A Filipina Writer’s Story

Lakambini Sitoy
Excerpt

As a child, I had a hyperactive imagination. I painted pictures and told stories, even before I could read. In our house we spoke
two languages, English and Cebuano. I grew up in the part of the Philippines known as the Visayas. In Luzon, Tagalog is the native language;
in the Visayas, it is Cebuano. In Mindanao, which was settled by people from around the country who succeeded in marginalizing the
Muslim tribes, the languages are English, Tagalog, Cebuano, and others.
English was the language that shaped my world. I learned to read in it and to write, at age six. I used Cebuano to express my gut-
level sensations, like hunger, or being tired.
I think I speak and write English better than the average middle-class Filipino. This was one of the factors, which determined
my career path – I am currently a writer who works as a newspaper editor to earn a living. I can attribute my English proficiency to my
parents’ careers – they were both educators. The average middle-class Filipino from our part of the world probably expresses herself in
Cebuano first, before English and then perhaps Tagalog. For the masses – those living below poverty line – English is a totally alien language.
And yet 70 percent of Filipinos do fall below poverty line. To a large extent, Filipinos who write in English and learned the language through
reading American or British books, are removed in terms of world view and a culture from a large part of the populace. But we are as
Filipino, in our superstitions and gut – level values, as the farmers and fisherfolk.
I write in English not for political reasons, not to make a statement, but because this is the only language that I am really good
at. Because I grew up in the Visayas, my other language was Cebuano. However, because the central government in Luzon dictated that
“Filipino” was the national language, be based on Luzon’s Tagalog, “Filipino” was always an alien language to me. I learned it through my
grammar books in grade school but it was never a valid way to express the way I felt. I only learned Tagalog – conversational Tagalog – at
age 22, when I moved to Manila. Up to now, I cannot speak or write in formal Tagalog: our educational system puts premium on English,
which was always a ready fallback. And as for Cebuano, it is invisible, virtually expunged, from the educational system. Quite unfair, since
more Filipinos speak it than any other indigenous language. I can speak it but was never taught the formal rules of spelling, syntax, and
grammar – nor were we exposed to exemplary writing in Cebuano while in school.

A Filipina Writer’s Story

Lakambini Sitoy
Excerpt

As a child, I had a hyperactive imagination. I painted pictures and told stories, even before I could read. In our house we spoke
two languages, English and Cebuano. I grew up in the part of the Philippines known as the Visayas. In Luzon, Tagalog is the native language;
in the Visayas, it is Cebuano. In Mindanao, which was settled by people from around the country who succeeded in marginalizing the
Muslim tribes, the languages are English, Tagalog, Cebuano, and others.
English was the language that shaped my world. I learned to read in it and to write, at age six. I used Cebuano to express my gut-
level sensations, like hunger, or being tired.
I think I speak and write English better than the average middle-class Filipino. This was one of the factors, which determined
my career path – I am currently a writer who works as a newspaper editor to earn a living. I can attribute my English proficiency to my
parents’ careers – they were both educators. The average middle-class Filipino from our part of the world probably expresses herself in
Cebuano first, before English and then perhaps Tagalog. For the masses – those living below poverty line – English is a totally alien language.
And yet 70 percent of Filipinos do fall below poverty line. To a large extent, Filipinos who write in English and learned the language through
reading American or British books, are removed in terms of world view and a culture from a large part of the populace. But we are as
Filipino, in our superstitions and gut – level values, as the farmers and fisherfolk.
I write in English not for political reasons, not to make a statement, but because this is the only language that I am really good
at. Because I grew up in the Visayas, my other language was Cebuano. However, because the central government in Luzon dictated that
“Filipino” was the national language, be based on Luzon’s Tagalog, “Filipino” was always an alien language to me. I learned it through my
grammar books in grade school but it was never a valid way to express the way I felt. I only learned Tagalog – conversational Tagalog – at
age 22, when I moved to Manila. Up to now, I cannot speak or write in formal Tagalog: our educational system puts premium on English,
which was always a ready fallback. And as for Cebuano, it is invisible, virtually expunged, from the educational system. Quite unfair, since
more Filipinos speak it than any other indigenous language. I can speak it but was never taught the formal rules of spelling, syntax, and
grammar – nor were we exposed to exemplary writing in Cebuano while in school.

