Lecture Guide in SED English 311 - Language Programs and Policies in Multilingual Society PDF

COURSE GUIDE IN SED ENGLISH 311 Language Programs and Policies in Multilingual Society Arriane Kris M. Manalastas | Subject Professor| 1st Semester 2024- 2025  COURSE CONTENT Preliminary Period I. OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE II. INT...

COURSE GUIDE IN SED ENGLISH 311 Language Programs and Policies in Multilingual Society Arriane Kris M. Manalastas | Subject Professor| 1st Semester 2024- 2025  COURSE CONTENT Preliminary Period I. OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE II. INTRODUCTION: LANGUAGE POLICY AND PROGRAMS Introduction to Language Planning and Policy: Theoretical and Historical Perspective III. LANGUAGE PROGRAMS AND POLICIES IN NON-GOVERNMENTAL DOMAINS Language Policies and Programs: Media, the Workplace, and Religion Midterm Period IV. LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES: AN OVERVIEW Local Languages and Local Identities Diversity and Language Policy for Endangered Languages V. LANGUAGE – IN - EDUCATION POLICY EVOLUTION VI. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BILINGUAL EDUCATION POLICY Final Period VII. MULTILINGUALISM IN THE CLASSROOM: MTBMLE VIII. LANGUAGE PROGRAMS AND POLICIES ACROSS ASEAN COUNTRIES: MALAYSIA, INDONESIA, THAILAND, SINGAPORE, AND VIETNAM a. Official language policies (including historical perspectives) b. Impact of globalization on national language policies c. Language policies in media, society, economy, institutions, and education d. Language Revitalization and Preservation PAGE 1 I. OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE VISION A leading research university in the ASEAN region. MISSION Isabela State University is committed to develop globally competitive human, technological resources and services through quality instruction, innovative research, responsive community engagement and viable resource management programs for inclusive growth and sustainable development. QUALITY POLICY The Isabela State University endeavors to be a lead university in instruction, research, extension, and resource generation through continual improvement of services. COLLEGE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Goals of the College In line with the Isabela State University’s vision and mission, the College of Teacher Education is tasked to develop professional educators and train future teachers who are competent, caring, confident and would contribute to the development of the community through education by: 1. Enhancing the qualification of educators for academic and professional development equipped with advanced training and educational innovations as well as research and extension capabilities; and 2. Preparing and developing highly qualified basic education teachers and skilled technologies through quality and well-rounded pre-service training in both academic and vocational for diverse communities of learners. Program Outcomes The graduates of the Bachelor of Secondary Education program must be able to: 1. Possess wide range of theoretical and practical skills of an effective delivery instruction; 2. Perform the necessary competencies needed in the different learning areas in the secondary school; 3. Conduct research of instruction; 4. Undertake actual training in community development through extension activities; 5. Apply appropriate innovative and alternative teaching approaches 6. Practice the professional and ethical requirements of the teaching profession; 7. Demonstrate desirable Filipino value as a foundation for social citizenship participation. PAGE 2  DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE Course Number : SED ENGLISH 311 Descriptive Title : LANGUAGE PROGRAMS AND POLICIES IN MULTILINGUAL SOCIETY Number of Units : 3 Units Contact Hours : 3 Hours Course Requirements : Critique Paper/ Research Paper/ AVP of Assigned Topics Course Description The purpose of this course is to provide students a thorough introduction to theory- building in the field of language policy and language planning. This course introduces the concepts, theories, and methods in the field of LPP. It also addresses the current issues of language in society, and describes the environment of a language, the language policy and planning influence and the language use and spread, status planning, corpus planning, language-in-education planning, and prestige planning. With a special focus on language planning in a minority language context, the course will give the students insights into theories on language maintenance, language shift and language revitalization. In addition, language ideologies and attitudes are studied through language-related press debates. The perspective is comparative, and examples are given from countries around the world. Course Objectives: At the end of the course, the students should be able to: Cognitive 1.1 Express analytical and critical thinking through the evaluation of language revitalization efforts in immigrant and indigenous minority language contexts; 1.2 Explain the most important terms and concepts used in the field of Language Policy and Programs; and 1.3 Describe and analyze language attitudes and ideologies and the ways in which they influence the implementation of language-political decisions in society. Affective 2.1 Develop a critical understanding of how linguistic diversity can be managed in various social settings; and 2.2 Draw on academic research to make effective practical recommendations for language policy. Psychomotor 3.1 Critically evaluate the effect of language policies on language use in diverse language communities; 3.2 Design multimodal methods for mapping and studying linguistic diversity; and 3.3 Apply findings of academic research to practical issues and problems; and 3.4 Use the theories and methods of language policy, planning, and attitudes in other areas of linguistic research. PAGE 3  PRELIMINARY PERIOD II. INTRODUCTION: LANGUAGE POLICY AND PROGRAMS Introduction Every planned intervention by a subnational, national, or supranational political organization which is directed toward the otherwise unregulated development of a language or any of its varieties can be regarded as an act of language planning and language policy. The choice, for example, of one particular language or one particular variety of a language as the official national medium of communication is one such measure at the national level, as is the development of a writing system for a particular variety or its standardization and codification or, indeed, its mandatory use in national institutions such as schools, the media, and public service facilities. Subnational measures include the development of a regionally or ethnically restricted variety, its expansion for communication in various functions and domains, or the spread of its use in speech and writing, to name just a few. Supranational measures include, for example, the UNESCO decision that every child has the right to achieve literacy in his or her mother tongue. However, the protection of minority languages against the danger of extinction or marginalization under the pressure of a nationally dominant language is also a further measure, just as is the decision to adopt certain languages for negotiation in supranational institutions and for employment in economic, scientific, or cultural networks on an international level (Gramley, 2004). In other words, language planning and language policy comprise a multitude of activities on every conceivable level from individual localities and regions all the way to global networks. Intended Learning Outcome At the end of the chapter, the students should be able to: Define Language Planning and Policy; Describe the history of Language Planning Policy; Present the central theories and methods in language policy and planning research; and Explain the important terms and concepts used in the field. Introduction to Language Planning and Policy: Theoretical and Historical Perspective Language Planning is the attempt to influence how a language is used. This is usually done to make it possible to use the language for more subjects. Goals, objectives, and strategies are made to change the way a language is used. For many languages there are special organizations, that look after the language. Examples of such organizations are the Academie Française for French or the British Council for English. PAGE 4  The term language planning refers to measures taken by official agencies to influence the use of one or more languages in a particular speech community. American linguist Joshua Fishman has defined language planning as "the authoritative allocation of resources to the attainment of language status and corpus goals, whether in connection with new functions that are aspired to or in connection with old functions that need to be discharged more adequately" (1987). Language Planning is a deliberate effort to influence the function, structure or acquisition of a language or language variety within a speech community; it is any political attempt to change the status of a language in some way or develop new ways of using it. Language planning aims to unify, to modernized, and to improve the communication within a country. The desire for decision making is motivated by linguistic assimilation, linguistic pluralism, vernacularizing, and internationalization. Language planning was originally studied as consisting of two types: 1. Corpus planning refers to changes in the linguistic form of the language itself through standardization (standardizing language forms), graphization (developing a writing system), and modernization (coining new words and terms). 