Pinoy English

The Philippines surely has among the highest percent of English speakers outside of the former British Empire (not including many of the northern European countries, like Sweden, where they speak English better than most Americans). The national language, Tagalog, is often referred to as “Taglish” for the amount of English that’s found its way in. The same could be said about Cebuano – listen to any conversation and you likely hear many English words peppered in. Beginning at an early age, science and mathematics are taught in English. Laws are written in English. Street signs are usually in English. MC’s at events usually speak in English (which is great for me!). Most official communication is in English, as are most daily newspapers, some Filipino television channels (in addition to the many English cable channels), and many radio stations. From this constant English exposure, many terms have developed that are English, or English-based, but are not found in American English. Note that many of the terms deal with technology that has been imported. For example:

Bringhouse (noun) – synonymous to takeout (US) or takeaway (UK) food. Typically you would acquire bringhouse at a fiesta or party, where there is always a huge amount of food and it is custom for guests to bring some home.

CP (noun) – cell phone. Not typically used in my area, where people just say “cell phone”, but I hear that this is common in Luzon.

LBM (noun) – Loose Bowel Movement. This is the proper, polite term for diarrhea, and is always referred to by the acronym. It can also apply to the texture of a single bowel movement, but this is less common. As a rare child who grew up referring to “BM” (“Mommy, I need to go BM!”) rather than any of the innumerable synonyms of this timeless human byproduct, I was delighted to learn of this term.

Load (noun) –pre-paid credits for your cell phone. Can be purchased through higher-denomination cards or in smaller amounts through electronic load (e-load), which is available from almost every business establishment in the country. Load can also be sent from one phone to another. Ex. “Can you send me some load?” “Go buy your own load”.

Lowbat (noun) – the state of having little to no power left in a battery-powered device, whether a phone, camera, computer, etc. Applies whether the device uses a rechargeable battery or disposables. Of all the Filipino English words, I recommend this one for adaption in the US the most. It’s just so much more efficient to point at a device and say “lowbat” than say “I need to charge my cell phone” or “I’m almost out of battery on my camera”.

Misscall (verb) – to call somebody’s cell phone and then immediately hang up after the first ring. (noun) – a missed telephone call that has been sent in the manner previously described. Misscalls are sometimes sent immediately before a text message, to ensure that the person is getting service and that the text message will be received. They are also sent on occasion to annoy, pester, or convey feelings of annoyance or abandonment.

Textmate (noun) – a person whom one corresponds with via text message on a regular basis. Often, but not always, refers to a person of romantic interest. Textmates can be acquired through random messaging or through in-person meeting, but they are not typically someone that is seen on a regular basis. Common texting topics may be your textmate’s current whereabouts and whether or not they have finished the meal corresponding to that time of day.

---UPDATE
If anybody has additional words to add, please post them in the comments. Here's an extra one now:
McDo (noun) - McDonald's. Pronounced "Mack Dough", this is the preferred way to refer to McDonald's, not "Mc D's", "Mickey D's" or any of the other variations. This is promoted by McDonald's itself, and their number is something like 284-MCDO. On a side note, McDo used to have a McRice burger, where rice patties were used instead of hamburger buns to hold the burger. It was delicious, but I only had it once, and now they've discontinued it. Sayang!

Liveband (noun) - refers to, obviously, a live band, but is more commonly used in place of the word "concert". It scarcely matters who the band is, but only that there are live musicians (which would typically be a cover band). Example: "Are you going to liveband tonight?"

Chickboy (noun) - A guy who has a lot of chicks. Among the favorite conversation topics of Filipino males when just sitting around talking. "Chickboy" does not refer to a male who has many feminine tendencies, although that obvious joke is often made about the chickboy in question.


I can't believe I forgot this one originally:
Comfort Room (noun) - More commonly referred to as "CR", this joins "WC" in Europe on the list of English-based acronyms about bathrooms. Or washrooms, restrooms, etc. - they're really all euphemisms, after all. But while the Comfort Room in your house may actually be comfortable (mine is), most CRs in public places are anything but, making this an especially ironic term. It is recommended that you have your own TP and soap, and quite frequently both a strong stomach and legs. A notable exception is McDo, which has spotless CRs.