Gay lingo as medium of instruction
Languages evolve. In the process of evolution, new words are formed and others die. There are words that would eventually find their way to the mainstream through popular use. This is what will happen when words are used occasionally, socially accepted, and later on take part in the written texts and even utilized in formal setting.
But not in the case of the gay lingo. Though widely used in generally informal conversation among gays, does not find its way in formal written and oral communication, much more in classroom setting.
The issue on the use of gay lingo stemmed after a word war ensued between Presidential Spokesman Secretary Edwin Lacierda and Vice President Jejomar Binay's spokesman, Joey Salgado. Both used the gay lingo in throwing tirades against each other. This is followed when no less than Secretary of Education Brother Armin Luistro thought of the possibility of utilizing gay lingo as a medium of instruction. And this obviously drew various comments from the citizens.
It takes a lot of conscious effort to make sure that words to be integrated must be screened to ascertain the qualify certain social conventions and formalities. There must be a high degree of acceptance in terms of their utility and regard.
I have nothing against our gay brothers but it seems a personal observation and general perception that their language has become a source of laughter and carry certain underlying connotations and as such unacceptable in formal settings. Such inappropriateness would find intolerable among conservative groups, generally much more among our old school academicians.
Not in the case of DepEd secretary finds the possibility of integrating gay lingo in the classrooms. It may be contrary to his background or probably just to create an impression that the agency is headed by a "cool guy". But such quick response does not consider at all the conservative regard of the majority in the area of academic instruction.
Gayspeak as an adaptation of the mainstream languages like English, Filipino, and Cebuano, has now earned respect from the community and observably been infused in the mainstream language of the society. Shielding from the chasms of the heterosexuals, gays construct their language through simple reversal, syllabic reversal, simple reversal with affixation, clipping with affixation, straight words with affixation, and connotation through images.
While in most cases, it makes the conversation lively but can also hurt others' feelings and sensibilities. Studies show, spoken discourse of gays violates the rules of English grammar yet used for purposes of expressing themselves in a way unrecognizable by the discriminating straight men in highly patriarchal society. Just like all secret languages, the lingo was spoken by the gay men of the olden times to convey messages without being understood by others who were not part of their sub-culture.
But language has its social status and it is used according to its function and place. It's the social milieu that would dictate the kind of language to use.
Gayspeak finds its way to the mainstream and while it may be popular among certain groups but this does not mean considering its possibility as medium of instruction in academic setting. Personally, in informal conversation, gay lingo provides amusement in tackling serious topics. But I would believe that there is always a right place for everything. We take responsibility over the aptness of whatever language we use.
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