2. Status planning refers to changes in the functions of language in order to elevate its prestige and increase the uses of a language. The four major types of language planning are status planning (about the social standing of a language), corpus planning (the structure of a language), language-in- education planning (learning), and prestige planning (image). Language planning and policy making may occur at the macro-level (the state) or the micro-level (the community). Macro Level Government Agencies Micro Level Educational Institutions/ Influential People PAGE 5 Note: Language planning and policy arise out of sociopolitical situations where, for example, speakers of various languages compete for resources or where a particular linguistic minority is denied access to basic rights. One example is the U.S. Court Interpreters Act of 1978, which provides an interpreter to any victim, witness, or a defendant whose native language is not English. Another is the Voting Rights Act of 1975, which provides for bilingual ballots in areas where more than 5 percent of the population speak a language other than English..." Language Policy is an interdisciplinary academic field. Some scholars such as Joshua A. Fishman and Ofelia Garcia consider it as part of Sociolinguistics. On the other hand, other scholars such as Bernard Spolsky, Robert B. Kaplan and Joseph Lo Bianco argue that language policy is a branch of Applied Linguistics. As a field, language policy used to be known as language planning and is related to other fields such as language ideology, language revitalization, language education, among others. It is a more general linguistic, political and social goals underlying the actual language planning process (Mesthrie, et. al., 2009) It is what governments (or organizations – both national and international) do through legislation, policies, or legal decisions to determine how languages are used (which languages may be used for what purposes), to cultivate second language skills in chosen languages, or to establish minority language rights (Lewis and Henson 2013) Note: Some scholars distinguish between overt and covert language policy, where overt language policy refers to the official rules and legislation while covert language policy would refer to the societal norms. All countries have language use policies. These policies usually have some effect on education in the classroom. The government policy on the official and national languages usually includes a section which: ✓ Specifies who will use the language and how it will be used. For example, the government may require that the language be used in the media and in public and private schools; ✓ Outlines what languages can be used in commerce, in communication and in contact with people from out of the country; and ✓ Specifies the time to be allotted for language instruction, the choice of materials for teaching and teacher qualifications. Why Plan a Language? All governments conduct language planning exercises from time to time in order to: establish national norms for good writing and speaking; PAGE 6  develop language as a tool for creative and scientific thinking; enhance understanding among various communities; determine the choice of language instruction in schools and the translation of literary works; identify a single language in which to exchange scientific knowledge; and provide a means by which the nation can identify itself. Types of Language Planning Language planning can be subdivided into the following four areas: Types of Language Definition Examples Planning Decisions and activities The decision to use Hebrew aimed at changing the as a medium of instruction in functions or uses of Jewish schools in Palestine Status Planning languages (or language from the end of the 19th varieties) within a particular century. speech community. Decisions and activities Designing an orthography, required to fit the forms and creating new words, Corpus Planning structures of languages to publishing dictionaries. the assigned functions. Decisions and activities Mother- Tongue Education required to enable current or programs, language potential users of the revitalization activities. language to implement the status and corpus decisions, Acquisition Planning including activities aimed at helping people to learn the language, or to acquire specific skills (such as literacy) in the language. Decisions and activities English as the language of aimed at creating positive power and progress. attitudes towards the Prestige Planning language, which are vital to the long-term success of other language planning activities. Note: These four areas of language planning do not exist in isolation. Activities aimed at changing the functions of a language (status planning) often require changes in the form or structure of the language (corpus planning), and may also involve education and training (acquisition planning). Status planning activities will only succeed if positive attitudes towards PAGE 7 the language are adopted (through prestige planning) by both the speakers of the language and others in the wider society such as government officials, teachers, pastors. The Process of Language Planning The American linguist Einar Haugen (1966, 1987) suggested that language planning typically consists of the following 4 stages, which are usually (but need not be) sequential: 1. Selection 2. Codification 3. Implementation 4. Elaboration Function (Language Form (Policy Planning) Cultivation) Selection/ Decision Implementation/ Educational Procedure Spread Society (Status Planning) a. problem identification a. correction procedure b. allocation of norms b. evaluation Codification/ Standardization Elaboration/ Functional Procedures Development Language a. graphization a. terminological (Corpus Planning) b. grammatication modernization c. lexicalization b. stylistic development c. internationalization 1. Selection In Norm Selection, one or more languages are selected and standardized using accepted spellings, lexicon and grammar and to choose certain linguistic forms or language varieties over others, and promote them as being ‘the norm’, is the basis of most language planning activities. Language planning can thus be understood as a normative response to linguistic diversity. Selection describes the process of choosing a certain language variety to be used for certain functions in a society. At the national level, this includes the choice of a national or official language; at the local level, this includes choosing which dialect of a language to use as the medium of instruction in a Mother Tongue Education program in local primary schools. In the context of Bible translation, it includes deciding which languages to start a Bible translation project in, and which dialect to choose in situations where various dialects are spoken. In selecting a dialect for some educational or religious purpose, a survey should be conducted to determine which dialects of a language are mutually intelligible (testing for comprehension) and which are viewed as adequately prestigious (testing for acceptability). This usually results in the selection of one dialect (known as Monocentric Selection). In certain situations, a new standard variety may be created which incorporates features of a number of different dialects (known as Polycentric Selection). This tends to happen with large language communities where no existing dialect is either comprehensible or acceptable to all speakers, but for social and political reasons the community wants to use a single variety for official purposes. PAGE 8  An example is Unified Basque (Euskara Batua) which was created from the four main Basque dialects spoken in the south-west of France and the north-west of Spain. The variety of Luhya used in the Luhya Bible translation in Kenya is another example. 2. Codification Having selected a variety for a certain range of functions, this variety is then ‘codified’ in terms of how it is written (graphization), its grammar (grammatication) and its vocabulary (lexicalization). Graphization: Where a language variety is being used in a written form for the first time, the development of an orthography is a crucial activity. The orthography must adequately represent the structure of the language (including its phonology if an alphabetic or syllabic system is chosen), it must be easy to read and write, and it must be acceptable to the community. For these reasons, orthography development should involve collaboration between linguists, literacy specialists, and community representatives. Grammatication: Codifying the rules of the grammar typically occurs in the case of national languages and languages which are learned as a second language, but this activity does not always happen with languages which are only used in a local context by mother-tongue speakers. A linguist may write a grammar of a minority language, but this will be descriptive (documenting as far as possible the variation in how the language is spoken) rather than prescriptive (defining how the language should be used). Example: Subject and Verb Agreement Rules in Standard American English Lexicalization: Language contact is an almost universal phenomenon, and a typical result of language contact is borrowing of words and expressions. In situations where a language is being ‘promoted’ to an official function of some kind (e.g. educational, religious) lexicalization often involves making decisions about which words are ‘authentic’ and which words are loanwords. This is particularly the case where language is associated with a particular ethnic or political identity. The typical product of lexicalization is a dictionary. There are different kinds of dictionaries: Some record as many words as possible, including those borrowed from other PAGE 9 languages, whilst others only include ‘authentic’ words (although the criteria for making this distinction are not always clear). 3. Implementation Implementation typically involves materials production (books, newspapers, pamphlets, websites, radio broadcasts, etc.) in the codified language variety. This is usually done by the state in the case of national languages, and by a combination of local communities (through language committees or similar organizations) and government and/or religious organizations in the case of local languages. Implementation can also include activities such as language festivals and other cultural events where the language is used, incentives (for example, bonuses or promotions for teachers and civil servants who learn the language), and laws requiring the use of the language in certain situations. Successful language development projects usually involve a wide range of implementation activities. 