jonathanfvaldez What's correct: "privileged speech" or

Jr. Member "privilege speech"?

« on: September 24, 2009, 09:57:57 AM »

Karma: +0/-0 Hi Mr. Carillo:

Posts: 32
I'm a regular reader of the online editions of Philippine
newspapers, including Manila Times and Malaya. This
week's focus (at least to me) was the Ping Lacson vs.
Jinggoy Estrada showdown in the Senate. In both
Manila Times and Malaya, the reporters called their
exposes and counter-exposes "privilege
speech." Shouldn't it be "privileged speech"?

Jonathan

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Joe Re: What's correct: "privileged speech" or

Carillo "privilege speech"?
Administrator « Reply #1 on: September 24, 2009, 12:07:24 PM »
Hero Member

Quote from: jonathanfvaldez on September 24, 2009, 09:57:57 AM

I'm a regular reader of the online editions of Philippine newspapers,
including Manila Times and Malaya. This week's focus (at least to me) was
the Ping Lacson vs. Jinggoy Estrada showdown in the Senate. In both
Manila Times and Malaya, the reporters called their exposes and counter-
Karma:
+56/-2 exposes "privilege speech." Shouldn't it be "privileged speech"?
Posts: 3933
Jonathan

Grammatically speaking, the correct term should be

“privileged speech,” where “privileged” (with the “d”) is an
adjective that means “not subject to the usual rules or
penalties because of some special circumstance; especially
not subject to disclosure in a court of
law <a privileged communication>” (Merriam-Webster’s 11th
Collegiate Dictionary). The usage without the “d” in “privilege”
is, of course, the norm for the term “parliamentary privilege”
(also “absolute privilege”), which grants protection to
legislators from civil or criminal liability for actions done or
statements made related to one's duties as a legislature.

In the Philippines, however, the term “privilege speech”

(without the “d” in “privilege”) has gained wider currency
particularly in the reportage of Philippine newspapers and
broadcast media outlets. This is most likely because this
spelling of the term has been enshrined in the “Term of Office
and Privileges” of the Senate of the Republic of the
Philippines, which I quote below (italicizations mine):

“5. Scope of Privilege Speech:

“Personal and Collective

“A question of privilege consists of a question affecting the
rights of the Senate collectively or of its members individually
including its privileges, reputation, conduct, decorum, dignity
and integrity of proceedings.

“A Senator may rise to a question of personal privilege at any

time, but he cannot interrupt or take another Senator from
the floor for that purpose without the latter’s consent.
However, the reading of the Journal cannot be interrupted by
a question of personal privilege neither can a question of
privilege be raised when there is no quorum or when the roll
is being called.

“Under this provision, a member of the Senate may raise a

question of privilege by a statement or remark on the floor
and if sustained by the Chair, the member is entitled to
speak.

“After the privilege speech of a Senator, another member was

recognized on a question of personal privilege to clarify
certain matters in which he participated and which was left
out in the privilege speech of the former.

“A member rose to speak on a question of personal privilege

as his name was linked in a news item which was considered
as a malicious publication.”

I must acknowledge therefore that the Philippine mass

media’s usage of “privilege speech” without the “d” in
 “privilege” simply reflects—whether grammatically right or
wrong—the grammatical choice of the Philippine Senate itself.

« Last Edit: September 24, 2009, 07:36:38 PM by Joe

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madgirl09 Re: What's correct: "privileged speech" or

Full Member "privilege speech"?
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2009, 05:51:18 PM »

IMHO, I can see both "privileged" and "privilege" as possible

Karma: +1/- modifiers, but I am confused .

0
Posts: 124
The word "privileged", a past participle, could be used as
modifier for "speech" describing that speech as "especially not
subject to disclosure in a court..."; "privilege" is a noun
adjective which could also be used to modify this "speech"
referred to in the context, describing this particular type of
"speech" as one that deals with the senators' privileges.

In that example printed in the papers, I think, "privilege

speech" is more appropriate. It focused more on the type of
speech each solon delivered, instead of "how" their speeches

were treated if saying "privileged speech".

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jonathanfvaldez Re: What's correct: "privileged speech" or

Jr. Member "privilege speech"?
« Reply #3 on: September 26, 2009, 12:53:59 PM »

Karma: +0/-0 Shouldn't the last word on the first paragraph be

Posts: 32 "legislator" (instead of "legislature")?

