There is that upsetting plunge striking my nationalistic ego whenever I learn of a Filipino mocked because he or she is not so articulate in speaking and writing English. Frankly, at times I cannot help but laugh at the picture of what, for me, is an excusable error. What I cannot digest is seeing foreigners, whose tongues are native to the international language, laughing at the same flaw. Perhaps it is a Pinoy trademark when you identify with the disgrace of your kababayan. Whatever they want to imply, the act would simply inflict a sarcastic blow plainly corrupting our esteem.
             One outrageous scenario depicts the arrival of an almighty Englishman to the Philippines. He would then be admired for how well he speaks English. How could he not? He could have been speaking English all his life! And with all speculations, the utterly awed locals would get head over heels trying to understand what he wants to say. This may be the case of most of our underprivileged countrymen who have just a handful grip of the language. Yet on the other hand, Filipinos generally who display fluency in our vernacular would sound more bizarre or worst –not worthy of attention once we set foot on foreign grounds. Hence, we still struggle to cope with what can be considered as rational injustice –rational it becomes because we often just admittedly accept to ourselves our being "second class".
             Who can blame whom? If I were born and raised in a western country, then I would most likely speak English more eloquently than the Filipino professor in my English class. But the fact is –I am not. Nonetheless, I certainly can talk straight Filipino better than how their twisted tongues could. The irony of it all, however, which distresses me, is that when we get all screwed up in expressing ourselves in English, we tend to sound funny and sometimes appear cringed. While when they try speaking our native
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