4. Elaboration Elaboration (also called modernization) covers all aspects of corpus planning which the language is developed to meet the needs of modern society. One important area is the development of new vocabulary (lexicalization), terms for technological items such as mobile phones and computers. New words may already be in use, either borrowings from another language, extensions of meaning of existing words, or (less often) neologisms. In Bible translation projects, new terms may be needed for a few cultural and theological concepts. Examples: a. Acronyms: using the first initials of terms to form a ``word": DOS from ``disc operating system"; WYSIWYG from ``what you see is what you get", ROM for ``read-only memory", RAM for ``random-access memory", ASAP, SNAFU, etc. b. Blends: syllables from different words are joined: mo-dem from ``modulator- demodulator", maglev from ``magnetic levitation", hazmat(s) from "haz(ardous) mat(erials)", prion from pro(teinaceous) in(fectious particles), etc. (Very common in Soviet Russian terminology formation: sovkhoz, samizdat, etc.; also in the American military: SECNAV, HAZMAT, NORAD, TOPSEC, AWACS, etc.) c. Loan translations (calques), loan innovations, etc.: ``translate" the foreign word into the local language: television becomes Fernsehen in German, doordarshan in Sanskrit, tolainookki in Tamil. landscape in English is a loan from German Landschaft but has now become productive, with ``moonscape, seascape, urbanscape, netscape, " etc. Note: Once the new standard is implemented, it is necessary to observe the degree of acceptance of the chosen language and to add items from time to time to keep abreast of the PAGE 10 changing world. In order to keep the language functional, new terms and new or alternative spellings may be added as well as modifications to grammar. The Standard Language Uses The language that has been standardized should be such that it can be used in all functions associated with the central government. The standardized language may be used in any of the following ways: ✓ in Parliament; ✓ in educational institutions as a medium of instruction and subject of study; ✓ in commerce, business and diplomacy; ✓ as a medium of communication between native and nonnative speakers; and ✓ as a common, official or national language that can provide a link across any regional languages. Test Your Skills A. Choose the letter of the correct answer from the choices given below: 1. What is National Language? a. It is the language of a political, cultural, and social unit b. It is the language of the government c. It is the language for business d. It is the language of machines and computer systems 2. What is Official Language? a. It is the language use in the country b. It is the language for a social unit c. It is the language use for government business and education d. It is the language of machines and computer systems 3. It is a step needed to develop a language, also known as “corpus planning”. a. Selection b. Codification c. Elaboration d. Assimilation 4. What is the National Language of Philippines? a. Tagalog b. English c. Filipino d. Cebuano 5. Choosing a variety depends on factors like: a. The form of the variety b. The functions it serves c. The sound of its words PAGE 11  d. The attitudes people hold towards it 6. Which is the most widespread method of encouraging the acquisition of a language? a. Self-teaching b. Community involvement c. Education d. Radio programs 7. What is necessary for language acceptance? a. Government involvement b. People's acceptance c. Both are necessary d. None of the above B. TRUE OR FALSE. Write T if the statement is True, write F if the statement is False. _____1. Decisions around language policy and planning are made around the globe every day by ordinary citizens of the community. _____2. Language Planning decisions influence the right to use and maintain languages, affect language status, and determine which languages are nurtured. _____3. Language policy and planning decisions have a major impact on language vitality and, ultimately, on the rights of the individual. _____4. Decisions about language policies, requirements, and practices does not have important consequences in all social contexts. _____5. Language planning refers to deliberate efforts to influence the behavior of others with respect to the acquisition, structure, or functional allocation of their language codes. _____6. Language planning is frequently undertaken for the expressed purpose of solving communication problems. Nevertheless, ill conceived, poorly informed policies can result in negative impacts on those affected by them. _____7. Traditionally, there are two dimensions of language planning wherein status planning deals with norm selection and codification, as in the writing of grammars and the standardization of spelling _____8. A major type planning that is particularly important for education is known as language acquisition planning wherein choosing which languages will be used as mediums for instruction is particularly important in acquisition planning as one must not only learn the language but use it to learn. Task 2. Group Activity Trace the linguistic diversity in your classroom by listing your individual linguistic repertoire; provide an analysis of your findings based on your list and present them in class. PAGE 12  Your presentation will be graded based on the following criteria: CRITERIA Description Score Content Points are clearly and directly expressed. There is a large 40 amount of material to support what was discussed. Coherence The discussion flows smoothly from one point to the next. 20 & The transitions organize the whole discussion effortlessly. Organization Material The multimedia used was appropriate and complementary 20 to what was discussed. Speaking The presenter was poised and enthusiastic. There was clear 20 Skills and confident articulation of ideas. Total 100% PAGE 13 III. LANGUAGE PROGRAMS AND POLICIES IN NON-GOVERNMENTAL DOMAINS Introduction This chapter will provide an overview of some of the ways in which language policy in the family, media, workplace, and religion and some specific examples of how these non- governmental domains had or was influenced by language policy and planning. Intended Learning Outcome At the end of the chapter, the students should be able to : Use different concept to describe and analyze language situations in the family, media, workplace, and religious context; Compare the Language Policy in the different domains; and Recognize the importance of Language Policy in the different domains. 1. Language Policy in the Family All meaningful language policy is ultimately played out in the home. Except for perhaps a medical doctor or midwife, the first words a child hears upon entering this world are those of his or her mother, and, to a generally lesser extent, father. This reality is reflected in the expression ‘mother tongue’. Unless the child is immediately whisked away to the care of others, he or she is immersed in the linguistic amniotic fluid of the mother tongue for many years after birth. Since most children do not begin schooling until ages 5 or 6 (if they are afforded elementary schooling at all, which is not the case for many children in third world countries), the child’s near total exposure to only the home language (or languages) takes place during the most important linguistically formative years of one’s life. The child quickly becomes ‘fluent’ in his or her mother-tongue, and it is this home tongue (or tongues) with which the child will speak with the least amount of effort for the rest of his or her life Family Language Policy Family language policy is generally defined as explicit and overt planning in relation to language use within the home and among family members. Family language policy provides a frame for examining child-caretaker interactions, parental language ideologies (including broader societal attitudes and ideologies about language(s) and parenting), and ultimately, child language development. Since most children do not begin schooling until aged 5 or 6, the near total of the child’s exposure to only the home language takes place during the most important linguistically formative years of one’s life. The vast majority of parents do not strategically plot and plan PAGE 14 family language policy. The default home language policy for most is to speak the native tongue of the mother, or the mother and father, in the case of bilingual parents. But for some parents, adding a second or third language to a child’s linguistic repertoire is seen as giving an important advantage to their children. They make overt, explicit choices on which languages to speak in the home and strategize as how to raise their children to speak more than one language. Parents have various motivations to make explicit choices about which languages to speak at home. They often make vague references to research that suggested that bilingual children had some sort of cognitive advantage. Other parents want to maintain the heritage language of the family, culture, or ancestral country of origin (Caldas, 2012). Raising Bilingual Children Among parents who make explicit language decisions for their children, raising their children bilingually is perhaps the most commonly practiced language policy. There are three major influences on these parents’ language strategies: 1. information concluded in the popular press, 2. the experiences of other extended family members and 3. their own personal experiences with languages. Note: The last influence is by far the most important. Factors that Influence the Family’s Language or Language Usage ▪ Cultural Background: The cultural heritage of a family often plays a significant role in determining the language spoken at home. Families may choose to maintain their native language to preserve their cultural identity and pass it on to younger generations. ▪ Geographical Location: The region in which a family resides can impact the language they use. Families living in an area where a certain language is dominant may adopt that language for daily communication and integration. ▪ Migration and Immigration: Families that have moved to a new country or region may continue using their native language at home as a way to maintain a connection to their roots. This can lead to bilingual or multilingual households. ▪ Generational Changes: Over generations, families might gradually shift away from their ancestral language in favor of the dominant language in their new environment. This can result in language loss over time. ▪ Education: The language(s) spoken at home can be influenced by the education system. For example, if children are educated primarily in the language of their new country, they may become more proficient in that language than their parents' native language. PAGE 15  ▪ Social Integration: Families often adapt their language usage based on social interactions. If the dominant language in their social circles differs from their native language, they