LINGUISTICS TOPICS
Language Death in the Philippines Konrad Magboo Nico Reyes May 2018
LANGUAGE DEATH IN THE PHILIPPINES
HOW DO THE LANGUAGES OF THE PHILIPPINES FARE TODAY? Language Classification of the Philippines (Simons and Fennig, 2018).
6%2% 7%
22%
24%
39%
Institutional
Developing
Vigorous
Moribund
Near Extinction
Extinct
The graph above shows the status of the different languages of the Philippines. The figure shows that 61% are of the total Philippine languages are of Institutional and Developing categories. Around 24% of the total Philippine languages are of Vigorous categories. On the other hand, 15% of the remaining Philippine languages are of Moribund, Dying/Near Extinction, and Extinct.
How did the Ethnologue classify Philippine languages?
Institutional
MediumLow level of Usage
Developing
Vigorous
Dying
High level of Usage
Moribund
Extinct
Low level of Usage
The figure above shows how Simons and Fennig assessed the statuses of Philippine languages. (Simons and Fennig, 2018). Institutional -> The language is sustained used by major institutions in the home and at the community. Developing -> The language is standardized, although the standardization is not popular among the speakers. Vigorous -> The language is not standardized; but, is frequently used by the speakers.
How did the Ethnologue classify Philippine languages?
Institutional
MediumLow level of Usage
Developing
Vigorous
Dying
High level of Usage
Moribund
Extinct
Low level of Usage
The figure above shows how Simons and Fennig assessed the statuses of Philippine languages. (Simons and Fennig, 2018). Moribund -> The process of inter-generational transmission is starting to fail; but, a home-based revitalization is still possible since speakers of child-bearing age can still use the language. Dying -> The only fluent speakers of the language are no longer capable of bearing children, hence, a mechanism based from the outside the home is needed for revitalization.
How did the Ethnologue classify Philippine languages?
Institutional
MediumLow level of Usage
Developing
Vigorous
Dying
High level of Usage
Moribund
Extinct
Low level of Usage
The figure above shows how Simons and Fennig assessed the statuses of Philippine languages. (Simons and Fennig, 2018). Extinct -> The language has fallen completely out of use and no person retains any ethnic identity associated with the language.
As much as possible, LANGUAGE EXTINCTION MUST BE PREVENTED AND HALTED as much as possible.
• Languages are one of the things that make a culture unique. (Headland, 2003). • A dying language tells us that there is a group of people out there whose culture is slowly dying out.
LANGUAGES ARE KNOWLEDGE
LANGUAGES ARE IDENTITIES
Why should we even bother to save these dying languages?
• Languages may give us information about things not yet published or discovered by modern science. (Nuwer, 2014). • The more we know, the better it will be for our futures.
Why are some Philippine languages “endangered”?
These are the possible ways for a language to die (Headland, 2003). 1. ETHNOCIDE Ethnocide occurs whenever a DOMINANT POLITICAL GROUP INTENTIONALLY ATTACKS AND ENDS a group of people’s ways of life, which includes their native language. (Headland, 2003). e.g. The Holocaust, The Attacks and Harassments aimed towards the Lumads 2. LINGUICIDE Linguicide occurs whenever a DOMINANT POLITICAL GROUP extinguishes a language BY PUNISHING THOSE WHO ARE CAUGHT SPEAKING IT. (Headland, 2003). Do you think that English-only policies in schools are a form of LINGUICIDE aimed towards our native language? Let us know in the comments below. 3. Pressure brought about by Industrialization and other alterations in a group of people’s normal way of life. Alterations and disturbances in a group of people’s ways of life can promote language extinction. (Headland, 2003). Modernization has significantly affected the Ayta Magindi’s (a group of Indigenous People in the Philippines) ways of life, since the encroachment of Tagalog settlers on their ancestral lands forced them to learn Tagalog rather than their Mother Tongue as language since they need to be intelligible to the Tagalog lowlanders. (Agence France-Presse, 2012).
Why are some Philippine languages “endangered”? 4. It seems that there might be a perceived hierarchy among languages, wherein English and Tagalog are viewed as “superior” compared to the native tongue. The “need to learn” Tagalog and English is considered by many parents of students, who were first to participate in the experimental study wherein the mother tongue (Lilibuagan) was used to teach subjects at school, as the “key to gaining employment and livelihood” rather than preserving their culture and mother tongue. (Agence France-Presse, 2012). Some of these parents even believed that teaching subjects in Lilibuagan “may reduce their children’s capability to learn English and Tagalog”. (Agence France-Presse, 2012). Do you think that these are just “isolated cases”? Let us know in the comments below. 5. Some believe that the Bilingual Language Policy is an oppressive policy which forces non-Tagalog speaking schools to teach their subjects in Tagalog as “to promote the use of the Filipino language”, especially in Cebu and Bacolod. (Batnag, 2015). Not all schools are aware of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRRs) of the Bilingual Language Policy. (Batnag, 2015). The non-usage of Filipino/Tagalog is viewed in Cebu and Bacolod as a display of their lack of nationalism. (Batnag, 2015). Do you think that you are not “nationalistic” if you do not speak nor use Tagalog in your daily life?
What are some things that have been done to save dying/moribund languages throughout the world? 1. In the U.S.A., the Cherokee (a native language spoken by some Indigenous Peoples of North America) speakers created a language immersion program which taught school subjects in the Cherokee language. (Nuwer, 2014). This is similar to the experimental study with the use of Lilibuagan which faced opposition. The project resulted to having 60 children learn and become native speakers of Cherokee. (Nuwer, 2014). It also allowed Linguists to document the language further since it has been revitalized successfully. (Nuwer, 2014). 2. In the Philippines, Field Linguists from the U.P. Diliman’s Department of Linguistics in the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) travel to communities of speakers of Philippine languages considered to be Moribund or Dying. They document the writing system and orthographies done by the people and help the community set a standard in which they will use/write the language. It involves a lot of the Community Development methods (e.g. Community Organizing, etc.) to ensure the success of the project as well as to maintain the people’s participation.
REFERENCES Agence France-Presse. A Long fight begins to save Philippine languages. Retrieved: https://www.rappler.com/nation/4537-a-longfight-begins-to-savephilippine-languages Batnag, A. Issues in Language Consultations. National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Retrieved: http://ncca.gov.ph/subcommissions/subcommissi on-oncultural-disseminationscd/language-andtranslation/issues-in-languageconsultations/ Headland, T. (2003). Thirty Endangered Languages in the Philippines. Summer Institute of Linguistics. Retrieved: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248078 736_Thirty_endangered_langua ges_in_the_Philippines Nuwer, R. (2014). Languages: Why we must save Dying Tongues. Retrieved: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140606-whywe-must-save-dying-languages Simons, G. and Fennig, C. (2018). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (21st ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Retrieved: https://www.ethnologue.com/profile/PH
Things to think about‌ Some of the Philippine languages are already dying and have become extinct. What do you think should be done? How do you think should it be done? Recap of what we ask for you to think about. 1.
Do you think that English-only policies in schools are a form of LINGUICIDE aimed towards our native language?
2. Do you think that a non-speaker of Tagalog or English will have a chance to become successful in the current society we all live in nowadays? 3. Do you think that those who do speak their mother tongue and not Filipino or Tagalog are not nationalistic? 4. Is Tagalog the same as Filipino?