Background
of the Study
The fortunes of languages can rise and fall and are
intimately linked to the fortunes of their speakers. Relatively few languages
are becoming increasingly widely-spoken in the world today and it is becoming
more and more difficult for smaller languages to survive. However prospects for
smaller languages are not entirely gloomy and a number have been successfully
revived or revitalized, and initiatives are underway to do the same for other
languages.
Without a community of people to speak them and pass them on
to the next generation, languages cannot survive. If a community of speakers
lacks a viable environment in which to live and means of making a living, their
languages are likely to decline and eventually die (Nettle & Romaine,
2000). If a community no longer view their language as a central part of their
identity, as has happened for many people in such places as Ireland, Wales and
the Isle of Man, the motivation to maintain the language diminishes and
language is likely to go into decline (Jones & Singh, 2005).
Language change then in the
community can be because of economic, political or social reasons which can
happen gradually within a community.
Language change do also happen because of the movement of people, either
migrating to another place or welcoming migrants in one’s place.
With movement of people or
migration, a community of speakers of one language often comes in contact with
a community of speakers of another language.There are two possibilities when a
language meets another: language maintenance or language shift. Language shift
is the change of language used by a speech community eventually displacing the
former language used.Language maintenance, on the other hand, is the
continuance of the use of a language despite the presence of competition to use
another language. It supposes
co-existence of languages in a speech community.
In the Philippines, there are
several noted language events because of migration. Language are diffused because of
migration. For example, Rubino (1998)
notes that from the North-West part of Luzon, the Ilocano language was spread
to other parts of the country because of migration. With it’s influence in other parts
particularly in the provinces near the “home” of the Ilocano language, it has
become a regional language. The country
has so-called major languages aside from the Ilocano. These include Tagalog, Cebuano, Hiligaynon,
Bikol and Waray (www.ethnicgroupsphilippines.com,
2012). All these are regional languages,
and an apparent reason is their strong influence in the centers where people
migrate for economic reasons. People
eventually learn the language.
Aside from the majority languages,
minority languages in the Philippines are also affected by migration. Here in the Cordillera, people from different
parts of the region migrate to Benguet because of the economic opportunities in
this province which includes the mines and farming. It is also noted that Baguio which is within
the boundaries of Benguet is considered the economic center of the region,
which in itself is attractive to people from other provinces. However, there is a few if not absence of
literature describing the situation of the languages of minority groups that
converge in this economic centers. This
study wanted to contribute to literature and hopefully to encourage further
study into these minority language and recommend strategies for their
maintenance and development.
Conceptual Framework
There
are two situations that are usually considered in a study of language
maintenance or shift due to migration.
One is the migration of a migrant minority and the other is the
migration of migrantmajority. Language
shift in migrant minority communities happen because of pressure from its host
society. Immigrants are expected to
assimilate themselves into their new society so as not to be viewed as
“different” and therefore not intimidating to the majority. The use of language of the host society is a
sign of successful assimilation and may entail stopping the use of the former
language. Individuals do this shift
because of reasons like they need to have a job, be in school, and engaged in
business.
Language
shift in migrant majorities means that it is a majority group that invades a
majority group. A good illustration on
this is colonization. It may happen in
two ways where colonizers are more in number than the local population. Thus, the majority group’s language prevails
over the local population. It may also
happen that the colonizer or new community in the place is smaller in number
but it has the more dominant culture and therefore prevailing over the larger
local population.
The ability to be multilingual,
attitude towards a language, the ability to delineate language domains and
demographic situations are among the factors that affect either language
maintenance or shift. (Downes, 1998).
In the Cordilleras, Ilocano is
considered to be the meeting point of people in terms of language. It is because Ilocano is the regional
language of the North thus it is the mostly used local language in media. Most often, people from different language
communities in the Cordillera understand each other with Ilocano aside from
Filipino and English which are usually learned in school.
Migration is common in the region,
mostly to Baguio City and its nearby localities. The Ifugaos are among the frequent migrants
that in some areas in Baguio and Benguet, there are the so-called “Kiangan
Villages”, Kiangan being the usual word to refer to an Ifugao. When these Ifugaos migrated to form their
community outside their province, they carried with them their language. With it coming into contact with other
languages, language shift is a possibility depending on how well the migrant
community manage the factors of language maintenance or shift.
