CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Jejemon is a pop culture phenomenon, rose during the year of 2010 in the Philippines, which greatly influenced and was strongly embraced by the Filipino youth. They were coined as the new “Jologs” of the modern age. The term originated from the words "Jeje" which came from "Hehe", typically used to portray slight laughter and "Mons" (monster) from Japan’s animated series Pokemon (Pocket Monsters) and Digimons (Digital Monsters). Furthermore, Wikipedia defined them as people who have managed to destabilize the English language to the point of complexity. In addition to that, they were called the new breed of hipster who has developed not only their own verbal and written communication but also their own group and style (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jejemon). Another definition given by Urbandictionary to them is that their punctuation, language rules and grammar are improper and unaccepted (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jejemon).
The said phenomenon started in the trend of the short messaging services (SMS) on cellular phones, social networking sites and online games. These communication tools offer only limited characters – around 160 characters – which pushed the users to send short and brief messages. Words like “you”, “be”, “today” and “before” are shortened as “u”, “b”, “2day” and “b4”. Other Filipino words are also shortened by omitting letter or letters like “totoo” as ”22o”, “sinu-sino” as “cno2” and other expressions such as “I love you” and “I miss you” are shortened by “ily” and “imy” and by the way as btw. From simple shortening of words, they began to add complexity when unnecessary inconsistent lower and uppercase alphanumeric characters are added to form words like transforming the word “hello” to “eoWzx”. This became the Jejemons’ trademark, their way of written language which can be described by the society as annoying and disturbing. It is because of the complexity of words spellings since they make use of sticky caps or inconsistency in the lower and uppercase letters, excessive punctuation marks and replacement of letters to numbers or other symbols. Because of this, society views them as threat in the formal communication process. In addition to that, many people view them as ignorant, uneducated or low intelligent quotient (IQ) since they were not able to spell the words correctly. Not only that, because they also took over the media and captured the international attention but in a wrong way. The Philippine government also had mandated a law to discourage the usage of the said language for it hinders the communication and it somewhat mirrors the country’s problem on education. (http://theaspriringjournalist.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/jejemons-a-threat-to-language/)
Many anti-Jejemon groups and movements were also born as the phenomenon rose. Hate groups called Jejebusters, grammar Nazis, from social networking sites such as Facebook fan pages and Twitter accounts were made to bash them. Election materials were also used to promote this, a photo of presidential bet, Gilbert Teodoro, has been making the rounds in social networking sites where he, Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard bearer, is seen holding a paper with the words "Pababalikin ko ang mga jejemon sa elementarya (I'll bring those Jejemons back to school)." Another one is the viral edited television ads of the Nacionalista Party in YouTube, where candidates are made to declare their aloofness for Jejemons. (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/05/01/10/anti-jejemon-campaign-goes-viral-web)
Some open forums have threads created by our fellow Filipinos to mock those Jejemons, leaving them harsh, rude comments on the way they write. One of the forums is from the site PinoyExchange, which left different comments such as (http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?t=439080):
“parang nakakatang.a naman yan... (They are like idiots.)” –Rick_dias
“jejemons=demons” – Mickey2000
“i refuse to communicate with jejemons. nasty creatures.” – Wamphas
Most of them are exasperated for it hinders the communication process. That did not stop there, people views them as ignorant for “not knowing” the right spelling and grammar. The biggest page for these grammar Nazis is found on Facebook named “Gotta Kill’em All Jejemon” (https://www.facebook.com/GottaKillEm) which does not only mocks them but treats them unfairly by personal and devious thoughts, sometimes wishing their death.
However, the researcher observed that these imputations are stereotypes which are mostly based on misconceptions. Moreover, there are actually social and individual benefits that a Jejemon culture can provide to those members and to those who are not.
Hence, this research paper is focused on not only proving that these misconceptions are erroneous, but also, providing the benefits in terms of social and individual aspects one can gain from them.
B. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
What are the misconceptions, as well as, social and individual benefits one can gain from the Jejemon culture?
C. SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
Jejemons. This paper would benefit the focus, Jejemons, for it intends to change the undesirable, negative perceptions of the society to more pleasing and acceptable thoughts about them. Moreover, this will also give emphasis on the benefits one can obtain from being a part of the fad which will somehow uplift the self-esteem and confidence of those members of the said sensation.
