Final paper in Rhetorics(The Art of Public Speaking) PDF

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Rhetorics- The art of Public speaking and Persuasion...

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Gay Lingo: An Emerging Language among Filipino Millennials Lian Joyce G. Flores Joan B. Pepito Master of Arts in English Language MEL 506 - The Study of Rhetoric Tarlac State University, Tarlac City, 2300 Philippines

Abstract: The general purpose of this study was to assess the use of Gay Lingo among Filipino Millennials. The descriptive method was facilitated in this study wherein 100 respondents were chosen to answer an informal interview for data gathering. This research contributes to expanding and exploring how colorful the gay language could be, how unique it is, and how influential it is among youngsters, even those that do not belong in the LGBTQ+ community. Aside from that, though the research may seem to be a complex process, the collected data may likewise serve as an empirical basis for further studies in the future. Keywords - Gay Lingo, Language, Filipino, Millennials I. INTRODUCTION Language is frequently referred to be a culture's sine qua non or the most essential and distinctive quality. With that, there is always a link between a society's level of civilization and the complexity and development of its language. One could argue that civilization, or even the concept of knowledge, is inextricably linked to language. Scientists studying the evolution of social behavior point out four fundamental characteristics that distinguish the human organism from the most evolved sub-human creatures, such as the chimp. These include the development of an upright posture, the expansion and complexity of the cerebral cortex, a protracted period of socialization, and finally, the acquisition of advanced and complicated linguistic talents and abilities. Nevertheless, unlike the previous three, which are wholly biological or related to biological processes, language is not one of them. Human language skills have been improving and will continue to improve. Whereas brain anatomy, erect posture, and socializing have mostly stayed constant throughout human history, the evolution of language is different. Languages have become more complicated, high-quality, flexible, refined, and versatile. While animals and, to some extent, the first humans relied heavily on gestures and movements, verbal language is now the most common mode of communication in modern civilization.

This verbal language has engulfed many lives in every field, and it is now impossible to imagine progress or development in any sphere of life without the use of language. As a result, music has evolved as a language, as has the numerical system, dance as a language, Morse code, a variety of computer languages, and a lot more. In the Philippines, though it is a country with more than 100 distinct spoken languages that may also be grouped into northern family and central family, linguists say that linguistic diversity arises from the natural process and are subject to change. Other than that, high levels of borrowing languages such as English, Spanish, Filipino, and other foreign languages, cause converse convergence that in the process results in the betterment or worsening, or in some cases emerging of new languages. In line with this, it can be stated that the Filipino LGBTQ+ community, especially the gay speak, gay lingo, or "sward speak," which is an argot or slang derived from Taglish, making an enormous influence among millennials and just like any other language, is constantly changing. Nevertheless, unlike other languages, words and terms in this colorful tongue change so quickly that it would be impossible to come up with a dictionary of the language that would not become obsolete within a matter of months, weeks, or even days. Despite this, a thread holds this language together: freedom, freedom from the rules and dictates of society. (Saguitan, 2012)

II. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES The general purpose of this study was to assess the use of Gay Lingo among Filipino Millennials. It aimed to: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Point out the users of this language, Discuss the development and morphology of the gay language, Present how the sward speak is being accumulated, and Show the effect it has on millennials as a language of communication.

III. METHODOLOGY Research Design The descriptive design was used in this investigation. It explained the gay slang speakers, the homosexual slang used in everyday discussions, how it is developed, its morphology and accumulation, and its effect on millennials. Data Collection

The study had 100 participants, and the information was gathered through an informal interview with the respondents. Random selection was made for the purposive sampling technique among millennials studying in universities and working sectors.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Gay Language Users From the 100 random respondents, it came out that 75 of them were part of the LGBTQ+ community, while the remaining 25 were under the category who are friends with gays, had relationships with gays, and gay women or "babaeng-bakla," a term used for women who can speak and comprehend gay slang. Furthermore, based on the records, continuous contact with gays in various places and situations contributed to why they adapted to the language. Gay Words Morphology In their regular conversations, gays frequently utilized a variety of LGBTQ+ terms. The words used are constructed in various ways, such as loanwords or borrowed, metathesis, affixation, substitution, acronym, duplication or repetition, clipping or reduction, blending, using names of famous persons or places, using a figure of speech, and mixing. Here are some examples: Loan or Borrowed – from other dialect or language otoki (Japanese), meaning boy mujer (Spanish), meaning girl sight (English), meaning to see gurang (Bicol) meaning old dako (Hiligaynon) meaning big Metathesis – syllable switching or complete reversal batsi from the Tagalog word sibat meaning to leave damatan (matanda) meaning old itits (titi) meaning testes alaws (wala), meaning none with the addition of "s." Affixation – adding suffixes like 'sung,' 'ever,' 'chickles.' (Celce, 2010) sayt from the English word sight spelled in Filipino + the suffix sung to form saytsung tumanders ever which came from the Filipino word tanda, meaning old Substitution - changing a sound or segment of a word to another sound or segment, usually in a consonant sound

