PHILIPPINE LANGUAGES
The
Republic of the Philippines is located in Southeast Asia. It is made up of
7,107 islands and its capital city is Manila. There are around 170 languages
used in Philippines, which belong to the Austronesian language family. On 12th
November, 1937, the First National Assembly created the National Language
Institute, on the direction of the 1935 Constitution to "take steps
towards the development and adoption of a common national language based on one
of the existing native languages."
Among the many languages, English and Filipino are considered to be official and there are at least ten other major languages spoken all over the Philippines. All the rest are considered as either minority or extinct languages.
English
English is the official language of the Philippines. This language was brought
to Philippines by the British invaders in 1762. English became important under
the U.S. rule between 1898 and 1946. Being the official language it is used
predominantly in all government and educational institutions. All major media
houses also use English for their publications.
Filipino
The 1987 Constitution declared Filipino as official language along with English. Filipino is used as the lingua franca in all parts of Philippines. The armed forces as well as the civil services prefer using Filipino over English. It also has the privilege of being the only national language that was to be "developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages" as per the 1987 Constitution.
Spanish
The Spanish Conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi introduced Spanish in Cebu, in 1565. Spanish was used in education, religion, trade, and politics; and by the 19th century it was combined and used with all local dialects. Free public education was provided solely in Spanish from 1863, to further promote its use. However, in 1973 it was no more considered as the official language and its use was restricted mainly to Metro Manila, IloIlo, and Cebu by Filipino-Spanish mestizos and Spanish families.
Japanese
The Japanese have been migrating to Philippines since 1200 A.D. A large community of Japanese speaking people reside in Davao city.
Malay
Most of the verbs and nouns used in the Philippine languages have originated from Old Malay. Philippine people are heavily influenced by the culture of Old Malay and Indonesia. Malay is the lingua franca among the Muslim population in southern Philippines.
Chinese
Mandarin Chinese was brought to Philippines by the immigrants from the Fujian, China. The Lan-nang-oe dialect of China is still widely spoken by the country's resident Chinese descendants and other groups due to inter-marriage of the Guangdong Chinese people. Some Filipinos also speak Cantonese, which is another dialect borrowed from China.
Arabic
Like Malay, Arabic is predominantly spoken by the Muslims and has been used as a sacred (liturgica) language since 14th Century. It is a medium of instruction in the madrasas (Islamic center of education). In 1987, the constitution approved the use of Arabic to be promoted on a voluntary basis.
Besides the languages mentioned above, following six regional languages are the official languages of their respective regions:
Tagalog: This is derived from tagailog; tagá means native of and ílog meaning river. It is an Austronesian language which forms the basis of the national and official language Filipino.
Ilokano: This originates from i-, which means from and looc meaning cove or bay. It is the third most spoken secondary language used by more than two million natives.
Cebuano: This is the most widely spoken member of the Visayan (Central Philippines) language family. Its name is derived from the Island of Cebu, the second largest metropolitan area of the country.
Tausūg: This also belongs to the Visayan languages, which is spoken in Sulu, Philippines and also in Malaysia and Indonesia by the Tausūg people.
Kapampangan: This is derived from the word pampang which means river bank. It is also spelled as Capampan͠gan and is one of the major languages of the Philippines.
Filipino
The 1987 Constitution declared Filipino as official language along with English. Filipino is used as the lingua franca in all parts of Philippines. The armed forces as well as the civil services prefer using Filipino over English. It also has the privilege of being the only national language that was to be "developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages" as per the 1987 Constitution.
Spanish
The Spanish Conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi introduced Spanish in Cebu, in 1565. Spanish was used in education, religion, trade, and politics; and by the 19th century it was combined and used with all local dialects. Free public education was provided solely in Spanish from 1863, to further promote its use. However, in 1973 it was no more considered as the official language and its use was restricted mainly to Metro Manila, IloIlo, and Cebu by Filipino-Spanish mestizos and Spanish families.
Japanese
The Japanese have been migrating to Philippines since 1200 A.D. A large community of Japanese speaking people reside in Davao city.
Malay
Most of the verbs and nouns used in the Philippine languages have originated from Old Malay. Philippine people are heavily influenced by the culture of Old Malay and Indonesia. Malay is the lingua franca among the Muslim population in southern Philippines.
Chinese
Mandarin Chinese was brought to Philippines by the immigrants from the Fujian, China. The Lan-nang-oe dialect of China is still widely spoken by the country's resident Chinese descendants and other groups due to inter-marriage of the Guangdong Chinese people. Some Filipinos also speak Cantonese, which is another dialect borrowed from China.
Arabic
Like Malay, Arabic is predominantly spoken by the Muslims and has been used as a sacred (liturgica) language since 14th Century. It is a medium of instruction in the madrasas (Islamic center of education). In 1987, the constitution approved the use of Arabic to be promoted on a voluntary basis.
Besides the languages mentioned above, following six regional languages are the official languages of their respective regions:
Tagalog: This is derived from tagailog; tagá means native of and ílog meaning river. It is an Austronesian language which forms the basis of the national and official language Filipino.
Ilokano: This originates from i-, which means from and looc meaning cove or bay. It is the third most spoken secondary language used by more than two million natives.
Cebuano: This is the most widely spoken member of the Visayan (Central Philippines) language family. Its name is derived from the Island of Cebu, the second largest metropolitan area of the country.
Tausūg: This also belongs to the Visayan languages, which is spoken in Sulu, Philippines and also in Malaysia and Indonesia by the Tausūg people.
Kapampangan: This is derived from the word pampang which means river bank. It is also spelled as Capampan͠gan and is one of the major languages of the Philippines.
Kinaray-a: This is derived from the word iraya, referring to a group of people
residing in the mountain areas of the province. It belongs to the Visayan
language family and is spoken mainly in Antique Province in the Philippines.
There are many more native languages spoken in the Philippines, whose origins are still not well-known. Every language still spoken here, truly reflects the varied ethnicity of this nation, and efforts on the part of the National Language Institute and others to ensure that the ancient languages are preserved and not lost by the onslaught of modernization.
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/languages-of-the-philippines.html
There are many more native languages spoken in the Philippines, whose origins are still not well-known. Every language still spoken here, truly reflects the varied ethnicity of this nation, and efforts on the part of the National Language Institute and others to ensure that the ancient languages are preserved and not lost by the onslaught of modernization.
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/languages-of-the-philippines.html
ASSIGNMENT:
1. What do you know about the publication
of Noli Me Tangere?
2. How did affect the Philippines??
3. Do you think novels in the Philippines
are important as they used to be when the NOLI was published in 1887?
4. Are people still inspired by novels?
Explain.
5. What is it about reading long texts,
such as short stories or novels that makes it different from reading
tweets and Facebook status post?
6. What is the significance of literature
for the Facebook generation?
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