Above, Miss Venus Raj, 2010 Miss Universe candidate of the Philippines when she obtained her Philippine passport in May 2010, courtesy of www.mb.com.ph (Manila Bulletin). She eventually finished 4th runner-up. Miss Maria Venus Raj is a stunning and elegant Filipina who was a favorite to win the 2010 Miss Universe Crown. However, she could have better expressed herself in the final question and answer period. She finished 4th runner-up. In the future, should our Miss Universe contestants use a professional interpreter?
I honestly thought that our very own, Miss Venus Raj, had an excellent to win it all. It was her time to shine! She finished in the Top 5 and should be proud! However, it's a legitimate question to ask whether our future Miss Universe candidates should choose to utilize a professional interpreter to FULLY UNDERSTAND & EXPRESS their answer. Yes, our language of educational instruction is in English, but we need to be honest with ourselves that a number of Filipinos find it challenging to express what they mean to say, at the very least, as far as ORAL communication goes. The same is true even when one has excellent WRITTEN English skills. It's not because we are not able to, but many do not have enough practice (In the case of Venus, she later admitted that nerves also played a factor). For those who are quite fluent in the English language because they attained a higher degree of education, have lived abroad for a certain period of time, or simply made a conscious decision to master the English language - - great, more success to them! However, in the Philippines and in many Filipino homes around the world, in our everyday communication, we still use our native Filipino language and other regional dialects. Why shouldn't we use our mother tongue when we can best fully express what we mean to say? What to make of Miss Mexico or Miss Ukraine? They chose to use an interpreter when they may very well can speak some or limited English.. ~ Marck Salamatin
The following videos, "Wish Ko Lang"by GMA TV featuring the life of Ms. Venus Raj posted by youtube user, hastdudick.
