Emerging Morphological Features of Philippine English in the Writings of Ilokano Journalists

The growth of Philippine English (PhilE) in the country has been driven by various innovations in the language. This study investigates the word-formation processes used by Ilokano journalists, focusing on publications from the four provinces of Region 1 in the Philippines. A 750,000-word corpus, comprising news, feature, and editorial articles from 2021 to 2023, is analyzed using AntConc software. Results disclose twenty-three emerging lexical items, categorized according to Bautista’s word-formation processes and the framework for twenty-first century PhilE proposed by Dimaculangan and Gustilo. Borrowing is the most productive process, which reflects Ilokanos’ inclination in the preservation of cultural identity and enhancing relatability within the community. It is followed by coinage and non-English sounding acronyms. The study concludes that PhilE is evolving, with its lexicons continuously expanding, particularly in regional contexts. To document these linguistic advances, a glossary of emerging PhilE words employed by Ilokano journalists has been developed. Future research endeavors may incorporate the Filipinos’ attitudes toward its use, emphasizing the alignment of educational practices with the localized variety to enhance communicative competence.