As August breezes, the country remembers Manuel Quezon, the first president of the Philippine Commonwealth and father of our national language. Not to be forgotten on the same month are the passing away of the most loved president Cory Aquino and the martyrdom of her husband Ninoy.
When I was in school, during the Linggo ng Pambansang Wika (National Language Week), we set aside Ilocano and English and switch to Tagalog inside the classroom. Our teachers encouraged us to use the language even when we are at play although to be honest, we were more fluent in English. There were also programs --- all in Tagalog --- honoring Pres. Quezon.
That was more than half a century ago.
You bet that Pres. Quezon is very happy wherever he is. Aside from his famous came-true-quote that he prefers a government run like hell by Filipinos rather than a government run like heaven by the Americans, Tagalog (later known as Filipino) is now widely spoken throughout the archipelago.
If I remember it right, Pres. Quezon instituted a national language so that in a country like ours with more than 100 languages, citizens can understand each other and better.
The intention is good but the result needs to be re-evaluated.
Probably, Quezon chose Tagalog because he came from a Tagalog-speaking region and not because it is the easiest language among Philippine languages to be learned.
Everybody can speak Filipino although Cebuano speaking Filipinos are somewhat reluctant to learn Filipino or if they are fluent, they prefer to use their native Bisaya unless it is extremely important for them to speak in Filipino. We remember the time when they “rebelled” and started to translate the Constitution and the National Anthem into Cebuano. Why? According to them, they don’t need Tagalog in Central and Southern Philippines.
To the Cebuano speaking Filipinos, I appreciate your determination in clinging and propagating your native language. All ethno-linguistic groups should follow suit!
Filipino is bastardizing other languages because of the inclusion of Tagalog words to Ilocano and other languages. The Ilocano that I knew is different from the Ilocano spoken in Ilocos now. It is a mixture of Tagalog and Ilocano or aptly called Tagilo or Ilotag. In that case, is it still called Ilocano?
To exacerbate the issue, kids or school children fluent in Ilocano when asked something in their native language answer in Filipino possibly believing that Filipino is better than Ilocano. In groups, in the mall or elsewhere, Filipino is their dominant language most likely to feign an upper caste. Ilocanos and other ethno-linguistic groups must remember that speaking Filipino does not suggest patriotism or those that speak in another language are less patriotic. Patriotism has nothing to do with language. Filipinos speaking Chinese in Binondo; English in Baguio or Spanish in Manila or Arabic in Sultan Kudarat equally love the country with fervor although sometimes; misgivings cannot be evaded.
If the trend continues, all Philippine languages will one day lose their genuineness and innate quality as Hiligaynon, Ivatan, Gaddang, Ilonggo, etc.
No thanks to Filipino intrusion.
While I agree that a language is not stagnant and thus, it is fluid; it develops and mutates. I cannot help but conclude that the dozens of languages we have which we are proud of are constantly mutating towards bastardization if not extinction. The equation is simple. If no one speaks a language like Latin, it cannot thrive or survive. The less people speak a language, as in the case of Panggalatok, the greater that it will not continue to exist. Today, the Pangasinense language is on the verge of extinction.
Something must be done.
The slow but sure demise of Philippine languages can only be stopped if Filipinos take pride in their mother languages by speaking and writing them everyday otherwise, if no one does, how can our languages survive the test of time?
To use Filipino or English is common sense when others do not understand your language which could be Kinaray-a, Maranao, Chavacano, Zambal, Kankanaey, Tagalog, Panggalatok or Ilocano but it does not mean that one has to turn his back on his mother tongue by preferring other languages as his lingua franca. There is nothing wrong either in learning a second of third language. In fact it is recommended if we want to be productive and ready to compete as individuals, as a people or as a nation in local or international parlance.
Don't you think that it is high time for the scholars from the best universities in the country to do a scientific study on the negative side of the national language in relation with the preservation of other languages?
Fifty years or a century from now, will your language still exist? If so, I am sure that it will be severely bastardized because of Filipino, the national language. -30-
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