kankanaey

The following posts can enlighten us on the need to preserve the Kankanaey language.

[from http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t96470.html]

Ek-ek

Nov 16 2006, 06:06 AM

Are our languages dying?

[By Gemma Cruz Araneta]

HERE is a message from Save Our Languages Through Federalism (SOLFED): The attached table shows a decline in the number of users of Filipino languages other than Tagalog. Through the years, Tagalog users have steadily increased in number; from 19 percent of the population in 1948 (a decade after Pres. M. Quezon decreed Filipino as the national language) to 29.30 percent in 1995. The rise of Tagalog is far from spectacular, until compared to the decline of other local languages. Yet, the SOLFED woefully predicts that in about fifty more years, many of the other vernacular languages will cease to exist, perhaps from lack of usage. To illustrate the urgency of the situation, Zambali is spoken only in four obscure towns of Zambales.

Until I began tackling the language at my radio program "Krus na Daan" I never imagined that it could be such a thorny issue, infinitely more passionate and polemical than religion and politics combined. As adolescents, we were often warned by our elders about bringing up religion or attacking the political views of others at dinner parties for we might forget our upbringing during heated discussions. We were also forbidden to even mention, let alone describe in detail our physical ailments, or that of relatives no matter how close, because in polite society that was considered vulgar and rude. They should have included language in the short list of tabooed topics.

How I wish I had more time to discuss the language issue with Brother Andrew Gonzalez, the much lamented and sorely missed erstwhile Secretary of Education. At the Malacañang state dining room, during Cabinet meetings, I was always sandwiched between Secretary V. Rivera of Transportation and Communications and Bro. Andrew, the linguist. Even before he joined government, Bro. Andrew had made extensive studies of the Capampangan language and believed that we Filipinos had already developed three linguas franca (trust not my Latin!) – Ilocano, Cebuano and Tagalog – which he would have wanted students to use at the primary level. After having mastered a "mother tongue." one can rapidly gain proficiency in English or any other foreign language. Bro. Andrew set up a pilot project to test the validity of his linguistic vision; unfortunately, this was discontinued after the untimely demise of the Estrada administration.

On the other hand, in cyberspace one can visit numerous sites, blogs, and chat groups that keep many of our Filipino languages very much alive. Let the debate continue and may a hundred languages bloom. (gemma601@yahoo.com)

bisaya

Nov 19 2006, 07:31 AM

[by bisaya]

our languages are dying because the national language policy of our nation have given too much importance to tagalog, they spent the nation's money for research into the tagalog language, literature, culture and history but neglects the importance of the other languages, dismissing it as insignificant to national unity. and so they encourage all the inhabitants of this nation to become tagalog in all their ways. for according to them "to be tagalog is to be filipino". they brainwashed our children into thinking that you have to be tagalog to be nationalistic and patriotic. our children spent their "Linggo ng Wika" speaking tagalog the entire week, and reminding them: "si Gat Jose Rizal siya ay nagwika, ang hindi raw marunong magmahal sa sariling wika ay higit pa ang amoy sa malansang isda." but taught the children the language of the tagalogs and not the languages of their island or their villages. how dumb!

the Department of Education is so centralized that even the procurement of books are done by those in manila, with publishers from luzon (NCR) and in luzon (NCR), written by people from luzon and of course written in the tagalog language. i hope you've heard about the complaints by some parents and concerned citizen about the books that were full of factual errors. why dont we just give the money to the local govenment and let them educate their children in their own way. to impose a "national" system where everything had to come from the very top (manila) is very imperialistic. no wonder people would all blame the president for even the most simple problem. if we just give the power (money) to the local governors to manage their local education, economy, health and infrastractures. i dont see any reason why people would still blame everything on the president. the people would now have to blame themselves for electing their governors and if the governors are inefficient, there would be no need to remove the president, all they need to do is remove their governors.

bisaya

Nov 20 2006, 04:01 AM

[by bisaya]

as a person who have been studying and learning to speak different languages. i discovered that language is important because it is the soul of the people. One word can tell you a lot about the people's way of life and the people's history and culture. to preserve the language is to preserve their culture, philosophy and history. no need to make it an official language or a national language. just don't dismiss it as insignificant and forget about it. instead, there should be at least an effort to preserve it even only in books by funding research into these languages. we can start by helping the people create a dictionary or preserve their oral traditions, build a record of the people's literature and share some of it to the other inhabitants of this nation by incorporating it in our lessons in school throughout the archipelago.

we cannot compare ourselves to america because america is a land of migrants. even if irish-americans would only speak engish that wont be a problem because they can still go back to ireland and re-learn their celtic language. but if surigaonon or butuanon are no longer spoken in surigao and butuan then that would probably be the end of their existence.

kankanaey

Monday 31 October 2011

Kankanaey - English Dictionary*: Words starting with "P"

Thursday 27 October 2011

Kankanaey - English Dictionary*: Words starting with "O"

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Kankanaey - English Dictionary*: Words starting with "N"

Saturday 15 October 2011

Kankanaey - English Dictionary*: Words starting with "M"

Thursday 13 October 2011

The need to preserve Kankanaey

Thursday 29 September 2011

Kankanaey - English Dictionary*: Words starting with "L"

Tuesday 27 September 2011

Kankanaey - English Dictionary*: Words starting with "K"