“Ay, nosebleed!”: Negotiating the place of English in contemporary Philippine linguistic life Dana Osborne Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada article info Article history: Available online xxx Keywords: Philippines Nosebleed Metapragmatics Semiotic stance Linguistic commensurability Englishes abstract This article describes and analyzes the form and function of the term ‘nosebleed’ as it is used by speakers in the contemporary Philippine linguistic scene. ‘Nosebleed’ operates as a metapragmatic, semiotic stance marking device used to bracket various kinds language/s in relation to concepts of high sociocultural value in the archipelago: local concepts of the commensurability of language- and person-types, and culturally-enregistered joking styles that mitigate hiya, or ‘shame’ in interaction. This analysis draws from popular discourses to outline the ideological foundations of the term and goes on to examine its social and linguistic effects to theorize the ways that homegrown metapragmatic tools such as ‘nosebleed’ can shape varieties of language over time. Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction I did not go to the Philippines to study ‘nosebleed’ per se – but its ubiquity in daily interaction so clearly commented on circulating linguistic ideologies that to ignore it as a linguistic anthropologist would be a serious injustice to language studies in the archipelago. From 2012 to 2014, I was stationed in a provincial high school that will be called Pias National High, 1 focused primarily on the topic of language contact and change among speakers of the ethnolinguistic minority language of Ilocano in the northernmost part of Luzon. Speakers in Ilocos Sur and Norte typically speak at least three languages at various levels of competency: Ilocano as the L1, English and Tagalog/Filipino (L2/L3 variously), with some speakers also having competency in other ethnolinguistic minority languages from the surrounding regions, such as Kankanaey or Itneg. 2 One of my first encounters with the term ‘nosebleed’ in interaction occurred with a third year student at Pias National, Joanna (a pseudonym). On this day, I had invited Joanna to sit with me in the school’s canteen during merienda ‘snack time’ for a leisurely chat about school, friends, and favorite songs – I had developed this technique to get to know students better individually and in groups and students were always excited to share their thoughts and experiences with me. As I sat across the way from Joanna at the plastic table, surrounded by school supplies, snacks, and circulating teachers, I customarily switched back and forth between Ilocano and English – most students preferred interactions in Ilocanish (a mixing of Ilocano and English) and to this point, virtually all interactions with students had been very agreeable in this code. As I launched into some soft questions in Ilocanish, it became apparent that Joanna’s initial excitement about the conversation was turning quickly into discomfort – her posture became smaller, her eyes widened, and a sidelong smile grew slowly across her face. E-mail address: dana.osborne@ryerson.ca. 1 All names of people and places are pseudonyms. 2 These are indigenous languages of the Cordillera Region of the Philippines where Ilocano is spoken as a lingua franca. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Language & Communication journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/langcom http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.langcom.2017.08.001 0271-5309/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Language & Communication xxx (2017) 1–16 Please cite this article in press as: Osborne, D., “Ay, nosebleed!”: Negotiating the place of English in contemporary Philippine linguistic life, Language & Communication (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.langcom.2017.08.001