A Filipina Writer’s Story

Lakambini Sitoy
Excerpt

As a child, I had a hyperactive imagination. I painted pictures and told stories, even before I could read. In our house we spoke
two languages, English and Cebuano. I grew up in the part of the Philippines known as the Visayas. In Luzon, Tagalog is the native language;
in the Visayas, it is Cebuano. In Mindanao, which was settled by people from around the country who succeeded in marginalizing the
Muslim tribes, the languages are English, Tagalog, Cebuano, and others.
English was the language that shaped my world. I learned to read in it and to write, at age six. I used Cebuano to express my gut-
level sensations, like hunger, or being tired.
I think I speak and write English better than the average middle-class Filipino. This was one of the factors, which determined
my career path – I am currently a writer who works as a newspaper editor to earn a living. I can attribute my English proficiency to my
parents’ careers – they were both educators. The average middle-class Filipino from our part of the world probably expresses herself in
Cebuano first, before English and then perhaps Tagalog. For the masses – those living below poverty line – English is a totally alien language.
And yet 70 percent of Filipinos do fall below poverty line. To a large extent, Filipinos who write in English and learned the language through
reading American or British books, are removed in terms of world view and a culture from a large part of the populace. But we are as
Filipino, in our superstitions and gut – level values, as the farmers and fisherfolk.
I write in English not for political reasons, not to make a statement, but because this is the only language that I am really good
at. Because I grew up in the Visayas, my other language was Cebuano. However, because the central government in Luzon dictated that
“Filipino” was the national language, be based on Luzon’s Tagalog, “Filipino” was always an alien language to me. I learned it through my
grammar books in grade school but it was never a valid way to express the way I felt. I only learned Tagalog – conversational Tagalog – at
age 22, when I moved to Manila. Up to now, I cannot speak or write in formal Tagalog: our educational system puts premium on English,
which was always a ready fallback. And as for Cebuano, it is invisible, virtually expunged, from the educational system. Quite unfair, since
more Filipinos speak it than any other indigenous language. I can speak it but was never taught the formal rules of spelling, syntax, and
grammar – nor were we exposed to exemplary writing in Cebuano while in school.
 A Filipina Writer’s Story
Lakambini Sitoy
Excerpt

As a child, I had a hyperactive imagination. I painted pictures and told stories, even before I could read. In our house we spoke
two languages, English and Cebuano. I grew up in the part of the Philippines known as the Visayas. In Luzon, Tagalog is the native language;
in the Visayas, it is Cebuano. In Mindanao, which was settled by people from around the country who succeeded in marginalizing the
Muslim tribes, the languages are English, Tagalog, Cebuano, and others.
English was the language that shaped my world. I learned to read in it and to write, at age six. I used Cebuano to express my gut-
level sensations, like hunger, or being tired.
I think I speak and write English better than the average middle-class Filipino. This was one of the factors, which determined
my career path – I am currently a writer who works as a newspaper editor to earn a living. I can attribute my English proficiency to my
parents’ careers – they were both educators. The average middle-class Filipino from our part of the world probably expresses herself in
Cebuano first, before English and then perhaps Tagalog. For the masses – those living below poverty line – English is a totally alien language.
And yet 70 percent of Filipinos do fall below poverty line. To a large extent, Filipinos who write in English and learned the language through
reading American or British books, are removed in terms of world view and a culture from a large part of the populace. But we are as
Filipino, in our superstitions and gut – level values, as the farmers and fisherfolk.
I write in English not for political reasons, not to make a statement, but because this is the only language that I am really good
at. Because I grew up in the Visayas, my other language was Cebuano. However, because the central government in Luzon dictated that
“Filipino” was the national language, be based on Luzon’s Tagalog, “Filipino” was always an alien language to me. I learned it through my
grammar books in grade school but it was never a valid way to express the way I felt. I only learned Tagalog – conversational Tagalog – at
age 22, when I moved to Manila. Up to now, I cannot speak or write in formal Tagalog: our educational system puts premium on English,
which was always a ready fallback. And as for Cebuano, it is invisible, virtually expunged, from the educational system. Quite unfair, since
more Filipinos speak it than any other indigenous language. I can speak it but was never taught the formal rules of spelling, syntax, and
grammar – nor were we exposed to exemplary writing in Cebuano while in school.

