First
Comprehensive Essay on “Conyo Talk”: The
affirmation of hybrid identity and power in contemporary Philippine Discourse
Working
in the corporate world has not only exposed me in the business and, well,
corporate side of communication and language. It has enabled me to connect and
engage in a different society, perhaps the society of the ‘elites’. I have been
meeting businessmen and women, owners of vast hectares of land, heirs and
heiresses, and the like. Talking to them and just being in a room with them,
you will feel that they may have another language embedded in their system
because of their culture and the kind of society they are in.
In
a certain event where these socialites gathered, I have heard one of them
saying, “I’m so harassed, it’s so init!”
While the other one replied, “It’s so init
no? I think I need more than just a chiller na nga”. My ears would probably bleed if I continued listening to
their conversation. Should I blame them if they speak in a different way and
perhaps, a different ‘breed’ of language? Probably not.
This kind of phenomenon exists in the
Philippines for quite some time now. Most commonly referred to as “conyo talk”,
it is a type of discourse that purportedly identifies and differentiates people
of ‘power’ from the common masses (Garvida, 2012). People who speak such are
called ‘conyo’. Ironically, it is one of the many words which have taken a new
meaning in the Philippine context since originally the word came from the
Spanish, coño, meaning cunt.
Many
have attempted to study the culture and language of the conyos. Some have even made fun out of it, just like how the “Ten Conyomandments” went viral in the
internet, presenting the different ‘grammatical rules’ when it comes to using
the ‘conyo talk’. Some associate conyos
to students (and graduates) of private universities e.g. Arrnheo,Lazhaal. Do we really have to stereotype all conyo speakers coming from a certain
group in the society? How does conyo
talk take form in the minds and consciousness of the speakers?
In
2012, Mignette Marcos Garvida of Ryerson University published a research paper
analyzing and discussing how conyo
speakers position themselves and its sociocultural implications. The paper
examined how web forum discussions embody social tensions through
ethnomethodological discourse analysis and Bhabha’s (1990) third space. It aimed
to answer the following questions:
·
How
does conyo talk shape consciousness, and how does it shape or influence the
participants’ response?
·
What
are the circumstances in which socially constructed identities change, that is,
which language/s serve better the participants’ intention?
·
What
are the common grounds and/or linguistic features in their talk?
Data were gathered from web discussions
and threads in three popular websites, namely: www.pinoyexchange.com, www.asiafinest.com, and www.candymag.com. It has been concurred that
participants’ texts, though written are like spontaneous speech. They can
follow the threads they want and can respond to any comment at any time thereby
creating their own identity.
Filipinos still strive to be identified
with past ruling social groups (Garvida, 2012). It is evident in the
participants’ username, as majority of them used English and Spanish words such
as ‘somuchmore’, ‘unicohijo’,and ‘yo soy guapo’.
When asked what conyo is, most of them have associated conyo talk as something
spoken by the rich and influential people. They have mentioned that conyo is the product of younger members
of affluent and highly prestigious Insular Spaniards in their attempt to
assimilate or integrate. On the other hand, others have stated that conyo
exists because the old-rich families hired nannies who speak broken English but
still strive to be understood. However, according to Bautista (2004), it has been
used for decades as familiar language among the middle and upper classes,
college-educated, and urbanized Filipinos to distinguish themselves from
others.
If that is the
case then, I can consider the people I have encountered in social gatherings as
conyo. Most of them are socialites
coming from a family of politicians and businessmen, who have also made a name
for themselves in a different industry. There are events which they would bring
their kids alongside their nannies and, yes, I could attest that even they
speak in conyo.
The conyo phenomenon, according to the
participants, exists due to colonial mentality. It is the type of discourse
used by a minor group of people claiming cultural and social superiority. One
of them even stated that, “Displaying themselves as conyo is like drawing a line between ‘they’ and the impoverished
society, as if saying that ‘I’m not among them’” However, there are
participants who consider conyo
speakers as social climbers and that speaking conyo alone meant trying to climb the social ladder.
Those affluent
and prominent personalities I have met who can be considered as conyo may or may not intentionally speak
conyo because they want to be
distinguished and seen as ‘superiors’. Perhaps,
they speak that way because they grew up with people speaking conyo. But as someone outside of their
group, I could say that I am really
out of place especially when I hear them talking. It’s as if they are speaking
in another language, I could not bear hearing.
Lastly, it has
been identified that conyo speakers
have developed list of vocabulary and sentence structures that are
incomprehensible. Surprising, it serves the speakers’ communicative purposes
and intentions. For example, the English word ‘make’ is added to vernacular
verbs, as in “make pasyal” (to stroll). Conyos
also excessively use the words ‘so’, ‘like’, ‘no’, and ‘di ba’. In text
messages or social media, they also use abbreviations such as ‘OMG’ and ‘LOL’
coupled with a number of emoticons.
The creation of the Ten Conyomandments just goes to show that conyo, just like any other language,
also has a set of linguistic rules. Although conyo is considered a bastardization of language by some, we have
to acknowledge their presence as a hybrid. Honestly speaking, I have even
spoken conyo before. I think no one
is spared from speaking such since it is already in our society.
In Garvida’s study, it has been concluded
that conyo talk is a cultural
identification where speakers can be described as having a profound cultural
ambivalence. The study reflects the contradictory and shifting positions and
boundaries of some Filipinos due to their lack of confidence in language
fluency, social, and economic status.
References:
·
Cabotaje,
L. (2012). Conyo, More fun in the
Philippines. Retrieved from:
http://upeppenglish.blogspot.com/2012/07/conyo-more-fun-in-philippines.html
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