may use the dominant language to communicate effectively. ▪ Economic Opportunities: Families might switch to a language that offers more economic opportunities, especially if it's considered a language of commerce, technology, or international communication. ▪ Media and Technology: Exposure to media, such as television, movies, and the internet, can influence language preferences. If a family has access to media primarily in one language, that language might become more prominent in their communication. ▪ Intermarriage: When members of a family marry individuals from different linguistic backgrounds, the language spoken at home might become a mixture of both languages, leading to a multilingual environment. ▪ Parental Choices: The language spoken by parents, especially within the context of raising children, can greatly influence the language spoken at home. If both parents speak the same language, that language is more likely to be the primary one at home. ▪ Language Policies: Government policies related to language, such as official language status, language education, and language preservation efforts, can impact a family's language choices. ▪ Identity and Belonging: Language can be tied to a sense of identity and belonging. Families may use a particular language to reinforce a shared sense of heritage, belonging, and connection. ▪ Religion and Traditions: Certain religious practices and traditions may be conducted in specific languages, leading families to use those languages in their religious and cultural contexts. ▪ Peer Influence: Children's language preferences and usage can be influenced by their peers. If a child's friends predominantly speak a certain language, they may be more inclined to use that language. Note: These factors often interact and can lead to complex language dynamics within families. The language(s) spoken within a family can evolve over time due to changing circumstances, values, and external influences. 2. Language Planning and Policy and Mass Media Media language has always attracted the attention of linguists, particularly applied linguists and sociolinguists. There are four practical and principled reasons for this interest. 1. First, the media provide an easily accessible source of language data for research and teaching purposes. PAGE 16  2. Second, the media are important linguistic institutions. Their output makes up a large proportion of the language that people hear and read every day. Media usage reflects and shapes both language use and attitudes in a speech community. For second language learners, the media may function as the primary—or even the sole—source of native-speaker models. 3. Third, the ways in which the media use language are interesting linguistically in their own right; these include how different dialects and languages are used in advertising, how tabloid newspapers use language in a projection of their assumed readers' speech, or how radio personalities use language—and only language–to construct their own images and their relationships to an unseen, unknown audience. 4. Fourth, the media are important social institutions. They are crucial presenters of culture, politics, and social life, shaping as well as reflecting how these are formed and expressed. Media ‘discourse’ is important both for what it reveals about a society and for what it contributes to the character of society. Note: Media can be seen to carry out all functions of language policy and may have their own explicit language policies, implicit policies, or a mixture of both. New media, and in particular the World Wide Web, are a non‐traditional domain for the study of language policy and language planning. National governments have traditionally been major agents of language policy in the modern era, attempting to fix languages to borders. National media tried to replicate this attempt to fix media borders along linguistic‐political borderlines. The Web, which is constructed as an explicitly global medium, also provides an ideal domain in which to explore issues of language policy and globalization. Language and Media The concepts of language and communication are intertwined, mainly because one of the primary aims of language is to ensure interaction and understanding, leading ultimately to communication. Beedham (2005), who describes language as ‘a means of communication’, confirms that vital link between the two concepts. Adegbija (2004) highlighted the vital role of the media, especially in a multilingual socio-political setting, by insisting that ‘the media is the lifeblood of effective information dissemination in any nation, especially multilingual ones’. In dealing with language issues, the media/ broadcast media is faced with a search for answers to the following pressing questions which are pertinent in its quest for parity and fair play on language matters: ✓ How many languages should be adopted for news broadcasts and programs nationally? PAGE 17  ✓ What should inform the choice of languages? (data on language of the community, more popular language) ✓ How much time should each language enjoy on-air? ✓ In what particular order should these languages follow each other? ✓ How feasible is it to get trained speakers, presenters and translators in these languages? ✓ Does this multiplicity of languages affect the quality and standard of programs? ✓ What are the cost implications of broadcasting in several different languages? Language in Media and its Effect on Minorities There is a large number of language-related regulations (both prescriptive and proscriptive) that affect the shape of the broadcasting media and therefore have an impact on the life of persons belonging to minorities. Although, language has been and remains an important instrument in state-building and maintenance. In this context, requirements have also been put in place to accommodate national minorities. In some settings, there is legislation to assure availability of programming in minority languages. Television, radio, the internet, and other forms of media have the power to both shape our culture and to mirror our culture back to us. These powers are only growing as devices like cell phones and tablet computers allow us to access different forms of media from almost anywhere. Language is an aspect of our culture which is not an exception to the media’s influence. Just like other aspects of our culture, the media has the power to both influence a societies’ language use as well as reflect a societies’ language use. Example: Univision, which is the largest Spanish language television network in the United States, has recently beaten the major English language television networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox) in the Nielson T.V. ratings. Spanish language radio stations are increasing in numbers all across the country and are also achieving strong ratings (Bauder, 2010). The Bilingual television show aimed at preschoolers Dora The Explorer has generated over a 11 billion dollars in revenue with a wide- array products across different forms of media (Ratner-Arias 2010). PAGE 18  Popular social networking sites like Facebook enable people to interact with their friends in different languages and Facebook even created a Spanish language version of their website and continues to update the site to be accessible to more languages. These are just some recent examples relating to Spanish in the United States, but the media plays have been playing small and big roles in allowing people to maintain their cultures for long periods of time. Despite the large and small niche media in various languages, most countries have a dominant media language; in the United States this is no doubt English. Points to Ponder: 1. How does the mostly English mass media effect language acquisition and maintenance? 2. How do the ever -increasing opportunities for people to access media in their L1 language effect L2 language acquisition and L1 language maintenance? Examples: Broadcasting Policy and Practice in Africa (2003) Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters sa Pilipinas (KBP) (Society of Broadcasters in the Philippines) Broadcast Code (2011) PAGE 19  There is no formal language planning agency for the continuing use of English in Philippine life. In the mass media, there has been no policy, formal or informal, except the policy unofficially enunciated by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters sa Pilipinas (KBP) (Society of Broadcasters in the Philippines) on the balanced use of Filipino and English songs played on radio. 3. Language Policy in the Workplace Accepting workers of different backgrounds and nationalities has its advantages because diversity helps build a dynamic work environment. However, it can also lead to challenges, especially when it comes to language and cultural differences. What if you hired employees who end up creating their own circle wherein they speak their own language and act according to their own culture? What if they outnumber the rest of the employees and unwittingly put up a virtual wall of incomprehensibility and disconnect? Businesses that hire migrant workers or multinational companies that set up operations in a foreign country are likely to encounter this: the creation of an informal and unintentionally exclusive group of employees who have their own language and culture that can create issues or problems later on. Example: When an international manufacturing company decides to hire dozens of migrant Filipino workers, these new employees are most likely going to bond with each other and form their own clique. In this clique, they tend to speak with each other using their own language (Filipino) and create a workplace dynamic that can be considered exclusive to them. They act PAGE 20 according to their own culture, exchanging jokes and setting conventions, for example, to which others may not be able to relate. This kind of scenario can create issues later on because employees who are speaking a language that their managers and fellow employees does not understand may develop a sense of exclusion. While the intention may not be to exclude others, it creates a new language barrier that can cause confusion and misunderstanding. What if other employees feel insulted or offended by the Filipino jokes or expressions? What if the use of certain words unwittingly hurts someone or gets misheard, leading to serious issues? Communication within and between workplaces is increasingly important and organizations and corporations are therefore putting language policies in place, such as using corporate languages, to regulate and facilitate functional communication (Van den Born & Peltokorpi, 2010). Note: Considering that it can be illegal to require employees to always speak English or a specific language in the workplace, it would be a good idea that companies or agencies make an informal effort in explaining the possible issues that can ensue by allowing a specific group of people to use a particular language in the workplace. Language Workplace Policy in the United States Language diversity has been increasing again throughout the United States since 1965, partly the result of major changes in Immigration, foreign language, and civil rights laws. As a result ofthis diversity, language issues requiring policy attention have arisen in the workplace. