Dr. Ma. Lourdes S. Bautista
Conferred AY 1990-1991
Professional Profile:
In summary, then, Philippine English is not English that falls short of the norms of Standard American English; it is not badly-learned English as a second language; its distinctive features are not errors committed by users who have not mastered the American standard. Instead, it is a nativized variety of English which has features that differentiate it from Standard American English because of the influence of the first language (specifically in pronunciation […] but occasionally in grammar), because of the different culture in which the language is embedded (expressed in the lexicon and in discourse conventions), and because of a restructuring of some of the grammar rules (manifested in the grammar). Philippine English has an informal variety, especially in the spoken mode, which may include a lot of borrowing and code-mixing, and it has a formal variety which, when used by educated speakers and found acceptable in educated Filipino circles, can be called Standard Philippine English.” (p. 20)
From About the Honoree, in Linguistics and Language Education in the Philippines and Beyond: A Festschrift in Honor of Ma. Lourdes S. Bautista, ed. by Danilo T. Dayag and J. Stephen Quakenbush. 2005. Manila: Linguistic Society of the Philippines. (pp. v-vi)
Dr. Ma. Lourdes S. Bautista, “Tish” to those who know her well, is a shining example of Philippine scholarship at its personable best. Her work is characterized by excellence borne of ability and hard work, blending attention to detail with awareness of larger issues and concern for social relevance.
Tish came of age in the world of linguistics during an especially stimulating period, earning her Ph.D. in 1975 through the Ateneo de Manila-Philippine Normal College Consortium. There she benefited from the brilliant minds of Dr. Bonifacio Sibayan, Fr. Frank Lynch and Br. Andrew Gonzalez. Through the generosity of the Asia Foundation and FAPE (Fund for Assistance to Private Education), she enjoyed, along with other colleagues also destined to become leaders in the world of Applied Linguistics, the luxury of being full-time students. She thereafter enjoyed a Ford Foundation grant to do post-doctoral studies in Sociolinguistics at Georgetown University and the University of Pennsylvania in 1975-1976. She has since taught and published widely on Tagalog, Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics and Philippine English. While most of her teaching and administrative career has been centered at De La Salle University in Manila, she has also had her share of international studying, teaching and lecturing. She considers her magnum opus to be her recent work on the Philippine English database for the International Corpus of English, trusting it will provide others with a strong basis for corpus linguistics in the Philippines.
What professional question remains from her career that she would like to see resolved? “What should we do about the medium of instruction problem in the Philippines? We’ve been discussing it for so long and no one listens. People are still arguing about what scheme is best.”
What advice does she have for other linguists? “Find a good mentor!” Like her own master mentor, Br. Andrew, she wants to see her students finish their degrees successfully, and continue to be engaged in productive research throughout their careers.
Tish is not only a scholar among scholars, she is an individual of extraordinary character and depth, generosity and grace, warmth and charm. I am personally indebted to her in my own professional career for the way she and Br. Andrew so freely shared the results of their research on Language Surveys in the Philippines, 1969-1984 (1986) at a time when I was a graduate student visiting from the United States, preparing to do research on the sociolinguistics of a rural community in Palawan. I will never forget the amazement and gratitude I felt as she handed me a free copy of the pre-publication draft of that work, saying “Here, you can make use of this.” It is impossible not to like Tish Bautista.
Tish’s big heart must come in part from growing up in a big family – she is, after all, the eldest of twelve brothers and sisters. It is certainly nourished by the twenty-eight nieces and nephews she calls the joy of her life. In her retirement, she looks forward to more leisurely activities – reading more novels, watching more movies, enjoying more meals out with friends. Certainly she will travel some more. A return trip through the Holy Land following the chronology of the life of Christ is appealing. Her big heart won’t be satisfied with just leisurely activities, however, no matter how much she protests that these are what she enjoys most in life. Even as she eagerly anticipates more time for leisure, she also ponders how she can best continue to serve others. Perhaps that will mean more teaching, or perhaps volunteer work with NGOs, she says. Being a cancer survivor herself, she has a special interest in helping cancer patients and their loved ones. Tish has dealt with the big questions of (im)mortality and what makes for a happy life. And she still has lots more to share with us, professionally and personally. Mabuhay, Ma. Lourdes “Tish” Bautista.
J. Stephen “Steve” Quakenbush
SIL International
Pasig City, Philippines
September 2005