CHAPTER II

LANGUAGE AND GEOGRAPHICAL, ETHNIC, NATIONAL IDENTITY

IN THE PHILLIPINES.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

a. To know languages used to communicate in the Philippines.

b. To know the geographical features in the Philippines.
c. To appreciate ethic groups in the Philippines.

Historical Development of Ethnic Identities

 Philippine society was relatively homogeneous in 1990, especially

considering its distribution over some 1,000 inhabited islands. Muslims and
upland tribal peoples were obvious exceptions, but approximately 90 percent
of the society remained united by a common cultural and religious
background. Among the lowland Christian Filipinos, language was the main
point of internal differentiation, but the majority interacted and intermarried
regularly across linguistic lines. Because of political centralization,
urbanization, and extensive internal migration, linguistic barriers were
eroding, and government emphasis on Pilipino and English (at the expense
of local dialects) also reduced these divisions. Nevertheless, national
integration remained incomplete.
 Through centuries of intermarriage, Filipinos had become a unique blend of
Malay, Chinese, Spanish, Negrito, and American. Among the earliest
inhabitants were Negritos, followed by Malays, who deserve most of the
credit for developing lowland Philippine agricultural life as it is known in
the modern period. As the Malays spread throughout the archipelago, two
things happened. First, they absorbed, through intermarriage, most of the
Negrito population, although a minority of Negritos remained distinct by
retreating to the mountains. Second, they dispersed into separate groups,
some of which became relatively isolated in pockets on Mindanao, northern
Luzon, and some of the other large islands. Comparative linguistic analysis
suggests that most groups may once have spoken a form of "proto-Manobo,"
 but that each group developed a distinct vernacular that can be traced to its
contact over the centuries with certain groups and its isolation from others.
 With the advent of Islam in the southern Philippines during the fifteenth
century, separate sultanates developed on Mindanao and in the Sulu
Archipelago. By the middle of the sixteenth century, Islamic influence had
spread as far north as Manila Bay.
 Spain colonized the Philippines in the sixteenth century and succeeded in
providing the necessary environment for the development of a Philippine
national identity; however, Spain never completely vitiated Muslim
autonomy on Mindanao and in the Sulu Archipelago, where the separate
Muslim sultanates of Sulu, Maguindanao, and Maranao remained
impervious to Christian conversion. Likewise, the Spanish never succeeded
in converting upland tribal groups, particularly on Luzon and Mindanao. The
Spanish influence was strongest among lowland groups and emanated from
Manila. Even among these lowland peoples, however, linguistic differences
continued to outweigh unifying factors until a nationalist movement
emerged to question Spanish rule in the nineteenth century.
 Philippine national identity emerged as a blend of diverse ethnic and
linguistic groups, when lowland Christians, called indios by the Spaniards,
began referring to themselves as "Filipinos," excluding Muslims, upland
tribal groups, and ethnic Chinese who had not been assimilated by
intermarriage and did not fit the category. In the very process of defining a
national identity, the majority was also drawing attention to a basic societal
cleavage among the groups. In revolting against Spanish rule and, later,
fighting United States troops, the indigenous people became increasingly
conscious of a national unity transcending local and regional identities. A
public school system that brought at least elementary-level education to all
but the most remote barrios and sitios (small clusters of homes) during the
early twentieth century also served to dilute religious, ethnic, and linguistic
or regional differences, as did improvements in transportation and
communication systems and the spread of English as a lingua franca.
LANGUAGE

 system of arbitrary sounds used by a community for communication

 today, the world has about 7,000 languages.

Languages in Southeast Asia:

 Filipino
 Thai
 Malay
 Vietnamese
 Lao
 Khmer, and many more

Language

 The Philippines has Sebwano, Ilokano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Bikol, Finontok,

Finallig, Mëranaw, Bahasa Sug, Yakan, Sinama, Kinamayu, Itawit,
Pangasinan, Kapampangan, Bolinaw, and many more.
 Sebwano, a language spoken in 17 provinces, has approximately 20 million
first language speakers.
 Arta, a language spoken by an indigenous group in the province of Quirino,
has 11 speakers.

DIALECT

 Interchangeably used with variety.

 It refers to a part of the speech community that has a distinct feature or
shibboleth that distinguishes them from the whole language community.
 Overtime, when dialects develop on their own, a time may come when they
can be distinguished as a separate language.

Language vs Dialect

How can we differentiate which is a language and which is a dialect?

