but I bought the doughnut believing it was called “barbarian donat”. Luckily I had a friend who was with me and he told me it was pronounced Bavarian doughnuts. Then I said to myself, Wow! “Yan ang Barok English!”
“Barok English” is growing and is still continuing to grow. It is very disturbing now that call centers are booming here in the
According to the NIDCD (National institute of deafness and other communication disorders)”The most intensive period of speech and language development for humans is during the first three years of life, a period when the brain is developing and maturing. These skills appear to develop best in a world that is rich with sounds, sights, and consistent exposure to the speech and language of others.” (Speech and Language Developmental Milestones, NIH Publication No. 00-4781, April 2000, http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/speechandlanguage.asp)
This means that the child at an early age already has an idea on what you are saying. In just 36 months the child must be able to do the following: “Use pronouns (I, you, me) correctly, Knows at least three prepositions, (usually in, on, under), Knows chief parts of body and should be able to indicate these if not name, Handles three word sentences easily, Has in the neighborhood of 900-1000 words, Verbs begin to predominate, Understands most simple questions dealing with his environment and activities, Relates his experiences so that they can be followed with reason, Able to reason out such questions as "what must you do when you are sleepy, hungry, cool, or thirsty?" Should be able to give his sex, name, age,” (Language development in children, http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/language_development.shtml)
In the
“Part of the problem is the lack of proficiency of the teachers. They also do not master the language themselves aside form the fact that there is a lack of educational materials” (UA&P knowledge channel: Ang estudyanteng Pilipino/ the Filipino student, Thursday, January 17, 2008, http://kchanneluap.blogspot.com/2008/01/ua-knowledge-channel-ang-estudyanteng.html) 
Another problem is the books used in school. Some publishers are just so obsessed with earning money that they publish books that are grammatically wrong. From the title, to the page number, even publishing a book without any license. TRULY ONLY IN THE
Using “Barok English” is not so bad at all. It may be improper to use during formal meetings but hey! Look on the bright side. Many of our famous comedians are using “Barok English” to make their jokes more interesting, more fun, and they get the audiences attention. Because when these comedians perform they act as if they are trying so hard to fit pieces of English words and fit it all in one sentence. It’s really funny how they do it. And we are laughing because we know what the correct word to use. We get entertained because someone is speaking in “Barok English” yet he/she is not affected whether what he/she is saying is correct or not.
We Filipinos being the fun loving and happy persons that we are, we are still one of the happiest country in the world. According to (http://happyplanetindex.org/map.htm) the
Others may think that “Barok English” shows us Filipinos being illiterate in language but think of it this way, it may be a negative outcome but due to the ingenuity of Filipinos we turned our flaws to a laughing matter. And now, we are becoming more popular the
Gone were the days of Jimmy Santos, his jokes are no longer a hit but because of him there were others who followed his footsteps. Only this time they did not intent on speaking “Barok English” it was natural to them. “Keys me” by Alyssa Alano
or “We’re brothers forever” by Renaldo Lapuz of American idol are just some of the “naturally in borne” “Barok English” speakers of today. What truly makes them funny is there English. It’s “Barok English” at its finest! They try SO HARD to speak in English, but little did they know that they had forgotten the rules of the English language. All the pronunciation was incorrect; the tenses were mixed and match, everything was all wrong. But I had to say it was damn entertaining!
“Barok English” can be corrected. It may be stressful to correct if you are not used to the language. That is why you should have someone to guide you through. Someone you can ask questions, someone who has a broad knowledge on the language. One more tip I can give is through reading. Reading newspapers, magazines, and books will make a big difference. It will help you gain more knowledge, improve on your vocabulary skills and learn the language much quicker. Don’t just rely on media and the internet as a source of vocabulary words and other information’s. I believe that we can gain more knowledge and increase our vocabulary skills if we just learn the habit of reading. It is really up to the person if he/she is willing to try, everything will be pointless if the person will just read just for the sake of reading. Learn to appreciate and understand what you are reading. With this you become more observant and as you search these unfamiliar words, you will then find out its meaning. Question your self when reading and make the effort to search so the word sticks to your brain. My advice is simple to further improve on the English language simply, READ… READ… READ…
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