The Visayan Drift to English Language in the Social Media Era

Abstract

This content analysis study aimed to illustrate the specific aspects of Filipino-Visayan English by analyzing 30 selected posts from Facebook. Lexical and grammatical aspects, as well as graphology, syntax, and lexicon semantics, were explored in the posts. To describe the advancement of Filipino-Visayan English, the Language Drift Theory was employed as a foundation. Descriptive qualitative research was used to illuminate the posted statements. Textual analysis indicated the most prevalent lexical, grammatical, and linguistic qualities, which were displayed from most to least dominant linguistic features. The internet influenced the drift of English localization in the Visayan region of the Philippines as the data revealed. From a pedagogical view, teachers need to examine the innovative characteristics, variations, and distinctiveness of Philippine English, particularly Filipino-Visayan English, in comparison to other World Englishes. This study guided the teachers not to evaluate their students’ outputs solely based on Standard in American and British English. The syntactical and semantical distinctions of Filipino-Visayan English are no longer viewed as flaws, but rather as emergent characteristics that distinguish Regional PE variety from other world English varieties. Hence, teachers need to take proactive initiatives to expose students to authentic English usage, including non-native English literature. Keywords: Language Drift, Filipino-Visayan English, World Englishes, English Variety