LANGUAGE USAGE AMONG MULTILINGUAL FILIPINO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA

Purpose of the Study. The purpose of the study was to describe the allocation of functions for English and for Philippine languages by a segment of the Filipino speech community in San Jose, California. The study intended to determine the differential use of English and Philippine languages and to determine the differential use of Tagalog and any other Philippine language among those who speak the former as a second language and the latter as a primary language. The study attempted to seek answers to the following questions: (1) In the usage of English and Philippine languages, what values are associated with each? (2) In the usage of Tagalog and the subject's primary language, what values are associated with each?;The subjects who had primary languages that were not Tagalog but spoke Tagalog as a second language were administered the second Greenfield-Fishman questionnaire. They were asked to indicate the amount of Tagalog and their primary languages they would most likely use if they were in such situations with other multilingual Filipinos who spoke Tagalog and the subjects' primary languages.;Results. The study found the following results: (1) In speech situations involving components from the intimacy-stressing domains of family and friendship, there is a combined tendency toward equal use of English and Philippine languages. There are, however, differences in the language usage patterns within those two domains. There is a tendency toward the use of more Philippine languages with parents; but, with friends, the tendency is between equal use of English and Philippine languages and use of more English. (2) There is a tendency toward the use of more English in status-related situations involving components from the domains of religion, education, and employment. (3) In the intimacy-related situations, there is a combined tendency toward equal use of Tagalog and one's primary language. Again, there are differences in the language usage patterns within those two domains. There is a tendency toward more use of the primary language with parents and equal use of both languages with friends. (4) There is equal use of Tagalog and one's primary language in status-related situations involving components from the domains of religion, education, and employment.;Conclusions. The tendency toward more use of English in status-related domains, coupled with the lack of effect by the status-stressing components on language usage, indicate normal language usage practice. The parents' effect of more use of Philippine languages indicates that those languages are being retained primarily for the home.;Methodology. The study used the two Greenfield-Fishman questionnaires on language usage. The subjects were asked to imagine themselves to be speaking with other multilingual Filipinos, that they and their interlocutors spoke the same languages, and that they spoke those languages equally well. The subjects were then presented with speech situations and asked to indicate the amount of English and Philippine languages they would most likely use if they were in such situations.;On the differential use of Tagalog and primary languages, the parents again show an effect on language usage, with the latter being shown to be retained mostly for the family domain. This finding seems to imply that, in the differential use of English and Philippine languages, it is the primary language the subjects had in mind when they reported more use of the latter with parents. The reported tendency toward equal use of Tagalog and primary languages in the friendship and status-related domains indicates the role of Tagalog in the Filipino speech community, in which many different Philippine languages exist, as an aspect of Filipino ethnic identity in the United States.