7,107 islands, 175 languages, 1 problem: The language planning dilemma of the Philippines Saadet Tıkaç

The Philippines The Republic of Philippines 7,107 islands Capital: Manila Population: 93 million 11 million living abroad

Languages of the Philippines Official Languages & Major Vernaculars

Northern Philippines Vernacular Languages

Southern Philippines Vernacular Languages

Ethnologue reports that there are 175 languages spoken in the islands, five of which is now extinct. Nolasco (?), on the other hand, counts almost 500 active dialects. The national language of the country is Filipino, an Austronesian language based on Tagalog. English is acknowledged as an official language

84% of the population speak Filipino as a mother tongue as well as using the Philippine variety of English. Surveys show that 74% of the Filipinos have some understanding in English.

Filipino's vocabulary is comprised of many of the Philippine languages, as well as English, which result in extensive code-switching. There are 10 more major languages spoken extensively but mentioned non-nationalist groups as a first language. These are Tagalog, Cebuano Bisayan, Hiligaynon Bisayan, Waray (Eastern Bisayan), Ilokano, Kapampangan, Bicol, Pangasinense, Maranao and Maguindanao.

A History of the Language Situation in the Philippines Colonization and Aftermath 1. The Spanish The Spanish stayed in the country for 350 years, enjoying a long-lasting political and socio-economical as well as cultural domination over the land. The imperial Spain also wanted to rule over the language, too; yet, it has been reported that those who were fluent in the language after the period ended was only the 2.6% of the population.

2. The Americans The Americans were more successful in changing the sociolinguistic system, to an extent that in 41 years, the amount of speakers of English rose from zero to 26.6 percent (data based on the 1939 census). This fact can easily be attributed to the intervention in the policymaking thus increasing the popularity and importance of the language.

Post-colonial and American Period (1989-1946) to the Republic of the Philippines The American period started after the Spanish colonization and was over when the WWII ended. Americans believed that they had brought “freedom and democracy” to the land, so they wanted English to be the language of social and economic life.

Still, discussions on a potential national language never ceased to exist and finally, Tagalog was declared the national language of the state in 1936. This was re- acknowledged by the 1974 constitution. English was also confirmed to be an official language in the same constitution. Now, 21 local bilingual newspapers are published and TV and radio broadcasts are made in both languages as well as local varieties in some places.

Historical Development of Language Planning and Policymaking in the Philippines Before the fall of the American rule in the state, English was no doubt the most dominant language in society, which served as the main medium of instruction in schools except for Filipino language classes. Later with the declaration of Filipino as the national language in 1973, designing a bilingual educational system became inevitable and for this purpose, 1974 Bilingual Education Policy made the teaching of both languages mandatory in schools.

The system required the students to start their career with Filipino, and vernaculars would be serving as “auxiliary languages”, only coming into the picture when the knowledge of the former was very limited in places where local languages were predominantly spoken at home. The policy stated that English would be introduced as late as the third grade, and the following stages would be a part of an English-Filipino bilingual system.

In order arrange and formalize the procedures of these linguistic actions and foster nationalism more, Filipino government founded the “Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino” in 1991. The commission tries to establish Filipino as an academic language, preserve other local Filipino languages and standardize Filipino through monolingual dictionaries.

It is crucial to mention that the bilingual education system and the importance given to English was partly thanks to Overseas Filipino Workers Program, which has been sending Filipinos to the outer world for working where knowledge of English is quite valued.

First foreign institution aiming to teach a foreign language started its operations in 1920, which was “Alliance Française”, and in the second half of the 20th century, many others followed. Once colonial languages in the region, Spanish and Japanese have only recently become subject of interest, whose teaching institutions were introduced in the 1990s.

Current Situation in Language Planning and Policymaking The students have to take Filipino classes in the first two years of university but English is the medium of instruction at the tertiary level and is deemed very significant for the academic and scientific advancement. As for the elementary and secondary schools, Filipino is the language of instruction for most of the subjects. Only English language classes, science and maths are taught in English.

Gonzales (1998) reports that, however, in reality, code switching occurs in almost all levels and, Filipino and English are both used in classroom. In addition, research has shown that vernaculars are also used to an extent, so in fact, a multilingual learning experience takes place.

Teaching English is a painful process, because the children do not receive extensive amount of input before the elementary school as they do with Filipino, so formal procedures need to be applied instead of a naturalistic way of acquisition.

The foreign language teaching in the country is a voluntary action, courses can be taken as elective courses in universities and specialized language institutions serve the public, too.

References Ethnologue Language Listing and Maps: http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=PH Gonzales, A. (1998). The language planning situation in the Philippines'. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 19(5), 487-525. Gonzales, A. (2003). Language planning in multilingual countries: The case of the Philippines. 1-6 Nolasco, R. (2007). Filipino and Tagalog, not so simple. Retrieved from http://www.dalityapi.com/2007_08_01_archive.html en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines