DISCOURSE AND STYLISTICS IN PHILIPPINE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH: OF AMBIVALENCE

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Discourse and Stylistics in Philippine Literature in English: Of AmbivalenceIntroduction

Because little of the native tradition persists and little transfer of indigenous discourse patterns has taken place, it is Philippine only in theme and subject matter.Andrew Gonzales,

On English in Philippine Literature in English

Philippine Literature in English began as early as the first decade of the previous century, a little after a decade of American colonial rule (which began in 1988) (Gonzales 29).

It is quite indicative of the Filipinos almost embarrassing eagerness to learn the foreign language of the new colonial masters that as early as 1903, a group of talented Filipino males were ready to be sent as pensionados to the United States, having learned to speak or write English in barely less than five years, under the tutelage initially of the American soldiers who set up make-shift schools near their barracks and subsequently, after the Organic Act of 1901 establishing the Philippine educational system, from the Thomasites (American public school teachers who began to arrive aboard the U.S.S. Thomasite in 1901) (Gonzales 29).From a population with no knowledge of English, officially counted for the first time in the census of 1901, as many as 885, 854 out of a literate population of 3, 138, 634 or 28% were listed as being able to read English by the next census of 1918 (Gonzales 29).The University of the Philippines began in 1908. As early as 1909, there were published poems in English written by young college students for the Philippine Free Press and by 1910 the College Folio, the literary magazine of the university. The first Philippine novel in English (Galangs Child of Sorrow) appeared in 1916. By 1925, Paz Marquez Benitez published the first Philippine short story in English entitled Dead Stars (Gonzales 29).Thus began the Philippine Literature in English and thus began the Filipino literary artists second apprenticeship under a foreign mentor in a new tongue. The first mentorship of course was under the Spaniards, and flourished for a bare quarter century, during the last decade of the nineteenth century (Gonzales 29).

In expressing their vision in a second language, in a borrowed tongue, which they acquired through schooling in English, the low-land Christianized Filipinos were repeating a similar experience in Spanish (Gonzales 29-30) thus affecting their learning of the English language.The Clash of English and Filipino

When a first language speaker begins to learn a second language, the most immediate transfers noticeable are in the area of phonology, vocabulary and syntax which are carried across and more subtly, semantic features, tense/aspect, gender categorizations and subcategorizations, less overt but nonetheless operative are transferred. As the learner advances, he begins to translate and unless he learns otherwise, he soon translates first-language collocations literally in full expressions (calques, with semblance of transliterations) (Gonzales 30).

Less well described, perhaps because our awareness of these realities has become heightened only when our theoretical models provided us with paradigms that went beyond the sentence into discourse and context, are transfers of presuppositions, knowledge of the world arising from ones culture, society and personal history [in relation to idiolect]. These non-overt features soon become inferable from the linguistic thematizations of their world. In the case of an individual living in a different society and culture, s/he may attain a degree of biculturalism, or to some extent, in the Philippine setting, a form of language mixing or pidginization (Gonzales 30-31).It can be noticed that from 1905 to 1940 was the time of the [language] incorporation of English in Philippine Literature. Hence, it would be ideal have this romantic notion among these textsfollowing Western standards.

On the one hand, from 1945 to 1960 (even up to the present), we have this relatively free to boldly and blithely go where almost no one else will bother going (Dalisay Jr. 145) tradition. Particular ideologies or schemas for writing are befuddling the literature proliferated by time (or period) and social/political/cultural constraints. Perhaps, as Gonzalez puts it, the Philippine literature in English is Philippine only in theme and subject matter, that is, the English language remains coloniala problem of owning phonology, lexicon, syntax, and discourse patterns of the language brought by the American regime.The above paradigm seems to be an approximation of what has happened to English in once colonized countries of Britain and the United States, certainly English in the Philippines. It has given rise to what are referred to in the literature now as the new Englishes or more soberly new varieties of English and more specifically, Philippine English, or to use Llamzons term, Standard Filipino English.Discourse and Stylistics in Literary Texts

Discourse may be defined as language in use (Schiffrin 23). It is either spoken or written. Whereas speech has its own discourse strategies, it also employs stylistic devices in order to communicate more effectively. Also, in written texts such as poetry and short story, the discourse found in these works is stylistically driven or containing cohesive devices in order to attain effectiveness/rhetoric.

