I heard from fellow linguaphile Viktoro about a proposed bill in the Philippine House of Representatives which seeks to make Tagalog as the medium of instruction in schools.
The full article is here. And below is an excerpt.
The bill's authors said use of the national language in the country's schools would better promote love of Filipino. They said the national language is much easier for students to understand.Acquaintances of mine who are against Tagalog being the medium of instruction in non-Tagalog schools will probably disagree with me when I say that this is a step in the right direction. And I sincerely believe it is.
The bill cited that there are more subjects being taught in English than Filipino including Science, Mathematics and the Makabayan subjects that covers music, values, practical arts and physical education. It noted that only Pilipino, Araling Panlipunan and Kasaysayan are taught using the national language.
Ideally, I want Cebuano, Bikol, Ilokano, etc. used as mediums of instruction in their respective regions. But when that isn't possible, the next logical step would be to choose a language that's even remotely related to those languages. And that language is Tagalog. I do understand that many non-Tagalogs are not too fond of this idea, but I think the most important thing is to set aside all differences so that the children understand the subjects that they are learning. They cannot do that effectively in English or Spanish or what not. The languages will not disappear as long as it is spoken at home, on the streets, or anywhere in the child's life.
As I said, this is a first step. Hopefully the next will be Cebuano. Good luck to Bill 1563.
31 comments:
I am against Tagalog being used as the medium of instruction, and the day this happens, you can say goodbye to all those OFW jobs and dollars. It's what separates us from our other Asian counterparts. There are so many advantages of using english, as opposed to using Tagalog - what, we'll appear more nationalistic? Duh. Tagalog is not used as the medium for instruction because (as much as they may deny this) the vocabulary is not big enough to be used for teaching. Have you opened a Tagalog Dictionary of late? I'm sure the solution they'll propose is to start inventing equivalent words - like what my frigging Philosophy teacher did in college, and of course the results were 25-lettered words that no one can remember, nor understand. Want to compete with the Germans eh? And even if they're able to write up simple translations, who else will understand these - other Filipinos in the other parts of the world? Nice.
At most I think they should offer a choice, damning everyone to the path of devolution is not everyone's life plan, some people actually want to be successful? And work abroad or live abroad, or work with foreign businesses. We are not self-sustaining, we've proven that for the last 3 decades, we need help from outside, thus we have to accommodate them. Not ask them to learn Tagalog first before thinking of hiring us or building a company here.
Anyways, when you come up with a better argument, perhaps you can share this with the Senate and Congress, so that in case they do pass this bill, they'll have some good explanation for the public.
"I am against Tagalog being used as the medium of instruction, and the day this happens, you can say goodbye to all those OFW jobs and dollars. It's what separates us from our other Asian counterparts. There are so many advantages of using english, as opposed to using Tagalog - what, we'll appear more nationalistic"
While I am for teaching the native languages in the schools, this does not in any way mean I am not for teaching English. Far from it. English is a foreign language the overwhelmingly vast majority of Filipinos. As such, it should be treated that way. Why? Because people learn concepts easier than their native tongue. I speak Spanish, but given the choice of learning something new in great detail in either Spanish or English, I'll overwhelmingly choose English to ensure that I understand everything.
The role of English, as I should, is that of a foreign language. It should be taught as early as possible, but it should not be used to teach about the math and sciences. Why would I expect a Japanese or Indonesian to learn about algebra in English?
"Tagalog is not used as the medium for instruction because (as much as they may deny this) the vocabulary is not big enough to be used for teaching."
This is misleading. This is implying that very pure Tagalog and the invention of words will happen. First of all, purely English words alone cannot teach about math and sciences. A lot of words are borrowed from Latin and Greek. Japanese borrows a lot of Chinese words. Certainly Tagalog can do the same thing.
"And even if they're able to write up simple translations, who else will understand these - other Filipinos in the other parts of the world?"
Who understands what the Finns or Czechs write in their languages? There are more Tagalog speakers than Finns and Czechs combined but yet these two languages are languages used in universities.
"damning everyone to the path of devolution is not everyone's life plan, some people actually want to be successful?"
