Policies in

Multilingual
Societies
Janice G. David
 At the end of the course, you are expected to know and do the
following:
1. Relate the concepts of multilingualism, linguistic diversity,

Objective and linguistic rights to language planning and policy;

2. Familiarize yourself with the different language-in-education
policies of Southeast Asia;

of the 3. Examine and evaluate bilingual education programs, both the

weak and the strong forms;
4. Develop a critical understanding of the Mother Tongue-Based

Course Multilingual Education(MTB-MLE); and

5. Identify issues and challenges that emerge from the various
language policies and programs.
6. Develop a critical understanding of the Mother Tongue-Based
Multilingual Education(MTB-MLE); and
7. Identify issues and challenges that emerge from the various
9/3/20XX language policies and programs. 2
 Introduction
Language Programs and Policies in
Multilingual Societies course module is a
three-unit specialization subject for
undergraduate students of Bachelor of
Secondary Education major in English
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Language. As prescribed by the Commission
on Higher Education (CHED), the course
provided “a survey of local and international
 Introduction
This course provides a survey of local and international basic
education language programs and policies that account for
issues and considerations relevant to the engagement of teachers
in school settings. Moreover, it presents research-based content
knowledge of language policies and programs across countries
to exhibit clear understanding of the design, development and
dissemination of a language curriculum and to discuss how
school policies (i.e.: language policies) have shaped and
influenced English language teaching in multicultural setting.
Introduction
Unit I: Multilingualism and Language Policy
Unit II: Language-in-Education Policy
Unit II: Bilingual Education Programs
Unit IV: Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual
Education
Course Outline and Time Frame
Course Content/Subject Matter
a. Languages in the Philippines: An Overview
b. Evolution in Language Education Policy
c. Implementation of the Bilingual Education Policy
d. Multilingualism in the Classroom
e. Multilingual Philippines
f. Language and Millennium Development Goals
g. Language and Inclusive Basic Education Issues and Challenges
h. From Monolingual to Multilingual: Language Programs and Policies Across ASEAN
Countries
Terms to Pondetr
Definition of Terms
Language Diversity
- This reflects the existence of the multitude of languages spoken in the world which is
variously estimated at between 6000 and 7000 languages.
Majority Language
- This refers to the language that’s usually spoken by a majority of the population in a
country or in a region of a country. In a multilingual society, this language is generally
considered high-status language.
Bilingual/ Bilingualism
- This pertains to one’s ability to speak another language aside from one’s primary language.

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Definition of Terms
Official Language
- This is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular
country, state, or other jurisdiction.
Language of Instruction
- This refers to the language used for teaching the curriculum of the
educational system.
Minority Language
- This pertains to a language spoken by smaller number of the population
of a territory. 9
Definition of Terms
National Language
- This is the officially designated language of a nation or country, usually
for cultural and/or ethnic reasons.
Bilingual Education
- This refers to the use of two languages as medium of instruction.
Language Learning
- This is where the grammar, vocabulary, and the written and the oral
forms of a language constitute a specific curriculum for the acquisition of
a second language other than the mother tongue. 10
Definition of Terms
Linguistic Rights
- This protects the individual and the collective right to choose one’s
language or languages for communication both within the private and
the public spheres.
Multilingual Education
- This refers to the use of at least three languages, the mother tongue, a
regional or national language and an international language in education.
Language Policy
- This is designed to favor or discourage the use of a particular language11
Definition of Terms
Mother Tongue Instruction
- This refers to any form of schooling that makes use of the language or
languages that children are most familiar with.
Multilingualism/ Multilingual
- This is the ability of an individual speaker or a community of speakers
to communicate effectively in three or more languages.