Non-Jejemons and critics. Though the paper is mainly centered to Jejemons, non-members of the phenomenon will also benefit from the paper because it will help them to understand the reasons why Jejemons act a certain way and why are they against them. In addition to that, this will also be advantageous for them since it will discuss on the profits one can obtain, regardless of being a part or not.
Future Researchers. This study is significant for forthcoming researchers who will make similar studies on the topic Jejemon since only few tried to deal with the case which became a big issue in the local setting. The researcher believes that this paper will provide the next researchers necessary information which can be very beneficial and profitable to their studies.
D. SCOPE AND DELIMITATION
Though there are many apprehensions like their fashion, behavior and traits, this study focuses on the main and the foremost problem about the Jejemons, their usage of language, for it is the major angst regarding the topic. It also became a national concern which gave the researcher the interest to deal with the subject.
Due to limited time, the researcher intensively elaborated on the main point which is a big issue regarding not only the Filipinos but also the international citizens, language.
E. MATERIALS AND METHODS
The researcher collected the general ideas about the topic, Jejemons, and will prove to the readers that these are misconceptions. These general ideas consist of the fallacies and other false statement thrown against the said topic which in the latter part, will be discussed and proved as a misconception.
Online articles from credible sites were used to gather useful information for this research paper. The researcher also collected data from forums and other social networking sites to gather opinions which will be used and will be proven wrong in the latter part of discussion in this paper.
F. DEFINITION OF TERMS
Intelligence. Capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/intelligence?s=t)
Jejebusters. A group of internet grammar vigilantes, typically Filipinos, dedicating their internet lives towards the eradication of jejetyping and jejemon existence. Having dangerous links to the grammar nazi, jejebusters enjoy humiliating a jejemon by posting his/her profile on a social networking site, while everyone on the internet laughs, causing unwarranted embarrassment towards the individual caught jejetyping. (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jejebusters)
Jejemon. A pop culture phenomenon in the Philippines. According to Urban Dictionary, a Jejemon is a person "who has managed to subvert the English language to the point of incomprehensibility." The Philippine Daily Inquirer describes Jejemons as a "new breed of hipster who have developed not only their own language and written text but also their own subculture and fashion." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jejemon)
Jejenese. Language of Jejemon. (http://www.collinsdictionary.com/submission/9297/Jejenese)
Jejetyping. A form of typing used by Jejemons to communicate with one another. (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Jejetyping)
Leetspeak. An alternative alphabet for the English language that is used primarily on the Internet. It uses various combinations of ASCII characters to replace Latinate letters. For example, leet spellings of the word leet include1337 and l33t; eleet may be spelled 31337 or3l33t. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet)
Misconceptions. An erroneous concpetion; mistaken notion (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/misconception)
DISCUSSION
What are the misconceptions, as well as, social and individual benefits one can gain from the Jejemon culture?
A. REASONS FOR HATE AND MISCONCEPTION
a. Jejemons are related to Jologs
The rise of the Jejemon sensation started in the year of 2010. They gained different reactions; some were bewildered yet amused, some shrugged their shoulders and did not care a whit, but most raised their brows, showing irritation. The one of the reasons is because it was somehow to be related to an earlier phenomenon, Jologs.
According to Paolo Manalo, Jolography author and Palanca Award winner, the term’s etymology is (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User%3ANino_Gonzales/jologs):
The True: Jolog came from Jolina. It's what a fan of hers is called. "Jol" from Jolina + "og" like the suffix -ite or -ian. "But we've never heard of a suffix -og to mean 'follower,'" complained one of my more inquisitive students. Besides, the word was in existence before Jolina became a star. "Besides," my student added, "Jolina's not jolog. At most, she's baduy."