kili-kili – jili-jili (armpit) hirap – jirap (difficult) maputik – mashutik (muddy) buhok – shuhok (hair) anak – junak (son/daughter) tao – boo (person) damo – kyomo (grass) tanda – shonda (old) and asawa nyosawa (husband/wife) Acronym - involves the use of the initial letters of words GL for Ganda Lang (free) OPM for Oh Promise Me (for liar) PG for Pa Girl (to act like a woman) Duplication or repetition - to repeat a word or a part of a word chika-chika means to converse or gossip chuchu and cheneschenes for meaningless Clipping or reduction – is done by adapting the first syllable of a word ma for malayko (I do not know) pa for pakialamko (I don't care). Blending - is combining the first syllable of the first word and the last syllable of the second word. suhod from suso and tuhod meaning susohanggangtuhod (big bust) badaf from bakla dapat where p is changed to f (Fromkin, 2010) Using Names of Popular Persons or Places Baliwag (name of a place) meaning baliw (crazy) Luz Valdez (name of a person) meaning talo (lose) Using Figure of Speech Onomatopoeia - The use of sounds to mean something kumukokak (sound of a frog), meaning nagsasalita (talking) Metaphor - use figurative expressions. Bukas na karinderya for someone sitting carelessly Mix- mix - mixing words from two or more languages buko juice (coconut milk), meaning blow job on diet datung meaning no money

Why was Gay Lingo Formed? Gay speak, sometimes known as "sward speak," combines aspects of Tagalog, English, Spanish, some Japanese, and celebrity names and trademark brands to create new meanings in various circumstances. It is primarily localized within gay communities, using words from local languages or dialects, such as Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Bicolano, and other places. According to Hudson and Badingtionary (2010), by using sward speak, Filipino gays can resist the dominant culture of their area and create their own space. With their language, there is freedom as there are no actual past, present, present, or future tenses in homosexual slang. It does not obey subject-verb agreement and uses verbs, comparatives, and superlative forms for adjectives (Gianan, 2012). Also, as per Garcia (2014), in gay language, old expressions become obsolete, while new words frequently enter everyday usage, reflecting changes in their culture while maintaining uniqueness. Therefore, the primary motivations for gays to create their own words are diverse: to become unique/different from others, to serve as their identity, to belong or be accepted in a group, to offer them pleasure, and to inspire them to be imaginative. Gay Lingo Accumulation Since the gay lingo is an emerging language among Filipino millennials, results regarding factors such as gender, age, religion, sociodemography, and influence are shown below. Gender: Out of the 100 respondents, most of the respondents are gays (75%), followed by females (20%), than males (5%). This only shows that females are more engaged with gays compared to males engaged with gays. Age: Conducted among people aged 13 to 25 years old, the majority who responded are between 17 to 21 years old, and with this range, it means that they start learning the gay lingo around 15 years old. Religion: As Roman Catholic being one of the most dominant religions in the Philippines, almost 73% of the respondents who can speak and comprehend the gay lingo were Catholics. Sociodemography: In the sociodemographic profile, the language used by the respondents as a way of communication is Tagalog with 93.6% since Tagalog is almost similar to Filipino, the national language of the Philippines. Aside from that, the remaining respondents also answered that they used Iloko and Kapampangan since Tarlac is considered the melting pot of Central Luzon.

