The Filipino Accent Challenge Meme

Youtube is one of my favorite apps on my phone as there are always interesting videos to watch. The other day, a certain video popped on my feed when I opened the app. It was a compilation of videos about the Filipino accent. And of course, I watched it.

The video starts with the person saying, "Oh my God! Your Filipino accent is so sexy. Say it again."

I am not really sure if Filipino accent is sexy but one website called Big 7 Travel lists Filipino accent as the sexiest in Asia and the 21st in the world. Reaalllyy??? Well for sure our accent is interesting and distinct, like even when a Filipino tries to imitate an American accent, you can still tell that that person is a Filipino. Lol. Honestly, how some people on the video spoke were not all accurate. Some were just exaggerating the accent to make the video funny.

The girl on the first video who said "automatic" was Sandara Park, member of the KPop group 2ne1. She spent most of her teenage and early 20s here in the Philippines and so her Filipino English accent is thick. As you have watched above, the other Koreans were laughing. Was it the way she said "automatic" or something else? Either way, it's the sexiest in Asia. No amount of bullying would affect me from now on. Lol. Anyway, Sandara can also speak Filipino fluently that's why many Filipinos love her even though she barely have projects here today.

The second lady on the video is Ashley Rivera(real name) or Petra Mahalimuyak. This lady is quite accurate with the Filipino accent which is commonly heard on the elderly. But mostly of how she says it is exaggerated. I don't know why the elders have more tendency to speak this way. My mama would often say, "sows"(sauce) or "kookoomber"(cucumber). I get mentally irritated when I hear it actually. 😂 Of course, not all elderly Filipinos speak this way, okay? I lost it when she said, "Ha? Hatdog(hotdog)!" This line was a popular meme in the Philippines few years ago. Ashley first became popular for her hilarious makeup tutorials while speaking with Filipino accent around a decade ago. She was among my first favorite vloggers as she was hella funny.

The lady on the last video is a popular cosmetic doctor here in the country and she was obviously exaggerating the way she speak. She's from an affluent family and naturally has a decent accent and so it was obvious that she was trying hard and exaggerating the Filipino accent. But it was cute and it was also a chance to promote her clinic as you can see she was mentioning some of the beauty procedures her clinic offers.

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Honestly, Filipino accent differ on the areas of the country. I believe what makes it varied is due to the influence of each of our dialect. Our dialects have different accents and it even affects the way we speak our own language, Filipino, so what more for English? Not everyone has that accent you see on the video or any viral videos out there (Jo Koy videos for example) but you can most likely hear someone speak that way when you go out from the big cities to the provinces. Because we don't actually mind accents when it's just a casual conversation with fellow Filipinos. ✌️

However, at the digital age we are in, the younger generation are more exposed to the English language more than ever that's why, I believe, they are more adaptable and capable of switching accents. Why did I say switching accents? Because Filipino accent is inevitable no matter how hard you try to imitate the American accent, unless you're from a super rich family and your parents enrolled you to an exclusive international school or you're just too passionate with it. The native accent sticks with you no matter what and that's okay.

Of course, I do have this accent too, but not as hyperbolized as how it was interpreted on the video. Though sometimes I speak that way for fun or when I'm just lazy to say words properly (I do say hotdog as 'hatdog' too. 😂) And let me tell you, the "Pishild" (face shield) is very true! Haha. Well, 'pishild' is easier to pronounce than face shield because it becomes a single word. Our Philippine alphabet (Abakada) also doesn't have letters like F, V, C, Z, Q, X, J. And so it's kind of a struggle for some people to pronounce them, but not really a problem for most because we're also taught the English alphabet as soon as we start school. F turns to P, P turns to F, V turns to B, C turns to K, and Z turns to S.

Face shield = Pishild
Face mask = Peysmas
First = Pers
Violet = Bayolet
Cake = Keyk
Covid = Kobid
Vaccine = Baksin
Zero = Siro

...and a lot more.

Heck, my aunt even calls switch as "swits", my father calls the toilet as "toweeeelet", and my mother says "sows" instead of "sauce".

Anyway, I laughed too hard on the next video because the guy who said "Sebeneleben" (Seven Eleven) is accurate.

Anyway, I appreciate that non-Filipinos think our accent is gentle and soft. Thank you! As a Filipino, I wasn't aware of this until I've seen these videos and did some research. There's nothing really to be ashamed of and we shouldn't be because our accent is one that makes us distinct just like how a Japanese would say "Sarada" (Salad) or "Makkudonarudo" (McDonald's). Our accents is a proof of our rich culture and diverse world. And it isn't cool to know there are many ways and styles to speak English? ❤️