The Good: The word originally referred to the Pinoy hip-hop, or hiffhaffers, especially those seen walking as a group in malls. Hiphop fashion includes those very loose and wide pants that were huhulog-hulog (kept falling). "Hulog" later was spelled "Julog" until it was pronounced "ju-log", then its final form: "jo-log". Many students were shaking their heads. "That sounds too easy, too obvious."The Beautiful: The etymology I'm familiar with (and that makes the most sense to me) is geographically specific. The term was coined by high school students in Quezon City, specifically those familiar with Quezon Avenue in the 80's. Back then, across National Bookstore, Quezon Avenue was a disco that was rumored to be owned or co-owned by Edu Manzano. This disco was cheap compared to the popular discos of the time that were in Makati. In fact, the place was called "the squatter of discos". This establishment had a pretentious name: Jaloux. The disco played really baduy disco music, and people who frequented the place were young fashion victims who were quite feeling and baduy themselves.High school students from private schools would tease each other: "Hey pare, I saw you at Jaloux last night." This was such an insult. Eventually other schools picked this up. "Si John, pumupuntang Jaloux." "Wow, John, Jaloux ka pala." Eventually it became an adjective too. "Kadiri, Melanie's Jaloux."The Definitive: "Sorry, sir," said one of my students, "but I think you're mistaken. We discussed this in our philosophy class by accident and it seems that the "jolog" word's origin comes from food." "What?""You don't recognize it now because the spelling's changed, but it was actually originally spelled as 'diyolog' which stands for dilis (anchovies), tuyo (dried fish) and itlog (egg)--the food of the poor. And it was used like this: 'Oh, look she eats diyolog.' Later it became 'Look, diyolog, o.' Until the 'diy' got changed to 'j', hence 'jolog.'”
As stated, the term Jologs definitely means something negative; it was used to address someone from the lower class who’s too fond of mainstream yet, out of style. Jologs and Jejemons have so many similarities. First, it is for the mass; for those ordinary people who are into following the trend. Second, their fashion; both has a distinct way of dressing which makes it unique and can easily be pointed out. Third, the music they patronize; both have its own music genre, "emo" or sentimental songs for the Jologs while this rap Taglish songs with robotic-like voices for the Jejemons. An article, Jejemon: The Culture and Angst of Today's Youth, written by Ireno Alcala from the site HubPages, strengthen the newfound relation between the two; both being the “in” thing for the mass. Thus, it is clearly seen that it is related to Jejemons because both were hated or taken against since it is a part of current thought of the majority. (http://travelman1971.hubpages.com/hub/Jejemon-The-Culture-and-Angst-of-Todays-Youth)
b. Jejemon's way of writing
Another reason is their peculiar way of writing in which society views them negatively. The website InternetSlang, where a list of slang terms, acronyms and abbreviations used in social networking sites are seen, describes Jejemons as people who type stupidly. Moreover, Urbandictionary, a web-based dictionary that contains million definitions submitted by editors and visitors defined them as:
1) Usually seen around social networking sites such as Friendster and Multiply, jejemons are individuals with low IQs who spread around their idiocy on the web by tYpFing LyK diZS jejejeje, making all people viewing their profile raise their eyebrows out of annoyance. Normal people like you and me must take a Bachelor of Arts in Jejetyping in order to understand said individuals, as deciphering their text would cause a lot of frustration and hair pulling. CAUTION: THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE BREEDING! THEY CAN BE SEEN WRECKING GRAMMATICAL HAVOC ON FACEBOOK TOO!
2) Jejemons are not just confined to trying-hard Filipino gangsters and emos. A Jejemon can also include a variety of Latino-Hispanic fags who enjoy typing "jejejejeje" in a wider context, much to the disdain of their opponents in an internet MMORPG game such as Ragnarok and DOTA.3) Basically anyone with a low tolerance in correct punctuation, syntax and grammar. Jejemons are usually hated or hunted down by Jejebusters or the grammar nazi to eradicate their grammatical ways.
