DAVAO CITY — Time and again I say we Filipinos are a miseducated people. Our education works for the interest, glory and honor of foreigners. Most especially the Americans.
And of course — and I’ll never get tired of repeating this: the educated or schooled Filipino always loves and speaks the language not his/her own. Even if he/she has not completed secondary or tertiary education, he/she still loves to speak English. Given the slightest opportunity to speak his/her mind, he/she’ll try hard to speak English in the most affected manner he/she can.
First and foremost, they write in English. They frown upon any literary craft rendered in the indigenous tongue. To most of them, English is the most exquisite language in the world. And woe to those who cannot deliver their artistic expressiveness in this medium for they would be the “least” among equals. And so, you will be someone queer and be part of a species of deviants if you use a Filipino language in your writings.
A stark example of colonial-mindedness among our artists is the use of mythical allusions in their poetry.