Sward speak (Gay lingo) in the philippine context: A morphological analysis

This study assessed the word formation of sward speak used in the Philippines. Specifically, it determined the gay slang used, its formation and the reasons for using it. The descriptive method was used to conduct the study. A total of 100 gay respondents conveniently chosen were used in the study. A questionnaire and an informal interview were used to gather information. The library technique was also used to gather relevant data and literature to support the findings of the study. In analysing, the strategies and processes in the formation of Tagalog slang used by Zorc and Celce-Murcia were used. The gays love to play with words; however, they follow a process or use a strategy in deriving or creating words like other languages do. They use the following strategies or processes: loanwords or borrowing, metathesis either by syllable switching or full reversal, affixation, substitution, acronymy, duplication or repetition, clipping/reduction, blending, using names of popular persons or places, using figures of speech (onomatopoeia and metaphor), and mix-mix. The gays’ major reasons for creating words of their own are to become unique/different from other people, to serve as their identity, to belong or accepted in a group, to give them pleasure, and to make them inventive.