From time to time, we read stories where an adult Filipino female is referred to as Filipina. Sometimes, Filipino woman.
I want to know what you think by participating in this one-minute (or less) poll. You can also help by sharing your thoughts on this issue in the Comments.
Here is the poll:
// POLL REMOVED //
Maraming salamat.
Filipino – In Webster’s it refers to both male and female.
Filipina – The Oxford English dictionary once tried to include this word to refer to a housemaid and was protested by Filipinos.
Personal observations: The “Filipino English” formally accepts “Filipina” to refer to a “female Filipino”. When I tend to “mistakenly” use the word “Filipina” when talking with Americans they told me they learned “something new” from me, that: when male it is called “Filipino”, when female “Filipina”. Then I realized that it is me who actually learned “something” from them.
This phenomenon of turning “Filipino” into “Filipina” when referring to a female is the result of the way the grammar of our native language was influenced by the Spanish language. Tio-tia, hermano-hermana, amigo-amiga. This is not how it goes in the English language however. But as I said, the term “Filipina” is widely and formally a part of the “Filipino English” vocabulary that Filipinos as well as “Filipinas” tend to use it when conversing with other English-speaking peoples.
Filipina– referring to female in general (regardless of age eg tanager, girl, woman)
woman– generally refers to an adult
girl— adoleslescent
Filipina woman— referring to an adult Filipina
I don’t agree with you using “Filipina woman” which is redundant by your definition. If “Filipina” refers to “female in general” and “woman” refers to an “adult girl or adolescent”, then why use “Filipina woman”? Does this mean, Filipino woman woman? I am not talking of political correctness here. “Filipina woman” is simply incorrect. This is like someone saying: “Let me repeat that again.”
I notice the word Filipina are used more often by Filipinos themselves
while foreigners refer to an adult Filipino female as Filipino woman.
both usage seems to be acceptable either way.
WIKEPEDIA : A woman (irregular plural: women) is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent.
WOMAN: 19 & ABOVE USUALLY (beyond adolescent)
GIRL : 13-19 USUALLY (adolescent)
penpen
(of course: with an exception if we are talking about women’s right
It is Filipina, others are so intelligent comment what is right and wrong, the important is when you are in the philippines, they called filipina to a girl and filipino to a boy,
maybe its time for us to correct something, when you say filipino for us it is a male,and when you say filipina you refer to a female? perhaps we should use the term “for the philippine people” and it will refer for both male and female for me thats my comments thank you
kahapon at ngayong ang filipina ay mananatiling isang babae
kahapon at ngayon ang filipino na katawagan ay nagsasaad ng kahulugang
mamamayan ng PILIPINAS AT kahulugan mamamayan lalaki ng PILIPINAS. Ang kahulugan ng salitang filipino ay magiging ayon sa kung paano ito ginamit
Now when word Filipina is use it will always pertain to a female Filipino
now when word Filipino is use it will always pertain to the citizens of the Philippines. So therefor it is wrong to use Filipino woman. At any rate they understand each other
I tell you, it depends to the one speaking. We natives, don’t really use that word. Living in the 20th century, and practically speaking, i say we just use the word ‘Pinay’ for the females and ‘Pinoy’ for the males. Now, regarding the issue about ‘Filipino women and Filipina, i wan’t to repeat what I’ve said: it depends to the one speaking. And that is, at any instance i may conclude, respect.
woman is just a modifier– if we shall use the word Filipina its easy to understand the age we are referring to + word girl or woman or lady
it may look redundant but more descriptive than American girl or American woman 
but the word Filipina but itself (hmmm? age doesn’t matter hehehe
)
however, countless number of people used Filipino woman (seems ?
( !?)
” Filipina ” must be the right word ; sound feminine, perfect image for
a Filipino Woman, soft , kind hearted , caring n emotional;
To Mr Fermin Salvador:
1. Referring “Filipino” to both male and female in fact is what many politically sensitive and sensible countries and organizations use. It is in keeping up with a more mature international outlook of society.
2. The attempt to insert the word “Filipina” (or “Pinay”) in the Oxford English dictionary to mean “housemaid” or “domestic helper” was very revolting. I remember the attempt failed due to public outcry. But still, that did not prevent others from evolving the word to even a very degrading meaning: “mail order bride”.
I know it is not proper and correct to define a word by biases or stereotypes, but sorry to say, that is reality. In internet dating sites, the meaning of “Filipina” has gone from bad to worse. Sadly, those who perpetrate these biases are Filipinos themselves.
