Contextualized English and the Pragmatic Bases of the Localized Innovations

This paper is part of a bigger paper that demonstrates how English was appropriated to express Filipino culture and is meant to enrich the knowledge of universal readers significantly those interested in language and literature. It investigated how Filipino culture is expressed and portrayed through Philippine English by the use of nativization devices. This descriptive qualitative research used textual analysis to determine the nativization devices employed in the short stories written by NVM Gonzalez to express Filipino realities. It looked into how the writer contextualized English through the use of lexical and syntactic devices and rhetorical patterns; identified the Filipino cultural values, practices, and other realities; and pointed out the pragmatic bases for localized innovations. Thirty short stories were reviewed and analysed through close reading and textual analysis that crystallize the nativization devices used in indigenizing creative process. Findings revealed that the nativization devices are not only identifiable and recognizable; they are also a proof of the creative potential and adaptability of a living language. The pragmatic bases for localized innovations are vividly shown in the text both in the lexical and syntactic level. Filipino cultural values, practices, and other Philippine realities are clearly expressed through the use of nativization devices. These are all essential in the design of a model lesson for ESL instruction.