by Jiselle Reyes, Franco Santiago and Courtney Tirol
The process of learning requires boldness. As students, we need experiences that challenge our psych and let us become skilled in a certain craft by ourselves. Similarly, learning entails some sort of responsibility. We need a metaphorical, or sometimes even literal, push in order to make our own discoveries. This has become especially true in our world today, where the youth are constantly thinking of new ways of reinventing old ideas which are still considered important, with media as a great influence thereof. Our generation grew up in the age of transition. From large computers that could fit a whole room to advancements such as laptops. From handwriting letters to sending emails. From everyone reading good old hardbacks to the introduction of electronic books. Media has become a colossal part of our everyday lives, and it definitely influences many of our ideals and choices. On another note, language, as we all know, is the main means of communication and expression among people. However, taking the world’s cultural diversity and increasing globalization into consideration, most people can speak more than one language. In the case of
the Philippines, Filipinos can speak at least two languages: English, Filipino, and the speaker’s native dialect. The nature of language is of a representational system; meaning to say, a language has also come to describe ourselves, our lives, societies, and nations. In the Philippines, the Filipino language represents our national and cultural identity as it was designed to be the common language of the Filipino people. The language itself is unique to our country, and that further reinforces the idea that the Filipino language does indeed represent Filipinos. The English language, on the other hand, is the universal language that connects people beyond borders. This language, a legacy of American presence, has become an advantageous asset for us Filipinos, a people so spread out throughout the world and making a name for ourselves and for our country. Our English ability is a contemporary symbol of the Philippines: modern, fast-paced, and determined to rise in the global arena. Filipino represents the unity of the Philippines. English represents the modernity of the Philippines. With both languages together, it creates a recipe that works to push our nation forward towards a brighter tomorrow. This is why we believe the Filipino of today should be bilingual. The issue, however, is that not all Filipinos speak both languages equally well. Some people favor Filipino over English, or vice versa. Others even lack sufficient fluency in any of those two languages. Today, English in the Philippines is reserved for legal proceedings, intellectual discourse, and official documents. Filipino has become the lingua franca, reserved for informal conversations and, although occasionally, for government matters. The overuse of English may stunt the growth of the Filipino language, which itself is still developing up to
today. Overusing Filipino may also lead to a decline in English fluency and in effect, a hindrance in having Filipinos become globally competitive. As the representation of our cultural identity, the Filipino language is a uniting force that ties Filipinos together. It is something we should be proud of. The Filipino language is a very rich and complex language that helps us express our thoughts and ideals in a very specific way, and a way that is very much our own. The English language we can use this unity to further propel us to a much wider span of opportunity. When it comes to global matters, being fluent in English gives us an advantage, given the fact that this is a universal language. If Filipino unites us as a nation, English unites us with the rest of the world. If the Philippines wants to achieve national progress, bilingualism is definitely needed. We are a multicultural nation, greatly influenced by this growing society. We are, in fact, a bilingual people, and so we should be bilingual. An example of the benefits of bilingualism of a nation is the country Canada. On a wide scale, bilingualism plays a big part of Canadian culture as it highlights its French and English heritage. They give equal importance to the two languages, given the fact that both of them are significantly used in politics and everyday life. Bilingual documents and signs are common sights in Canada. While not everyone speaks both languages (francophone Canadians are more concentrated in Quebec while anglophone Canadians are found elsewhere), bilingualism is highly regarded as a skill of “cultural and economic value� and is something that makes them proud to be Canadian. Theoretically, if a country whose citizens has left their native tongue behind, fully embracing English, a significant part of cultural heritage and identity would be lost. If a country
only speaks their native language and rejects English, this would be a shortcoming when it comes to global matters and worldwide collaboration. Our goal is to prove that the ideals can meet midway with maximum progress. If given the chance to make things happen, we want to see Filipino subtitles on English TV programming, as well as English subtitles on Filipino TV programming. We endorse functional learning. Since we live in a contemporary community, what is projected by media plays a big role in what is being put into the minds of the people, and most especially the children. Because of this, integrating bilingualism into mass media would be an effective means of advocating our cause. We also feel the need that all public signs should be bilingual, as well, instead of simply sticking to one language alone. While the government has had a head start already in this endeavor, we still feel the need that all official government documents should have versions in both English and Filipino. Bilingual literature is also a great means of promoting fluency in English and Filipino. There are some existing textbooks, like an El Filibusterismo textbook for Year IV students for example, that are written in both languages: one language on the left, and the other on the right. It provides a good opportunity to enrich the reader’s vocabulary and allow learning two languages simultaneously. Media is known to be very influential, and we believe that media has the ability to influence one’s mindset and lifestyle. It has proven its power during the historic Arab Spring, a movement largely initiated by disgruntled netizens who wanted reforms in their respective nations. The recent Million People March in Manila was also organized in a similar fashion:
word-of-mouth through social networking sites. Media is a powerful tool, and it can be used to promote good causes. Mass media proves to be the fastest and most widespread means of disseminating information nowadays. We believe that the massive audience and widespread coverage provided by mass media will be the most effective means in communicating and promoting our advocacy to the people. Both the English and Filipino language have their own strong points individually, but we shouldn’t have to choose between the two of them. Instead the two should be used hand-in-hand to display our unique cultural heritage and, at the same time, project our country’s global competitiveness. In this manner, we believe our advocacy can definitely contribute to our country’s advancement.