3. Your anecdote on the use of “Filipina” and the influence of the Spanish language on our grammar is very educational. Thanks for sharing that anecdote. Now I know why an American woman is not called “Americana” or a Singapore woman not being called “Singaporeana”.
Is it really that hard to understand? It’s like that new episode on South Park where the kids tried to tell the adults the difference between a “fag” and a “gay” individual: a fag is someone who is annoying, while a gay is someone who is homosexual. It’s full of laughter, really, that anyone would be confused about calling a woman a Filipina or a Filipino woman.
I would agree that saying “Filipina woman” is silly cause the last letter on the first word is already an indication that the person is refering to the female gender.
Otherwise, I would say it’s common sense that we use “Filipina” when refering to the general female crowd of Filipino nationality, but only when conversing in Tagalog. It’s proper to use “Filipino woman” in English to specifically talk about one particular female gender of a Filipino nationality. Just replace the ‘a’ with the ‘e’ in the word ‘woman’ if you want to refer to a general crowd. Seriously, is this really hard to get?
Perhaps some people, who chose to talk in Taglish, are confused with the usage because they try to mix the languages without fully understanding either one’s grammar, which is a lot of– excuse my netspeak, LOL!
Not to say that I am great, but at least I am not confused with simple matter as these. Hello?! Getting confused with “ng” and “nang” is even more acceptable, if you ask me.
here woman is not defined; therefore it refers to the age (adult) of the modifier?
how but if it is a girl? (:-)) cheers!)
common sense… there is nothing to be discussed about proper usage of these words… you are just making simple things complicated. thank you!
@lakanlawin7
Thanks for the feedback. I can assure you that I would be the last person to waste my time and the precious time of our website members if proper usage of words like “Filipina” and “Filipino woman” were that simple. It is common knowledge that many times, improper use of words is the root cause of misunderstanding.
Hi Romy
Mukhang interesting itong binuksan mong usapan. Agree ako doon sa opinyon ng iba na ang paggamit sa salita ay depende kung saan ginagamit ang salita.
Here are some suggested English words to use para sa topic na ito –
1. Kung sanggol: Filipino baby, Filipino baby girl, Filipino baby boy
2. Kung batang babae (hindi na sanggol): Filipino girl, Filipino lass
3. Kung babae na nasa edad na: Filipino woman, Filipino lady
4. Kung matandang babae: Filipino lady, old Filipino woman, old Filipino lady, senior Filipino woman
5. Kung babae na worker: Filipino worker, Filipino woman worker
6. Kung batang lalake: Filipino boy
7. Kung lalake na nasa edad na: Filipino man, Filipino gentleman
8. Kung matandang lalake: old Filipino man, old Filipino gentleman, senior Filipino man
9. Kung tungkol sa Philippine people (regardless of age or gender): Filipinos
10. Kung tinedyer: Filipino teenager, Filipino teenage girl, Filipino teenage boy
E, ano naman ang tawag sa mananayaw na babae? Filipino dancer, Filipino woman dancer, Filipino lady dancer. Paano malalaman kung babae o lalake kapag ginamit ay Filipino dancer? Malalaman iyon sa pangalan ng dancer, di ba?
Alam ko na marami sa iyong mambabasa ang may kani-kaniyang suggestions. Ito ay mga suggestions ko lang naman.
Salamat.
Manny
Filipino woman is the formal and globally known/accepted term for a Filipina.
’bout *(but) (what will be more descriptive if the question is its age?
)
*(its) the person age i mean hehehe
?
Mr. Tex Gomez,
You are right that more progressive countries and minds tend to eliminate gender specifications unless really necessary. After all, males and females should have equal basic rights. This applies too to other conditions and characteristics. No one would like gender profiling as much as racial or religion profiling.
Another point against gender specifications:
Oxford dictionary tried to formalize the word “Filipina” to mean housemaid. Yet “informally” around the world, “Filipina” is being used to refer to aside from a “housemaid”, to a “mail order bride”, a “female escort service”, and so on without referring to any race or nationality in particular. Thus, some “Filipina” could be a Bangladeshi woman, an Indian woman, a Indonesian woman, a Nepalese woman, and/or yes, a “Filipino woman”. Anyone as long as “she” is a woman.
Filipina. To establish the accepted usage and meaning of the word. This is the best to counter the derogatory meaning associated with the term lately by those who are ignorant of its gender-specific nature. Let’s educate these guys.