There are four criterion:

1. Mutual Intelligibility
2. Lexical Similarity

3. Grammar

4. Socio-Political Identity

Tagalog

 Tagalog is spoken in several provinces in the Philippines.

 It has several well-known dialects like Tagalog-Laguna and Tagalog
Batangas.

Englishes of Southeast Asia

 Another good example of dialects are the varieties of English used in

Southeast Asia like Philippine English and Singapore English..
 Speaking with each other in English, Southeast Asians still understand each
other.

Language Provisions

1987 Constitution

 SECTION 6. The national language of the Philippines is Filipino. As it

evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing
Philippine and other languages.
 Subject to provisions of law and as the Congress may deem appropriate, the
Government shall take steps to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as a
medium of official communication and as language of instruction in the
educational system.

1987 Constitution

 SECTION 7. For purposes of communication and instruction, the official

languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by
law, English.
 The regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the regions and
shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein. Spanish and Arabic
shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis.
  SECTION 9. The Congress shall establish a national language commission
composed of representatives of various regions and disciplines which shall
undertake, coordinate, and promote researches for the development,
propagation, and preservation of Filipino and other languages.

Language in Education

 Department Order 52, s. 1987 – The 1987 Policy on Bilingual Education

o English is used in Math and Sciences (“in order to meet the needs of
the country in the community of nations”)
o Filipino is used for Civics and Social Studies (“to enable them to
perform their functions and duties as Filipino citizens”)
o Local languages may be used as auxiliary medium of instructions
during the early years of education.
 Republic Act No. 10157 – “The Kindergarten Education Act”
o Section 5:
 “The DepEd, in coordination with the Commission on Filipino
Language and in close collaboration with academic and
research institutions concerned with education, shall formulate
a mother tongue-based multilingual framework for teaching and
learning…”

Place names in the Philippines

 Are usually highly Hispanic:

o Guimaras
o Cebu
o Mindanao
o Pampanga
o Kalinga
o Ifugao
o Baguio
o Sanga-Sanga
Philippine Languages

 According to Geography
 According to (Linguistic) Genetic Relationships
 According to Typology
 As used by Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino:
o Austronesian Languages spoken within the territory of the Philippines
o There are approximately 130 Philippine Languages as validated by the
Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino

Orthography

 Philippine languages generally use a Romanized writing system. It can be

categorized into two groups: Spanish-based and Filipino-based.
 KWF is propagating the use of Ortograpiyang Pambansa (2013) as the
model for creating the orthographies of other Philippine Languages.
 Some languages still use a Spanish-based system for certain aspects of their
languages (e.g. dipthongs), while some languages have more than one
existing orthographies used by different groups within the community.

CHABACANO

 “Bastardized” Spanish
 Is the term used for certain creoles spoken in the Philippines. The creole
used in Zamboanga City is most well-known.
 Chabacano uses a Spanish-based orthography.

Implications

 Because Philippine Languages generally use a Romanized alphabet,

standardization may be easier.
 Except for the fact that we have 130 languages.
 Will it be acceptable to rewrite geographical names using a Filipinobased
writing system?
 Possibility of having three official names for one geographical place or
object.
Philippine Ethnic Landscape

 Archipelago of 7,107 islands

 At least 106 ethnic groups
 Diverse religious traditions
 172 languages

Philippine Languages 169 living languages, 3 extinct languages

 Of the 169 living languages, 166 are indigenous languages while 3 are
foreign languages, namely: English, Spanish, and Minnan Chinese Of the
166 indigenous languages, 164 belong to the Western Malayo-Polynesian
subfamily of the Austronesian family of languages, 1 Creole language
(Chavacano), and 1 visual language (Filipino Sign Language).

Major Languages 2000 Census of Population and Housing

 Tagalog (28.16%)
 Cebuano (23.12%)
 Ilocano (9.07%)
 Hiligaynon (7.57%)
 Bikol (6.01%)
 Waray (3.36%)
 Kapampangan (3.03%)
 Pangasinan (1.78%)

Other Ethnolinguistic Groups

 Bangsa Moro

Language and Identity

 “It is widely believed that there is a natural connection between the language
spoken by members of a social group and that group’s identity. By their
accent, their vocabulary, their discourse patterns, speakers identify
themselves and are identified as members of this or that speech and
discourse community.
Language and Identity

 “From this membership, they draw personal strength and pride, as well as a
sense of social importance and historical continuity from using the same
language as the group they belong to.”

