is a term coined by Virgilio Almario that refers to Filipino-language

hybrid word A hybrid word or hybridism is a word that etymologically derives from at least two languages. Such words are a type of macaronic language. Common hybrids The most common form of hybrid word in English combines Latin and Greek parts. Since m ...

s seemingly derived from both English and Spanish. The

Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino The Commission on the Filipino Language (CFL), also referred to as the (KWF), is the official regulating body of the Filipino language and the official government institution tasked with developing, preserving, and promoting the various local ...

under the administration of Almario has considered ''siyokoy'' words to be improper and therefore its use discouraged.

Background

is a term coined by National Artist Virgilio Almario, who also chaired the

(KWF; Commission of Filipino Language). The term is derived from the Philippine mythological creature '' siyokoy,'' roughly equivalent to the

merman A merman (: mermen; also merlad or merboy in youth), the male counterpart of the mythical female mermaid, is a legendary creature which is human from the waist up and fish-like from the waist down, but may assume normal human shape. Sometimes mer ...

, ultimately derived from the

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

'' shui gui''. It is used to describe

s "not Spanish and not also English" and are said to be often made by educated people not aware of the proper equivalent of the word in Spanish who want to use words that sound like Spanish. The phenomenon was first noticed when radio broadcaster Rod Navarro popularized the word ''konsernado''—Hispanicized from the English word "concerned". The Spanish word for "concerned" is ''concernido,'' and therefore the KWF asserts that the word in Filipino should be ''konsernído''. The proliferation of words is fast due to its usage by celebrities, broadcasters, writers and academics who have limited knowledge in Spanish. The stance against words is instituted in the ''KWF Manwal sa Masinop na Pagsulat'' style guide, which was written by Almario as KWF chair. Almario, who has been critical of words since 1976, is more tolerant of '' jejemon'' and '' bekimon'', which he characterize as "cultured language" meant to be intelligible by everyone and thus are not "permanent languages".

Alternatives

Instead of using words, Almario suggests consulting an English–Spanish dictionary and deriving the Filipino word from the Spanish term. He also prefers Filipino speakers to straight up use English terminologies if they are not aware of the Spanish equivalent. The most preferable approach is to use existing Filipino words such as ''larawan'' for "image".

Examples

The following are examples of words, their equivalent in English and Spanish, as well as the proper Filipino language equivalent as suggested by Almario or the KWF.

References

{{reflist Linguistic morphology Macaronic language Word coinage Filipino language Macaronic forms of English Philippine English Spanish language in the Philippines Metaphors referring to people

Background

Alternatives

Examples

See also

References