No. Just to clarify here, I refer to Filipinos whose
first language is Tagalog, like myself. They may be U.S. citizens now,
been staying in the U.S. for 2, 20 or 40 years, has a college education
from the Philippines, among others, but these do not necessarily mean
that they can easily understand the legal terms used in the courts, the
formal English used in contracts, or the directions in English you're
giving them on how to sell their shares through a mutual fund company,
or choose their health insurance coverage. There may be public schools
all over the Philippines, but these are not entirely free. Although the
school fees can be considered minimal for the middle class, it is a major
expense for the poor majority.
Even if a Tagalog-speaking Filipino has had primary
education in the Philippines, if he/she does not use much of the English
language, he/she will tend to "lose" it, too. In fact, when you try to
speak in English in the Philippines, and speak it the way it's spoken
here, most Filipinos will think that you are speaking in "slang". This
is a misnomer when you are not really using any slang words. They are
actually referring to the way we sound. Hearing it spoken the "American
way" adds to the confusion of the Tagalog-speaking Filipino.
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