Tarrayo, Veronico N;
Tupas, Ruanni;
(2025)
Unequal Englishes through the lens of lived experiences of Filipino professional writers.
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development
10.1080/01434632.2025.2527351.
(In press).
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Abstract
Unequal Englishes (UE) shifts research focus from Englishes themselves to speakers who use them. While much research on global Englishes explores linguistic, pragmatic, and pedagogical dimensions, it often neglects the lived experiences of speakers. Inequalities among Englishes reflect inequalities among their users. This study examines Filipino professional writers in English, revealing how their privilege in using the language perpetuates inequalities by serving as professional capital. However, their experiences expose internalised colonial ideologies of inferiority and inadequacy, resulting in discrimination they describe as deeply personal. All this destabilises work on Philippine English (PhE) and broadly, the pluralisation and globalisation of English, as Filipino writers' experiences expose ‘Englishes’ as constructs grounded in speakers' unequal realities. Using a qualitative approach, the study draws on semi-structured interviews with 12 professional writers from various fields, analysing their experiences through the lens of UE. Key findings reveal that English serves as a source of tension, with writers balancing institutional expectations favouring what is perceived as ‘standard’ American English (AmE) with authentic expression. The study underscores the persistence of colonial linguistic hierarchies and the agency of writers in negotiating these inequalities.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Unequal Englishes through the lens of lived experiences of Filipino professional writers |
| DOI: | 10.1080/01434632.2025.2527351 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2025.2527351 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | AWARENESS, colonial language ideologies, LANGUAGE, Language & Linguistics, LINGUA FRANCA, linguistic hierarchization, Linguistics, Philippine English, professional writing, Social Sciences, Unequal Englishes |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Culture, Communication and Media |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10212537 |
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