The Enrichment Of The Tagalog Language
The Enrichment Of The Tagalog Language Necessitates The Inclusive Integration Of Other Major Languages And Familiar Dialects In The Country
Maasin City, Southern Leyte - The commentary of Ricardo Ma. Nolasco, PhD ?Pilipino, Filipino, Tagalog? published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Nov.15, 2008) implied that the evolution that a chosen national language like Tagalog has undergone is only in name but not in its element or substance. From Pilipino, the name use in school as a subject, and Filipino as citizenship, then Filipino as both a subject and citizenship. And lastly Tagalog as the dominating base being chosen as the national language.
This is a poor sign of its development despite its decades of having it as our national medium. In order to enrich the Tagalog language dubbed as Filipino, which is a misnomer in its strictest term, there should be more inclusion of other major languages/dialects in our archipelago. Teachers, expert linguists, the academe should consider Cebuano, Waray-Waray, Ilonggo (Hiligaynon), Bicolano, Ilocano, Ifugao, Ibanag, Zambali, Pangalatok, Kapangpangan and other familiar dialects for the inclusion to the Tagalog- based national language. This idea of combining our Tagalog language with other major languages and dialects in the entire archipelago to form as a national language is enshrine in our 1987 Constitution.
Our educators in various schools, colleges and universities should start studying and doing some research now of the different major languages and dialects in our country. Putting the various collections of words from fluent speakers from the variety of tongues and put it in volumes of books. The collections of new words in books can then be offered as subject for all students of all school levels of learning. Starting from the primary, elementary, high school and college.
The new inclusion of selected words from different speakers of his/her native tongues need to be studied and the only proper venue to learn it is the schools, colleges and universities. Learning only at home sans the schools pertaining to the new combination of words? inclusion to a chosen national language is not that easy. Learners need proper and effective guidance from those who understand and have some knowledge in the teachings of new words, meanings, phrases, clauses, sentences, other parts of speech, and the correct and proper use of words in communicating with the rest of the Filipinos.
Yes, this is a tall order and a task that needs joint and concerted efforts from various sectors of our society- the People Organizations, NGOs, LGUs, Church leaders, the academe, the philanthropic and humanitarian institutions. Why? Because inculcation of a language with new combination of various words also need an honest-to-goodness participation of all sectors of society before it can be embedded and implanted in the hearts and minds of the common speakers,writers,students, professionals, professors and down to the ordinary citizens.
Is it not a downright ridiculous and mindlessly complacent if our teachers, experts, linguists, educators, and other men of various callings would just be contented with a kind of a national language that monopolizes its supremacy with the rest of other languages that we have in the country?
A certain professional by the name of Katherine Nice Iroy has commented that my suggestion here is a ?bullshit and bootlicking Tagalog?.Whatever is her opinion, is her opinion. Everyone in this country has the right to his/her own opinion. But is it ?bootlicking? the Tagalog language if we have to enrich it with the integration of other major languages and familiar dialects of the country? When Tagalog was proclaimed by the first Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon as our national language, who defied it? Most of us the later following generations after Quezon did not know if some Cebuano-speaking people and government officials from the Visayas and Mindanao have defied his decision. It is only later that we?ve learned that Tagalog is our national language when we went to school.
If only the presidential decision was based on ?majority of numbers?, Cebuano should be the choice, because it was and is understood and spoken by majority of the people in the Visayas and Mindanao. However, this is not exactly what had transpired. We know that the set of Government is in Metro Manila and the first President is a Tagalog-speaking man from Baler, Quezon Province. So the decision was solely based on ?the nearness of the heart?, an emotional choice devoid of logical consideration. What can we do now? Who can dare change Tagalog as our national language? Is there any professor or linguist who wants it to be changed? Let him do it. But until now there is nobody who did it. Therefore, the only solution to the grievances of Cebuano-speaking people in the Visayas and Mindanao for not having chosen Cebuano to be our National Language in the country as the logical choice is to enrich this monopolizing language through the inclusive integration of major languages and familiar dialects in the entire country.
The Bisaya/Cebuano,Waray-Waray, Ilonggo, Bicolana, Ilocano, Ifugao, Ibanag, Kapangpangan, Zambali, Pangalatok, Ifugao and other Filipino ethnic groups? familiar dialects have also the great desires for their respective languages/dialects? inclusion to the Tagalog language in order to achieve a more articulate and expressively rich language deserved to be called the Filipino Language
If the English people can gather, cull and integrate some selected foreign languages into the English Language Like French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Spanish, Filipino and other foreign languages, including some derivations from Latin, Hebrew and Greek, thus making the English Language more articulate and expressive, why can?t our concerned Filipino educators, linguists, researchers, academicians and lexicostatisticians do?
The articulateness and the expressiveness of the English Language is highly achieved through the years by the integration, combination and derivations of various words from different languages of the world, conscientiously done by the persistent and relentless English educators, linguists, researchers, academicians and the lexicostatisticians.
While the enrichment of the Tagalog language to make it a real Filipino Language needs only the domestic integration of other major languages and familiar dialects within the country. Therefore, this task is very attainable and achievable by our bright men and women in various institutions of learning.
The inclusion of a very few Cebuano words is insignificant and are very unsatisfactory since there are plenty of Cebuano words that are worthy of integration to the Tagalog language. As well as there are several major languages and familiar dialects that existed and are spoken in various parts of the country, which also worthy of consideration for the enhancement of the Tagalog language to make it a truly Filipino Language
To help remedy this discriminatory gap for the enrichment of the chosen national language, our Senators and Congressmen must now enact laws favorably endorsing this innovative move. The sustained additional support from any incumbent President of the Philippines or the future Administrations, Governors, Mayors, Barangay Officials and other government agencies would hopefully materialize this novel idea into fruition.
I?m not saying, however, that my desire for the enrichment of the Tagalog language through integration of other languages in the Philippines must be made the first priority for the enactment of laws, as another commentator has alluded to, what with the economic crunch that we have experiencing nowadays. But rather should be made as one of the next priority laws to be promulgated the soonest in Congress. (Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.)
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