Aside from these, a post written by a blogger named BLOTTEDPSYKEZONE, mentioned that Jejemons are not only threat to language but also to the society where it belongs. (http://blottedpsykezone.blogspot.com/2010/05/jejemons-threat.html)
A post published in WordPress, an open blogging site, by theaspriringjournalist entitled JEJEMONS: A THREAT TO LANGUAGE mentioned that they are one of the probable hundred more causes for the decline in English proficiency among Filipinos. The post also provided the sole reasons why they were considered threat. First is that Jejemons modified the appearance of the English alphabet by replacing them with numerical and symbols to make a statement. Second, Jejemons take over media in a wrong way. Third, they make the communication hard because of complex word spelling. Lastly, it reflects the country’s problems, education, since most of the Jejemons are part of the lower class which means education is a very rare opportunity. (http://theaspriringjournalist.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/jejemons-a-threat-to-language/)
c. Jejemons are too viral
Because of popularity, some actions were also done to eradicate them. Some grammar enthusiasts made hate groups called Jejebusters which has the main purpose of “killing” these Jejemons. Jejebusters, along with the Jejemons, were widely seen on social networking sites mocking their opponent. Some made use of the election paraphernalia to oppose them. A photo of presidential bet, Gilbert Teodoro, has been viral in social networking sites where he, Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard bearer, is seen holding a paper with the words "Pababalikin ko ang mga jejemon sa elementarya (I'll bring those Jejemons back to school)." Another one is the edited television ads of the Nacionalista Party in YouTube, where candidates are made to declare their aloofness for Jejemons. But with all this mockery was never a help because instead of defaming them, it somehow added to the attention Jejemons received.
Since this phenomenon became too viral, Philippine government even made ways to stop it. Department of Education (DepEd), last May 2010, declared an all-out-war to stop this for it degrades the quality of education the country offers. Education Secretary Mona Valisno has said:
“Not only that Jejemon language is not pleasing to the eyes, it has also destroyed years of achievements of the DepEd in pushing for better education quality,”
She also mentioned that she even told her grandchildren not to communicate with her using the Jejenese language for she will not respond to it. She also has encouraged the teachers to use proper spelling and grammar to teach the students. (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/deped-declares-‘all-out-war’-vs-jejemons)
Clearly stated, people mock them for their spelling and grammar; moreover, label them as individuals with low IQ (intelligence quotient), uneducated, ignorant; thus, threat to language.
B. TRUTH
These reasons of hate turn into misconceptions which are based mainly on the stereotypes and false conclusions other people are accusing them. In reality, people to think that Jejemons are ignorant or knows nothing because of their background. Jejemons are known to subvert the language into complexity because they did not know the real spelling of words because they lack in formal education. People also base one's intelligence on their spelling and grammar. This was never true.
An article entitled Intelligence by J. Lever-Duffy found in education.com provided that intelligence is a factor affecting learning. Included on this article is Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligence, which includes:
· Linguistic intelligence (verbal skills and talents related to sound, meanings, and rhythms)· Logical-mathematical intelligence (conceptual and logical thinking skills)· Musical intelligence (talents and abilities related to sound, rhythm, and pitch)· Spatial intelligence (skill in thinking in pictures and visioning abstractly)· Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence (skill in 'controlling body movements)· Interpersonal intelligence (responsiveness to others)· Intrapersonal intelligence (high degree of self-awareness and insight)· Naturalist intelligence (skills in recognizing, categorizing, and interacting with the natural world)· Existential intelligence (ability to consider and deal with questions of human existence)
According to this theory, one's intelligence is a mixture of these nine. One may have all but still possessed the dominating ones. And it is possible to calculate one's intelligence using an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Test though not all of these nine can be measured. (http://www.education.com/reference/article/intelligence-learning-children/?page=2)
Another article, Intelligence: The Measurement of Cognitive Capabilities by Angela Oswalt, MSW, edited by Mark Dombeck, Ph.D in the site Seven Counties, Inc., supported the latter article. This article also provided a brief history of Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Test. It was first conducted by Alfred Binet during the early 1900's and later revised by him and colleague Theodore Simon in order to identify students who need special attention. Because of its purpose, Lewis Terman a psychologist from Stanford University released an improved version of the test which covers up four separate cognitive factors a) verbal reasoning which includes verbal and vocabulary problems and sentence comprehension; b) quantitative reasoning which is about math problems; c) abstract/visual reasoning for comprehending complex relationships between geometric shapes; d) short-term memory for the ability to hold facts in memory for a short period of time. An IQ test basically measures one's general knowledge and how well he/she process information, particularly the ability to store and retrieve it. American Psychological Association stated,
"Intelligence describes a person's ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt to the environment, to learn from experience, and to engage in reasoning and decision-making in all sorts of situations (both new and familiar)."
