Linguistic and literary creativity in Philippine Englishes

Abstract

Creativity in Englishes in the Philippines is evident in both literary and non‐literary works produced in current contexts of multilingualism. The term ‘creativity’ is traditionally associated with language use in literary texts, suggesting that a systematic study of creativity in language use lies only in the esoteric fields of literary studies and creative writing. However, I wish to approach ‘creativity’ in the sense of what Carter describes as ‘not simply a property of exceptional people but an exceptional property of all people’. I approach creativity in Englishes in the Philippines as ‘everyday creativity’, beginning with a discussion of Braj Kachru's concept of ‘bilinguals’ creativity’, introduced in a 1985 groundbreaking work. This Kachruvian concept of creativity is revisited in the light of 21st century sociolinguistic realities. In this revisiting, I extend the concept of bilinguals’ creativity beyond traditional approaches to creativity in English language use.