In my opinion, both are correct; it’s a matter of which one you would like to use.
Interesting discussion of little real consequence apart from the supposedly derogatory usage.
Language is a living thing and it seems formal American and UK English is evolving faster than Pilipino or Taglish in its elimination of unnecessary gender differentiation.
It all depends on context. To call your native American neighbours in California ‘Kano or ‘Kana certainly wouldn’t make you any friends.
Romy,
I guess it’s for the same reason that in Australia, all screen personalities are called “actors.” There are no “actresses.” Another example: in the Philippines, we use the initials “Dra.” to denote a female doctor. No such thing here in Australia. All medical practitioners, male or female are “doctors,” or Dr.
Dino
Romy – Depends, who you’re talking to. Our language is heavily influenced by Spanish with the “o” and “a” being gender specific. For the English language, their words don’t really have a gender unless “woman” or “lady” or “girl” is used. I’m assuming south Americans would see this as a non-issue and that Europeans exposed to Spain would also understand this.
Us Filipinos would identify a North American as Amercano or Amercana (really anyone white would be called this-my features have been described to me- as Amercano, even though we are in Australia, funny that, ay? A bisaya group of us call a Spanish/bisaya friend as conio as a term of endearment!) And brasiliano/a, mexicano/a, espaniolo/a, kiko/a? Pedrito/a, miguel/a, it’s endless.
But, a Chinese person in the Philippines would be called inchik na babae or lalake. Not inchiko/a or, an Indian as an Indian/a, but generally turko (one of my cousins got this nickname because of his features and skin colour). Do we call people from Turkey turko or turka?
Both uses are correct. It would do good to further educate the English speakers of our rich culture and heritage.
It would also do good for Filipinos to remember where they are and why they are where they are. You’re right, Romy! It is a matter of sharing.
Mitchell
I usually use the word Filipino woman when referring to adult female.
maybe in due time the world will get used to Filipina. call me Filipinese!
ea
I think it’s alright to use both. Use Filipina when you’re in the Philippines because in Filipino grammar, we usually have the “a” ending sound for female gender like abogada. We use “o” ending sound for male gender like abogado. However, this is only applied in the Philippines. When abroad, it’s safe to use Filipino woman/lady.
You have to use word Filipina, referring to a filipino female.
Filipino woman is the correct term in referring to a Filipino female. Based on my own opinion the word Filipina is only a “code” for a Filipino woman… for example some people called ilocana and ilocano for those living in Ilocos and bicolana and bicolano for those living in Bicol. Thanks for allowing me to post my opinion.
The noun FILIPINO refers to both men and women of Filipino Nationality.
As everyone knows gender in the Philippines is generally determined by the vowel ending of the word, a for female and o for male, thus, we say – Bicolana is a female coming from Bicol Regions, the opposite is Bicolano – who is a male coming from the Bicol Regions. THEREFORE, IN LIKE MANNER, we say a Filipino female is FILIPINA and a Filipino male is Filipino.
it is in our culture to use specific words when referring to a man or a woman. but the right usage and acceptable internationally doesn’t conform with our perceived exact and right one. like for example, we use the term Pastora when referring to a lady pastor. there is no such word like that in the english vocabulary. also, Doktora, when calling a woman doctor which we can’t find in oxford nor webster.
therefore, when we are in our country, it is acceptable to use the word FILIPINA. but internationally, use the term FILIPINO WOMAN when mentioning a Filipino girl because the foreigners will not understand who you are referring to.
Pahabol:
I think in the term “Filipina woman,” Filipina is an adjective defining the woman.
While “Filipina” is just a shortcut of “Filipina woman.”
I have not yet read all the previous comments. Pardon me if someone has already made a comment similar to mine.
Pahabol:
I think in the term “Filipino woman,” Filipino is an adjective defining the woman.
While “Filipina” is just a shortcut of “Filipino woman.”
I have not yet read all the previous comments. Pardon me if someone has already made a comment similar to mine.
Thanks for dropping by, Jon. Feel free to browse the comments of others, and feel free to return and share your comments. Based on the articles you have contributed at emanila’s Philippine Studies section at http://emanila.com/philippines, I am sure your thoughts would be equally appreciated by those who are following this blog. – Romy
Filipino has more than one meaning, it can mean both a person and a nationality.
- She is a Filipino citizen.
You wouldn’t say “she is a Filipina citizen.”
- She is Filipino.
Again, correct usage as you are referring to her citizenship. You wouldn’t be correct to say “she is Filipina.”