This simply means that intelligence is not only about being “bookish” but rather it is a complex whole of our cognitive and physical skills. The point of this article is to tell people that intelligence is never a single ability but a collection of abilities one possess. (http://www.sevencounties.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=37683&cn=1272)
From the article “Does Spelling Matter?” by Harvey Morris in the site IHT Rendezvous, Simon Horobin of Magdalene College gave his insights about the accepting the change in word spellings. He also pointed out that knowing the standard spelling should not be confused with one’s intelligence. Simon Heffer, a newspaper columnist, agreed with him and stated that there are truly inane people who can spell perfectly and some apparently brilliant ones who can’t. (http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/31/does-spelling-matter/)
Another article, “In an Autocorrect Generation, Does Spelling Still Matter?” found in Here & Now, with Robin Young and Jeremy Hobson supported this. It is about Connecticut eighth-grader Thomas Hurley who was a “Kids Jeopardy” contestant made it all the way to the Final Jeopardy round and even got the right answer but misspelled it. Again, Horobin insisted that spelling is important but because of technology we should be more acceptable of the changes it does to the words. (http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2013/08/07/does-spelling-matter)
All articles served as a proof that one's intelligence can never be measured by merely looking at one factor like linguistic or logical-mathematical intelligence. It is more likely that people are looking at only one perspective which caused them to conclude such things. Another possible reason is that, people just cannot decipher the message that they trying to say due to decorative way of spelling words. Maybe one's score in IQ test is low but that does not prove that one is ignorant because an IQ test, as said a while ago, only measures some but not all of the multiple intelligence. There's a possibility that one's knowledge is not measurable by the IQ test but measurable by real life situations. Therefore, everyone is intelligent in a special way; like the Jejemons who are intelligent in making word formations and creative in word spelling.
Hence, Jejemon's creative way of spelling words is never a threat to our language; furthermore, this can even benefit one in terms of individual and social aspects.
C. BENEFITS OF JEJEMONISM
Most people think that Jejemonism only cause trouble, as well as, harm to our society but in reality, whether people accept it or not, it can contribute positive things to one.
For one, using Jejemon language is recommended specially for security purposes: passwords for one's account in different social networking sites. Because of technological advancements, one's private information, stored in an account in a social networking site, can easily be accessed by other people which cause criminal offenses. Most social networking sites, when one is creating an account, require an alphanumeric password consisting of letter and numbers. The site would also tell one how powerful the password is for security purposes. By using Jejemon language, one's private information can be safe since many cannot decipher the code immediately.
Along with security purposes, Leetspeak (L33t), a written anti-language, is somehow related to Jejenese since both uses unfamiliar way of writing. It is found in forums and BBSs using mostly numbers or characters in place of letters to talk about software piracy, hacks and cracks. Because of the unusual way of writing, those outsiders would never get the chance to understand the thread. L33t doesn’t only restrict to numbers as letters, but they also use symbols which bear little resemblance to the letter they represent. Just like Leetspeak, Jejemonism can also be used as a secret communication code among social groups since only few understand and use it and have the nerve to decode it.
Jejemonism promotes creativity and critical thinking. Since creativity does not limit to art only, one's mind is used to think of a new spelling for words which are usually spelled in a “boring” way. In addition to that, decoding the statement written in Jejemon form requires critical thinking which makes one's mind working. Hence, Jejemonism helps one's mind to keep active.
CHAPTER III
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This paper aimed to prove misconceptions about Jejemons are erroneous and to provide benefits in terms of social and individual aspects one can acquire from them.
The researcher collected the general ideas from online networking sites and articles from reliable sites. The research findings are the following:
1. There are many reasons on why the society views Jejemons negatively but the sole reason is their way of writing wherein they are considered ignorant because of this.
2. Jejemons are not really ignorant since intelligence is a complex whole which should not be measured by only one factor.
3. There are benefits of Jejemonism which includes for security reasons, secret language or code and it keeps one's mind active.
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the observations, the following conclusions are drawn:
1. People tend to stereotype base on the earlier experiences they have been through like Jejemons and Jologs.
2. Trying to eradicate something by giving it too much attention will not help lessening it but rather, making things worse.
3. Spelling and grammar is based on the situation one is into or the people he/she is communicating with.
RECOMMENDATIONS
After drawing the following conclusions, the researcher hereby suggests:
1. Express freely, since it is a privilege for living in a democratic country.
2. People should stop stereotyping and judging other people by their style since everyone has their right to express themselves freely.
