Strong Regions = Strong Nation

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The key to understanding and developing the Philippines is in its localities. Because while its national identity is artificial, its regional identities are real . . . the common languages, culture and geography. 

 Unity in diversity . . . a strong Philippines through strong regions.

Mother Tongue

Source:  http://mothertonguearts.co.uk/

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.
If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.
(Nelson Mandela)

No to Philippine national language
Yes to Philippine languages . . .

Is My Mother Tongue Filipino?

If i speak in Cebuano, or Ilocano, or Tausug, or Surigaonon will the mainstream media say i am speaking in Filipino?

Its time to abolish Tagalog (Filipino) as a National Language 3

NO to Filipino national language!

YES to Filipino languages!

Am I a Filipino?

Originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com/

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Its Linggo ng Wika (Language Week) and i remember during my school days one time we were talking in our vernacular (our own Surigaonon language) and a teacher said “Its Linggo ng Wika you should speak in Pilipino”!

(For me what she meant was speak in Tagalog.)

Wow, that’s confusing isn’t my own language Filipino too?

Let us abolish the national language policy, its ridiculous!  We can still be nationalistic Filipinos even without a national language.  After all we are a multi-ethnolinguistic nation!

The time to end discriminations against Visayans is coming

Originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com/

This kind of lines in movies and television shows should be banned as it is teaching bigotry to our young kids (including Tagalog kids).  Not a wise way to build unity among Filipinos . . .

Language and Unity

Originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com/

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Before, i used to think that the reason for the lack of unity of the Filipinos is its diversity in languages.  But now i realized that this is not so  after learning that Switzerland has no national language . . . but instead has all its multiple languages as official languages.

I realized that it is actually our misguided national language policy that is ironically one of the culprits for this lack of unity.  If we don’t have a national language and instead recognize our many ethnic languages as official, we can unlock the magic of cooperation  that could come naturally from people liberated from oppression.

We should open our eyes and accept the reality of our diversity.  This should be treated as a cultural asset instead of a hindrance towards communication with each other.  We have all the existing means to communicate with each other without inventing a new one like the “Filipino” language.

Unity in diversity.

Some Simple Facts

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We Filipinos often say (often with pride) that our country the Philippines is composed of more than 7,100 islands.

Well, we have more than 170 languages, isn’t it something to be proud of also?

Isn’t it an indication of the richness of our culture?

Its time to change the national language policy

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As i have been saying before, the problem is not Tagalog the language and the people but the POLICY of having a national language (incidentally based on Tagalog) which resulted in sidelining other Filipino languages and distorting the way we look at the ethnic composition of our country.  This unintentionally created first class and second class Filipinos causing unity hard to achieve.

If we don’t have a national language and we just simply communicate in English or whatever major Filipino languages (Ilocano, Tagalog, Cebuano, etc) understandable and convenient to the involved parties, the degree of respect and understanding among the ethnic groups will improve.

In our schools we can emphasize and teach to our students the diversity of our people as we are no longer burdened of promoting an illussion that we Filipinos are “this and that” based mainly on Tagalog culture.

Its time to abolish Tagalog (Filipino) as a National Language 2

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The policy of having Filipino (Tagalog) as a national language is a denial of reality.  The reality of which are as follows:

1.  That its just foolish to invent another language when you already have more than 100!

2.  That in the case of the Philippines, the Tagalogs did not conquer the others and they are not even the majority ethnic group populationwise!  China mandated Mandarin as national language.  But why not as it is the language of the Qin . . . the kingdom that conquered the others and united China under one control.  It is also the mother tongue of majority of the Chinese people.

3.  That we have more than 100 languages.  Due to the national language policy it is no wonder that most Filipinos are ignorant of this reality.  This policy is an impediment towards the correct understanding of what our identity really is.  Oh, did i just remember somebody wrote a book entitled ”Philippines Damaged Culture?”.   For the non-Tagalogs isn’t it confusing to study our history (Araling Panlipunan) using Tagalog, and the topic is Lapu-lapu, Dagohoy, Diego Silang, Gabriela Silang, Juna Luna, Antonio Luna, Sultan Kudarat, etc. . . . for the innocent kids many are mislead into thinking these people are Tagalogs!  Why can’t we just simply abolish Tagalog as national language then emphasize to our students the diversity of our languages, a diversity that is not a hindrance but an asset to the richness of our culture!  Unity in diversity! Vive la difference as the French would say!  We should embrace these differences!

Its time to abolish Tagalog (Filipino) as a National Language

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Its high time to abolish Tagalog (disguised as Filipino) as a national language because:

1.  It distorts the mentality of Filipinos.  The Tagalogs think they are superior than the other Filipino ethnic groups, and at the same time, the non-Tagalog ethnic groups think they are inferior to the Tagalogs.  This is an unintended virus that is eating slowly upon the fiber of the culture of non-Tagalog Filipinos.

2.  It inadvertently made many Filipinos especially the Tagalogs lazy in really discovering, understanding and respecting the culture of other ethnic groups.  They don’t have the whole picture of what the Philippines really is. 

3.  Non-Tagalog Filipinos can learn and speak Tagalog . . . if necessary, and if he wants to.  Cebuano is not my first language.  But I learned it not because it was forced on me but because I wanted to interact with more people since this is spoken widely in Visayas and Mindanao.  It should be the same with Tagalog.  We can learn and speak Tagalog not because it is forced down our throats but because we want to. 