That depends on what your view of successful is. What is more important? Knowledge of various subjects even though you learned it in Tagalog or fluency in English (which many Filipinos do not achieve) and mediocre knowledge of subjects?
My opinion is not very popular. And it's very unfortunate. It's unfortunate that many Filipinos still think of their native languages as backwards and primitive. How pathetic colonial mentality is.
"We are not self-sustaining, we've proven that for the last 3 decades, we need help from outside, thus we have to accommodate them."
Again this is assuming that we get rid of English altogether, something which I am very much against. I emphasize that being fluent in English is important not only for Filipinos but for other people around the world. It opens up doors. However, fluency of English should not be attained at the sacrifice of knowledge in other languages. It should neither be a hindrance nor an obstacle to learning new concepts in school. And that's what it has become. English should not be the vehicle, but a destination.
I hope I've made myself clear.
Then maybe you should start translating all the academic books we use that are in english - into Tagalog-since you're so into your big grand plan... I'm sure this won't cost anyone the least bit of time, money nor trouble. Wooohoo, I look forward to the time to be able to browse through a Tagalog version of The Economics of Accounting and Finance - NOT!
And FYI: AS I"VE SAID, though there may be some countries like Finland or Czech Rep whose pop is like 4 people - their economy is WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY better than ours and thus their dependence on foreign investors is WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY less - take note, I did not say ZERO, but way less. Imagine how much foreign investments and grants and loans we need to get - this very moment, simply to reach the same level as their economy...uh what was that...90 Jillion dollars? When the time comes that our standard of living and the income per capita, and the GNP, GDP,
the unemployment rate, and our national debt comes at par to theirs, maybe then yuo can start dreaming of making some comparisons. The mere fact that we're sooo behind should should give you a clue that we're doing something wrong... What was that? You think this entire language hooplah is going to solve everything, wow, that's simply genius - genius I tell you!!! Perhaps try to put your whole plan into writing - you might win a Nobel Prize who knows - but then again, since you'll be writing it in TAGALOG, I wonder if the judges will understand a word of it...
By the way, thank you for pointing out that you were fluent in Spanish - although sad to tell you, I already knew this. Did you know on the other hand, that I am fluent in Tagalog, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese and Mandarin. Oh, and by the by... I teach foreign languages too.
"Then maybe you should start translating all the academic books we use that are in english - into Tagalog-since you're so into your big grand plan..."
That's a very worthy cause which would be a great honor to be a part of. I commend people who do that. Perhaps I will in the future. My friend and fellow linguist Jason Lobel has started working on a math book for Bikol speakers a couple of years ago. I'm sure many Bikolano children will benefit greatly from that.
There seems to be this erroneous notion that it's somehow difficult and costly to translate textbooks into languages. First, why translate? Filipinos will make their own. And secondly, there are costs involved in bringing in textbooks in English. Why waste money on something that kids will have a harder time understanding?
Also, I should point out the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) instituted a program that stemmed the tide of dropouts. They instead taught in the native language and performance improved.
For decades SIL has provided textbooks in the native language. You can view a sampling at http://www.sil.org/asia/philippines/recent_vernac_pubs.html.
"Wooohoo, I look forward to the time to be able to browse through a Tagalog version of The Economics of Accounting and Finance - NOT!"
Why would you need to? You already speak English. Many other Filipinos have only a smattering of it.
"countries like Finland or Czech Rep whose pop is like 4 people - their economy is WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY better than ours and thus their dependence on foreign investors is WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY less - take note",
Finland and the Czech Republic don't rely on foreign investors? Please double check your facts.
FWIW, the Philippines ranks 43 in GDP. The Czech Republic ranks slightly higher at 40. But let's see, how about other countries that have a lower GDP rank that the Philippines? Nigeria at 52 uses 7 regional languages in their schools. Iceland is at 82 and the people who speaks their language doesn't even reach a million.
If countries poorer than the Philippines can do it, then so can the Philippines.
"The mere fact that we're sooo behind should should give you a clue that we're doing something wrong..."
Hmmmmm... English is widely used in Philippine schools. That may be the problem!
"You think this entire language hooplah is going to solve everything, wow, that's simply genius - genius I tell you!!!"