A Filipina Writer’s Story

Lakambini Sitoy
Excerpt

As a child, I had a hyperactive imagination. I painted pictures and told stories, even before I could read. In our house we spoke
two languages, English and Cebuano. I grew up in the part of the Philippines known as the Visayas. In Luzon, Tagalog is the native language;
in the Visayas, it is Cebuano. In Mindanao, which was settled by people from around the country who succeeded in marginalizing the
Muslim tribes, the languages are English, Tagalog, Cebuano, and others.
English was the language that shaped my world. I learned to read in it and to write, at age six. I used Cebuano to express my gut-
level sensations, like hunger, or being tired.
I think I speak and write English better than the average middle-class Filipino. This was one of the factors, which determined
my career path – I am currently a writer who works as a newspaper editor to earn a living. I can attribute my English proficiency to my
parents’ careers – they were both educators. The average middle-class Filipino from our part of the world probably expresses herself in
Cebuano first, before English and then perhaps Tagalog. For the masses – those living below poverty line – English is a totally alien language.
And yet 70 percent of Filipinos do fall below poverty line. To a large extent, Filipinos who write in English and learned the language through
reading American or British books, are removed in terms of world view and a culture from a large part of the populace. But we are as
Filipino, in our superstitions and gut – level values, as the farmers and fisherfolk.
I write in English not for political reasons, not to make a statement, but because this is the only language that I am really good
at. Because I grew up in the Visayas, my other language was Cebuano. However, because the central government in Luzon dictated that
“Filipino” was the national language, be based on Luzon’s Tagalog, “Filipino” was always an alien language to me. I learned it through my
grammar books in grade school but it was never a valid way to express the way I felt. I only learned Tagalog – conversational Tagalog – at
age 22, when I moved to Manila. Up to now, I cannot speak or write in formal Tagalog: our educational system puts premium on English,
which was always a ready fallback. And as for Cebuano, it is invisible, virtually expunged, from the educational system. Quite unfair, since
more Filipinos speak it than any other indigenous language. I can speak it but was never taught the formal rules of spelling, syntax, and
grammar – nor were we exposed to exemplary writing in Cebuano while in school.

A Filipina Writer’s Story

Lakambini Sitoy
Excerpt

As a child, I had a hyperactive imagination. I painted pictures and told stories, even before I could read. In our house we spoke
two languages, English and Cebuano. I grew up in the part of the Philippines known as the Visayas. In Luzon, Tagalog is the native language;
in the Visayas, it is Cebuano. In Mindanao, which was settled by people from around the country who succeeded in marginalizing the
Muslim tribes, the languages are English, Tagalog, Cebuano, and others.
English was the language that shaped my world. I learned to read in it and to write, at age six. I used Cebuano to express my gut-
level sensations, like hunger, or being tired.
I think I speak and write English better than the average middle-class Filipino. This was one of the factors, which determined
my career path – I am currently a writer who works as a newspaper editor to earn a living. I can attribute my English proficiency to my
parents’ careers – they were both educators. The average middle-class Filipino from our part of the world probably expresses herself in
Cebuano first, before English and then perhaps Tagalog. For the masses – those living below poverty line – English is a totally alien language.
And yet 70 percent of Filipinos do fall below poverty line. To a large extent, Filipinos who write in English and learned the language through
reading American or British books, are removed in terms of world view and a culture from a large part of the populace. But we are as
Filipino, in our superstitions and gut – level values, as the farmers and fisherfolk.
I write in English not for political reasons, not to make a statement, but because this is the only language that I am really good
at. Because I grew up in the Visayas, my other language was Cebuano. However, because the central government in Luzon dictated that
“Filipino” was the national language, be based on Luzon’s Tagalog, “Filipino” was always an alien language to me. I learned it through my
grammar books in grade school but it was never a valid way to express the way I felt. I only learned Tagalog – conversational Tagalog – at
age 22, when I moved to Manila. Up to now, I cannot speak or write in formal Tagalog: our educational system puts premium on English,
which was always a ready fallback. And as for Cebuano, it is invisible, virtually expunged, from the educational system. Quite unfair, since
more Filipinos speak it than any other indigenous language. I can speak it but was never taught the formal rules of spelling, syntax, and
grammar – nor were we exposed to exemplary writing in Cebuano while in school.
 A Filipina Writer’s Story
Lakambini Sitoy
Excerpt