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Chart

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Chart

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Is Spanish spoken in the Philippines?
• From 1565, the Philippines were under Spanish colonial
administration for 300 years; Spanish was the official language during
that time. According to the 1935 Constitution, Spanish was reinstated
as an official language alongside English, but it was relegated to an
“optional and voluntary language” in 1987.
• However, the roots of Spanish have not totally left the Philippines, as a
third of the Filipino language is made up of 4,000 “loan words”
derived from Spanish words.
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Official languages of the
Philippines
• Filipino and English are the Philippines’ two official languages.
Filipino is a native language based on Tagalog; English has official
status due to the Philippines being a colony of the United States
between 1898 and 1946.
• Schools and the media largely use Filipino; it is the lingua franca that
binds the country’s various linguistic communities together. English is
widely used in government, newspapers, and publications.

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Chart

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THE MAJOR LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

• If you were a tourist to go to the Philippines, you would feel like you
were walking on the rainbow appreciating many colors. The languages
of the Philippines are like rainbow colors which represent the major
languages, and the other sides or aspects are minor languages.
However, the major languages of course are the usual ones that we
use. Here are the following:

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THE MAJOR LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

• 1. Tagalog
Our national language was based from Tagalog. It is used mainly in Manila Area and
nearby provinces such as Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Nueva Ecija, and Laguna. This
is the only Filipino language that is generally used and can be understood around the
country. Based on the Philippine census conducted by the Philippine Statistics
Authority, there were 26,387,855 Filipinos who speak this language in the country.
• Examples: Good morning -- Magandang umaga
• Good evening – Magandang gabi
• I love you – Iniibig kita o minamahal kita
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THE MAJOR LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

2. Cebuano
• Cebuano is the next most spoken language in the Philippines with a total of
21,340,000 Filipinos using it. This is mainly used in Cebu City and some
areas in Mindanao, such as Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and General
Santos City.
• Examples: Good morning – Maayong buntag
• Good evening – Maayong gabii
• I love you – Gihigugma ko ikaw
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THE MAJOR LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

3. Ilocano/Iloco
• Ilokano or Ilocano is a combination of other languages from other countries such as
Chamorro of Guam, Indonesian, Hawaiian, Malay, Samoan and Tahitian. It is
mostly spoken in the Northern part of the country but because Ilocano speaking
people have spread throughout the Philippines, it ranked as third of the most spoken.
• language with 7,779,000 Filipinos using it.
• Examples: Good morning – Naimbag a bigat
• Good evening – Naimbag a sardam
• I love you – Ayayatenka
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THE MAJOR LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

4. Hiligaynon
• Hiligaynon or Ilonggo is the language used in Aklan, Antique, Bacolod,
Capiz, Iloilo, Panay Islands as well as in North and South Cotabato in
Mindanao. This language is distinct for having a sweet intonation. And
as of 2000, there were 7,000,979 sweet speaking Filipinos in the country.
• Examples: Good morning – Maayo nga Aga
• Good evening – Maayo nga Hapon
• Goodbye – Asta sa liwat
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THE MAJOR LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

5. Waray-waray
• If Hiligaynons are known for being sweet, the Waray people are known for
being tough and strong. Waray is spoken in the Eastern Visayas, particularly
Samar and some parts of Leyte and Biliran Province. The Waray comes fifth
with 3,100,000 Filipinos using this language as of year 2000.
• Examples: Good morning – Maupay nga aga
• Good evening – Maupay nga gab-i
• Thank you very much – Damo nga salamat

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THE MAJOR LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

6. Kapampangan
• Kapampangan or Pampangueño are spoken by 2,900,000 Filipinos.
This is mostly spoken in the northern part of the country particularly
Pampanga Province, and portions of Bataan and Tarlac.
• Examples: Good morning – Mayap a abak
• Good evening – Mayap a bengi
• Thank you very much – Dakal a salamat

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THE MAJOR LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

• 7. Bicolano
• Bikolano or Bicolano is the language used in the Bicol Region. Bicol
is one of the biggest regions in the Philippines and there are about
2,500,000 Bicolanos speaking the language.
• Example: Good morning – Marhay na aga
• Good evening – Marhay na banggi
• I love you – Namomotan ta ka

