Language is a colorful tapestry created by intricately weaving strands of diverse wisdom, cultural, and historical narratives. The first semblance of a language in the early stages of human evolution was using imagery, symbolism, and sounds, serving as stencils for the intricate design of human communication. Through time, scholars and researchers have discovered that when these strings intertwine, they can form words and sentences, ultimately leading to different languages spoken and known today.
There are more than seven thousand languages spoken by people around the world, and Filipino is one of them.
The Filipino language is an abundant mix of different cultural and historical echoes derived from the influence of its long history with colonization. The Philippines is rich in language diversity with almost 200 languages, 12 of which are majorly spoken across the archipelago — Tagalog, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Iloko, Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Tausug, Maguindanaoan, Marano, and Chavacano. Tagalog is the most widely spoken language in the country with an estimated number of 35 million fluent speakers scattered across its boundaries. The English language may be the lingua franca, but the Filipino language can rival its universality with the intricacy and beauty of its vocabulary, especially with the primeval Tagalog tongue. However, because of the rise of new generational slang and the domination of the English language, there are many Filipino languages and words that are fading away from the nation’s cultural and historical print.
In honor of the month of August, or the “Buwan ng Wika”, here is a list of olden Tagalog words with beautiful meanings.
𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐡á𝐲 (𝘢𝘥𝘫.) (𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨-𝘶𝘳𝘪)
Resilience
Tibay ng loob na labanan ang sakit, paghihirap, o pagsubok
𝐔𝐦á𝐮𝐦 (𝘢𝘥𝘫.) (𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨-𝘶𝘳𝘪)
Motherly display of affection
Maka-inang halik at yakap
𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧á𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐠 (𝘷.) (𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘸𝘢)
To enjoy
Kasiyahan sa isang okasyon
𝐁ú𝐡𝐨𝐬-ú𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠 (𝘯.) (𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯)
Family ties; relationship with kin
Kamag-anak, kapatid, Kapamilya
𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐥𝐢 (𝘷.) (𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘸𝘢)
To care for someone
Pag-aalaga nang lubos sa anak, o sinomang mahirap o mahina
𝐀𝐥𝐩𝐚𝐬 (𝘷.) (𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘸𝘢)
To become free
Pagiging malaya
𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐮𝐲𝐨 (𝘢𝘥𝘫.) (𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨-𝘶𝘳𝘪)
Showing enchantment or being enchanted by someone; to show attraction to someone
Labis na pagka-gusto o interes sa isang tao
Language plays a significant role in both our individual lives and the broader society. It is a primary tool for communication and expression because it allows individuals to convey thoughts, ideas, emotions, and information to others effectively. Language also enables the expression of cultural and ethnic individuality and is a vestige of historical and cultural heritage. Consequently, in its absence, we lose an integral component of our identity as Filipinos and as a nation.
Despite the immense value of language, many of them are at risk of disappearing completely. Linguistic extinction is a growing threat, and it is increasing at an alarming rate. A study published in Nature, Ecology, and Evolution, shows that on a global scale, nearly half of over 7,000 documented languages in the world are now in danger of being bygone by the year 2100, according to the analysis of researchers from the Australian National University. In 2003, 30 languages of the Philippines were classified as endangered, but as of 2021, 15 more languages were added to the roster as per the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Scale (EGIDS). Among the list of endangered Philippine tongues are indigenous languages such as 𝗜𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗻 (Batanes Islands), 𝗞𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗻 (tribal language in the Davao Province), 𝗦𝘂𝗹𝗼𝗱 (Western Visayas), 𝗧𝗮𝗱𝘆𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗻 (Oriental Mindoro), and 𝗬𝗼𝗴𝗮𝗱 (tribal language in the Isabela Province), all of which are starting to lose active speakers causing the language to lose life and ultimately die. Indigenous languages are struggling largely because the English language is dominating across the globe and is frequently used as a medium for universal communication. With all the focus poured on efforts to make the world literate in the English language, research and studies for ways to preserve local languages are on the backseat.
There are more than a hundred distinct dialects in the country that remain undiscovered or poorly documented. Philippine linguistics faces a problem in cushioning its languages and ensuring their continuity amidst language attrition. According to the University of the Philippines’ Linguistic Department, it is likely that the level of language endangerment in the country is high following the country’s multilingualism. Language attrition, or the process of losing speakers of native or first languages, happens due to isolation from fellow native speakers and the acquisition of a second language that is more dominant and economically powerful than the first. The partitioning of languages according to prestige and power can also be blamed for the rise in linguistic endangerment in the nation. Language attitudes and motivation for learning and using other languages are influenced by the idea that languages have a “social status” among speakers.
We cannot let our language die and be left in the dust while the world progresses forward to much more modern times. Our local linguistics should receive the same amount of succor that the development and proliferation of the global language receive. Language is vital to domains of society such as education, law and governance, economic development, and cultural and historical heritage— all of which governing social cohesion. If we fail to act upon the crisis of the preservation of our Philippine linguistics, we lose a huge inlay of our culture and history, our people, civilization, and humanity.
Written by Lexine Cruz
Pubmat by Raiza Feria
REFERENCES
- COMMONER. (2021, August 25). Our local languages are dying out. Here’s what’s at stake. Medium; Medium. https://mediacommoner.medium.com/our-local-languages-are-dying-out-heres-what-s-at-stake-67e62984563f#:~:text=To%20classify%20a%20language%20as,45%20%E2%80%9Cin%20danger%E2%80%9D%20languages.
- Headland, T. N. (2013, January 24). Thirty endangered languages in the Philippines. SIL International. https://www.sil.org/resources/archives/40139
- Lindell Bromham, Dinnage, R., Hedvig Skirgård, Ritchie, A. M., Cardillo, M., Meakins, F., Greenhill, S. J., & Hua, X. (2021). Global predictors of language endangerment and the future of linguistic diversity. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 6(2), 163–173. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01604-y
- Mario Alvaro Limos. (2021). 50 Filipino Words Worth Reintroducing Into the Common Lingo. Esquiremag.ph. https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/50-beautiful-filipino-words-a00293-20210816-lfrm3
- UP Department of Linguistics. (2021, November 22). Counter-Babel: Reframing Linguistic Practices in Multilingual Philippines – Department of Linguistics – UP Diliman. Department of Linguistics – up Diliman. https://linguistics.upd.edu.ph/news/counter-babel-reframing-linguistic-practices-in-multilingual-philippines/