Is Bannawag Still Relevant?

Ilocanos in Northern Luzon and around the world are surely familiar with Bannawag (Sunrise), a local Ilocano magazine founded in 1934 that continues to circulate up to these days. All of its staff and contributors, tagged as mannurat (Iluko writers) are believed to know the grammar and the intricacies of the language. Their articles, replete with vocabularies not heard on a day to day basis are often times not understood by the younger generation.

Bannawag, considered as an Ilocano treasure is often referred to as the Ilocano Bible. That is another way of saying with exaggeration that all households used to have their copy. The magazine, tasks to preserve the language has entertained and informed Ilocanos for 76 years since before the outbreak of World War II. It caters mostly essays, news, short stories, novels, variety of  columns, "salad bar" issues, and comic-illustrated stories positioned to its target audiences’ (C and D) educational and cultural background. Some say that they learned their ABC’s from Bannawag. I must admit that while I was basically instructed with English in the elementary and used English and Ilocano at home, the magazine enriched my vocabulary and challenged me to write my mother language the way it is supposed to be --- without foreign and Ilocanized words.

The question is “Is Bannawag still relevant today?”

I don’t think so.

In Vigan alone, especially the young, they prefer to speak in Tagalog instead of their mother tongue. And if one is familiar with the internet’s Face Book, majority of Ilocanos in the social network use Tagalog and a  morsel of Ilocano even if they communicate with a fellow Ilocano. It is now rare to hear straight Ilocano spoken along Quezon Avenue, in the market and in the malls. In other words, as I said in another entry of my blog, there will come a time when Ilocano will become extinct or will evolve into another language probably into "Ilogalog" or "Tagailo".

One time I was asked to give a short talk in a wedding reception. While delivering my piece spiced with humor; some wryly smiling guests (teens and young adults) looked uncomfortable although  it was a “clean” and inspiring message. I thought it was a sort of applause and impatience as the table full of Ilocano delicacies was ready. One brave relative shouted,  "Saanmi maawatan ti Ilocanom; nauneg unay."  ("We don’t understand your Ilocano; it’s too classical.")

It is very disappointing that perfect Ilocano is no longer understood.

Part of my message was:

"Daytoy panaglantip dagiti pusoyo NN ken NN ita nga aldaw ket isu koma ti punganay iti napnuan gasat ken tarumpingay a biagyo bayat ti panagbinnuligyo a mangsaranget kadagiti amin a karit a sumangbay. Ammok a kalpasan daytoy nga intay’ panagtatalla-ong ken kalsapan payen ti inkay panagidlep iti rabaw iti maymaysa a pungan, saanto mapakadaan ti irurising dagiti pagparikutan . . ."

("May this, your wedding day NN and NN, be the key of a blessed life full of happiness as you prepare to share and work together to face the tests that come along. After this reception and the honeymoon, challenges will come through . . .")

At the backdoor, the bride and my niece said that I should have used Tagalog and Ilocano.  That is another indication that my mother tongue is indeed dying.

Back to the language issue, may I stress that Spanish is no longer Spanish when its vocabulary is a mixture of Spanish and French. It must be called another language.  "Taglish" (combination of Tagalog and English) is neither English or Tagalog.  It is simply Taglish.

Bannawag has also metamorphosed. Writers come and go. Unlike in my salad years, writers of the beloved magazine these days use foreign words from Tagalog, Ilocanized English and invented words making the  readers believe that the words are genuinely Ilocano that eventually fool us and them. Be it so, how believable is its task in preserving the language for future generations when it is debasing the language?

Take note of the paragraph lifted from the magazine written by a renowned and respected mannurat.

"Nangnangngegko kadagiti empleado a kasla kinse wenno duapulo a ribu a pisos.  Kunkuna kano pay dagiti konsehal a no dadduma, agkurkurang pay ti sueldoda a maitedda a donasion kadagiti bario nga agpiesta."

 (As if I overheard the employees saying 15 to PHP20,000.  The councilors also said that oftentimes, their paycheck is short for their donation to barrio fiestas.)

The bold italics in the paragraph are Spanish  reduced into Ilocano orthography.  If I were to write it in 100% Ilocano, it should be:

"Nangnangngegko kadagiti mangmangged a kasla sangapulo ket lima wenno duapulo a ribu a pisos.  Kunkuna kano pay dagiti turayen iti ili a no dadduma, agkurkurang pay ti mateggedanda a maited nga abuloy kadagiti purok nga agparambak."

So, what's the logic in telling "This is the kind of Ilocano we call authentic and want to preserve." when Spanish words are weaved although real Ilocano words are available?

In this information age, who cares to read Bannawag when there is an ocean of reading materials in the internet with even more interesting subjects? Who cares to read Ilocano when the preferred language now is Tagalog? Who cares to read the quality of the contents of the magazine when "telenovelas" and other materials from other sources are more interesting and appealing to current fancies?

Others say that they want to learn Ilocano in its purity from Bannawag.

Hello! They must be kidding! -30-