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission adopted rules in 1979 governing when and under what conditions these workplace policies could require that only English be spoken by employees. Consent agreements and litigation brought under this "English-only" rule have resulted in a number of decisions that have assumed certain things about bilingualism and bilinguals, äs well äs about language attitudes and monolinguals. Example: “How’s the family doing?” said one worker to the other. “Oh, everyone is doing really well! You?” “Oh, same old, same old.” Every day, coworkers interact with each other, building social relationships, more effectively accomplishing the day’s goals, and engaging in the commonplace chatter that is integral to the cooperative environment found in many workplaces today. Picture, however, the above conversation between two non-English speakers. The first coworker could say, “¿Cómo está tu familia?” or “Comment va votre famille?” The conversation could occur in any one of the hundreds of languages spoken in the United States. However, had this commonplace conversation continued in any language other than English, it may not have received the same treatment as the English version. In fact, the non-English conversation may have been limited — or even outright banned — because of workplace policies that mandate workers use English. PAGE 21 These mandates, which require employees to speak English while at work, effectively deem one conversational language superior to another; such a hierarchy fosters feelings of inferiority, isolation, and intimidation. The non-English speakers feel isolated. Their linguistic communities breakdown because of the workplace pressures to assimilate. Diversity suffers, as does the average American’s competitiveness in a global market, due to lack of secondlanguage acquisition. Even though these policies have negative effects, they are practiced in every industry in the United States. Additional Readings: Read the article that was posted on https://www.regent.org.uk/blog/post/6016/benefits- of-using-english-in-the-workplace to grasps the concept of the importance of English proficiency in the workplace. Benefits of Using English in the Workplace by Kelly Knight (2015) In today's global society business is increasingly being conducted across borders with English often being used as an international language of communication. The ability to use English in the workplace has a number of benefits including: Helping your company to succeed, building trust with colleagues and clients, building and improving international relationships, enhancing your skill- set and commanding a higher salary and enhancing international relationships through cultural understanding. The ability to communicate in English is a huge asset to many companies and organizations including those who do not use English as an official language. Companies who conduct business internationally are likely to be engaging with people who speak English as a first or second language on a regular basis making the ability to use English in the workplace a very valuable skill. A good knowledge of English allows you to communicate effectively with international clients, helping them to trust you and your organization resulting in strong and lasting business relationships. People who use English for their work daily need to be able to use English for a variety of purposes including in meetings and negotiations, for managing, writing reports, giving presentations and in social situations. Being able to communicate and negotiate successfully with clients who speak English makes your skill- set more attractive to companies who conduct business internationally meaning employees who speak English can often command higher salaries. It is estimated that over 50% of the pages on the internet are written in English which means that more online information is available to people who can read English. Having access to so much more information can make a real difference to your professional life, even if you don't work with colleagues or clients who speak English. You may find that information from a website written in English may help you to understand a project better or provide some useful information for a report. If you can speak English with confidence, there is a good chance that you have either studied or experienced English culture to some extent. This cultural understanding can be valuable for employers who want to work with or sell to English speaking countries. PAGE 22 4. Language Policy and Religion Religion and Linguistic Domain Classical language, unrelated to the Mother Tongue: Latin, Sanskrit, Arabic, Hebrew, Diglossia: Formal language gets attention, informal language are rarely used. Older liturgical language: Church Slavonic, Greek, Armenian, Latin (for Italians), Hebrew (for Israeli Jews). Communities expect their children to learn some of this language, have schools or weekend classes. Fundamentalists: language (texts) is holy, sacred cannot be tampered with; Roman Catholics object to dropping Latin mass; fundamentalists objected to revised standard version of Bible (King James 1911 version is only one.) Institutional Context: language is somewhat separated from home, playground, and street. Institution has goals for its survival independent of goals of language maintenance. If choice between institution and language, the language is dropped. Examples: One of the most widely noted international language management actions of the twentieth century was the decision of the Second Vatican Council to conduct mass in the vernacular rather than in the traditional Latin. The fact that Arabic is so widely spoken today is partly accounted for by the insistence of Islam that all religious services be conducted in it. Hebrew was kept alive for nearly two millennia after people stopped speaking it as a vernacular language through its continued use as a language of prayer and religious learning. In much of Africa and in other parts of the world, the current sociolinguistic situation owes a great deal to arbitrary decisions by missionaries as to which local dialects to standardize for bible translation. In Korea under Japanese occupation, American missionary groups were allowed to use Korean language and Hangkul writing in their schools; other schools under Japanese control had to use Japanese. Result: greatest success in Christianizing in any Asian country; in the US, Korean language churches draw in non-Christians as well, since churches help preserve ethnicity. All of these point to the central role that religion and religious institutions play in language management. Test Your Skills Answer the following questions: 1. What is the importance of language policy in the workplace to the success of an industry/ company? Give one and explain. 2. Family Language Policy is not developed and practiced without outside influence, rather it is crafted by several interfamily factors. Give one and explain. PAGE 23 3. How does religion affect language usage? 4. How does media influence the language usage and attitudes of the society? Reference Adegbija, E. 2004. Multilingualism: A Nigerian case study. Asmara: African World Press. Benjamins.Bauder, D.. (2010, September 9). Nielsens: univision hits a record high. USA Today, pp. http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2010-09-09-univision-nielsen- milestone_N.htm Beedham, C. 2005. Language and meaning: The structural creation of reality. Amsterdam: John Caldas, S. (2012). Language policy in the family. In B. Spolsky (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Language Policy (Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics, pp. 351- 373). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511979026.022 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-3063505/Generational-language-gap-seismic.html Haugen, E. (1983) The implementation of corpus planning: theory and practice. In J. Cobarrubias and J. A. Fishman (Eds.), Progress in language Ratner-Arias, S. (2010, August 27). Dora the explorer may change a whole generation. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=11494277 Van den Born, F. & Peltokorpi, V. (2010). Language Policies and Communication in Multinational Companies: Alignment With Strategic Orientation and Human Resource Management Practices. Journal of Business Communication, 47(2), 97–118. PAGE 24 IV. LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES: AN OVERVIEW Introduction What language do you use most often to communicate with people? Do you know that different Filipinos might give many different answers if asked this question? Filipinos speak different languages and dialects. In fact, there are hundreds of languages and thousands of dialects spoken in the country. Can you imagine how different Filipinos from different parts of the country communicate with each other even if they speak different languages and dialects? If you are from Cebu, how can you speak, make friends or transact business with someone from Bulacan? To make it easier, you would have to learn to speak a common language. This is what is called a national language. A national language is very important for a country such as the Philippines. But what about the local dialect that you use to communicate with your family, neighbors and friends? Should you discard it in favor of Filipino, the Philippine national language? What about English, which we use in official functions and in business— should we learn to do away with it completely? We will discuss all these important concerns in this lesson, along with other important issues regarding the selection and use of our national language. Intended Learning Outcome At the end of the chapter, the students should be able to: Talk about the languages in the Philippines; and React on issues regarding current linguistic situations in the Philippines. Discuss significant changes in Philippine Language Programs and Policies; and Identify relevant issues in place that help government institutions in upholding and propagating the national language. 