More so, the stylistic mentality is always on the lookout for one or more of the following:

pattern

repetition

recurrent structures

ungrammatical or language stretching structures

large internal contrasts of content or presentation (Toolan 2).

Also, a linguistic means by which sentences are woven together to make texts, a process called cohesion, is also taken into account in stylistic analysis. It includes cohesive devices such as reference, ellipsis, conjunction, and lexical cohesion (Toolan 23-31).

Meanwhile, a tool for analysis of discourse is the Speech Act Theory as formulated by John Austin and was later incorporated into linguistic theory by John Searle (Schiffrin 49). Speech acts are illocutionary acts or the speakers intention(s). This can be divided into different classes: representatives (e.g. asserting), directives (e.g. requesting), commissives (e.g. promising), expressives (e.g. thanking), and declarations (e.g. appointing) (Schiffrin 57). These speech acts can also be regarded as the functions of language usethus making them [a] discourse feature.

In this light, the discussion in this paper will attempt to search for the Filipinoness for the texts to be analyzed, that is, Filipino discourse and stylisticsthat bring about the ambivalence toward the Philippine literature in English.

Short Story

The texts, Bread of Salt (Gonzalez) vis--vis Araby (Joyce) are to be analyzed in the category of prose. These texts show stylistic and thematic similarities [and differences]the development of the puppy love theme of these two short stories explores difference of culture in the context of love.

In an Irish setting, the admiration of the protagonist (a boy) toward Mangans sister is strongly evident in these passages:

(1) her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance

(2) her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises

(3) her name was like summons to all my foolish blood.

(4) I imagined that I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes.On Joyces style, he employs parallelism and repetition of structures in sentences 1-3 which create the image of the girl, Mangans sister, more vividly. Another noticeable feature of these sentences is the use of the refererence her which signifies the boys consistency in his cognitive processesthe reference her further emphasizes the significance of the use of the lexical item chalice in sentence 4, the images in sentences 1-3 are thrown in this word by virtue of referencing, parallelism, and repetition. Thus, the reader would be aware that the chalice is [also] referring to the girl which the boy admires because of the said stylistic/cohesive devices.

Whereas Bread of Salt is undeniably in Philippine settingwith the symbol of pan de sal for the Filipinoness of the storyit has a positivist persona in his daydreaming [quality]. A suitable question would be: How is Bread of Salt affected by the English language/Joyces Araby?

The maxim, Kung sino ang bukambibig, siyang kabig ng dibdib (whose name you speak of frequently is the one you love), stresses the personas adoration of Aidas name (just like in Araby) which is shown from the following passages:

(5) Her name, I was to learn many years later, was a convenient mnemonic for the qualities

to which argument might aspire.(6) It was perhaps on my violin that her name wrought such a tender spell.

Repetition of name is a lexical cohesion. This cohesive device is also present in Araby. Therefore, this would also be a question of style appropriationwho approximated whom? If it is true that Gonzalez is guilty of acquiring Joyces style such as the continuous overflow of powerful feelings that is romantic having the typical fate of disenchantment, melancholy, weakening self-possession, and ambivalence (Beck 104), then we can argue that Gonzalez insertion of the symbol of pan de sal is the only Filipino aspect here. In the point of view of foreign readers, the exoticization of the bread of salt is noticeable.

However, if context is provided, the gist of the story as being Filipino in the treatment of the puppy love theme would be justifiable. In an almost Spanish setting (Aida is a haciendera), the discourse in the story filters Filipinoness by means of collocation (lexical cohesion) or co-occurrence between the lexical items mnemonic (sentence 5) and violin (sentence 6). If transposed into speech acts, these words play an important role as Filipino discourse in representatives and expressivesFilipinos are generally verbose when it comes to the concept of love; to the extent of being metaphorical, thus using stylistic devices not only in speech but also in writing. One classic example in Filipino discourse would be the speech act with the commissive illocutionary act in mens traditional courting: susungkutin ko ang mga tala at ang buwan para sayo/aakyatin ko ang mga bundok ibigin mo lamang ako (I will get the stars and the moon for you/I will climb mountains for your love).

This story also affects the English language in such a way Filipino experience is being filtered in terms of Filipino discourse and speech acts. The short story as a text uses the aforementioned cohesive devices in order to weave together the stretches of [Filipino] discourse that is highly charged with emotion, specifically in the context of [Filipino] puppy love.

