An Open Letter to James Soriano

Background: http://mb.com.ph/articles/331851/language-learning-identity-privilege

———————————————————————————————————————-

Dear James,

I am you.

Born to a family which speaks English at home, save for the occasional slang or joke in Filipino.

Studied in two private schools which taught us to understand and read primarily in English. Filipino was like a subject, treated almost like a foreign language. All others (math, reading, history, etc) were taught in English.

I was enrolled in a University known for churning out graduates fluent in English speech, writing and performing.

I speak English properly, write English clearly and converse in the same language.

Just like you, I always knew how to speak Filipino, but not to the level of others which have made it their mother tongue. In my case, whenever I had to read or understand Filipino, I’d have to translate it first to English. This made it more difficult in High School and College, because I had to translate all the time in my head.

I understand what you were writing about. Believe me, I really do. There are thousands of people like us in the Philippines. Those who aren’t comfortable speaking Tagalog primarily. In fact, this entire letter is written in a foreign language.

I am you. Yet, I am not like you.

I admire those who speak Filipino fluently and clearly. It’s a frustration of mine that when I speak the language, I have a slight accent which is easy to mock or make fun of. When I write copy for my dayjob in Filipino, in my head it tends to come off as amateurish and simple. It frustrates me to no end, that I am not well-versed in our mother tongue, that I’ve fallen so far behind in how I feel I should be writing or speaking.

The reason I admire (and even envy) those who speak Filipino well is because I believe they are people who have gamely embraced all that our country has to offer. They’ve tasted, experienced and understood what it means to be Filipino to the inner core. You and I, we have different backgrounds from them. We grew up in gated subdivisions or condos, protected from the real Philippines, the hustle and bustle of a city with so much rich culture and interesting stories to tell. Others may judge or look down on us because of the privileged backgrounds that we come from, but they have no right to. This is the only life we can live, and we were blessed.

I believe that there are Filipinos who are Pinoy only by race, not by life.

Those who are not willing to experience all that our awesome country has to offer. It’s easy to judge people like us, James, as people like that because of our upbringing, culture and even, as you said, education.

But I encourage you, do not make that an excuse to simply dismiss Filipino as the so-called “language of the streets.” You say that you are disconnected from being Filipino? Then connect with it. Embrace it, even just for a day. Don’t be merely content with being a spirit-level Filipino. Be a real Filipino, proud of everything that you are, despite the good, the bad and the ugly.

And you will see that the real privilege is learning to BE Filipino, not merely BEING a Filipino. Our identity should not be based on our past, identity and upbringing. In fact, we have our entire life moving forward to go beyond our comfort zone and embrace what being a Filipino is all about.

If someone like me, a conyo kid from QC can do it, and is actually excited to experience the REALNESS that this beautiful country has to offer, then I’m sure that anyone can. Including you.

Sa isip, sa salita, at sa gawa