STORY OF TWO TAGALISTAS - Languages - http://phatbowling.com/defender/story

In a message dated 8/19/2004 9:33:49 PM Pacific Standard Time, lynntol@digitelone.com writes:

> There was some interesting thing I experienced in the park this morning.
It's been a sunny day and I was taking my dog for a walk. Along the way
I chanced to see two acquaintances seated on a bench, enjoying the weather and
engrossed in conversation. They were so busy talking about a movie they had
just seen, The Diary of A Princess, starring Julie Andrews that they did not
notice my presence. They were conversing in Tagalog and naturally, I could not
help being thrilled by it. It so happened that my dog wanted to relieve
himself and so I had stopped next to them and heard them talking for about a minute or so. I did not want to disturb them nor to interrupt. But then, one of them
happened to glance up and saw me lighting a cigarette and said hello to me in
Tagalog and I returned her greeting. Like I said I was happy listening to them
converse in Tagalog. Now, why was I? Because they were both Ilonggos! If one
of them had been a Tagalog I wouldn't have been thrilled. But they were both
Ilonggos. And they did not even know I was there. So I was happy by the fact
that they were using my language despite that. I'm sure that just any Tagalog,
would have been thrilled to hear that! But then I suddenly realized that I was a DILA member and my mind felt kind of disturbed. So I asked them why they were not conversing in their own language. So one of them said, "Well, we live in an
apartment which we share with three other girls two of whom are Tagalogs. So
Tagalog is what we all speak there. Rose and I eventually thought that we
might just as well speak with each other in Tagalog (all the time). And it has become a habit."
"Oh, I see," I said.
I left them soon after. But their conversation kept ringing in my ears. They
are the ones that are killing their own language, I said to myself. But I just
did not have the nerve to give them advice.
Lynn< ____________________________________________________________________ Nice story Lynn. I hope this would not happen to among us, Capampangans. When just among ourselves, let's use Capampangan. In our meetings in the Aguman Capampangan Northwest U.S.A of which I am the president, we always use Campangan. This is despite the presence of special members (non-Capampangan spouses of regular members). I am planning to institute a class, free of any tuition, here in my area for Capampangan language learning. The class shall be composed of children born in the U.S. and whose parents are Capampangan. This project would, I think, enable us to perpetuate our existence as a cultural group in a foreign land. If this local project succeeds, I can use it for exemplary purposes to encourage and invite other Capampangan associations here in the U.S. and abroad to do the same. Ernie Turla president, Akademya ning Kapampangan, U.S.A. Tim, In a message dated 8/20/2004 6:01:17 PM Pacific Standard Time, binisiya@yahoo.com writes: Do you know of other languages being taught locally? None that I know of. That's why I have come up last night with the idea of organizing a class for Kapampangan language learning. It would be a good project I thought. The students will be U.S.-born children whose parents are Kapampangan. The teachers will be volunteers from our local Kapampangan association. And the course won't involve a fee. It will be free. I figure that if we volunteer our services to some causes, religious or political, we can also volunteer our time and effort to some other worth-while cause, like this one on language. I will be treating our language as one of those native American languages here of which there are now just a handful of speakers now mostly old, the young generation now being English-speaking. You probably must have read about such dying Indian languages and which are now being revived. The aim of this experimental project is to make the children bi-lingual - just like their parents. It does not make sense for them to be English-speaking only, and not versed in Kapampangan. ( Some parents are proud of the fact that their children know no other language but English, thinking that in being so, they would become exactly like what an American child is and would not be looked down upon.) The color of their skin and the shape of their noses would anyway reveal what they really are. So they might as well learn the language. If this local project is successful, I, as president of the Akdemyang Kapampangan USA, may encourage and invite other sister organizations nation-wide to follow suit. Embarking on such a venture could be time-consuming but it will be well worth the effort perhaps. Regards, Cabalern *************************************************************************** In a message dated 8/22/2004 3:05:26 PM Pacific Standard Time, dindo1@bigpond.net.au writes: As with Cebuanos, if we didn't grow up being "punished" for using our indigenous languages in school, we would still be using our own tongue with pride. So why blame the victims? Dindo, one can escape from that haunting experience. These two Ilonggos deliberately used Tagalog, nobody was compelling them anymore. No longer in school, they can now do whatever language they think is appropriate to use. No one is forcing them. They can even change their religion if they want to. Or move to another place if they want to. In other words they are free. But they seem to choose conversing in Tagalog despite their being Ilonggo, if I read Lynn correctly. I don't ever do that with fellow Kapampangans. Do you? We, Kapampangans, use our own language when speaking with one another. Unless of course there is one non-Kapampangan among us, in which case of which, out of respect we reluctantly switch to Tagalog. And why do you call those two Ilonggas "victims"? I don't think they consider themselves as "victims". The victim is actually their own language, Hiligaynon, because it has lost two native speakers. Cabalerns In a message dated 8/22/2004 9:15:10 PM Pacific Standard Time, dindo1@bigpond.net.au writes: >My gosh!! Our languages, ourselves...what is the difference?

Yes, there is a difference in some points. Just like the difference between
a language and when it is honey-coated. But here it is more serious than
that. While languages, being inanimate, can not defend themselves against
any policy set upon them, their speakers can. We make our own minds, dindo.
I choose to speak my own language with fellow Kapampangans. I choose not
to be a Tagalista. When a fellow Kapampangan kind of shifts to Tagalog during
our conversation I quickly straighten him out with the reminder, "Hey, you're forgetting we're both Kapampangans, let's speak the language" and he gets back to the same mode. Some may have stayed in Manila for sometime and carry the language they used there to their province or to the states. Some have been associating with too many Filipinos that are not Kapampangans and as such, they may have gotten used to using Tagalog, forgetting sometimes that the one they are talking with are fellow Kapampangans. Some may have forgotten the language they started neglecting at the age of seven when Tagalog was officially introduced to their world. In any case they may have lost their fluency in it. But if they really still have any heart for it, they should struggle to attain that fluency they once had. I always give them more time to express themselves in it. I'd say, "Take your time, fella, I'd rather hear you express it in our own language and not in Tagalog." I find it silly using either Tagalog or English to a fellow Kapampangan. Casi, balamu titiwalag que ing mismung salita cu. Ustu mung e que a-express masalese queng Kapampangan
anti mo neng cailangan lang gamitan deng technical terms a ala caya.
Let's draw a line between language and speakers, though many a time
they could be one. For instance, Kapampangan is the language of Kapampangans,
indigenous natives of the province people also call by the same name, Kapampangan. Same way with Cebu, Iloilo, etc. for that matter. People have descendants, but languages don't unless they are left in a natural or unconstrained environment where they can flourish instead of becoming extinct. Long after our languages have died, there will still be people in our provinces. They will carry on the blood of their ancestors in their veins but not their language and so their identity would change. Those two Ilonggos speaking Tagalog must have become practicing Tagalistas without even knowing it. But they certainly can avoid becoming accomplices in this ongoing ethnic cleansing. I don't blame Tagalogs for being Tagalistas since, like our ally Lynn, they love their language. It's a way of expressing their nationalism. But I can't stand two Kapampangans conversing in Tagalog.
While looked upon as "nationalistic" by Tagalistas, they are unappreciated by die-hard Kapampangans, and Aring Sinukuan should give them the rod. For they betray themselves in doing so. Just like those two Ilonggos in Lynn's story.

Cabalern

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