1. Local Languages and Local Identities Did you know that hundreds of different languages are spoken all over the Philippines? There are over 120 languages spoken in the Philippines. Filipino, the standardized form of Tagalog, is the national language and used in formal education throughout the country. Filipino and English are both official languages and English is commonly used by the government. Filipino Sign Language is the official sign language. Of these languages, eight are considered “mother tongues” or major languages: Ilocano, Pangasinan, Pampango, Tagalog, Bicol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Waray- Samarnon. For each of these languages, there are hundreds of dialects spoken in different places all over the country. PAGE 25 Do you know how a language is different from a dialect? A language is a system of communication used by a very large number of people. For example, many people from the Visayas speak Cebuano, but because they belong to different groups who live in different regions there, some of them developed different ways of speaking Cebuano. Some words may have been changed a little, or the way it is spoken may be different. This difference in the way a language is spoken is called a dialect. A dialect is spoken by a smaller number of people. Most people who speak different dialects of the same language understand each other, but some do not. ❖ Points to Ponder Can you imagine how difficult it would be for Filipinos speaking different languages and dialects to understand each other if there were no common language? What would happen if we could not communicate with each other? Would there be lots of fighting as a result of misunderstanding? What aspects of our daily lives would be affected if we were not able to communicate well with each other? The following are aspects of our lives that are affected by communication: 1. Personal communication – What is the language that you use when you communicate with members of your family, your friends or relatives? Are you using a language that can be understood by all? Do you have a relative who lives in another province and speaks another language? How will you express your feelings and ideas to him/her if you don’t speak the same language? 2. Education – How can a teacher or instructor successfully impart knowledge to the learners if they speak different languages? Can you imagine an Ilonggo-speaking teacher discussing lessons with an Ilocano-speaking learner? A national language effectively promotes learning. Student-teacher interaction and exchange of information is successfully performed through a national language. 3. Exchange of information – We communicate with other people to exchange information. What would happen if the information given to us was spoken or written in a language that we do not understand? Then, the exchange of information would not be done effectively. 4. Planning and decision-making – Whether you are in a family, group or community, planning and decision-making will be best achieved if there is understanding among the members. Understanding can be achieved if the people express themselves in a language common to them. 5. Teamwork – In building something, let us say a house, all the builders or carpenters must work together as a team to produce the best quality house. What will happen if one of them decides to place the kitchen where the other intends to place the bathroom? This will create a problem. Again, building a house, or anything for that matter, can be done if there is PAGE 26 understanding among the members of a group or team. This can be done if they communicate well with each other. 6. Community participation – Each member in the community can share his/ her opinion through the use of a national language. Because they are able to express their ideas and opinions, there will be understanding among the members and they will be united. 7. Legal system – It is important that rules, laws and guidelines be written in a single language that can be understood by all. In this manner, confusion will be avoided. How would you be able to follow a law if you do not understand it? The function of language is to communicate ideas and emotions and give information. Without a national language, different ethnic groups (Cebuano, Ilocano, Kapampangan, etc.) in the Philippines would not understand each other and the exchange of ideas and feelings would not be possible. Without a national language, there would be an absence of communication and instruction, thus an absence of unity among the people. Philippine Local Languages The Philippines has 8 major dialects. Listed in the figure from top to bottom: Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), Ilocano, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Tagalog, and Waray. The language being taught all over the Philippines is Tagalog and English. The Cebuano dialect originated in Cebu, which is in the Visayas. However, it spread to neighboring islands and in the northern and eastern parts of Mindanao. This was probably facilitated by the American and Spanish policies to Christianize Mindanao. Meanwhile, the Tagalog and Bikol dialect (Bikolandia) boundaries seem to remain predominantly they were centuries ago. This map only shows the dialect majority in each region. Actually, southeastern Mindanao is populated with Ilocano, Tagalog, and other dialects, but Cebuano has become the dominant dialect in that area. The Ilocano dialect has spread out from its origin in the western coast (Ilocandia), which was also probably facilitated by Spanish and American policies. PAGE 27 2. Diversity and Language Policy for Endangered Languages Language diversity is essential to the human heritage. Each and every language embodies the unique cultural wisdom of a people. The loss of any language is thus a loss for all humanity. Though approximately six thousand languages still exist, many are under threat. There is an imperative need for language documentation, new policy initiatives, and new materials to enhance the vitality of these languages. The cooperative efforts of language communities, language professionals, NGOs and governments will be indispensable in countering this threat. There is a pressing need to build support for language communities in their efforts to establish meaningful new roles for their endangered languages (Aikawa, 2001). Language Endangerment A language is endangered when it is on a path toward extinction. Without adequate documentation, a language that is extinct can never be revived. A language is in danger when its speakers cease to use it, use it in an increasingly reduced number of communicative domains and cease to pass it on from one generation to the next. That is, there are no new speakers, adults or children. About 97% of the world’s people speak about 4% of the world’s languages; and conversely, about 96% of the world’s languages are spoken by about 3% of the world’s people (Bernard 1996). Most of the world’s language heterogeneity, then, is under the stewardship of a very small number of people. Even languages with many thousands of speakers are no longer being acquired by children; at least 50% of the world’s more than six thousand languages are losing speakers. We estimate that, in most world regions, about 90% of the languages may be replaced by dominant languages by the end of the 21st century. Language endangerment may be the result of external forces such as military, economic, religious, cultural, or educational subjugation, or it may be caused by internal forces, such as a community’s negative attitude towards its own language. Internal pressures often have their source in external ones, and both halt the intergenerational transmission of linguistic and cultural traditions. Many indigenous peoples, associating their disadvantaged social position with their culture, have come to believe that their languages are not worth retaining. They abandon their languages and cultures in hopes of overcoming discrimination, to secure a livelihood, and enhance social mobility, or to assimilate to the global marketplace. The extinction of each language results in the irrecoverable loss of unique cultural, historical, and ecological knowledge. Each language is a unique expression of the human experience of the world. Thus, the knowledge of any single language may be the key to answering fundamental questions of the future. Every time a language dies, we have less evidence for understanding patterns in the structure and function of human language, human prehistory, and the maintenance of the world’s diverse ecosystems. Above all, speakers of these languages may experience the loss of their language as a loss of their original ethnic and cultural identity. Raising awareness about language loss and language diversity will only be successful when meaningful contemporary roles for minority languages can be established, for the requirements of modern life within the community as well as in national and international contexts. Meaningful contemporary roles include the use of these languages in everyday life, PAGE 28 commerce, education, writing, the arts, and/or the media. Economic and political support by both local communities and national governments are needed to establish such roles. There is an urgent need in almost all countries for more reliable information about the situation of the minority languages as a basis for language support efforts at all levels. Note: Most people in the world today will argue that it is a good thing that all these confusing languages are finally dying out. Sadly, the majority of people in the industrialized world would agree with the economist who said this: “Certainly a single language for all humanity would bring huge economic benefits—and perhaps do more than anything else to unite the world’s quarrelling people”. Anthropologists and linguists of course disagree. Here’s what they argue: Anthropologists bemoan the language massacre, saying that each language is like a soaring cathedral: a thing of