Philippine Characteristics and Language Issues

Philippine Characteristics

• Comprises 7,107 islands, located on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean, east of Vietnam, south of Taiwan, and north of Sabah, Malaysia.
• Approximately 60 million Filipinos, a multi-ethnic and multilingual population primarily Malayo-Polynesian.
• Filipinos also show visible Chinese, Indian, and Spanish ancestry, often described as Chinito, Bumbay, and Tisoy respectively.
• For tourism, the Philippines is often billed as the world's third-largest English-speaking country.
• English is widely understood and spoken by Filipinos educated in American-oriented schools.
• The 1987 Philippine Constitution retained English as an official language.
• Filipino is the language used by the general population across the archipelago.

Linguistic Conflicts

• Legalistic members of the elite refuse to acknowledge a Philippine national language.
• Writers and linguists debate the difference between Pilipino and Filipino.
• University of California-trained Filipino English teachers fiercely defend the use of English.

Religious Landscape

• Iglesia ni Kristo is a dominant religion in the homeland.
• Historian Agoncillo (1974) noted that most Filipino Catholics are not deeply connected to their faith.
• Catholics comprise 83% of the population.