As a child, I had a hyperactive imagination. I painted pictures and told stories, even before I could read. In our house we spoke
two languages, English and Cebuano. I grew up in the part of the Philippines known as the Visayas. In Luzon, Tagalog is the native language;
in the Visayas, it is Cebuano. In Mindanao, which was settled by people from around the country who succeeded in marginalizing the
Muslim tribes, the languages are English, Tagalog, Cebuano, and others.
English was the language that shaped my world. I learned to read in it and to write, at age six. I used Cebuano to express my gut-
level sensations, like hunger, or being tired.
I think I speak and write English better than the average middle-class Filipino. This was one of the factors, which determined
my career path – I am currently a writer who works as a newspaper editor to earn a living. I can attribute my English proficiency to my
parents’ careers – they were both educators. The average middle-class Filipino from our part of the world probably expresses herself in
Cebuano first, before English and then perhaps Tagalog. For the masses – those living below poverty line – English is a totally alien language.
And yet 70 percent of Filipinos do fall below poverty line. To a large extent, Filipinos who write in English and learned the language through
reading American or British books, are removed in terms of world view and a culture from a large part of the populace. But we are as
Filipino, in our superstitions and gut – level values, as the farmers and fisherfolk.
I write in English not for political reasons, not to make a statement, but because this is the only language that I am really good
at. Because I grew up in the Visayas, my other language was Cebuano. However, because the central government in Luzon dictated that
“Filipino” was the national language, be based on Luzon’s Tagalog, “Filipino” was always an alien language to me. I learned it through my
grammar books in grade school but it was never a valid way to express the way I felt. I only learned Tagalog – conversational Tagalog – at
age 22, when I moved to Manila. Up to now, I cannot speak or write in formal Tagalog: our educational system puts premium on English,
which was always a ready fallback. And as for Cebuano, it is invisible, virtually expunged, from the educational system. Quite unfair, since
more Filipinos speak it than any other indigenous language. I can speak it but was never taught the formal rules of spelling, syntax, and
grammar – nor were we exposed to exemplary writing in Cebuano while in school.