Bullshit. I didn't say that switching to vernacular instruction would solve everything.
I mean, I wonder why are you having such a difficult time seeing the connection. If it's in the Filipinos' languages, they'll understand. If it's not in English, then there are problems. It does not take a dumbass to figure that out.
"Perhaps try to put your whole plan into writing - you might win a Nobel Prize who knows - but then again, since you'll be writing it in TAGALOG, I wonder if the judges will understand a word of it..."
You're certainly ignorant. People who have won the Nobel Prize for literature are those who wrote in their native languages such as Yasunari Kawabata (1968), Imre Kertész (2002), Jean-Paul Sartre (1964, but refused it), and heck in 1904 Frédéric Mistral won and he revived Occitan - a language many people in France continue to look down upon the same way you are doing with Tagalog now.
"By the way, thank you for pointing out that you were fluent in Spanish - although sad to tell you, I already knew this."
I did not do it for bragging, which is what you're implying. I did it to outline a point which totally went over your head.
"Did you know on the other hand, that I am fluent in Tagalog, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese and Mandarin. Oh, and by the by... I teach foreign languages"
Ah ouin ? Je le crois pas moi.
But please oh please get over this colonial mentality bullshit which has brainwashed your mind.
--Chris
>>>I'm sure the solution they'll propose is to start inventing equivalent words - like what my frigging Philosophy teacher did in college, and of course the results were 25-lettered words that no one can remember, nor understand. <<<
What's the problem? Filipinos aren't as incompetent as you may think. Length of the word has nothing to do w/ memory. I speak a language that has done just this. In order for it to progress in today's time, they've created a bunch of words. Just like any other European or non-European language does.
>>>And even if they're able to write up simple translations, who else will understand these - other Filipinos in the other parts of the world? Nice.<<<
Why not? Again, I know a perfect example of this. You're stating only the "it's not possible" w/o any proof. On the other side of the spectrum, I know of proof of how this is possible.
>>>We are not self-sustaining, we've proven that for the last 3 decades, we need help from outside, thus we have to accommodate them.<<<
Help from outside? Give me examples.
>>>Anyways, when you come up with a better argument, perhaps you can share this with the Senate and Congress, so that in case they do pass this bill, they'll have some good explanation for the public.<<<
This sounds hypocritical. You could come up with a counter argument, one with more evidence of how it would not work.
"There seems to be this erroneous notion that it's somehow difficult and costly to translate textbooks into languages. First, why translate? Filipinos will make their own. And secondly, there are costs involved in bringing in textbooks in English."
Making their own will still involve a cost! in fact more than merely translating existing books. Textbuk which already existed in English (and now Filipino) can be republished with less cost than writing new syllabus from scratch in a different language. Publishing a book in 8 or 10 languages will cost more than publishing in 1 or 2 languages. What more in the 100+ of languages and dialects. You will lose economies of scale so price will rise. And how many years its taking just to produce one math book in Bicol?! Then consider how many grades you have to prepare books for, how many subjects for each, and then multiply by number of languages. And then take into account need to regular syllabus review and upgrade of edition. Definitely a lot more trouble than with just one or two language.
If you think it's not difficult, you go do it yourself, and you shoulder the extra overall cost.
"There seems to be this erroneous notion that it's somehow difficult and costly to translate textbooks into languages. First, why translate? Filipinos will make their own. And secondly, there are costs involved in bringing in textbooks in English."
Making their own will still involve a cost! in fact more than merely translating existing books. Textbuk which already existed in English (and now Filipino) can be republished with less cost than writing new syllabus from scratch in a different language. Publishing a book in 8 or 10 languages will cost more than publishing in 1 or 2 languages. What more in the 100+ of languages and dialects. You will lose economies of scale so price will rise. And how many years its taking just to produce one math book in Bicol?! Then consider how many grades you have to prepare books for, how many subjects for each, and then multiply by number of languages. And then take into account need to regular syllabus review and upgrade of edition. Definitely a lot more trouble than with just one or two language.
If you think it's not difficult, you go do it yourself, and you shoulder the extra overall cost.
