Ilocano: A Language, a Dialect or a Vernacular?

My phone rang while I was watching the epic match of Federer and Djokovic in the fifth set when the game is reduced to the “best in one” after a 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 score. At the other end of the phone is a friend from Alberta, Canada asking if Ilocano is a language or a dialect. I said I was watching the match and would it be okay for her to call back in an hour? “No problem,” she said, “I will.”

Three quarters of an hour later, she was back on the phone when my mind was still at the 2010 US Open recollecting the courage and determination of the Serbian who was one point away from defeat but ousted the invincible-looking Federer in five sets.

To cut the story short, after asking me again her previous question, she said that there is an Ilocano writer (let’s name him/her “Pluma”) in Alberta who now writes in a public paper saying that those who learned the language, viz., Ilocano, when they speak it, it is called a dialect. Pluma also maintains that Ilocano is a vernacular.

“So, what are all of these?”

I laughed then seriously told my friend, “I am sure that Pluma is not stupid or pretentious. S/he may just be acute of information.”

My Canadian friend did not give me the URL of the article in question nor did I bother to ask where could I read it. After collecting my thoughts, I explained her my extemporaneous thought.

A language is a medium used by a group of people to communicate.  Samples of this are all of the  languages of the Philippines like Maranaw, Maguindanao, Cebuano, Ilonggo, Kinaray-a, Boholanon, Ifugao, Kankanaey, Panggalatok, Ilocano or Zambal. These are at par with English, French, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Swahili et al to be called a language.

In dialect, we mean the lexical “variation” of one and the same language spoken by a group of people in various places. Phonological variation can also be included but not necessarily. Different accents and intonations have nothing to do with the structure of the language.  Although spoken differently, the Tagalog spoken in Bulacan is the same Tagalog spoken in Batangas but "dialectical" differences are possible.

Example:

In Ilocos Norte “ligay” is a wheel while in Ilocos Sur it is “pilid”. In Abra, “agbiskag” means to prepare vegetable for cooking while in Ilocos Norte it is “agimarit” and in Ilocos Sur it is “agnateng”. The three different words express one single idea.

When Ilocanos from Laoag City, Bangued and Vigan City engage in a conversation they use Ilocano. However, the moment that any of the three does not understand some words the other says, we are referring to a dialect. Once Ilocano is qualified, that qualification is called a dialect. So we often hear, “Ilocanot’ Laoag” (Laoag Ilocano) and so on and so forth.

A vernacular is a language in a particular place used by a few. In Davao City, Cebuano, Dabawenyo, Chavacano, Hiligaynon and Ilocano (and Tagalog of course) are spoken. In a village where the lingua franca is Hiligaynon and there are a number of people speaking in Cebuano, Cebuano is  the vernacular because it is not the standard medium of communication in the village. Vernacular as it is, it is also a language.

The Iluko of non-Ilocano Filipinos in the State of Hawaii who learned the language of Northern Philippines is still a language and NOT a vernacular or a dialect. All right; it can be considered vernacular in Waialae and Kahala as the case may be where the common language in the said districts is English. It is stupid and totally devoid of logic to say that the English learned by the people of Santiago, Chile is categorized as a dialect simply because they acquired the language through learning. In the same way, the Ilocano spoken in Malasiqui or Sta. Barbara in Pangasinan cannot be reduced to a dialect simply because they learned it --- it is a language.

Yes, stupid, Ilocano is a language just like the others spoken from Batanes to Taw-Tawi.

The writer in Alberta Canada needs to have further reading instead of relying on mere academic guts and instincts. -30-