Francis Reyes
English 100 – AK
Liza Erpelo
May 9, 2009

“Before I learned how to speak Tagalog, people made fun of me because of my New Jersey accent. They would ostracize me because I am an American,“ (Reyes). As one can see, language is the main issue in the Filipino American society that needs to be resolved in order to reserve history and traditions. Throughout the interview with Brian, I found that he went through hardships because he could not speak Tagalog. His early lifestyle of growing up in New Jersey gave Brian a disadvantage because he did not have a real reason why a Filipino dialect would be important to learn. His situation occurred during the 80’s and, since then, the number of Filipino and Filipino Americans not knowing a Filipino dialect increased. There can be many rationalizations as to why, year-by-year, the population amongst young Filipino and Filipina Americans retain from learning a part of their heritage. For example, in the book Homebound, by Yen Le Espiritu, there is a reference as to why some immigrant parents refrain from teaching their children how to speak a Filipino dialect. Similar opinions also occur in the section “Filipino American Identity: Transcending the Crisis,” by Linda A. Revilla, and how Filipino soldiers stationed in Hawaii were called a “disgracia,” or a disgrace, because they did not know a Filipino language. Both books correlate to what my brother went through when he was living in the Philippines for two years. In his early days of living in the Philippines, he was ridiculed for being a foreigner with a New Jersey accent. Ironically, after finally learning how to speak and understand Tagalog fluently, he had to move back to America and he quotes, “It’s like starting over again.” As one can see, language plays an essential role for people to adapt in certain societies. Learning how to speak