Statistics show that the Ifugao
language is among the languages with the highest percentage of decrease of
users according to a report published by NCSB.A possibility of this is the
migration of the Ifugaos and the possible shift of the migrants to other
languages.
With the knowledge that Ifugaos are
multilingual because of acquired languages such as English and Filipino from
school, and Ilocano from informal learning systems such as the media, this
study focused on the language choice and fluency in the native language among migrant
Ifugaos.
The independent variables include the language available to the migrants
specifically English, Filipino, Ilocano, Ifugao and others. The Dependent
variables include the language preference of the respondents. The place of migration and order in the
generation of the migrants were used as an intervening variable.
Statement of the Problem
The study wanted to explore the
language preferred or frequently used by Ifugao migrants. Specifically, answers were sought for the
following research problems:
1. What language are preferred or frequently used by
respondents’ in the following situations:
a. Watching TV/Listening to Radio?
b. Reading print media (newspapers, magazines,
novels)?
c. Listening to music?
d. Prayer and worship?
e. Conversing with housemates?
f. Conversing with friends?
g. Texting?
h. Surfing the Internet/E-mailing /Facebook?
2. What is
the respondents’ perceived fluency in their own native language?
3. Is there a
difference in the respondents’ language preference/frequent use along:
a. generations of migrants
b. Place of migration ((San Carlos Heights, Baguio
City and Alno, La Trinidad)
4. Is there a
difference in the respondents’ perceived fluency along
a. Generation of migrants
b. Place of migration
Research Design
The research followed a descriptive
design. It is both quantitative and
qualitative and aims to describe the language most preferred/frequently used by
Ifugao migrants. It also intends to look
into observable differences when respondents are grouped in accordance with
some intervening variable which can yield possible factors in the either
language maintenance or shift among the Ifugaos.
Respondents
The respondents of the study are thirty
residents of San Carlos Heights, Baguio City and thirty residents from Barangay
Alno, La Trinidad, Benguet. The locales
of the study were chosen because of their contrasting characteristics. First is their location. San Carlos Heights is a village in Baguio
City, part of Barangay Irisan and thus part of an urban area. Alno on the other hand is in a rural setting
in La Trinidad municipality. Second is
the mixture of people in these communities.
Because of their location, one is mixture of many migrants while the
other is mostly Ifugao migrants only.
San Carlos Heights hosts many other migrants from Mountain Province
while Alno is mostly of Ifugao migrants.
Third is on the nature of economic activity available to the migrants
that affects their association with speakers of other language. In San Carlos Heights, while there are some
household livelihood activities such as handicrafts, the jobs available to the
people are outside of the village such as mining in Itogon, employment in the
city, and non-permanent jobs such as joining carpentry contracts. On the other hand, Alno has its gardens to
offer to migrants. Some migrants own
their own lands to till while most are tenants of the native’s gardens.
Data Gathering Instrument and Procedure
A questionnaire was used as a main
tool in gathering the data. The questionnaire includes the language preference
in which the respondents have multiple answers; they also have a self-rate on
fluency and an open-ended question. To validate the result of the data gathered,
an interview with the migrants and observations of conversations in households
was conducted.
Interpretation of Data
Frequency count and percentages
were used to come up with a meaningful analysis of data gathered. The study did not pursue finding statistical
difference in the results. This is
recommended in a further study that would continue what this exploratory study
has begun.
Language Preference/Frequently Used by Migrants
The respondents were asked to identify
the language they most preferred or frequently used in eight domains. The broadcast domain includes the TV and
Radio. The print domain includes their
preference as to newspaper, magazines, and literature. The music domain includes FM music, and recordings
available in the market. The computing
domain includes their facebook, computer games, and e-mail. The other domains considered were the
language used in home conversation, interaction with friends, and texting.
Table 1 shows the language preference/frequently
used as gathered from the sixty respondents.
Since the domain on broadcast, print, and music are either limited or
lacking, the respondents were asked instead on their preference if the Ifugao
language was available in this domain.
It
is interesting to note that the Ifugao language is most preferred/frequently
used in only one out of the eight domains.
This is the domain of the home.
It tells that parents and children are actively communicating in the
Ifugao language in their homes. This is
a positive development as the home is considered as the last bastion of any
language (Michieka, 2012).
