Week 6: O5/26/2020 Response to Difference in Emotional Expressvity

Can dialects and accents influence our emotional expressivity? Let me start by showing how Filipinos' languages strongly influence their emotional expressivity.

Allow me to give you a brief "Wikipedia" this amazing country, The Philippines. The Republic of the Philippines is a beautiful archipelago located in the South East of Asia. This country has more than 7,000 islands and is using English and Tagalog as the unified language. Aside from Tagalog (their national language), the Philippines also have Bisaya, Ilocano, Bicolano, Waray, Tausug, Capampangan, Cebuano, and Pangasinan as its major dialects. Interestingly, each major dialects branches out to more than 70 local dialects.

From these major dialects, I would like to show how Ilonggo and Bisaya speakers' emotional expressivity differs. If a person is raced in the Ilonggo region, he is known for his "friendly" regional accent and a very appreciative Hispanic culture. Now for the neighboring Bisaya region. Bisaya people are known for their loudness and boldness. When they talk, you might think that they are in an argument. More or less Ilonggo visitors could experience a slight culture shock when they go to the Bisaya region. Their fast accent and boldness are only normal conversations. While, if Bisaya will encounter an angry Ilonggo, they might take it lightly because Ilonggos would still sound sweet and friendly, even when disappointed.

These regional accents can influence emotional expressivity. Though it is just natural, foreign accents could sound offensive and rude to some people. And some could sound very entertaining, that others would make fun with. So, whether you are a visitor or not, always consider studying the new culture before you judge.

This kind of scenario applies to ESL classes. Students come from different cultures and most likely will have strong regional accents or different ways of expressing themselves in public. Some students might be conscious to speak up and pronounce the English word because of their accent. Therefore, ESL teachers should know the background and become familiar with the basic local expressions to properly sense and address their students' emotions.