A Filipina Writer’s Story

Lakambini Sitoy
Excerpt

As a child, I had a hyperactive imagination. I painted pictures and told stories, even before I could read. In our house we spoke
two languages, English and Cebuano. I grew up in the part of the Philippines known as the Visayas. In Luzon, Tagalog is the native language;
in the Visayas, it is Cebuano. In Mindanao, which was settled by people from around the country who succeeded in marginalizing the
Muslim tribes, the languages are English, Tagalog, Cebuano, and others.
English was the language that shaped my world. I learned to read in it and to write, at age six. I used Cebuano to express my gut-
level sensations, like hunger, or being tired.
I think I speak and write English better than the average middle-class Filipino. This was one of the factors, which determined
my career path – I am currently a writer who works as a newspaper editor to earn a living. I can attribute my English proficiency to my
parents’ careers – they were both educators. The average middle-class Filipino from our part of the world probably expresses herself in
Cebuano first, before English and then perhaps Tagalog. For the masses – those living below poverty line – English is a totally alien language.
And yet 70 percent of Filipinos do fall below poverty line. To a large extent, Filipinos who write in English and learned the language through
reading American or British books, are removed in terms of world view and a culture from a large part of the populace. But we are as
Filipino, in our superstitions and gut – level values, as the farmers and fisherfolk.
I write in English not for political reasons, not to make a statement, but because this is the only language that I am really good
at. Because I grew up in the Visayas, my other language was Cebuano. However, because the central government in Luzon dictated that
“Filipino” was the national language, be based on Luzon’s Tagalog, “Filipino” was always an alien language to me. I learned it through my
grammar books in grade school but it was never a valid way to express the way I felt. I only learned Tagalog – conversational Tagalog – at
age 22, when I moved to Manila. Up to now, I cannot speak or write in formal Tagalog: our educational system puts premium on English,
which was always a ready fallback. And as for Cebuano, it is invisible, virtually expunged, from the educational system. Quite unfair, since
more Filipinos speak it than any other indigenous language. I can speak it but was never taught the formal rules of spelling, syntax, and
grammar – nor were we exposed to exemplary writing in Cebuano while in school.

A Filipina Writer’s Story

Lakambini Sitoy
Excerpt

As a child, I had a hyperactive imagination. I painted pictures and told stories, even before I could read. In our house we spoke
two languages, English and Cebuano. I grew up in the part of the Philippines known as the Visayas. In Luzon, Tagalog is the native language;
in the Visayas, it is Cebuano. In Mindanao, which was settled by people from around the country who succeeded in marginalizing the
Muslim tribes, the languages are English, Tagalog, Cebuano, and others.
English was the language that shaped my world. I learned to read in it and to write, at age six. I used Cebuano to express my gut-
level sensations, like hunger, or being tired.
I think I speak and write English better than the average middle-class Filipino. This was one of the factors, which determined
my career path – I am currently a writer who works as a newspaper editor to earn a living. I can attribute my English proficiency to my
parents’ careers – they were both educators. The average middle-class Filipino from our part of the world probably expresses herself in
Cebuano first, before English and then perhaps Tagalog. For the masses – those living below poverty line – English is a totally alien language.
And yet 70 percent of Filipinos do fall below poverty line. To a large extent, Filipinos who write in English and learned the language through
reading American or British books, are removed in terms of world view and a culture from a large part of the populace. But we are as
Filipino, in our superstitions and gut – level values, as the farmers and fisherfolk.
I write in English not for political reasons, not to make a statement, but because this is the only language that I am really good
at. Because I grew up in the Visayas, my other language was Cebuano. However, because the central government in Luzon dictated that
“Filipino” was the national language, be based on Luzon’s Tagalog, “Filipino” was always an alien language to me. I learned it through my
grammar books in grade school but it was never a valid way to express the way I felt. I only learned Tagalog – conversational Tagalog – at
age 22, when I moved to Manila. Up to now, I cannot speak or write in formal Tagalog: our educational system puts premium on English,
which was always a ready fallback. And as for Cebuano, it is invisible, virtually expunged, from the educational system. Quite unfair, since
more Filipinos speak it than any other indigenous language. I can speak it but was never taught the formal rules of spelling, syntax, and
grammar – nor were we exposed to exemplary writing in Cebuano while in school.
Comprehension Check:

1. What languages does the author know?

2. What is the author’s profession?
3. Where did she grow up?
4. What skills did she have before she learned how to read?
5. Who influenced her to be proficient in English?
6. When did the author learn to speak English?
7. Why did she find it necessary to learn English?
8. What other languages spoken by a majority of the Filipinos outside of Luzon?

ESSAY: ½ crosswise

1. If you were given a chance to learn another language, what would it be? Why?
2. Does a person’s choice of language affect his or her studies or work? Justify your answer.
3. What is the advantage of knowing a foreign language? Explain.
ORAL COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES:

1. What makes you different from others?

2.