The
present study contradicts an “unusual” finding by Husain (2011) whereby “Asian
countries did not speak their mother tongue at home” as it was found out that
Asian communities introduce English to children so that they will not lag
behind in academics, and that parents believe the mother tongue may interfere
with the learning of correct English.
While the present study
The
results also show that the availability of the language in a particular domain
is a factor in the preference of a speaker.
Filipino or Tagalog emerged as most preferred language in broadcast as
it is the available language in most television networks to which the respondents
get their news. English is the language
used in computing as internet contents are usually in English. Also, the accessibility of the language is a
factor. Most of the respondents wrote in
their remarks that ““Narigatngaag-spelling tiifugaoisunganarigatngausarenti
text.”
The
sociological context is also a factor in the language preference of the
migrants. The migrants come into contact
with people speaking other languages and the most accessible local language is
the Ilocano, thus it emerged to be the most preferred in the domain of texting
and conversation with friends.
Table
1. Language Preference of the respondents along the different domains
Domain
|
Percentage
of Respondents Preference/Frequent Use
|
Frequently
Used/Most Preferred
|
English
|
Filipino
|
Ilocano
|
Ifugao
|
Broadcast
|
27
|
58
|
33
|
*
|
Filipino
|
Print
|
53
|
50
|
20
|
**
|
English
|
Music
|
65
|
37
|
25
|
***
|
English
|
Church
|
37
|
30
|
55
|
43
|
Ilocano
|
Home
|
2
|
17
|
65
|
70
|
Ifugao
|
Friends
|
15
|
33
|
72
|
50
|
Ilocano
|
Texting
|
33
|
53
|
63
|
30
|
Ilocano
|
Computing
|
57
|
37
|
3
|
3
|
English
|
*33 % of
the respondents say that if there is broadcast using the Ifugao
language, they will patronize it.
**
18% of the respondents say that should there be literature written in the
Ifugao language, they will be reading it
***25
% say that they would prefer the Ifugao music if there is abundant production
of it.
Perceived Degree of Fluency
Figure 1 describes the perceived fluency of the Ifugao migrants.
Figure 1
Perceived
Fluency of the Migrants
Majority of the respondents they
are very fluent in the Ifugao language.
This means that they find it very easy to communicate in the language,
have no difficulty in speaking, writing, and reading in the language. Not far behind are those who claim to be
moderately fluent. They communicate well
in the language but finds difficulty in speaking, writing, and reading. Most of those in this category complain that
“Narigattiagsurat ken agbasaitiIfugao.”
Thus in reading the bible, they prefer more in English or Ilocano
version than in the Ifugao version. The difficulty comes because of limited
vocabulary or some “deep” terms in the Ifugao language is not known. For the case of those in Alno, many were able
to learn to Ibaloi language and they claim that it is easier to write and read
in this language than their native Ifugao.
Some say they are fairly fluent because they can understand the
language, speak a little, but often end up communicating in another language,
mostly in Ilocano language. And a few
say they are not fluent as they completely or almost completely do not
communicate in the native language. Even
in the home, they would prefer the Ilocano because they do not know
Ifugao. While they may understand a
little, it is too limited so as to say that they are fair in fluency.
Differences in the degree of language preference
Tables
2 and 3 present the differences observed in the most preferred/language
frequently used when the respondents are grouped according to the place of
migration and order in the generation, respectively.
As
discussed earlier, the two locale of the study have contrasting characteristics
which can be a factor in the language maintenance or shift of migrants. Table 2 provides some evidence.
While in Table 1, it
is said that in general, Ifugao is still used in the home, the results when the
respondents are grouped according to place of migration show that in San Carlos
Height, Ilocano is top notch in the domain of the home although the Ifugao
language is not far behind.
It is to be noted that
San Carlos also have many migrants from other non-Ifugao speaking places thus
Ilocano was the more accessible language in the community thus it is very
possible that the community at large influences the language of the home. In Alno, in the sitios where Ifugaos are
found, they dominate it. For example, in
Obudan, out of the more than ten households there, only three households are
Ibaloi thus within the community, Ifugao language was the medium of
communication.