"There seems to be this erroneous notion that it's somehow difficult and costly to translate textbooks into languages. First, why translate? Filipinos will make their own. And secondly, there are costs involved in bringing in textbooks in English."
Making their own will still involve a cost! in fact more than merely translating existing books. Textbuk which already existed in English (and now Filipino) can be republished with less cost than writing new syllabus from scratch in a different language. Publishing a book in 8 or 10 languages will cost more than publishing in 1 or 2 languages. What more in the 100+ of languages and dialects. You will lose economies of scale so price will rise. And how many years its taking just to produce one math book in Bicol?! Then consider how many grades you have to prepare books for, how many subjects for each, and then multiply by number of languages. And then take into account need to regular syllabus review and upgrade of edition. Definitely a lot more trouble than with just one or two language.
If you think it's not difficult, you go do it yourself, and you shoulder the extra overall cost.
Then think of the jobs that will created for the textbook industry. That is good for the Philippine economy.
Whatever the cost is, the price of quality education in the Philippines is well worth it.
And, y'know, it does not have to be all languages at once. Let's be realistic here. We'll start with Tagalog. And then Cebuano. Then Ilokano.... One step at a time.
I must also add that the price of preserving these languages is also worth it.
..> "Then think of the jobs that will created for the textbook industry. "
Then this is not really about language preservation but about your self-preservation, i.e. creating writer/translator jobs for linguists, and making sure you have a job in the future at the expense of the Filipino consumers!
"Then this is not really about language preservation but about your self-preservation, i.e. creating writer/translator jobs for linguists, and making sure you have a job in the future at the expense of the Filipino consumers!"
Naku! Gagu ka talaga, 'no? Being a writer and translator of textbooks is not my career goal. I think the people who are qualified to do the textbooks are NOT the linguists but Filipinos who have degrees in math and sciences. And those are not my areas of specialty.
It's not only about preserving languages, it's not only about having a quality education in their language, but it's also the various ethnic group's right to be taught in the language they grew up in.
You have a warped interpretation of what my opinion is and have contributed absolutely nothing of substance so far to this discussion. Go back to your little hole, you troll.
To ANONYMOUS who seems to be hooked upon reading this blog and waste their time responding:
Chris is right. You don't need to start all at once, and I think you're over reacting and being a bit immature and rather than thinking through things, you seem to be just spouting off silly little tidbits of useless responses that really has no ground.
You mentioned how you feel that this is about providing profit only for linguists or translators translating all text books. Do you really think that those who create these text books do not profit to begin with? Clearly you must know that there is always someone profiting from this, including teachers. Not that thees people make a lot of money, but certainly are profiting from it in some form or another.
Again, I know of a good example of this being done, has been done, where text books had to be created. It certainly isn't impossible. You are only making claims of all the "impossibilities" that could only come out of this when in reality it is possible as demonstrated with other languages on the near brink of extinction.
Kalani's right... If I wanted to make a profit , why would I want to do it in pesos? This guy ain't thinkin'.. If I wanted to make a killing in minority language textbooks, maybe I can do it in Spain or Switzerland and get paid in Euros..
Yeah, good excuse.
Which is infinitely better than your exceedingly piss-poor reasoning.
And those are perfect examples. There are way too many other minority languages spoken in other major countries that you would think the market would be so lucritive, but in actuality it's not. If it were, I'm sure many linguists and other language buffs would be ravin about this part of the business.
Fact is, trying to get the language medium changed has been done before as we've witnessed with the Philippines before beginning in 1937. It certainly is possible given the history and other examples worldwide.
chris, ur one heck of a guy. gotta hand it to u man, it's people like u that have the principles in life and having the heart to make that difference that this country is lacking. there's always a possibility for something new to happen. but like i said, people with a strong philosophy in life rarely exist nowadays. i've gone through there and believe me, i'm even lucky to have the bucks to spare for thiss off-peak internet thingie. reality out there might not be so passionate of that change as you. u even here it in the news: father rapes daughter. in our locality in lilo-an we had this kid, around ten, who raped a 5 year old. they don't hold the pride of our native languages, that much i learned the hard way. i can't say it's not a possibility. but God, what i'd give for you to prove me wrong. if by chance you fail to succeed, i'd been honored and uplisted to hear people like you guys are out there trying.