To wit, the word pan de sal is also a lexical cohesive device to reiterate bread of salt, a repetition, thereby filtering Filipino experience to the English written discourse.For one, in Tara FT Serings Reconnaisance, it is also interesting to note that language interference is present in the short storys discourse. This is present in some of the sentences in the text:

(7) [The thin, feathery, tall grass swayed with the wind in an endless wave of goodbye.]

There was no returning now.

(8) The high afternoon sun rippled in its own heat

In sentence 7, language interference comes in the line There was no returning now, a semantic code switching. In Filipino terms, it is Wala nang balikan (even though we cannot call it transliteration, it is still highly Filipino in discourse by virtue of edited no more returning, which is realizable on the cognitive process). Whereas in sentence 8, the high afternoon sun refers to mataas na araw sa tanghali; it have undergone the same process with sentence 7.Poetry

Experimentation in pure form comes with Jose Garcia Villa, perhaps the most consummate craftsman among the pre-war poets of the Philippines, with his experiments, undoubtedly very much influenced by the experimentation in verse and poetry going on in the United States. Villas poems, in the late 1930s and the postwar ones play with two aspects: metathesis (or reversed consonance) which consists of inversion of Consonant+Consonant combinations to Consonant+Consonant sequences in alternating lines like in eyepits [t+s], Christ [s+t] (which contribute to the so-called phonetic cohesion), and prolonged sprung rhythm in his famous comma poems, which diverges from the sing-song rhythm of the favorite English meter, the iamb, forces pauses and results in a version of continuing sprung-rhythm through a succession of stressed syllables (please see Appendix for his poetry) (Gonzales 35).

Villa was the first Filipino poet who took art for arts sake to its logical conclusion and using the resources much as a first language speaker does. He embodied the Filipino having perfected his art as form and his mastery of the English language (Gonzales 35).

Beside the formalist stylistics, one young adult writer/instructor has also experimented with his discourse in poetry by mixing elements of formalism, comics imaging, and some transliterations. In his M.A. Thesis entitled Jolography, Paolo Manalo discusses in his critical essay After Words: Understanding Poetry Through Understanding Comics, that the utterance or discourse present in his poetry might provide a contextthe place where the poems happensince most of the pieces require an understanding of English and Tagalog for the reader to further appreciate the play of languages where English is a broken main language (55). He points out that his collection is from these language collisions in the codeswitchings of the younger generations of Filipinos (55). He comments:It happens here [in this collection] perhaps as a bias for how I approached the problems and possibilities of the English language as a non-native speaker of who writes and reads with it in the academe but goes home speaking Tagalog, but most of the time is victim of code switching and exposed to so much of it from both young and old it seems to have inhabited the everyday realities creating a distorted reality where I locate myself writing.

He also reviews in his essay Maggays article called Paglalaro ng Salita in his book Pahiwatig/Kagawiang Pangkomunikasyon ng Filipino. Manalo cites that several strategies of how Filipinos play with their languages. In cases when Filipinos encounter the collision of English (sometimes Spanish) with Tagalog, the English (or Spanish) root words are used but are affixed following the rules of Tagalog thus introducing new words into the latter language (71). Perhaps this shows that many Filipinos might only have a limited vocabulary in Tagalog and thus forces an English-Tagalog coinage to substitute for their ignorance. In certain caseslanguage play is at work (72). He asserts, Once more, these are the spaces and realities that I considered(72)

Furthermore, Manalo observes that To see is to believe it might be overheard as To see is to bilibidhomonymity (phonetic cohesion) forces a relationship between the two utterances; and is a strategy of collision [between English and Tagalog] (72). Here is an excerpt from his poem Jolography:

O, how dead you child are, whose spoiled

Sportedness is being fashion showed

Beautifulling as we speakin Cubao

There is that same look: Your Crossing Ibabaw

Following what he calls Jolog Speak Poetick, O, how dead you child are is a transliteration of patay kang bata ka which means loosely, youre dead meat; while beautifulling is a transliteration of nagmamaganda which means feeling beautiful. (Manalo 46).