Table
2. Language Most Preferred/Frequently
Used When Grouped According to Place of Migration
Domain
|
Percentage of respondents
|
Most Preferred/ Frequently Used
|
English
|
Filipino
|
Ilocano
|
Ifugao
|
Alno
|
SCarlos
|
Alno
|
SCarlos
|
Alno
|
SCarlos
|
Alno
|
SCarlos
|
Alno
|
SCarlos
|
Broadcast
|
27
|
27
|
60
|
58
|
36
|
30
|
|
|
Filipino
|
Filipino
|
Print
|
50
|
57
|
57
|
43
|
17
|
23
|
|
|
Filipino
|
English
|
Music
|
63
|
67
|
40
|
33
|
33
|
17
|
|
|
Filipino
|
English
|
Church
|
27
|
47
|
33
|
27
|
67
|
43
|
43
|
43
|
Ilocano
|
English
|
Home
|
0
|
33
|
13
|
20
|
53
|
75
|
70
|
70
|
Ifugao
|
Ilocano
|
Friends
|
10
|
20
|
20
|
47
|
63
|
80
|
53
|
47
|
Ilocano
|
Ilocano
|
Texting
|
30
|
37
|
37
|
70
|
57
|
63
|
23
|
37
|
Ilocano
|
Filipino
|
Computing
|
43
|
70
|
37
|
37
|
7
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
English
|
English
|
It is to be noted that
San Carlos also have many migrants from other non-Ifugao speaking places thus
Ilocano was the more accessible language in the community thus it is very
possible that the community at large influences the language of the home. In Alno, in the sitios where Ifugaos are
found, they dominate it. For example, in
Obudan, out of the more than ten households there, only three households are
Ibaloi thus within the community, Ifugao language was the medium of
communication.
Table 3 shows the
results when the respondents are grouped according to the generations and
responses as percentage of the total number of responses in each category.
The evidence on the
social context is most observable here. In the broadcast domain for example,
the first generation prefer it in the Ilocano while the second and third
generation prefers it in the Tagalog.
This is indicative of the level of education of the respondents. While that variable is not included in the study,
such variable is recommended in future studies.
In the domain of the home, the
first and second generation still prefers Ifugao but the third generation has
Ilocano. This is a symptom of possible
language shift in among the third generation of the migrants.
Table 3. Differences in Preference/Frequently Used
Language When Grouped According to Generation
Domain
|
Percentage of Respondents
|
Most Preferred/ Frequently used
|
English
|
Filipino
|
Ilocano
|
Ifugao
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
Broadcast
|
10
|
35
|
35
|
45
|
75
|
55
|
70
|
5
|
25
|
|
|
|
Ilo
|
Fil
|
Fil
|
Print
|
25
|
70
|
65
|
55
|
40
|
55
|
45
|
10
|
5
|
|
|
|
Fil
|
Eng
|
Eng
|
Music
|
45
|
75
|
75
|
25
|
50
|
35
|
70
|
0
|
5
|
|
|
|
Ilo
|
Eng
|
Eng
|
Church
|
10
|
7
|
10
|
25
|
50
|
35
|
25
|
20
|
45
|
65
|
55
|
45
|
Ifu
|
Ifu
|
Ifu
|
Home
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
5
|
25
|
20
|
60
|
60
|
75
|
80
|
80
|
50
|
Ifu
|
Ifu
|
Ilo
|
Friends
|
0
|
25
|
20
|
5
|
40
|
55
|
70
|
75
|
70
|
85
|
30
|
35
|
Ifu
|
Ilo
|
Ilo
|
Texting
|
5
|
45
|
50
|
10
|
70
|
80
|
55
|
60
|
65
|
45
|
25
|
20
|
Ilo
|
Fil
|
Fil
|
Computing
|
5
|
70
|
95
|
5
|
60
|
45
|
5
|
5
|
0
|
5
|
5
|
0
|
All
|
Eng
|
Eng
|
A surprise result is in the domain
of the church. While the general result
in Table 1 shows that that in general, Ilocano was preferred, when taken as a
percentage of each of the group of respondents, all three generations prefer
church language to be in Ifugao. This is
indicative that they feel more their attachment to praise and worship in the
language they have in their hearts. This
can be explained further in a study on the psychosocial aspect of the
language.
