Buwan ng Wika 2006

The Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF; National Language Commission) has a poster, a few photos and a list of winners. Other government agencies have a few press releases. Is it any wonder that traditional media did not take much notice of Buwan ng Wika (Language Month)?

I hope this seeming disregard for the event is not an indication of the (ir)relevance of Filipino as a language, but it's a good thing more than a few bloggers wrote about what happened this past month. Of the seven unique results for "Buwan ng Wika" on Google News, only three are worth mentioning:

"August is 'Buwan ng Wika (Language Month)': Celebrating the non-existent Filipino language" by Jes Tirol (Bohol Chronicle, 20 August 2006), who says that "we do not know what we are celebrating because at present nobody knows what is the FILIPINO language. The Filipino language, with an 'F' spelling is no longer the Tagalog base Pilipino, with a 'P' spelling."

"Speaking in tongues–Pilipino-style" by Rome Jorge (Manila Times, 13 August 2006), where KWF chair Ricardo Nolasco explains that this year's theme, "Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa ay Buwan ng mga Wika sa Pilipinas" is a "pitch for linguistic diversity. Isang Bansa, Isang Diwa was the slogan during the martial-law regime and that promoted dangerous ideas such as that having many languages was disadvantageous to the country—and that’s not correct."

"In any language" (Manila Times, 23 August 2006), an editorial, notes that "A speaker begins his sentence in English, lapses into Pilipino and reverts to English with ease, without destroying his train of thought. Or he may begin in Tagalog and repeat the process in reverse. Taglish is spoken by masters and servants, the educated and the masses, the rulers and the governed. In the battle for survival, Taglish will prevail."

For a less formal flavor, check out the posts on Technorati, which include:

Photos taken by Lei at her school's celebration.

"TaluMpaTi," where Jadeangel13 says that, "Masyado nating niyayakap ang wika ng ibang bansa. Dumarating sa atin ang kaisipan na kapag marunong kang gumagit ng wikang Ingles, magaling ka." It's not perfect (notice the typo?), but it's one of the very few speeches written by a student that I've found online.

"Buwan ng Wika: No Longer a Costume" by Loreen, where she highlights her experience wearing a malong the whole day and comes up with a very memorable line: "...bakit ba costume lang ang tingin natin sa kanila? That's because we are now so Westernized... para tayong copy-paste ng mga Western people." Wow!

Finally, there's "A proud moment for gay brothers," which narrates an anecdote about how a small girl won the Bb. Buwan ng Wika (Ms. Filipino Language Month) after answering the question, "Totoo bang masayahin ang mga pilipino? (Are we Filipinos truly a happy people?)" Her reply? "totoo po ito. na kahit anong mangyari..masayahin parin ang mga pilipino. tingnan mo ako! kahit sobrang nininirbyos na dito at halos mahimatay na sa takot.. ngumingiti parin ako." Very Filipino, right? =)


Category: The Philippines