 |
| From Wikipedia |
There should be an "s." And there should be a "the." Because we are The Philippines. Our official long name is "Republic of the Philippines," not "Republic of Philippines." Not "Republic of the Philippine."
And "Philippines" is pronounced like Filly-Peens. Or even like Filla-Peens. It is not pronounced like Filly-Pines like the pine in pineapple.
Did you know that "Philippine" is the name of a town in the Netherlands? That's not our country. When you say "Philippine," it's a totally different place. It's not a country. And we were never even under Dutch rule. That Dutch town was named after Philip the Apostle. Our country was named after King Philip II of Spain. It's two very different things.
Anyway, I'm saying this because of the so many people I've met pronouncing my country's name wrong in English. I understand that in many languages, it is pronounced without an "s" nor the equivalent of "the." Fine. But if you're talking to me in English, use the English name of my country, please. And please pronounce it correctly. It's not Fillly-Pines.
Because I'm sure you'll find it annoying too if I get your country's name wrong, too.
"Philippine" can be an adjective, not a noun, nor is it the name of my country. But even we almost don't use "Philippine" as an adjective on many occasions. Instead, we use "Filipino," particularly for things pertaining to the whole nation. In case you didn't know yet, "Filipino" is part of the English dictionary now, too. For example: The Filipino language. Filipino culture. The Filipino people. Of course, "Filipino" can also be a noun that refers to the language itself, or the people of Filipino citizenship. But we might say, "Philippine ethnic groups," of which there are plenty. They are all Filipinos, too, but in that context it means that in the Philippines there are many ethnic groups. Of course, "Filipino ethnic groups" would be understandable and acceptable, but it has a slightly different nuance from "Philippine ethnic groups." But "Philippine people" is not so correct to refer to our people, because there is only one - the Filipino people. "Philippine people" might be referring to citizens (currently) residing in the Philippines. But it will not be inclusive of Filipinos (i.e. Filipino people) who are (currently) abroad.
Oh yes. I am from the Philippines. I am not from Philippines, whatever that means. Nor am I from Philippine, the town.
And I am a Filipino. I am not Philipino. And I speak Filipino.
Difficult? Look at it this way. "The Philippines," with the "the" and "s," is like short for "The Philippine Islands." I don't live in Philippine Islands. I live in The Philippine Islands. Or, The Philippines, for short. I live in beautiful islands, but it wouldn't make sense if I say that I live in the beautiful islands. Careful of the use of the word "the." Duh.
Still don't get it? Okay, no problem. Please just don't pretend you know English better than me. Or that you know my part of the world better than me. Or that you know the world better than me. You know, listening also helps. Just listen carefully to how I say my country's name. But I guess listening is not easy as well. Good luck to all of us.
Ronj, the Dutch will be just as mightily pissed for you just called their country "Netherlands" without using "the", haha! I, too, feel very strongly about using the definite article when referring to our country. This becomes really evident when speaking to foreigners whose mother tongue isn't English, as fellow Filipinos have somehow taken it for granted and just automatically say "the Philippines" (or "da Pilipins", if you must). I think the general rule here is that "the" should be used for country names that are construed as plural, e.g. the United States, the United Kingdom (a united kingdom of smaller countries, hence plural), the United Arab Emirates, the Bahamas, and the Maldives, in addition to the Netherlands and the Philippines.
ReplyDeleteAnd probably because pa-importante tayong tao kaya kailangan talagang may "the", haha! No, come to think of it, importante talaga tayong tao! Hindi iinog ang mundo kung walang mga Noypi sa bawat sulok nito!
ReplyDeleteBeen mulling it over, it appears I may have been mistaken for including the United Kingdom as an example for the rule. Another rule seems to be at play here: a country name construed as singular but with a word that denotes a territory, e.g. kingdom, republic, makes the country name "particular", thus warranting the usage of "the". Hence, the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (compare with just "Saudi Arabia"), the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, and so on.
ReplyDeleteHey hunkydorky, really appreciate your comments! I updated the article to use "the" before "Netherlands." Gosh, I can't believe I missed that, and it's one thing I'm sort of frustrated at as well, people just referring to Holland as "Netherlands." I hope people don't think it's "the Holland." LOL.
ReplyDeleteAnyway as to the UK, it also comes with "the." Just say this sentence always: "I am from ____." It feels weird to say "I am from UK." People would say "I am from THE UK."