Difference in fluency
Figures 2 and 3 present the snapshots of the fluency of migrants when grouped according
to place of migration and order of generation, respectively.
According to place of migration,
data gathered show that in general the Alno migrants are more fluent in their
native Ifugao language than their counterparts in San Carlos Heights. On the “Not Fluent” category, there was even
a zero result of the Alno group. This is
indicative of a more active use of the Ifugao language in Alno than in San
Carlos.
Figure 2
Degree
of Fluency According to Place of Migration
The
more varied number of languages spoken in the community can also be factor to
fluency. They tend to use other
languages than their own. This situation
is captures in this quote from a respondent “Nu maminsanketgapu ta
naglalauktisaoketkaslamaymayattiagsaoti Ilocano tapnumaawatanamin”. (Sometimes
because there is a mixture of language, it is better to use Ilocano so that
everybody can understand). This
situation favors language shift more than language maintenance (Downes, 1998). In Alno, the Ifugaos were able to transmit
their language to the Ibalois who are native of the place. Many respondents tell that “Nasuro mi
tiIbaloi, nasuron met dagitiIbaloitisaungaIfugao.” (We learned Ibaloi, they
also learned Ifugao). Thus it led to a
community where they can speak one language.
This situation favors language maintenance.
Figure 3 shows the trend on a possible
language shift among migrants. Among the
second and third generations those who are “very fluent” are outnumbered by
those who claim to have moderate, fair, or no fluency. The positive situation is that the first
generation are still very fluent and are alive to still be able to impart their
language to the succeeding generation.
Figure 3
Difference in Fluency When Grouped According to
Generation
The result is well related to Table 3 in
which because the preference of the second and third generations in most
domains is a language other than the Ifugao language, it affected their
fluency. Fluency is attained by frequent
use.
As a summary, data shows that:
1.
Among Ifugao
migrants, their native language is most preferred/frequently used only only in
one of the eight domains evaluated.
2.
Among Ifugao
migrants, 48 % claim to be very fluent in the native language.
3.
There is an
observed difference in the preference of the Ifugao migrants when grouped
according to place and order of generation.
4.
There is an
observed difference in the fluency when grouped according to place and
generation.
Conclusion
From the findings, the following conclusions are
arrived at:
1.
The domain of the home
proves to be the last bastion of the Ifugao language among Ifugao migrants as
other languages are preferred in other domains.
2.
There is still a strong
fluency in the Ifugao language among Ifugao migrants.
3. Language
shift to Ilocano is starting to show in San Carlos migrants, and especially
among the third generation of the migrants.
4.
Fluency in the
Ifugao language decreases when it is not frequently used in the locale of the migration
and in the descendant generations.
Recommendations
The following
recommendations are drawn from the conclusions:
1.
The parents should be
willing to teach their children the Ifugao native language as the home is the
last bastion of a language
2.
Fluency in the native
language should always be maintained by enhancing fluency thru daily use.
3. The
boundaries of when to use another language such as Ilocano should be
delineated.The 2nd and 3rd generation migrants should be
encouraged to keep regular contact with people in Ifugao so as to maintain
their union with the native language and the culture that it represents.
4. The
community should maintain venue for the use of native language so as not to
lose fluency in the language. Daily use
enhances fluency.The parents should provide avenues by
which their children are encouraged to use the Ifugao language as much as other
languages.
Literature
Cited
DOWNES
W. (1998) Language and Society 2nd ed. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press
JONES
& SINGH.(2005) Second language issues and multiculturalism.Reading Research
Quarterly, 42(3), 430-436. New York.
MICHIEKA
M. (2012) Language Maintenance and Shift among Kenyan University Students.
Paper presented in the 41st Annual Conference of African Linguistic
www.lingref.com/cpp/acal/41/paper2746.pdf accessed on June 22, 2013
NETTLE
& ROMAINE.( 2000) Language shift and Language Death.(pp. 39-58). Rotterdam,
Boston, Taipei: Sense Publishers.
RUBINO, C. (1998)
Ilocano Phrasebook and Dictionary. New
York: Hippocrene Books.
___________________________
Note: This was submitted as a term paper to the faculty of the Graduate School, College of Arts and Sciences, Benguet State University, October 2013.
The paper is submitted together with fellow student Aaron Flores.