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THE MAJOR LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

8. Pangasinense
Pangasinan is the language used in Pangasinan Province in Northernl Luzon. It
• has a population of more than 2 million and 2,434,086 of which use the language.
• Pangasinense is like the Ibaloy language used by the people of Baguio City and
• Benguet in the mountain province.
• Examples: Good morning! – Maabig ya kaboasan!
• Good afternoon! – Maabig ya ngarem!
• I love you – Inaro ta ka!
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THE MAJOR LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

9. Maranaoan
• Maranaoan is the language spoken by 2,150,000 Maranao people
living in Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur Provinces. It is a Western
Austronesian language likewise used in Sabah, Malaysia.
• Example: Good Morning! – Mapiya kapipita
• Good Evening! – Mapiya gagawi-i
• I Love You! – Pekababaya-an ko seka!

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THE MAJOR LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

• 10. Tausug
• Tausug is the language used by 1,822,000 people in the Sulu Archipelago, the
Zamboanga Peninsula, and Southern Palawan. It is likewise used in the eastern part
of Sabah, Malaysia, and North Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Example: Kalasahan ta kaw – I love you

• Kamaya daran – Take care always
• Magsukul – Thanks
• Other languages in the Philippines are as follows:
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THE MAJOR LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

• Maguindanao – used by 1,800,000 residents of Maguindanao and some parts some

• parts of Mindanao.
Chavacano – is from a Spanish word “Chabacano” which means tasteless. It is one of
• the oldest creole languages in the world and the only one in Asia. There are various
• dialects of Chavacano including, Zamboangueño, Caviteño, Cotabateño, Castellano
• Abakay (Chabacano de Davao), Ternateño (Bahra), and Ermiteño (Ermitense) with a
• total population of 1,200,000.

• Kinaray-a – is a Visayan language spoken in Antique Province and used by 1,051,000

• Filipinos.
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THE MAJOR LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

• Surigaonon – is mainly used by Surigaonon people from the province of

Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Dinagat Islands, and some portions of
Agusan del Norte specially the towns near the Mainit Lake, Agusan del Sur
and Davao Oriental. There is more than 1,000,000 Filipinos using this
language.
• Foreign languages that became an official language of the Philippines
• Spanish and English are two languages we Filipinos got used to when we
were still
• under the governance of Spain and America.
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THE MAJOR LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

• Spanish – used to be the official language in the Philippines back in the 16th
century but now, only around 2,000 Filipinos use this language.
• English – is a foreign language commonly used by Filipinos until today. In a
survey conducted by Social Weather Stations(SWS) back in 2008, around 76%
of Filipinos say they understand English. It is the language mainly used in
schools, in the government, in the business world, and etc. This foreign
language became an official language of the Philippines under the 1935
Constitution added alongside Spanish. Under the present constitution,
approved in 1987, Filipino and English became joint official languages of the
country.
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THE MAJOR LANGUAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES

• Although we have many languages most of us use Taglish or a combination ofEnglish

and Tagalog. This is often used by the younger generation of Filipinos when texting or
talking to friends. Filipinos abroad who have forgotten how to speak Tagaloguse this too.
• Example: Please call a policeman (English)
• Pakitawag ng pulis (Tagalog)
• Paki-call ang police(Taglish)
Reference:
• Lyza R. Sabornido (2015). Top 10 Languages Used in the Philippines. Retrieved
• from: https://faq.ph/top-10-languages-used-in-the-philippines/

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 Evolution of Language Policy In Philippines
The Philippines is a country of many languages, and the journey to modern-day
Filipino is filled with twists and turns.
Three Brothers

When the Spanish arrived in the 1500s, they found a region dominated by
three main languages – Tagalog, Llocano, and Visayan. These three are distinct
languages but have enough in common that almost everyone in the country
spoke at least two of them, and thus communication was very easy.
In addition, there are at least 70 other distinct languages spoken by the
people of the Philippines, and there may be as many as 170 – all of them
distinct languages, not simply dialects. This remarkable number of languages
persist to this day.
Evolution of Language Policy In Philippines
The Philippines is a country of many languages, and the journey to modern-day
Filipino is filled with twists and turns.

