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THE LEARNING CURVE

Not just Filipino, but 130 other

languages
By: Neni Sta. Romana Cruz - @inquirerdotnet Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05 06 AM August 17, 2019

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There was much significance that the August Buwan ng Wika celebration relief assistance to remote
towns in Batangas
this year was launched a few days before the month began, at the Kartilya
ng Katipunan Park with an Andres Bonifacio sculpture right across the NEWSINFO
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Manila City Hall. It was a park one never took notice of, until that Monday as favoring China
morning of the flag-raising after it had undergone a thorough Mayor Isko
sweep. BUSINESS
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Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) and National Commission for Culture But We Can Help You Try
and the Arts chair Virgilio S. Almario welcomed the opportunity to launch NEWSINFO
at a more public place, and with a larger crowd than usual. The year’s Duterte to withdraw nat’l
police from Taal-hit areas
theme, “Wikang Katutubo: Tungo sa Isang Bansang Filipino,” places the
emphasis not only on Filipino but on all of our 130 Philippine languages, LIFESTYLE
from Ivatan to Mandaya—the very first time that the emphasis is not on Best Gift Ideas in the
Philippines
Filipino as the national language but rather on our different languages.
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Whenever the staggering number of 130 Philippine languages is mentioned,

expatriates almost find it beyond belief. It poses challenges for us as a
nation, yet is also evidence enough that long before the colonizers came, the
country already had a rich civilization and culture, and a Baybayin ancient
script besides.
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reminds us of the importance of this diversity to our sense of nation, as

 e ds us o t e po ta ce o t s d e s ty to ou se se o at o , as


language is theThursday,
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January 30,and
2020chief cultural legacy of any population.
Language enables us to articulate our past and tell the story of our victories
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and disappointments. It carries the wealth of our history along with
traditional wisdom.

Almario fears that if language is not cared for, used and nurtured, it would
be in serious peril of becoming irretrievably lost. How lamentable and how
bereft we would be of a cultural legacy. He has repeatedly said, “We have
more than 130 languages, and we want to be open for discussions regarding
how each would contribute to a national consciousness, and even into the
national language.” How to enrich the language so that Filipino is not only
from Tagalog words?

To serve as a fitting reminder for the citizenry to preserve their distinct

languages, KWF and the office of then Sen. Loren Legarda have been
installing language markers to identify areas where the languages originate.
These are simple, dignified-looking tubular-like markers carrying designs of
local culture, built in cooperation with local government. Legarda had said,
“We must preserve these languages, along with all other aspects of our
culture, as a sign of our respect for our history and heritage… This
installation will serve as a reminder that a distinct and unique dialect exists
and originates from this part of the country. Keep this language alive…”

The first bantayog-wika was put up in Antique as a tribute to Kinaray-a,

while other bantayog markers are now in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro;
Baguio City for the Ivadoy language; Ifugao for the Tuwali language (which
was used in the writing of “Hudhud”); Malaybalay for Binukid; Batangas
City for being one of the precursors of Tagalog; Lingayen City for the
Pangasinan language; and GenSan for Blaan.

With Bonifacio’s sculpture looming over the park, one could only take his
words to heart: “What love can be purer and greater than love of country?
What love? No other love.” He may well have said, “What love can be purer
and greater than love of language?”

Friday, Aug. 23, is a special day for my Sta. Romana cousins and myself,
because we are all traveling to Barangay Sta. Arcadia in our hometown,
Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, for the formal turnover of the Leonardo A.
Sta. Romana Memorial Elementary School, which began in 1960 on a parcel
of land of 10,930 square meters donated by our grandparents, Leonardo
and Gorgonia Osias Sta. Romana. The Deed of Donation has been completed
under the Department of Education’s Adopt a School Program, and will
allow the school to grow even more to answer the needs of the students of
the community. We have been coordinating with school principal Maricel
Candido because of the faculty’s interest in local history and knowing more
about the life story of the school donor.

Neni Sta. Romana Cruz (nenisrcruz@ gmail.com) is chair of the National

Book Development Board and a member of the Eggie Apostol Foundation.

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