beauty, the product of immense creative effort, filled with rich tapestries of knowledge. So why should the industrialized world care about saving languages? Besides the human rights issue here, every human language contributes new perspectives to both art and science. Even if saving a language is a twilight struggle, “A magnificent human creation like the Mona Lisa or the Sistine Chapel shouldn’t just vanish without being recorded,” (Cook 2000). David Crystal presents five arguments why we should care (summarized from Crystal, 2000): a. Because linguistic diversity enriches our human ecology: 6,800 unique models for describing the world. b. Because languages are expressions of identity: a nation without a language is like a nation without a heart. c. Because languages are repositories of history. d. Because languages contribute to the sum of human knowledge: each language provides a new slant on how the human mind works; as we learn more about languages we increase our stock of human wisdom. e. Because languages are interesting subjects in their own right. How do languages die? The most salient reasons for language death are ethnocide or linguicide, or even genocide, of an indigenous group. Ethnocide is when a dominant political group attempts to purposely put an end to a people’s traditional way of life. Linguicide (linguistic genocide) is when such a dominant group tries to extinguish the language of a minority group, say by punishing anyone caught speaking it. Languages can also disappear quickly if its speakers die in some natural disaster (a tidal wave, severe earthquake, disastrous famine, or a measles epidemic), or are scattered in a way that breaks up the PAGE 29 language community. These were common reasons for language extinctions in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, however, minority languages more commonly die “naturally,” rather than by being systematically killed and most languages, though, die out gradually as successive generations of speakers become bilingual and then begin to lose proficiency in their traditional languages. This often happens when speakers seek to learn a more-prestigious language in order to gain social and economic advantages or to avoid discrimination. Example 1: The gradual disappearance of Coptic as a spoken language in Egypt following the rise of Arabic in the 7th century is one example of this type of transition. Modernity and globalization have strengthened these forces, and peoples around the world now face unprecedented pressure to adopt the common languages used in government, commerce, technology, entertainment, and diplomacy. Example 2: Language death can happen when small communities of speakers are wiped out by disasters or war. In El Salvador, for example, speakers of the indigenous Lenca and Cacaopera abandoned their languages to avoid being identified as Indians after a massacre in 1932 in which Salvadoran troops killed tens of thousands of mostly indigenous peasants in order to suppress an uprising. What Can Be Done? Just as speech community members react differently to language endangerment, so do linguists, educators, and activists to requests for assistance by speech communities. Such requests relate mainly to five essential areas for sustaining endangered languages: 1. Basic linguistic and pedagogical training: providing language teachers with training in basic linguistics, language teaching methods and techniques, curriculum development, and teaching materials development. 2. Sustainable development in literacy and local documentation skills: training local language workers to develop orthographies if needed, read, write, and analyze their own languages, and produce pedagogical materials. One of the effective strategies here is the establishment of local research centers, where speakers of endangered languages will be trained to study, document and archive their own language materials. Literacy is useful to the teaching and learning of such languages. 3. Supporting and developing national language policy: National language policies must support diversity, including endangered languages. More social scientists and humanists, and speakers of endangered languages themselves should be actively involved in the formulation of national language policies. 4. Supporting and developing educational policy: In the educational sector, a number of linguists are engaged in implementing increasingly popular mother tongue education programs. Since 1953 and especially in the past 15 years, UNESCO has been instrumental in this development through its policy statements. So-called mother tongue education, however, often does not refer to education in the ancestral languages of ethnolinguistic minorities (i.e. endangered languages), but rather to the teaching of these languages as school subjects. The most common educational model for teaching ethnolinguistic minority children in schools still PAGE 30 uses locally or nationally dominant languages as media of instruction. Teaching exclusively in these languages supports their spread, at the expense of endangered languages. For example, fewer than 10% of the approximately 2000 African languages are currently used in teaching, and none of these 10% is an endangered language. We favor the inclusion of regional languages (often called “mother tongues”) in formal education, but not at the expense of ethnolinguistic minorities. A great deal of research shows that UNESCO Document 5 Language Vitality & Endangerment acquiring bilingual capability need in no way diminish competence in the official language. 5. Improving living conditions and respect for the human rights of speaker communities: Language documenters, though not directly involved in economic and social development, can help governments identify overlooked populations. For example, national HIV/AIDS awareness or poverty-alleviation programs often do not consider minority communities, especially if they are illiterate. Linguists and educators can be vital mediators by supporting the communities in formulating claims about their linguistic and other human rights. Conversely, materials such as those on health care, community development, or language education produced for these marginalized communities require specialist input. Concepts and content need to be conveyed in a culturally meaningful way. SIX DEGREES OF ENDANGERMENT MAY BE DISTINGUISHED WITH REGARDS TO INTERGENERATIONAL LANGUAGE TRANSMISSION Safe (5): The language is spoken by all generations. There is no sign of linguistic threat from any other language, and the intergenerational transmission of the language seems uninterrupted: the language is spoken in most contexts by all generations with unbroken intergenerational transmission, yet multilingualism in the native language and one or more dominant language(s) has usurped certain important communication contexts. Note that multilingualism alone is not necessarily a threat to languages. Unsafe (4): Most but not all children or families of a particular community speak their language as their first language, but it may be restricted to specific social domains (such as at home where children interact with their parents and grandparents). Definitively endangered (3): The language is no longer being learned as the mother tongue by children in the home. The youngest speakers are thus of the parental generation. At this stage, parents may still speak their language to their children, but their children do not typically respond in the language. Severely endangered (2): The language is spoken only by grandparents and older generations; while the parent generation may still understand the language, they typically do not speak it to their children. Critically endangered (1): The youngest speakers are in the great-grandparental generation, and the language is not used for everyday interactions. These older people often remember only part of the language but do not use it, since there may not be anyone to speak with. Extinct (0): There is no one who can speak or remember the language. PAGE 31 Note: It is impossible to provide a valid interpretation of absolute numbers, but a small speech community is always at risk. A small population is much more vulnerable to decimation (e.g. by disease, warfare, or natural disaster) than a larger one. A small language group may also merge with a neighboring group, losing its own language and culture. Diversity and Language Policy for Endangered Languages 1987 Constitution SECTION 6. The national language of the Philippines is Filipino. As it evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages. Subject to provisions of law and as the Congress may deem appropriate, the Government shall take steps to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as a medium of official communication and as language of instruction in the educational system. 1987 Constitution SECTION 7. For purposes of communication and instruction, the official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English. The regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the regions and shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein. Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis. SECTION 9. The Congress shall establish a national language commission composed of representatives of various regions and disciplines which shall undertake, coordinate, and promote researches for the development, propagation, and preservation of Filipino and other languages. Filipino and Tagalog Ang Filipino ay ang katutubong wika na ginagamit sa buong Filipinas bilang wika ng komunikasyon, sa pagbigkas at sa pasulat na paraan, ng mga pangkating katutubo sa buong kapuluan. Sapagkat isang wikang buháy, mabilis itong pinauunlad ng araw-araw at iba’t ibang uri ng paggamit sa iba’t ibang pook at sitwasyon at nililinang sa iba’t ibang antas ng saliksik at talakayang akademiko ngunit sa paraang maugnayin at mapagtampok sa mga lahok na nagtataglay ng mga malikhaing katangian at kailangang karunungan mula sa mga katutubong wika sa bansa. According to Resolution No. 13-39 of the Kalupunan ng Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (5 August 2013) Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines For convenience purposes, the indigenous peoples of the Philippines can further be classified into: the peoples of the Cordillera region in northern Luzon; the peoples of Cagayan Valley, also in northern Luzon; the Mangyans of Mindoro Island; the peoples of Palawan Island; the island peoples of central Philippines; PAGE 32  the Lumads of Mindanao Island; and the Negritos who are scattered in the major islands of the country. Among the Cordillera peoples are the Bago, Bontok, Ibaloy, Ifugao, Ikalahan (or Kalanguya), Isnag, Itneg (or Tinguian), I'wak, Kankanaey, and Kalinga. They inhabit the mountain ranges of the Gran Cordillera Central and have relatively maintained their animist beliefs, traditional lifestyle, and customary laws. The peoples of the Cagayan Valley, on the other hand, are made up of the Gaddang, Ibanag, llongot (or Bugkalot), Isinay, Itawes, Kalinga, Malaweg, Paranan, and Yogad. Except for the llongot, all of these groups have already been Christianized although they are distinguished from the dominant lowland Christian majority because of their small population. The term Mangyan is the collective name for the indigenous peoples of Mindoro Island, found southwest of Manila. These groups are made up of the Alangan, Bang on, Batangan, Buhid, Gubatnon, Hanunoo Mangyan, Iraya, and Ratagnon. These groups are mainly swidden agriculturists. The Hanunoo Mangyan is quite unique because it has maintained the ancient Filipino syllabic script. The peoples of Palawan are the Cuyonen, Ke-ney, Pala'wan, Tagbanwa, and Tao't Bato. Just like the Mangyans, they are mostly swiddeners who practice slash-and-burn agriculture. The Tagbanwa and some of the Pala'wan also continue to use the prehispanic syllabic script. In islands of central Philippines, one can find the Aklanon, Bukidnon, Kiray-a, Magahat, Masbatefio, and Sulodnon. They are closely related to the Visayan Sugbuhanons, Hiligaynons, and Waray in terms of language, belief system, and subsistence patterns although they are fewer in number. The name Lumad is an exonym coined by Visayan migrants of Mindanao for the traditionally non-Christian, non-Muslim groups found in Mindanao. They are made up of the Bagobo, Banwaon, B'laan, B'lit, Bukidnon, Higaonon, Jangan, Manobo (or Manuvu), Surigaonon, Tagakaolo, Talaandig, T'boli, Teduray (or Tiruray), and Ubo. The term Negritos was used by the Spaniards to refer to the dark-skinned pygmy populations of Southeast Asia, including Andaman Islands, Malay Peninsula, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines. In the Philippines, these are the Agay (of Cagayan Province), Agta (or Dumagat, of eastern Luzon), Ati (of western Visayas), Ayta (of western Luzon), Batak (of Palawan), Mamanwa (of Mindanao), and Pugot (of northern Cordillera). These groups were traditionally nomadic hunter-gatherers. With regards to language, what is interesting is that' these groups have lost their native languages and now speak the languages of neighboring non-Negrito groups. Development Aggression' against Indigenous Peoples The indigenous peoples of the Philippines have, for a long time, suffered from the consequences of large-scale development projects in the country. Because they are usually found in resource-rich areas, these peoples have been asked to vacate their ancestral lands in exchange for the development of hydroelectric dams, geothermal plants, mining PAGE 33 corporations, and logging concessions. They have been asked to make a sacrifice for the benefit of the majority of Filipinos. In the Cordillera region, for example, the Ibaloys have been evicted from their homelands to make way for the construction of the Ambuklao and Binga dams, the first hydroelectric dams in the country. Until the present, the Philippine government has not yet compensated those that have been displaced from Ambuklao and Binga in the 1950s. Moreover, while these two dams have brought about power generation to the urban centers of Luzon, many Ibaloy villages around the dam sites remain without electricity. One of the most notorious projects during the Marcos era was the Chico River Basin Hydroelectric Project. This project called for the construction of a series of four hydroelectric dams along the Chico River in the Cordillera region. If the plan pushed through, it would have displaced 100,000 Kalingas and Bontoks and would have inundated their rice terraces and burial grounds. The project, however, failed to push through because of widespread opposition. Many Kalingas and Bontoks joined the communist New People's Army (NPA) to wage an armed struggle against the dam project. President Corazon Aquino eventually shelved the Chico project when Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown. In many instances, the indigenous peoples were not consulted at all in the design and development of these projects. In the few cases where the villagers have been informed about the project, the local folk have not really understood the deeper implications of such projects because the language used by government extension workers is mostly in English and too technical in nature. There have been several complaints about residents being made to sign documents, the contents of which they have not fully understood. Indigenous Peoples Rights Act To correct this situation, Republic Act No. 8371, otherwise known as the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, was passed into law in 1997. The IPRA provides for a bill of rights for the indigenous peoples of the Philippines, including the rights to their ancestral domains, right to self-governance and empowerment, social justice and human rights, and cultural integrity. Part of the recognition of the indigenous peoples' cultural integrity is the recognition by the state of the right of indigenous peoples to use their native languages, especially for education purposes: Excerpt from the RA IPRA Act of 1997 “The State shall provide equal access to various cultural opportunities to the ICCs/IPs through the educational system, public or private cultural entities, scholarships, grants and other incentives without prejudice to their right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions by providing education in their own language, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning. (IPRA, Section 30)” PAGE 34  Moreover, documents written in indigenous languages are now considered legal and binding: The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Provincial Office shall prepare a copy of the basic documents of the ancestral domain claim, including a translation thereof in the native language of the ICCs/IPs concerned. (IPRA Implementing Rules and Regulations, Rule 8, Part 1, Section 21-1). Excerpt from the RA IPRA Act of 1997 “All Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plans (ADSDPP) shall be disseminated among community members in any mode of expression appropriate to the customs and traditions of the ICCs/IPs including, but not limited to, writings in their own language, oral interactions, visual arts, and analogous modes. (IPRA Implementing Rules and Regulations, Rule 8, Part 2, Section 2)” Example: In the specific case of the Newcrest Mining Corporation that has mining claims in the Kalinga culture area, it was forced to hire a Kalinga interpreter to be able to translate all of its major public information documents into the Kalinga language. The company eventually went into a Memorandum of Agreement with the residents of the area with the contract written in both English and Kalinga as official languages. Language as Empowerment The use of indigenous languages in the transactions with development agencies gave the necessary protection to the indigenous peoples from being deceived. They are now more aware about government plans as well as private interests within their areas. Moreover, the utilization of these languages has been an empowering tool by itself. Example: The first time the Kalingas of one village heard a document being read to them in the Kalinga language, they were very much surprised that their language could be written and read. Because they were not able to develop a native script, they thought that the languages that can only be written are English, Tagalog, and lloko (the regional lingua franca in the area). With their new realization, they no longer look at their language and culture as inferior to those of the lowlanders. Note: Some quarters in the Philippines may argue that IPRA's encouragement of indigenous languages can eventually be anti-development, as evidenced by the fact that many of the indigenous peoples, having become aware of their rights, now actively resist the intrusion of so-called development projects. This brings us to a basic question - for whom is development anyway? Surely, the real notion of development is not intended to exclude the marginalized sectors of society. Further Readings: Conversation conservation: Preserving the Philippines’ various languages (Flores, 2020) https://www.rappler.com/hustle/purpose/filipino-regional-language-preservation PAGE 35 Supplemental Video Reference: Please watch this video about the Major Languages in the Philippines at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lfk1wJTJPTk References: Aikawa, N. 2001 UNESCO’s Programme on Languages. Conference Handbook on Endangered Languages of the Pacific Rim, pp. 13-24. Osaka: Endangered Languages of the Pacific Rim Project. Bernard, H. (1992) Preserving Language Diversity: Human Organization 51 (1), 82-89. 1996 Language Preservation and Publishing. In Indigenous Literacies in the Americas: Language Planning from the Bottom up, ed. by Nancy H. Hornberger. Pp. 139-156. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Cook, G. 2000. Vanishing Tongues. Boston Globe [newspaper], November 5, p. A01. Castro, N. {2000) Three years of the indigenous peoples rights act: its impact on indigenous communities. Kasarinlan 15,2:35-54. Castro, N. {1997) Globalisation and the Marginalisation of Indigenous Peoples. Papers of the 12th AASSREC biennial general conference, 13-17 October 1997, Beijing, China. Beijing: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Asian Association of Social Science Research Councils. Crystal, David. 2000. Language Death. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (1998) Indigenous Peoples Rights Act Implementing Rules and Regulations. Quezon City: NCIP. Republic of the Philippines (1997) Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997. Quezon City: Office of the President. PAGE 36 V. LANGUAGE – IN - EDUCATION POLICY EVOLUTION Introduction In recent years, multilingualism has spread in education for different reasons. It is increasingly common to find pupils whose home languages are not the same as the majority language in their class. Scho