chris, ur one heck of a guy. gotta hand it to u man, it's people like u that have the principles in life and having the heart to make that difference that this country is lacking. there's always a possibility for something new to happen. but like i said, people with a strong philosophy in life rarely exist nowadays. i've gone through there and believe me, i'm even lucky to have the bucks to spare for thiss off-peak internet thingie. reality out there might not be so passionate of that change as you. u even here it in the news: father rapes daughter. in our locality in lilo-an we had this kid, around ten, who raped a 5 year old. they don't hold the pride of our native languages, that much i learned the hard way. i can't say it's not a possibility. but God, what i'd give for you to prove me wrong. if by chance you fail to succeed, i'd been honored and uplisted to hear people like you guys are out there trying. -gnat
uplifted
that was"hear" and "uplifted." too sleepy. hehe
accounting in tagalog
Subject: Tagalog Na Tunay
A young, good-looking representative from Laguna
sponsored a bill recommending Filipino language be
used in all levels of accounting firms
and banking institutions. The solon claimed it will
provide a better understanding of the business
transactions for those who are inexperienced
and non-English speaking citizens.
The bill received unanimous approval from the House
and was presented to the President for signature to
become the law of the land. But in spite of the
overwhelming pressure from the members of the
Congress, President Gloria Arroyo vetoed the bill.
Why?
She found out that when the English "business" words
are translated in Tagalog, they sound very malicious
and are "nakaka-hiya at nakaka-kilabot!"
Here are a few sample words -
English to Tagalog
Asset - Ari
Fixed asset - Nakatirik na ari
Liquid asset - Basang ari
Solid asset - Matigas na ari
Owned asset - Sariling pag aari
Other asset - Ari ng iba
Miscellaneous asset - Iba-ibang klaseng ari
Asset write off - Pinutol na pagaari
Depreciation of asset - Laspag na pagaari
Fully depreciated asset - Laspag na laspag na pagaari
Earning asset - Tumutubong pagaari
Working asset - Ganado pa ang ari
Non-earning asset - Baldado na ang ari
Erroneous entry - Mali ang pagka pasok
Double entry - Dalawang beses ipinasok
Mutiple entry - Labas pasok nang labas pasok
Correcting entry - Itinama ang pagpasok
Reversing entry - Baligtad ang pagkakapasok
Dead asset - Patay na ang ARI
I do agree with anonymous that Chabacano should be made the medium of communication in the Philippines. Look at Malaysia and Indonesia, they are very succesful in using Bahasa (pidgin Malay) as a unifying national language in their respective countries.
It is also amazing to know that the Javanese, who make up 50% of the Indonesian population or 100 million or so made an outstanding unifying gesture for national integration by allowing Bahasa instead of imposing their Javanese language on the whole country.
It appears that in the Philippines the Tagalogs still clamor to impose their language and identity on the whole archipelago even when Cebuano is spoken by most people in the Philippines than Tagalog. The Tagalogs are not the only Filipinos.
In our experience in Zamboanga with migrants who come from Luzon and the Visayas and who are serious in learning to speak Chabacano verbally and with out any written aids, it only takes them an average of six months to be fluent in Chabacano because most hispanized Filipino languages like Tagalog, Ilocano, Cebuano etc. already have more than 30% Spanish and Filipinismo (Spanish words with Filipino connotation) words in their vocabulary. Inspite of not having schools in Zamboanga that teach written Chabacano, migrants from other parts of the archipelago, if they are interested, can learn Chabacano rapidly.
And whether you choose Caviteño or Zamboangueño Chabacano doesn't really matter, both variants are pretty much the same because it was the Caviteño population in Zamboanga like my ancestors who propagated the Chavacano tongue. In my humble estimate, 50% of Malay words in Zamboangueño Chabacano are Tagalog together with Ilongo and Cebuano words. We have Tagalog words such as maribalan (manibalang in Tagalog) that are unbeknownst to Tagalog speakers in Manila who come from other provinces where Tagalog is not their first language.
