On the first chapter of Melba Maggay’s Pahiwatig: Kagawiang pangkomunikasyon ng Filipino, she discussed 10 indigenous Filipino ways of interpersonal communication. A lot of it were very relatable, as a Filipino, I also see myself applying such ways. I learned most of it from the people surrounding me, such as my family and friends. The most common among us is the use of pagpapahiwatig. To avoid dealing with conflict between our relationships, we are fond of implicitly expressing messages-within-messages, such as being sarcastic and making inside jokes. This is possible because we have close ties and understand each other’s behaviors.
“Habang totoo na nangingibabaw ang mapagpahiwatig na pagpapahayag, may mga konteksto sa ating mga paparating na nakapangyayari ang tahasang pagpapahayag.”
Maggay (2002, p. 39)
While there is an advantage of belonging in a high-context culture (i.e., not having to explain everything every time), there are also certain drawbacks to it. There are tendencies that these behaviors turn to mannerisms that we can bring as we grow up. Such behaviors are not healthy to use at times, especially when communicating with people of different cultures, or sometimes just people with other issues, thus creating conflict from being passive-aggressive.
The communication behaviors that Maggay described can mostly be observed in oral and face-to-face interpersonal interactions. But it doesn’t stop there. With the rise of social media and other media platforms, these behaviors can also be manifested digitally.
With all the countries that colonized the Philippines before our time, they surely must play a huge role in contributing to the communication behaviors we have today. But I believe that it is what makes them uniquely Pinoy. Just as these behaviors may also be considered generally applicable to other people for reasons other than culture, it doesn’t make them exactly the same from each other. Filipinos have been and are continuing to build upon these behaviors in the Filipino context and adaptation, and as a nation with a developing culture, it is fair to claim these as ours.
Aside from Maggay, Prof. Jose Lacson also discussed Filipino communicative behaviors that are fueled by mindsets elicited from our shared culture, namely Deprivation-Deservation Syndrome, the Kulang sa Pansin Syndrome and the Quest for Ownership and Credit Seeking, Convenience Approach to Living on, Sense of Humor, and the Concept of Accountability. Both discussions show a very good understanding of where these behaviors are coming from, thus clearly providing an explanations that we can reflect upon. Here’s an excerpt from Lacson’s writing that all of us could probably agree to:
As a people, we communicate in ways which could be considered as unique and persevering to the Filipino way of doing things. It has been observed that we have multiple meanings for things and common meanings are arrived at in tacit agreement with the other, perhaps as a matter of convenience or accommodation to both parties.
References:
Maggay, M. (2002). Pahiwatig: Kagawiang pangkomunikasyon ng Filipino. Ateneo de Manila University Press.
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