On the one hand, Rolando Tinios Valediction sa Hillcrest is a proof that it is the cultural merging of the alien and the native, as Manalo (76) further discusses because of its real code switching like in the line: Sa steep incline, pababa sa highway/Where all things level, sabi nga

Philippine poetry in English, as Abad claims, is a native clearing, we are not its (English) subjects and prisoners, for we have in turn colonized it, as it were (Abad What for Me a Poem Is 168).Is Philippine Literature in English Ambivalent?

Abad says, when we write in English, we write comfortably to its grammar and syntax, but find our own voice because our meanings are drawn from our response to our time and scene (Abad Standards in Philippine English 168); that is why there is an issue of whether a poem is translatable or untranslatable [from its original language]. There are such nuances in a language for instance in Tagalog, you will not be able to find the exact translations in english for naglilihi or pakikipagpalagayang-loob. These lexical items/things are basically cultural. Thus, when we try to communicate them in English, we somehow lose the real essence of these words. This dilemma creates the ambivalence among writers and critics themselves on how to redefine Philippine literature in Englishs identity.

Moreover, if we would assess Gonzales claim that Philippine literature in English is Philippine only in theme and subject matter, then he is partly wrong, because as what Manalo points out language play is at work in the works mentioned earlierand it is foregrounding in stylistics termsthe purposive distortion of language. Hence, we cannot say that this literature is Filipino only in content; it is also Filipino in form.

Is English A Filipino Colony?

In the Philippines, the willing reading public (as opposed to a captive audience of students forced to read Philippine literature) is pitifully small (Hau 183). If this is the case, we also have a problem of calling those works in English literature because literature is meant to be read. If we are to claim that we have colonized the English language only in terms of the countrys literary production, then it would be difficult to assume that we also have colonized the English language as a language for everyday discourse. Following Tupas claim: [what] the new role of English in the Philippines and in post-colonial societies tell us isto forget the centrality of colonialism as well as its effects long after it has been gone. (Tupas 51). But why do we have to forget that English is a colonial language? Are we being nationalistic when we speak or write in English?

However, it is quite known in the Linguistics Society of the Philippines that the debate between Gonzales and Tupas had been ceaseless. Gonzales asserts that English is a neo-colonial language, meaning the acceptance of English by Filipinos is evident through the appropriation of English within their own cultural needs, thus emancipating themselves from the clutches of American English, which seems to be still colonial because of the word American; while Tupas further comments that we should always connect Philippine to English to create our own identity as Philippine English is among the World Englishes (Tupas 53 & 56).

Conclusion

In the long run, answering the questions raised earlier, speaking or writing in English is not really depriving us of our nationalism; instead, it is a way to assert our identity. Every critic mentioned above has good and sound arguments; synthesizing them is a better way toward the banishment of ambivalence in Philippine literature in English.

According to Jose Dalisay Jr. in one of the forum in U.P. Lingua Francas Lecture Series about Philippine Literature in English on June 23, 2005, the appropriate word for colonized [English] is Filipinized, indigenized, or appropriated to Philippine setting (please see Appendix for more of his comments). This lessens the probability of totally submitting to the notion that English is still a colonial language.

Knowing the fact that the English language has enjoyed a privileged status particularly in Philippine formal education since US President McKinley declared it a medium of instruction of the Philippine public educational system in 1900 affecting our Bilingual Education Policy (Bernardo 17), it is inevitable that English in Philippine literature is befuddled with contrasting attitudes because of the so-called purists or nativists. The educational system and the intervention of the state are still capable of power relations in the usage of English in the Philippines.

What is the future of Philippine Literature in English?

There is a future. In fact, the one who said that it has died out is the one who is dead now*. Philippine literature in English is very much alive.Professor Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr.Works CitedAbad, Gmino H. What for Me a Poem Is. In Ordinary Time Poems, Parables, Poetics

1973-2003. Quezon City: U.P., 2004.

_____________. Mapping Our Poetic Terrain: Filipino Poetry in English from 1905 to the

Present. The Likhaan Anthology of Philippine Literature in English from 1900 to

the Present, 2nd Ed. Quezon City: Likhaan and U.P., 2002.

_____________. Standards in Philippine English: The Writers Forum. In English is an

Asian Language. Edited by Ma. Lourdes S. Bautista. Sydney: The Macquarie, 1997.

Beck, Warren. Araby. Joyces Dubliners: Substance, Vision and Art. Durham, New York:

Duke UP, 1969.

Bernardo, Allan B.I. McKinleys Questionable Bequest: Over 100 Years of English in

Philippine Education. World Englishes. 23 (2004): 17-31.