The Spanish, naturally, conducted their imperial business in

Spanish. While Spanish never supplanted the local languages, it
certainly had an influence over them, and many of the local
languages of the Philippines borrowed words, phrases, and
structures from Spanish over the years.
History of the languages of the Philippines
• There was no common language spoken in the Philippines until the 16th century
when Spanish became the official language of the country.
• Spanish remained the official language in the country for over 3 centuries after the
Spanish colonizers came to the Philippines in 1565.
• During the Seven Years’ War in 1762, the British invaded Manila, which was the
first time when the Philippine people were confronted with the English language.
However, it gained more influence later on, in the period between 1898 and 1946,
known as American rule.
• In the 1930s, the Commonwealth government decided that the Philippines should
have a national language. This affair set the beginning of Philippine language
history.
• In the 1970s, the debate on a national language reappeared. This time, however, the
government focused on creating a national language called Filipino, which would lay the
grounds for a new society.
• Linguists were assigned the task to modify and enrich the Tagalog language by borrowing
words from English, Spanish, Chinese, and Malay. A significant effort was put into
replacing unsound Tagalog words with new ones that sounded more melodious.
• For instance, the word ‘silya’ stemmed from the Spanish language and was invented to
replace the Tagalog word ‘salumpuwit.’
• In 1937, the Filipino language was proclaimed the
national language of the Philippines. Nine years later, in
1946, it was declared an official language. That same
year, the 20-letter Abakada alphabet was introduced and
became the standard of the country’s new national
language.
 Are the languages of the Philippines mutually
intelligible?

• In the 1990s, R. David Paul Zorc was the first linguist to propose to include all
the languages of the Philippines and northern Sulawesi into the so-called
group of the Philippine languages. This proposition was later supported by
another linguist, Robert Blust.
• This grouping is not a coincidence. Indeed, the languages spoken in the
Philippines share plenty of similarities in terms of vocabulary. A very suitable
example in this regard is the common greeting ‘kumusta ka,’ which is a
greeting that people use in several different languages such as Tagalog,
Cebuano, and Ilokano.
• Filipino and Tagalog
• One of the two official languages in the Philippines is Filipino
language, which is based on the Tagalog language.
• The Filipino language is derived from the Tagalog language, but it
also consists of a considerable amount of Spanish, Chinese, and
English words. These words were nativized and are now a part of
the Filipino language.
 The differences between Filipino and Tagalog

The differences between Tagalog and Filipino aren’t as many as

one would expect. In fact, Filipino can be viewed as an upgraded,
better-sounding version of Tagalog.
There are some contrasts in terms of the alphabet. The Tagalog
alphabet consists of 20 letters, while the Filipino alphabet has 28
letters – 20 letters from Tagalog and 8 letters from European
languages such as f, c, x, j, and z.
Still, the two languages share the same grammatical structures.
Overall, it is estimated that Filipino and Tagalog share up to 90% of
their vocabulary. The remaining 10% of Filipino vocabulary consists of
nativized words from English, Spanish, and Chinese.
What is Taglish?

Taglish is an unofficial melding of

English and Tagalog, which is spoken
not only in the Philippines but in any
region where huge Filipino populations
are located (e.g., the US)
What are the indigenous languages spoken in the Philippines?
Multilingualism in the Philippines

The Philippines is a place with an incredibly diverse linguistic heritage. While

the country is the fourth-largest English-speaking country in the world, one
should not underestimate how widely the indigenous languages are spoken in
the country.
What’s more, the influence of English is slowly diminishing since the
government is investing considerable efforts in promoting the native
Philippine languages. As a result, a new trend of multilingualism is occurring
among the younger generations.
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Thank you

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