Hey you, don't speak like Kris Aquino!

This article from the Philippine Daily Inquirer made me think.

Read to your kids even when they’re still in the womb, but don’t sound like actress Kris Aquino when she’s speaking Taglish (Tagalog or Filipino mixed with English).

Organizers and participants of the First Philippine Summit on Early Childhood Education on Wednesday urged parents to “read aloud” to their children, including the unborn ones, to help improve their literacy later in life, but they warned against mixing languages or dialects.

Answering questions from reporters, educator Carolina Gustilo de Ocampo said Aquino, a sister of presidential candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, should set an example to Filipino children and avoid mixing Filipino and English when talking.

American literacy specialist Laura Benson, a professor at the University of Colorado and a speaker at the summit, said it was important not to mix languages, adding that studies by Harvard University show that the language used at home “primes, prompts, patterns our children’s thinking.”

“Speak in the language of your home, not Taglish, Pampangueñoish, or Ilonggoish. The most important thing is for the parent to be very clear. She cannot mix it,” she added. De Ocampo said parents at home oftentimes inadvertently switch from one language to another even in just one sentence.

Don't confuse me bro! My adorable niece Aliyah

This hits a nerve because I see this in my own life. It's not just Kris Aquino - though she's certainly influential. It's everybody. I don't know anyone who speaks straight Tagalog. There's always English thrown in, it's become acceptable. In my experience even people who speak English fluently would deliberately speak Taglish to fit in. My nieces and nephews do the same too. So I guess we adults should cut it out for the children, huh?

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