Filipino Language Origins & Development

Origins of Filipino Language

• The first immigrants to the Philippines were the Negritos from Borneo
• Three indigenous groups of Negrito include the "True Negrito", the Austrolidad-Sakai, and Proto-Malayo
• Indonesians arrived from Southeast Asia by boats, possessing greater civilization than the Negritos
• Malayans arrived via boats called balangay, settling in Northern Luzon and Mindanao while preserving their pagan beliefs
• Some converted to Islam, especially in Sulu, Palawan and Zamboanga
• Each group has its own language, originating from the Austronesian language family

Development of Baybayin

• Baybayin, a writing system used by early Filipinos consisted of seventeen letters — three vowels and fourteen consonants
• Consonants were pronounced with the vowel /a/

Spanish Colonial Period

• Spaniards intended to instill Christianity in the natives, viewing them as "barbaric, uncivilized, and pagan"
• They found using indigenous languages more effective in pacifying the population than military force
• Spanish friars learned native languages and wrote dictionaries, grammar books, catechisms, and confession manuals
• Despite the King's order to use native languages in teaching, it was ignored
• Carlos I and Felipe II believed Filipinos should be bilingual and suggested teaching Doctrina Christiana in Spanish
• Filipinos were more drawn to friars who used their language, distancing themselves from the government using Spanish
• On March 2, 1634, King Felipe II reiterated the order to teach Spanish to all natives
• December 29, 1792, Carlos IV signed a decree mandating the use of Spanish in all schools in native communities
• This threatened indigenous languages leading to disunity, and enabled the Spanish to conquer the natives

Philippine Revolution Era

• After more than 300 years of Spanish colonization, Filipinos embraced nationalism
• The Propaganda movement began in 1872, leading to the founding of the Katipunan by Andres Bonifacio
• Tagalog was used in their orders and publications, marking an initial step in promoting it
• Revolutionaries embraced the concept of "one nation, one spirit" against the Spanish
• Tagalog was used for essays, poems, stories, letters, and speeches
• The Biak-na-Bato Constitution in 1899 was the first concrete move by Filipinos to utilize Tagalog
• Tagalog was made the official language of the Republic
• The dominance of intellectuals in the Constitutional Assembly contributed to the decision

American Colonial Period

• After the Spanish, Americans, led by Admiral Dewey, arrived, boosting significance of English in the Philippines
• English became the medium of instruction from primary to college level, leading to a national education system
• This aimed to properly educate citizens and instill self-governance
• The Jacob Schurman commission advocated for English in primary education
• Act No. 74 established public schools on March 24, 1901 and declared English as the language of instruction

Challenges with English

• Teachers used the vernacular to explain lessons
• The General Superintendent of schools recommended using vernacular as an auxiliary language
• The Advisory Board approved publishing primary books in English-Ilocano, English-Tagalog, English-Bisaya, and English-Bikol
• Americans offered a Tagalog language course for American and Filipino teachers

Vernacular Debate

• A bill proposing using dialects in public schools was not approved
• Soldiers initially taught English, followed by the Thomasites
• In 1931, Vice Governor-General Goerge Buttena supported using the vernacular in the first four school years
• Jorge Bocobo and Maximo Kalaw agreed that English would never become the national language, as it was not the language of the home
• The Civil Service Board believed that only English should be taught in public schools

Arguments for Promoting English

• Teaching vernacular in schools would lead to administrative problems
• Students might have difficulty moving within the islands because of different regional languages.
• Using different vernaculars in teaching would cause regionalism instead of nationalism
• Mixing English and Vernacular sounds unpleasant
• The government had already spent much on public education and developing English as a national language
• English offered the hope of national unity

Other Points in favor of English

• It served as the language of international trade
• It was rich in artistic and scientific terms
• Its extensive presence necessitated honing its use
• 80% of students did not reach fifth grade

Arguments for Promoting Vernacular

• Using it would lead to more effective instruction in primary grades
• If a common language needed to be developed in the Philippines, Tagalog should be it because only 1% used English at home
• Instruction using English would not allow people to solve their everyday problems
• Developing English as a national language does not show nationalism

Other Points in favor of Tagalog

• Actions should benefit all, like vernacular usage
• Filipinos could not write classics in English, and there would be no added cost for textbooks
• English could be encouraged to have standard guidelines that were aligned with goals

