What is filipinoisms?

Answer 1

Filipinoisms are literal translations of English words and phrases to Tagalog. Some are English words which were revised to fit the Filipino Culture and most were due to lack of understanding the English Language. See some examples below:

Airconditioning - Aircon

Refrigerator - Ref

Sneakers - Rubber shoes

Switch/ Turn off lights - Close lights ("Switch off" and "close" in Tagalog is the same word "isara")

-----

In call centers, which is a booming industry in the Philippines, 'filipinoism' is a term taught by trainers to classify some English words being used by Filipino natives. These words may not be grammatically incorrect, but may confuse some native English speakers, as it is a shortcut (English) term or literal translation from Filipino words/phrases, which is not popularly known/accepted by some.

Examples:

Person1: I'm kinda thirsty, do you have some cold water?

Person2: Sure, help yourself, it's in the 'ref'!

Ref - as a shortcut term for 'refrigerator'; a better term (and i say 'better', as it may not be necessarily wrong) for it is 'fridge'. Some terms are being cut short just to save time and effort in saying the whole word.

Example:

It's so cold! Can we just turn the 'aircon' off?

A better term for it is 'A/C' or 'air-conditioner'.

Some other 'filipinoisms' are quite acceptable as it is also being used by native English speakers, and these are brand names. When a particular brand has become too well known or it happens to be the first of its kind, it tends to saturate the masses, and that any brand that comes up after it is just 'second grade'.

Example:

Person1: Can you Xerox this for me?

Person2: Sure, how many copies do you need?

Not everyone knows that Xerox is a brand name as it has saturated the mass, but a more acceptable term is 'photocopy' as the machine is called a 'photocopying machine'. You will never hear anyone say, 'I need to Minolta these papers for my boss.' or 'Can you Kyocera these documents for our client, please?'

There are so many popular brands that we all know, but not everyone will agree to it due to personal preference or taste . Like, when it comes to cola, Coke is the first thing that most Filipinos would go for. Again, some may disagree, which is why I said 'most' and not 'all'. When it comes to toothpaste, Colgate is almost like a generic name, and there is even a joke for it in the Philippines that even natives laugh about.

*(Scenario) Person is buying a tube of toothpaste from a neighborhood convenience store:

Person: Pabili nga ng Colgate, yung Close-up.

Translation: May I have some Colgate, the Close-up brand.

-----

Answer 2

Filipinos are an ethnic group of people that are native to the islands of the Philippines.