Influence: Going on with the communication aspect, it showed that the majority of the respondents preferred to get information about gay lingo to their friends (68%), followed by the internet (32%). Though gay lingo can be taught anywhere, friends are still the most frequent avenue for learning this language as they are easy to approach and can give information easily. While the internet covers an extensive array of knowledge, it requires thorough research to acquire formal learning as not all found there are reliable. Moreover, still in line with influence, respondents prefer face-to-face acquisition of skill with 53.9% compared to online as they find it entertaining to hear, and they somehow feel they are in trend and popular as they speak it with a group of people. Effects of Gay Lingo Halliday (2013) suggests that language serves to express social and personal relations, represent an experience, impart factual information, control the behavior of others, engage in fantasies, and show one's identity in conversation. As per Remoto (2008), many LGBT terms have been introduced and spoken by ordinary people since Taglish reached the masses in the 1960s. While during the 1970s, the gay language in the Philippines even became a language mediator. Hence, gay words from the 1970s can still be found in beauty salons and workplaces, universities and streets, media, and boutiques, but they are constantly updated. Then when the 1980s arrived, gays began to refer to show business and entertainment figures, geography and science, media and politics, culture, and the arts by their given names. However, according to Baytan (2014), although people are becoming more accepting, homosexuals continue to face prejudice and condemnation in several countries worldwide. As a result, homosexual slang serves as a "defensive mechanism" against a homophobic culture. Among Millennials Nowadays, gay language is of equal importance in communicating as the other dialects or languages. Whether it is intentional or not, it is unconsciously adopted to be a part of society everyday as it is encountered more often. Also, the more people become used to hearing and speaking the gay lingo, their perceptions about gays change slowly as they become more openminded and the contagious happiness of gay people infects us. While, in terms of the extent of utilization of gay lingo, findings show that the word charot, which means joke, was one of the gay lingo words many are familiar with and constantly used to communicate. The gay lingo could be used in conversation with other people and in talking to the people a part of the LGBTG+ community.

V. CONCLUSION With the data presented, findings show that the effects of using gay lingo are high because the millennials said that they feel a sense of happiness while using it, claiming that it affects them in a positive manner. In addition, the millennials said that the gay lingo helps them communicate, changing their aspects towards gay people in using it. In conclusion, because man lives in a sophisticated environment, he is more receptive to change, and homosexuality is accepted into society. As a result, LGBTQ+ slang flourishes, appearing on TV shows and in tabloids. Non-gays are exposed to sward speak and incorporate it into their lexicon. Sward speaks will eventually be included in Filipino dictionaries available in bookshops. Sward speak is constructed using the same laws of word creation as the ordinary Filipino and English languages. VI. REFERENCES Why Is Language Important? Your Guide To The Spoken Word. (n.d.). University of the People. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/why-is-language-important/ Pascual, J. R. (2016). SWARD SPEAK (GAY LINGO) IN THE PHILIPPINE CONTEXT: A MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS. International Journal of Advanced Research in Management and Social Sciences, 5(12), 32–36. https://garph.co.uk/IJARMSS/Dec2016/4.pdf Essay on Language and Communication | Human Behaviour | Psychology. (n.d.). Https://Www.Psychologydiscussion.Net/. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.psychologydiscussion.net/essays/language-essays/essay-on-language-andcommunication-human-behaviour-psychology/3137 McFarland, C. D. (2004, February 18). The Philippine language situation. World Englishes. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467971X.2004.00335.x Bautista, Ma. Lourdes, 1996.Readings in Philippine sociolinguistics. Manila: De la Salle University Press. Celce, Diane, et al. The grammar book. Manila: Anvil Publishing, Inc. Fromkin, V, et al. 2010. Introduction to linguistics. Singapore: Cengage Learning Asia Pte. Ltd. Garcia, Neil, 1996. Philippine gay culture. Quezon City. University of the Philippines Press.

Hudson, R. 1987. Sociolinguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Baytan, R. (2014). Language, Sex, and Insult: Notes on Garcia and Remoto's Gay Dict..C. D. Villareal; L. R. R. Top & P. M. B. Jurilla (eds). Ruptures and Departures: Language and Culture in Southeast Asia. University of the Philippines (pp.260-280) Saguitan, C. (2012). A Semantic Look At Feminine Sex And Gender Terms In Philippine Gay Lingo. 1- 11 Remoto, D. (2008). On Philippine gay lingo. Retrieved January 23, 2015, from http://www.abscbnnews.com/views-andanalysis/05/05/08/philippine-gaylingo-danton-remoto...