International Journal of Research Studies in Education
Special Luminary Issue
2025
Volume 14 Issue 4
Available Online: 20 February 2025
Author/s:
Castillo, Izzy Kay F.
Mindoro State University, Philippines (izzykaycastillo.minsu@gmail.com)
Abstract:
By the turn of the 21st century, Filipinos became the second largest immigrant community in the United States of America—sequestering several communities in the states of California and Hawaii. Yielded by the desire to find sustainable income, and to flee the violent repercussions of an authoritarian regime, Filipinos flocked in spades to North America in as early the 1960s, and the nexus has not slowed since. However, as America grapples with the sheer number of Filipino immigrants growing within their borders, Filipino-Americans (Fil-Ams) also struggle to identify themselves and establish the culture they’ve ensconced themselves in. This systematic review on the Sociolinguistic Construct of Immigrant Culture as perceived by Filipino-Americans aimed to identify what language patterns were used by the Fil-Ams in identifying their race, as well as in describing their multicultural communities. Ten (10) studies have been included based on the inclusion criteria and were independently screened. This review found that Filipino Americans depict both their identity and their multicultural community using an amorphous, often contradictory language pattern, stemming from their forefathers’ ideation of the ideal immigrant life in America and the economic stability that comes with being an immigrant in a First World Nation, juxtaposed with the extensive discrimination and racial aggression experienced by Fil-Ams, as well as their persistent feelings of isolation and non-acceptance within the greater American community. It was thus recommended that Fil-Ams seek out authentic Filipino culture to have a concrete point of comparison and core in identifying themselves and their community.
Keywords: Filipino immigrant culture, Filipino-American identity, Hymesian sociolinguistics, collaborative enterprise, multicultural communities
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrse.2025.25834
Cite this article:
Castillo, I. K. F. (2025). The “Ideal” Filipino: An analysis of the sociolinguistic construct of immigrant culture as perceived by Filipino-American authors. International Journal of Research Studies in Education, 14(4), 43-52. https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrse.2025.25834