Instead of kowtowing to the Senate's usage (or to any

other group's customary way of saying things --- as
 how one forum member observed lawyers casually say
"plea of guilty"), the media should always opt for the
correct usage, not only to maintain its credibility but
also to educate its readers. To quote part of your
response to that forum member's question, "There
ought to be a law against such grammar misuse, and it
better be enacted fast before some trigger-happy
compañeros of yours start casually using “plea of
innocent” and—Lady Justice forbid!— think of
enshrining it in the Rules of Evidence as well."

Oh, and on "plea of innocent," that shouldn't ever be

the case because isn't a plea either "guilty" or "not
guilty" (as in guilty plea or not guilty plea)?

Ah, lawyers.

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hill Re: What's correct: "privileged speech" or

roberts "privilege speech"?
Hero « Reply #4 on: September 28, 2009, 02:30:49 PM »
Member

Buenos dias, Joe,

In the UK, those who speak the Queen's English would say,
"privileged speech".
In the north of England, as in William Wordsworth country---
Cumbria, many of them speak and sound differently. Many
Karma: +1/- of my British friends in this part of the world think their
0
Posts: 666
grammar
is correct.
Here's one glaring example:
1. "He's leaning again the wall." Believe it or not, I still have
to
hear them use the correct preposition, "against". In other
words,
in some parts of the Philippines, would there be a variation of
the misuse of preposition? Or is spoken and written English
language

standard up and down the archipelago?

 In the UK, more than half the entire population do not
anymore
speak the Queen's English. The BBC has allowed regional
accents
to proliferate these last fifteen years. Perhaps, this is the
reason
why grammar has been downgraded to dramatic effect.
The BBC used to be the bastion of the Queen's English---
nowadays,
even those so-called "upper-class accent sounding folks"
newsreaders

or presenters make too many casual grammatical errors

during interviews.

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Joe Re: What's correct: "privileged speech" or

Carillo "privilege speech"?
Administrator « Reply #5 on: October 01, 2009, 07:07:48 AM »
Hero Member

I'm afraid that bad English has become endemic even among
native English speakers in many English-speaking countries.
This is why there's a group in London called the Plain English
Campaign that's making a yeoman's effort--a lonely and
thankless one, I must say--to correct the situation. Bad
Karma: English, of course, isn't only the grammatically, semantically,
+56/-2
Posts: 3933
or structurally defective kind but also the grammar-perfect
but incomprehensible gobbledygook of some academics and
government bureaucrats and the mind-numbing legalese of
lawyers and of company personnel who use legalese as their
default language in their memos, letters, and reports.

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putingtupa Re: What's correct: "privileged speech" or
Initiate "privilege speech"?
« Reply #6 on: January 23, 2013, 01:18:18 AM »

Karma: +0/-0 I'm not sure if "endemic" was the right word to use in this
Posts: 1 case.

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Joe Re: What's correct: "privileged speech" or

Carillo "privilege speech"?
Administrator « Reply #7 on: January 23, 2013, 07:52:37 AM »
Hero Member

In this context, my Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate

Dictionary defines “endemic” as (1)“characteristic of or
prevalent in a particular field, area, or environment, as in
“problems endemic to translation” or “the self-
indulgence endemic in the film industry”; and (2) “restricted
Karma: or peculiar to a locality or region, as in “endemic diseases” or
+56/-2
Posts: 3933
“an endemic species.” So I think that my usage of “endemic”
in the posting above is grammatically and semantically
aboveboard.

Now, Putingtupa, could you please tell us why you’re not sure
if “endemic” is the right word to use in this particular case?
What word would you rather use?

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Mateo Re: What's correct: "privileged speech" or

Initiate "privilege speech"?
« Reply #8 on: February 27, 2013, 10:07:06 AM »

Karma: +0/-0 Correct, and the powers that be decided to allow various
Posts: 1 forms of free
> > speech, including religious free speech,...
> No, they decided to allow various forms of privileged
speech.
> need to explain the distinction again?

Sure. Try again to do it without revealing that what is

actually happening is a particular restriction of religious free
speech in the context...