Month Of Language

"Sa Pangangalaga sa wika at kalikasan wagas na pagmamahal ang talagang kailangan"

“Language is a segment of the blood and soul, where thoughts trickle out of where one grows”

The history of the Filipino language was a battle for our ancestors. Language, to them, meant freedom. Blood and Ink was shed for our rights of liberty to be declared. The struggle of ownership of identity, citizenship for our people and a language for our country inspired our national heroes, especially our most venerated, Dr. Jose P. Rizal. He shed ink through his novels, letters and poetry in order for our people to believe in themselves but the irony is, it was only after he shed his own blood that it was ultimately realized.

There was much controversy when the Spaniards wanted to declare Spanish as the National language of the Philippines, therefore a committee was formed in the Philippines that declared in 1935 to choose a National language. The Philippines has many dialects which could be compared to Nigeria or China, due to the variety of tribes, regions and ancient countries clustered together unlike France or Portugal where only one main language is dominantly spoken.

Through the neglect of not knowing our own language, we hurt our ancestors who passed us the right and opportunity of having a National language. As Dr. Jose P. Rizal declared, “He who does not love his own language is worse than an animal and a smelly fish.” Sometimes the truth is harsh, but the truth is true, as he states, “While a people preserves its language; it preserves the mark of liberty.” We have been given a gift by our ancestors, but yet we refuse to accept it. The importance of liberty in language is lost in today’s world. The struggles it took for our ancestors to acquire our National language are long forgotten.

Hence there is a wide margin between the Filipino heritage in contrast with the British way of life. It is a shame at this present moment that not many Filipinos know how to speak their own language of heritage when it is language that makes us who we are and where we come from.

Many Filipino parents have not taught their children how to speak Filipino, instead they have adapted to the language of the country in which they have settled, in our case “English”. Being a citizen in this country Philippines, I'm proud to tell you that I have my own language to communicate with others.