Dalisay, Jose Y. Jr. The Filipino Short Story in English: An Update for the 90s.

The Likhaan Anthology of Philippine Literature in English from 1900 to

the Present, 2nd Ed.

Gonzalez, Andrew. On English in Philippine Literature. Solidarity. 96 (1986): 29-42.

Hau, Caroline S. Authorizing the Personal and the Political. Necessary Fictions Philippine

Literature and the Nation. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila UP, 2000.

Llamzon, Teodoro A. Standard Filipino English. Manila: Ateneo de Manila UP, 1969.

Manalo, Paolo. Jolography. M.A. Thesis. U.P., 2003.

Schiffrin, Deborah. Approaches to Discourse. Cambridge: Blackwell, 1994.

Sering, Tara FT. Reconnaissance. In Paolo Manalos Bootleg (CW 10 Reader). From

Philippines Free Press, 9 October 1999.

Toolan, Michael J. Language in Literature: An Introduction to Stylistics. London: Arnold,

1998.

Tupas, T. Ruanni F. The Politics of Philippine English: Neocolonialism, Global Politics,

and the Problem of Postcolonialism. World Englishes. 23 (2004): 47-58.

Entries: Misprinted, Journal of U.P. Lingua Franca

From the Powder Room

Watching beauty pageants is seeing parades of panties. Im sure almost all of the bratty boys in the whole wide world wouldnt admit they have watched one. Girls at home, perhaps your mother and her kumare, your sister and her kikay bestfriend, have been watching beauty pageants and havent missed one yet. And you would say, Oh yeah, youre just frustrated to become beauty queens. Youll only get unpleasant replies such as: Shut up! or Are you envious of us? Why dont you join us here? But the most surprising, among others, is that your only one trusted ally, your macho daddy, comes home early from work and eagerly would ask, What time is the Miss Universe replay? I just want to see Miss Philippines undies. You would really mumble, Oh my God.

The Beauty Pageant is live from, lets say, Cayman Islands! Of course, everyone at home would scream their lungs out when their favorite Miss Philippines ramps on stage with her national costume made out of coconut tree and intentionally slightly slips down the floor but rises again immediately just like a Miriam Quiambao. And when you ask your dad what is his favorite portion of the Panty, I mean, Beauty Pageant, his reply would always be, The swimsuit.

Girls at home and their favorite part is, they would shout in unison, The final question! I wonder what Miss Philippines is going to say. I hope its not dumber than Miss Blah, Blah, and Blah. The question would always be like, What is the essence of true beauty/ [a] woman? And you would hear answers like, Love cures all or Thank God Im here tonight and, of course, the most popular I want world peace. Thats all. Thank you.

What if the final question is this?:

How many panties do you have?

You would think thats a good question, just right for the Parade of Panties; your dad would say thats OK too. What if the final three candidates are ladies from countries who do not usually or just couldnt get the pageant title or even make it to the Top Ten, Ill be honest, like from Japan and China? I bet you know why. And, Miss Philippines would not be excluded in this scene.

The three final lovely and competitive candidatesMiss Japan, Miss China and Miss Philippines wear their best two-piece swimsuit. Miss Japan wears a red-hot brassiere and refreshing apple green panty. On her left is Miss China wearing a white two-piece ready for telling about world peace. And we shouldnt forget our Miss Philippines who beams radiance with her dazzling red and blue brassiere (red on the left and blue on the right) and white panty with a yellow star on each of the three corners, and in the center, a yellow sun with eight rays. Miss China and Miss Philippines have headphones with loud rock music, Linkin Park and Metallica, respectively, for them not to hear the final question.

Miss Japan walks too confidently in front of the stage, approaches the host and bows to the audience. The host asks, Oh Japan here. Is that a sign of respect? Miss Japan answers, Ahmm Ahmm Translatoru please The interpreter comes and translates his question and Miss Japans answer, She meant yes and shes very thankful youve asked that because thats how Japanese are brought up, to bow everyday. The host now asks the final question: How many panties do you have? Miss Japan answers, No needu translatoru. I understandu the questionu very goodu, and funny very. I have Translatoru pleasee! The interpreter translates, I have three panties: One for Monday, one for Wednesday which Im wearing right now, and one for Friday. Thanks, Miss Japan, the host says.