Implementation of English

• The Bureau of Public Instruction sought American teachers only, trained Filipinos to teach English and other subjects
• There was heavy emphasis on English in the curriculum at all levels
• The vernacular was banned in schools
• Textbooks were translated/written into English
• Local magazines for schools were published
• Spanish was removed

Surveys On The Use Of English

• In 1925 Monroe Survey Commission showed students could hardly keep their English up after leaving school
• The government spent millions to promote English to replace Spanish and dialects in everyday use, but the English spoken was hard to understand
• High education students also struggled with the language

Debates on Language

• There were doubts by educational figures on its use
• There was the issue on what language ordinary Filipinos could understand
• There was the push for a national language

Language During Commonwealth

• The topic of national language became topic at the Constitutional Convention
• Lope K. Santos proposed one of the languages be used as basis of national language, later supported by President Manuel Quezon
• Commonwealth Act No. 184 created the Institute of National Language in 1936, tasked to research, guide, and set rules for choosing a national language
• Tagalog was chosen as basis and Quezon declared Tagalog to be used in creating national language

Japanese Occupation

• During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, the use of English was banned to remove American influence
• The Japanese promoted the use of native languages, especially Tagalog, in literature and daily life
• Military Ordinance No. 13 made Tagalog and Japanese (Niponggo) official languages.
• The Philippine Executive Commission, led by Jorge Vargas, was established to implement these orders and supported military policy and cultural propaganda
• After some months schools were all opened introducing Nihonggo to all levels with emphasis for the the locals to remove English from all use
• The governor tried to teach native teachers Nihonggo to test how fluent they were for the students

KALIBAPI

• During this time, KALIBAPI (Kapisanan sa Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas) or Association for Service to the New Philippines emerged
• KALIBAPI wanted to better, educate, have moral regeneration, and promote the economy with Japan, with Benigno Aquino as director
• KALIBAPI focused on spreading Filipino throughout the country and was made to be a joint venture with The Institute of National Language
• There came a divide between national language and liberal minded Americans due to military rule at that time

Discussions and Language

• There were small talks on using gitling
• There was discussion about using Filipino over using it as a science
• Three groups prevailed when discussing the topics being Carlos Ronquillo, Lope K. Santos, and N. Sevilla with G. E. Tolentino

Promoting Filipino Language.

• The Japanese wanted to establish Filipino so The Institute of National Language was recovered
• Jose Villa Panganiban Taught Tagalog to Japanese
• He Made a technique called “A Shortcut to the National Language” to easily teach students which involved using formulatory

National Language after WWII

• After being freed from the Japanese, Filipinos were independent starting July 4, 1946
• Tagalog and English were confirmed as official languages via Commonwealth Act No. 570.
• There was rebuilding that needed to be done so the topic was being economic for the country making Americans invested and put influence
• By August 13, 1959, using Kautusang Pangkagawaran Blg, 7 the name for it switched from Tagalog to Pilipino from Jose Romero and Alejandro Roces where certificates started being printed from 1963 to 1964
• Ferdinand Marcos also had all buildings to have Filipino names by using Kautusang Tagapagpaganap Blg. 96 s. 1976, with head letters being in Filipino too
• Marcos also tasked everyone to use Filipino too

Revisions and Filipino Language

• As more time passed, it was revised from Kalihim Juan L. Manuel with Kautusang Pangkagawaran Blg. 25 s. 1974 when Corazon Aquino came in and the name for it was made to be Filipino in Section 6 and Article XIV

Sections 6 and Onwards of Filipino Law

• Section 6 tackles Filipino as National Language that will adapt with more Philippine language and overseas languages
• Section 7 discusses Language of work and for teaching, discussing English must be used if not told from law, and regional languages can be used as help for work and in their regions and teach
• Section 8 talks of teaching the constitution in Filipino and English and regional languages like Arabic
• Section 9 talks about making a board for Filipino language to help do research in the Philippines
• Corazon Aquino also had to use Executive Order No. 335 to continue to move forward
• Gloria Arroyo had the monolingual system be only English that was not used
• Many setbacks came when Filipino was being used by KWF showing that that much needed to be worked to win
• Filipino is like a local language that is used to communicate to write with each other in a community
• A lot still should be done to show that Filipino can succeed
• Through daily usage, Filipino can be helped and pushed to be used