4.  All Filipino languages (dialects) are co-equal.  No one is a second-class Filipino . . . and no ethnic group, not even the aetas and other dark colored Filipino brothers are inferior. 

Anyway, Tagalog like the other major languages particularly Cebuano and Ilokano can be designated as offical languages because of their functionality in facilitating communication.  But again, no one is superior.

See related post >>  Philippine National Language?  Why not KISS?

Imagining India: ideas for the new century

Originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com/

This is very applicable to the Philippine situation. Including the politics of language . . .

Poll: Language preferred by Filipinos

Originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com

For Filipinos: Which language are you most comfortable using in learning?

Local LanguageTagalog/FilipinoEnglish

VoteView ResultsPolldaddy.com

Philippine National Language? Why not KISS?

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Okay, okay. I am a bit inspired to write now regarding good governance.

This topic I am going to touch now may seem controversial but this could be a step that can contribute towards a better social system for a better Philippines.

This is the abolition of Filipino as our national language. Or simply put, we really don’t need a national language.
I can bet that 99% of Filipino readers are saying at this point a very big “WHAT”?

Let me ask you . . . do we really have a language called “Filipino”? None, isn’t it? The so-called Filipino language is basically Tagalog. Despite of the efforts of our linguists they have not come up with a working distinct national language until now. Why do we have to put so much salad dressings . . . why not just simply declare Tagalog as our national language? We are just complicating matters by doing what we are doing now.

But then, do we really need a national language? If Tagalog is the national language do we really need it? For the Tagalogs this maybe difficult to comprehend. But for non-Tagalogs who comprise at least 70% of Filipinos, it is so inconvenient to have a national language that they do not even speak every day.

If we abolish Tagalog (Filipino) as national language, it means we stop using this language as a medium of instruction in our schools. This would be a big improvement in our educational system as this would ease the unnecessary burdens on our students. A good educational system can lead to a good social system.

So how does one Filipino ethnic group communicate with another ethnic group? This is a no brainer. We are already doing it but not using the Filipino/Tagalog national language. For example, in the Visayas and most parts of Mindanao and even some parts of Bicol, Cebuano is the common medium. In the north of the Philippines like Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera and some parts of Central Luzon, Ilokano is the common dialect. Of course Tagalog is used when Kapampangans and some Bicolanos in the northern portion of Bicol speak to their neighbouring provinces. English is of course understood and spoken all over the country. It is our medium of instruction in our schools, aided by our respective dialects (majority not Tagalog).

We don’t need a national language though we can designate some as official languages like English, Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano and a few others.

Don’t you know that Switzerland does not have a national language? There is no such thing as a Swiss language. Since their ethnicity is a mixture of German, French, Italian and Romansh, they simply use their four respective languages as official. They did not invent a national language like we did. In case you don’t know, Switzerland is one of the most developed and advanced countries in the world. The lack of a “national language” has not been an impediment.

To summarize, what I am trying to point out is we don’t need to impose something that can complicate rather than simplify matters. One of the key words we have to take note in good governance is the word KISS. Keep it short and simple. This is the connection between this topic and good governance. The reason why I am advocating the abolishment of our present national language is because of KISS.More topics to come on good governance . . .

Ethno-linguistic Discrimination: Colonial Mentality or Simple Ignorance?

Originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com/

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Good governance is a big wide topic and just thinking how to put your thoughts into words can be overwhelming. While waiting for that “inspiration” to write on that subject, please allow me to touch on other matters also. Like this one . . .

Many may not be aware that Philippine languages or dialects are syllabaric instead of phonetics.

In syllabaric languages, generally the pronounciation has no effect on the meaning of a word. In phonetic languages like English, the meaning of a certain word becomes different even with a slight change in pronounciation.

Example of syllabaric (Filipino):
Female can be pronounced in Tagalog as baba-e or baba-i. The sounds are different specifically on the stress on the last syllable. But regardless, the meaning is the same.

Example of phonetic (English):
On the other hand in English, the word see (si) and say (sey) have different pronounciations. And the meanings are different.

But many Filipinos discriminate against other ethnic Filipino groups due to language accent differences. An example is the Tagalogs discriminating against the Visayans. The latter when talking in Tagalog brings with them their accent. But no matter, when the Visayans speak in Tagalog, they can be clearly understood. The reason is Tagalog like the Visayan dialect is syllabaric. No matter which syllable in a certain word you put the stress, the meaning does not change.

The question now is what is the cause of this discrimination? Is it because the Tagalogs mistook their dialect as phonetic like English? Is it the reason why those who live particularly in urban areas (they think they are civilized) takes pronounciation carefully when speaking in Tagalog? By the way, are they not aware that some Tagalog groups (an example are those who live in some remote parts of Rizal province) when speaking in their own native Tagalog, pronounce words the same way as the Visayans?

Anyway, similar discriminations also happen within the same ethnic groups . The divide is simply whether one is from the city or from the rural areas.

An example is a City Cebuano discriminating against the Rural Cebuano. Like the City Tagalogs, the City Cebuano also takes pronounciations carefully when speaking in their dialect. Are they thinking also that Cebuano is a phonetic language? It is not difficult to imagine that the same happens between City Ilokanos against Rural Ilokanos . . . and so on.

This is only an observation. It is desirable to eliminate discriminations, but like ignorance, it cannot go away completely . . . even among the “civilized”.