ENGLISH may have arrived in the Philippines as a colonial language, but Filipinos did not leave it unchanged, linguists said. Through nativization, English undergoes structural and cultural changes that reflect the identities, experiences, customs, and practices of local speakers, and linguists begin to recognize these as features of what is known as “Philippine English.” Lintao cited expressions such as “barangay captain,” “batchmate,” and “schoolmate” as examples of how Philippine English reflects the social relationships that Filipinos consider important enough to name. For Lintao, these expressions demonstrate that Philippine English is rooted in the experiences of its speakers, particularly when certain concepts have no direct equivalent in standard English. “We make use of the English language in expressing Philippine reality and the culture that we have as a nation,” she said.