Its Miss Chinas turn. She can speak a little English. OK, Miss China: How many panties do you have? asks the host. Miss China answers, Good evening to all watching there especially in Shanghai. Actually, I have Im shy. I have seven panties from Monday to Sunday. I now wear my panty for Thursday. And its really my favorite Sorry times up Miss China, interferes the host.

May we call in Miss Philippines? She approaches the host while waving her right hand like Sandara Park. Are you ready Miss Philippines? asks the host, It seems that you are popular among the audience. This is the final question Philippines, the question thatll determine whether youll have the crown tonight: Lady, how many panties do you have?

At home, everybody doesnt blink eyes and lends ears to Miss Philippines answer. Thats really a difficult question. But I really have (the audience cheers her) Oh, thank you. I really have By the way, hi to all my kababayans, mahal ko kayo. Im a little shy, but I really have just twelve panties, she says while giggling. When do you use them? the host asks. Yes! I have twelve panties one each for For what? Its almost time, comments the host. Miss Philippines now proudly says, Yes I have twelve panties one each for January, February, March, April, May, June, July (now the audience shouts the months with her until December!) Very well said, Miss Philippines, the host compliments.

Guess who won. Be nationalistic.Pan Ray

Tonight, Im going to eat

what my mom says

A rat in the ocean

cant swim can fly

As I close my eyes

I can see its stinging spine

leaving its poison

in my mind, but

to touch a ray is to touch

its slimy, elusive: whip;

A pancake I cant eat

A poor creature to a shark.

Made

from fresh oranges

to powdered juice

I loved it.

Lukewarm.

Ice cold.

Sore throat.

From tetra pack

to an obese jar

with white plastic cover/handle

Transparent. Powdered orange juice

inside.

I loved to see it.

I held the cover

from white ball

to broken glasses

the powder was sand

Broken glass and sand

are crystals on the cemented floor

My buttocks needed newspaper.

My lolas alfombra, on flesh

I closed my eyes.

(I dont want to close my eyes when Im taking a shower.)

*I love you lolaEntry: Philippine Daily Inquirers Column: YOUNG BLOOD

The Grass of Life*

What could be the reason behind the escalating diaspora of Koreans in the Philippines? If we are to compare the economic status of [South] Korea to the Philippines, I guess that would be far-off between these countries. What do the Philippines have that Korea does not possess?

To answer the queries above, we must first examine the current relationship between these countries. The recent APEC was held in Korea where the Philippines was one of the participating countries. One irony would be the discussion of poverty in the conferencethe Philippines, being Third World, was contributing to the pool of ideas as well to combat poor living. For one is the importation of highly-industrialized equipment like cars, appliance, and the like from Korea. So what is there that is left for the Philippines?

How about culture? Korea can be considered having a homogenous culture whereas the Philippines is heterogeneous, so to speak. What determines culture? If we claim that it is language, then the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is right. The Philippines has two major languagesFilipino and English; whereas Korea has its sole Korean language.

Of course, Koreans wouldnt be here for the Filipino language, for what is considered the cosmopolitan language? Sure it is English.

I have been teaching Korean students English for almost three years but I guess the way they see the Philippines is not going to the dogs. They have high regards of our educational systemsome opt to study in high schools and universities here in the country. Even though I have had hard times with them looking out for their mispronunciations such as Rondon and Palis, I have conceptualized that they are beginning to love our country. They keep on saying that signature shirts here are much cheaper, Boracay is awesome, and Filipinos speak good English.

Beside the fact that lots of Filipinos have good grasp of the English language, we could say that English pedagogy in the country has also been empowered. If this reputation would linger on, perhaps this situation could trigger a boom in the countrys economy in general. English is business; and the business is English.

To digress, if Korea would also consider the English language its second language, another irony could be derived in this light of Korean-Filipino relationship. We teach them English yet we do not know that after ten years or more, they would not be looking for Teacher Juan dela Cruz anymore; if and only if Korea would treat English as language of their system. Imagine a country loyal to their native language (like Japan) which uses the English language as its medium of instruction, mass media, or even legal documentsthat would be a real revolution. The global influence of English encompasses the language in business, science, law, and the internet, that is why. Could we ask for more?

Another digression: Is it ironic to say that the one who had been taught English is the one who is teaching English now?

No, it is not.

*the Korean diet (507 words)