SOUL: State of Utilizing our Language

The Philippine’s National Statistical Coordination Board (NCSB) has recently posted on its “Sexy Statistics” thread a paper that talked about figures relating to the many languages of the country.    While the statistics cited are dated 2000 and earlier, they still say much about the languages.

As a Cordilleran, what struck me most were the trends that relate to the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

One, a CAR language, identified as Pinangal was the top language least spoken in the Philippines as of 2000 with only 11 households using it, the paper says.  It was actually my first time to hear the word “Pinangal”.  I tried typing it on Google but found no relevant link to describe it.  I just hope that those 11 households multiplied so I can one day hear what “Pinangal” is.

Two, the paper also listed Ifugao and Bontok/Binontok as among the top ten languages with the largest percentage of decreases of users from 1990 to 2000.  Ifugao is cited to have a 36.8 %  decrease  (no. 5 in the top 10) while the Bontok/Binontok is said to have 10.1 % decrease (no. 9) in that ten year period.

I assume that the paper took all Ifugao languages as one.  As far as I know, there are two major Ifugao languages.  One is the what is generally known as Tuwali spoken in the western part and Ayangan spoken in the  eastern part.  Of course there are other languages spoken in the province such as the Kalang-uyya and Ilocano.  The online edition Ethnologue: Languages of the World, seventeenth edition listed four Ifugao languages – Ifugao-Amganad, Ifugao-Batad, Ifugao-Mayoyao, and Ifugao-Tuwali.  While the NCSB paper was not able to provide further details, the more than a third percentage decrease should alarm every Ifugao and start transmitting to the younger generation their native language.  I believe that there’s not much problem with those who stay in the province especially if it were only about being fluently conversant in the Ifugao language since speaking in Tuwali or Ayangan comes naturally in the day-to-day activities.  But language advancement is also about preserving the indigenous knowledge that comes with it including the a’apo (folk tales), the native names of the flora and fauna in the place, the rituals, and the crafts.  The more critical concern is on the language of the Ifugao migrants.  Many Ifugaos leave the province and settle in other places in the Cordillera, Region 1, Region 2 and even as far as Mindanao and overseas.  I wonder if these migrants are able to continue propagating their Ifugao language in their homes.  The paper didn’t mention Ifugao language as among the top generally spoken language in CAR and Region 2 where many Ifugao migrants settle.  It is even beaten by Tagalog in CAR where it is supposedly considered as a home language.

This fruit is a common one and has native varieties in the Cordillera.  I wonder if the young generation knows how is it called in their local languages.  Or perhaps, they know it more as guava, bayabas, or bayyabas.  In the Ifugao language, it is called bebet.

The bright spot among the highland Cordilleran languages is the Kankanaey.  It is the second generally spoken language in the CAR after Ilocano.  It is fourth in Region 1 and fifth in Region 3.  The Region 3 (Central Luzon) speakers most probably are migrants.  The brightest part is that it is one of the Top 20 generally spoken languages in households in the country at number 13.

The moma is a vice that in the Cordilleras, the Ifugaos are most known for.  The basic ingredients are known in the local language as moma (the nut ingredient), hapid (the leaf ingredient), and apul (the lime powder from burned shells).  Recently though, the habit spread to the other localities in Benguet.  In Kankanaey land, the ingredients are known as buwa, gawed, and apog repectively, terms seemingly borrowed from Ilocano language.  In the original concept of punmomommaan (sharing stories and moma), the ingredients are shared and exchanged by people.  It is however become very commercialized as shown in the above photo where even the sari-sari store in a remote barangay has some for sale.  Notice also how this set of ingredients is termed coined from a foreign language – “budget meal”.

There must be something that the Kankanaey speakers are doing, whether a conscious action or not, that speakers of other languages in the Cordillera should emulate.  In my observation in the Baguio City, there are a lot of songs and movies in the Kankanaey language that are produced in CDs and made available in the market.  I believe that they are one good example of things that needs to be done for other local languages.  I observe that there are CDs too in Ibaloi, Ifugao, and Kalinga languages but they are too few as compared to Kankanaey productions.

It is apparent that speakers of the local languages should act to save, preserve, and advance their language.  Don’t get me wrong.  We should learn English as it is the global language, learn Filipino, the nationalized Tagalog so that we can connect to our countrymen, learn Ilocano as it is the language of Northern Philippines, and the many other languages that we can as it is of help to understanding humanity.  But the native language should also be taken cared of as it is our way of sharing our race to the world.

( NCSB’s article is entitled “Many Voices, One Nation: The Philippine Languages and Dialects” and the link is http://www.nscb.gov.ph/sexystats/2013/SS20130830_dialects.asp )