Bases for ethnic identity in the Philippines

 Language
 Domicile
 Phenotypic characteristics
 Religion
 Culture traits
 Ancestry or migration history

Ethnicity defined

 All those social and psychological phenomena associated with a culturally

constructed group identity.
 The concept of ethnicity focuses on the ways in which social and cultural
processes intersect with one another in the identification of and intersection
between ethnic groups.
- Sian Jones, The Archaeology of Ethnicity, 1997

Major Languages 2000 Census of Population and Housing

 Tagalog (28.16%)
 Cebuano (23.12%)
 Ilocano (9.07%)
 Hiligaynon (7.57%)
 Bikol (6.01%)
 Waray (3.36%)
 Kapampangan (3.03%)
 Pangasinan (1.78%)
Cultural Emphasis

 There are more separate terms, more synonyms, and more fine distinctions
made in reference to features of environment or culture with which the
speakers are the most concerned.
 There are fewer terms and they tend to be more generalized when they refer
to features that are given less cultural emphasis.
- Franz Boas, 1911

Tagalog terms for “rice”

 Palay
 Bigas
 Sinaing
 Kanin
 Bahaw
 Sinangag
 Lugaw
 Am
 Tutong
 Binlid
 Puto
 Suman
 Malagkit
 Wagwag
 Pirurutong
 Galapong

Kalinga as an ethnic group

 The culture of the Kalinga is not homogenous as there are diverse languages,
tribes, and cultures in the Province.
 The Kalinga people call their language as Kinalingga. However, the Summer
Institute of Linguistics lists eight distinct Kinalingga languages: Butbut,
Limos, Lower Tanudan, Lubuagan, Mabaka Valley, Southern Kalinga, and
Upper Tanudan.
Diversity of Kalinga cultures

 There are several dialects for each of these eight languages.

 Because of historical reasons, Ilokano has been the lingua franca in the area.
 There are 48 tribes in the province.
 Each tribe is politically autonomous from one another.
 There are different clans (kin groups) in each tribe.

Why this diversity?

 Traditionally, there was no supra-tribal organization.

 Inter-tribal relations were maintained through a system of bilateral peace
pacts, known as the bodong (or vochong, pechen, pudon).
 The Spaniards just lumped together these various tribes as infieles (later,
tribus salvajes, and much later Calingas.

Case of Dananao Kalinga

 Chinananao: Dialect of Southern Kalinga spoken in the village of Dananao

in Tinglayan, Kalinga. Villagers of Dananao are able to differentiate other
“tribes” based on the language or dialect that they use.
 Kinalingga: Collective name for the languages of Kalinga. The use of these
languages differentiate Kalingas from other neighboring ethnolinguistic
groups, such as the Itneg (or Tinguian).

Chinananao

 “Pag may nasasalubong kami ay makikilala namin ito sa mukha dahil sa liit
ng Chananao ay halos magkakakilala ang lahat ng taga-dito. Sa intonasyon
ng pagsalita ng Kinalingga, dito lang nagkakaiba. Ang aming dayalekto ang
pinakamagandang pakinggan dahil ito ay may magandang rito o melodiya.”
- From FGD with Dananao Elders

Place, Language, and Ethnic Identity

 “Ethnic groups often practice unique adaptive strategies and normally

occupy clearly defined areas, whether rural or urban. In other words, the
study of ethnicity has built-in geographical dimensions… Because such
peoples typically occupy compact territories, we can map ethnic formal
 culture regions… For these groups… place and region provide a basic
element in their ethnic identity.”

From fananaw to Dananao

 The legend of the fananaw is a symbolic representation of how the first

settlers of Dananao separated from Sumadel.
 The fananaw as the spatial symbol.
 The ullalim (epic chant) reminds people how they engaged enemy tribes
through head-taking.

Language as Identity among Filipino Deaf

 Tagalog speaker = Tagalog

 Hiligaynon speaker = Ilongo
 English speaker = American
 FSL signer = Filipino Deaf

Filipino diaspora

 More than 8 million Filipinos are living outside the Philippines.

 3.6 million Filipinos working abroad as contractual workers (as of 2004).
 Majority of them are working in the Middle East.
 These workers come back to the Philippines bringing with them the culture
of the country where they came from.

Conclusion

 Language is ONE OF THE STRONG DETERMINANTS OF ETHNIC

IDENTITY.
 Since a living language is constant change, ethnic identities also change.
 Ethnic groups that experience language loss are also threatened with cultural
extinction.
 As different ethnic groups interact with one another, new ethnic identities
emerge. Multiple identities become more common.