For the majority of Filipinos who are compelled to learn Tagalog in school, learning it can be hectic and most of us find it easier to learn English than Tagalog. Dread will be day when schools use Tagalog as the sole medium of instruction, instead of learning the subject matter we will spend twice the effort learning Tagalog.
In retrospect, there are two issues here, one is the need of the Philippines to have a more accessible medium of communication for the masses and the other is political - the unwillingness of the Tagalogs to abandon their imposition of language and identity on the country. Hect, even in Spain the Castilians have lost their way and languages like Basques and Catalan are now being taught in their respective areas. But in the Philippines, the Tagalogs appear to be emulating the 15th century Castilians. What a real "colonial mentality" we have here.
And sure other languages like Ilocano, Cebuano, Pangasinan, and all other long ignored native languages, can be accomodated and taught in their respective areas and lo and behold Chabacano would not threaten their existence.
i think it would be great to use filipino as the medium of instruction. i think it would give a sense of pride and nationalism. we filipinos have absolutely zero love for our nationality and country. with a little effort and yes, a bigger budget to actually with make a difference to give the youth today a sense of filipino worth. hundreds of years had past by and the lives of our great heroes were wasted for nothing. wasted for the spoiled, the illiterate, and the those who do not even care.
statistics actually show that countries who use their own languages have the highest scores in math and science. in the 1960's, the iloilo experiment showed that filipino youths learn faster and better in their native language. it would be a great way to learn especially for the students in public school considering they don't learn english first hand at home. school would be less intimidating when taught not in an alien language, with only understanding words that you can count with your fingers.
nevertheless, english should be always a part of every curriculum. and, if anyone would say that filipinos would have a hard time comprehending filipino, now that is just sad! so, the challenge actually is not the filipino language as medium of instruction but the capability of our educators, the guidance of our parents, and our outlook on how we go about the hypothetical idea of using filipino as the medium of instruction. with that all i can say is, all you english teachers better take it a notch up.
Bill 1563 is all about the medium of instruction. It suggests that we better use Filipino that English. It states that the use of the national language in the country’s school would better promote the love of Filipino. It also says there that national language is muche easier to understand.
I don’t agree of using Filipino as a medium of instruction for education because. This is because English is the most commonly used language in the world. It’s an international language. Through English language, every country can communcate wuth each other. Filipinos are one of the most best speakers in the world, this is because at our young age we were trained to speak English at our schoolsand now, majority of us, Filipinos, knows how to speak English. That’s why many foreign employers choose Filipinos to work for their company, specially call centers. But if Blill 1563 will be passed and approved, what will happen to the next generation of Filipinos? Is today our economy is already bad, what more of there will be no more Filipino OFW’s because of laguage barrier?
Another disadvantege of using Filipino as a medium of instruction is the hardship of teaching. They say it will be more easier to understand the lessons if it is in Filipino, but how about the english, scientific and mathematical terms that don’t have counter partsin our Filipino language? It is the teacher and the textbook authors that will suffer in translating these lessons into Filipino.
Application of Bill 1563, when approved, will take a long time because it is not that easy translating. The author of the bill thinks that this chang will make our country better, in contrary, it will just bring problems. Let’s admit it. We can’t stand alone and we need help from other countries too. Just like in history, when America helped us form our government.
Re Chavacano
Vast majority of languages in the Philippines are not Spanish pidgins. My native language (as well as the majority of the Filipinos)is not a Spanish pidgin. Chavacano is unique but you probably know its original meaning. Even though it is a pidgin, it has its own grammar rules, Chavacano grammar rules, not Spanish grammar rules. The Chavacanos who were taking the required 12 units of Spanish in colleges in Manila during late 70s were resentful because they were made to feel that to everyone else,the race was just starting but the Chavacanos started way past the starting line. Tagalog is not a Spanish pidgin and Cebuano is not a Spanish pidgin. My parents' native languages are not mutually intelligible. My parents had to speak a Philippine version of the language of diplomacy; otherwise I would not be here blogging. Tagalog is my native language but given that there are more Cebuano speakers than Tagalog speakers, why not use Cebuano instead of Tagalog. My only wish is that you forgive the 10-year-old Tagalog speakers who will start roaring with laughter when they hear "Kanindot nimo"
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