THE LANGUAGE OF COCKFIGHTING: A LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS

Abstract: Every language is in need of new words in order to name new inventions and changes that enter our lives, and in order to communicate about them. Language is dynamic and constantly evolving. Just like all other languages, the Filipino language also has evolved with the time as influenced by many factors. One of these factors is the tradition of cockfighting among Filipino men. The language of cockfighting has its own contribution in enriching the language of the Filipinos. It is the goal of this linguistic investigation to determine the linguistic features that aid the sabong aficionados in communicating to one another during a game. Specifically, it seeks to process the language of cockfighters according to the expressions used and their categories, its morphology and semantics, and its functions. Verbal data were provided by five purposely-selected respondents who have engaged in the sport for at least ten years using interview as a research method. Findings show that the morphological processes involved in the formation of cockfighting language are mostly borrowing, derivation, affixation, compounding, and connotation through image. Hand signal is found to have a crucial role in the language of betting. The functions of language in cockfighting are mostly metalingual, emotive, conative, and phatic. In extracting the meaning of their language through processing the morphology, semantics, and functions, this study offers a way of understanding the world of cockfighting in Philippine context.