[HIB]Philippine wrestles with 'Jejemon' cyber-dialect

The Philippines is wrestling with what authorities say is a language monster invading youth-speak in Internet social networks and mobile phone text messaging. The phenomenon has triggered enormous social debate, with the government declaring an "all out war" against the cyber-dialect, called 'jejemon', but the Catholic church defending it as a form of free expression. The word 'jejemon' is derived from 'jeje' as a substitute for 'hehe' -- the SMS term for laughter -- and then affixing it with 'mon' -- taken from the popular Japanese anime of cute trainable monsters called "Pokemon." Education Secretary Mona Valisno believes it could blunt the Philippines' edge in English proficiency, which has long helped the impoverished country attract foreign investment and sustain its lucrative outsourcing industry. "Texting or using wrong English and wrong spelling could be very bad," Valisno told reporters recently as she declared her war on jejemon, urging teachers and parents to encourage the nation's youth to use correct English.

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