Philippine languages

Media

Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: Philippine languages
Language: English
Year: 1954
Subject: Languages and languages -- Philippines.; Dialects -- Philippines.; Census -- 1948.; Philippines. Bureau of the Census and Statistics.
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Fulltext: The President’s Statement on Our Asian Foreign Policy Malacafiang Press ^■pOLLOWING a morning breakfast-conference at Malacanang with congressional leaders, President Magsaysay this morning (Wednesday, March 10) issued a statement clarifying his Administration’s foreign policy with reference to Asia. “The statement takes an unequivocal position sup porting the freedom and independence of individual Asian nations. “The policy spelled out calls for closest possible cultural and economic cooperation with free Asian neighbors in matters of regional interest, while respecting the right of each nation to self-determination in matters of its own interests. “Recognizing the withdrawal of old-style colonialism from Asia, the statement identifies aggressive communist imperialism as the new colonial threat and takes the position that a return of colonialism in any form is not to be tolerated. “The full text of the President’s statement is as fol lows: am in full agreement with the leaders of Congress A in the following statement of our Asian foreign policy “The Philippine Government stands for the right of self-determination and independence of all Asian nations; for closer cultural and economic relations and mutual cooperation with freedom-loving Asian countries as a group and within the framework of the Charter of the United Nations; and for the proposition that a return to colonialism, of which the last vestiges are now disappearing from Asia, shall not be tolerated in any form. “The colonialism that threatens Asia today is world Communism. Nations which have won their freedom from old-style colonialism now face the danger of losing that freedom. A good defense against this threat is a healthy Release, March 10 Asian nationalism, a nationalism which defends the right of all Asian peoples to self-determination. We support this kind of nationalism as a rallying point for all free Asians against the forces of aggression and subversion. “The Filipino people can best serve the cause of free dom and democracy by cooperating actively with other Asian peoples in the achievement and maintenance of political independence, economic stability, and social justice. We cannot contribute to that cause if we isolate ourselves from other freedom-loving Asian states and are suspected by them of ulterior motives or insincerity in our relations with them. Our Asian policy must, therefore, seek to remove all causes of distrust. “Our Asian policy is not directed against any nation or race. We recognize the fact that to achieve our goals, under-developed countries in this region need the assistance of more advanced economies and that each Asian country should be free to decide for itself whether or not it desires such assistance as well as the conditions it believes com patible with its sovereignty and economic objectives. “For ourselves, we have entered into agreements with the United States of America for mutual defense and special trade relations. There is no incompatibility between the political and economic ties and solidarity of aspirations in peace and in war, which have bound our two countries for more than half a century, and our warm desire to be come good neighbors in Asia in a united effort, imposed by geographical propinquity and racial affinities, to achieve the general prosperity of this region. Rather, these two complementary objectives should give us that balanced foreign policy which we have lacked in the past. “I trust that all patriotic Filipinos will agree on this policy of freedom and friendship in Asia.’” Philippine THE Philippines has 55 language-dialects and 137 sub dialects, exclusive of English, Spanish, and Chinese. This is obviously an impossibly large figure for in formation operatidns. Actually, however, there are ele ments of uniformity which make the task much simpler than it might seem at first glance. The Philippines Bureau of the Census and Statistics recently released hitherto unpublished data from the 1948 Census indicating the growing importance of the major languages of the nation at the expense of the minor. English and Tagalog are running a close race for being the languages spoken by the largest number of Filipinos, but the relative fate of increase is n0w higher for Tagalog than for English. The extent to which Tagalog (the official national language) has spread outside its native heath, is indicated both by comparison with previous Census years and with the number of persons for whom Tagalog was not a native tongue. Between 1939 and 19'48 the percentage of the total Philippine population speaking English rose from 26.6% to 32.4%. Tagalog speakers increased from 25.4%to32.2%, and.Cebuano-Visayan from 22.6% to 25.5%. Hiligaynon-Visayan, Bicol, and East Visayan (Leyteno or Waraywaray) showed only slight relative increases, while Ilocano, Pampango, Pangasinan, and Spanish showed relative decreases. Although no exact comparison has been made of persons speaking other languages and dialects than the above, it is believed that generally they failed to keep up with the growth of population. More Filipinos Languages speak English as a non-mother tongue than any other, only a few knowing it before school-age but over 7,000,000 learning it subsequently. In second plq.ce is the official national language, Tagalog, which has been learned by over 4,000,000 nOn-Tagalogs, 61% of the total number who speak it. No other languages or dialects remotely approach these figures. The 1948 Census did not attempt to evaluate the claims of individuals who said they spoke languages other than their native torigue. .Clifford H. Prater, Jr., a Fulbright scholar, said of the 1939 Census in his study Language Teaching in the Philippines that “it may be assumed that a large dumber of the individuals. . . actually possessed only a slight acquaintance with the language.” On the other hand, it should be pointed out that the important daily newspapers of the Philippines are now written in English and that virtually all serious Philippine literature is written in English. English, says Prater, "is distinctly a second language, artificially acquired as a part of the formal educative process. For the average Filipino who speaks it, it has closer associations with books and recita tions than with every-day life.” However, Tqgalog is similar in grammar and phonetic structure to all the other major Philippine languages, which in turn are allied to Indonesian tongues. Only a few months of study are re quired by an adult Filipino for a good working knowledge of another Philippine language than his own, since the main differehces are in vocabulary. Even here there is 92 some similarity, particularly in terms adopted from English and Spanish. For example, “jeepney” and “indtpertdencia” would be understood anywhere in the country and al though the adopted Spanish’wiord. “Melo”. (ide) is»spell«d differently in some parts of the Archipelago it is always jronquncpd^the same.. Ovej. 2,000 y/ords sjfe shared.by all mjjjor Philippine languages. ’ 1 ’..J . . *” TagakSf is the national language'bf -the Philippines. It is taught with varying enthusiasm in schools throughout the country but its real growth seems to be due to a com bination of the influence of visits to Manila by non-Tagalog speaking people, the superior quality of Tagalog publica tions, and the wide use of Tagalog in Philippine motion pictures and radio. School children all over the country appreciate Tagalog Komiks for example. Tagalog is the most important language in 12 prov inces surrounding Manila from Nueva Ecija on the north, to Mindoro on the south and to Quezon on the southeast. It is in second place in the transition zone to Bicol in Camarines Norte, among the immigrants of Palawan, and in Pampanga, whose native dialect is being overcome by sur rounding Tagalog pressures. Hbwever, it is third most im portant in 22 provinces scattered over the Philippines, but particularly in Mindanao and the southern .Cagayan Valley, and elsewhere where significant population movements occur. In 1939, outside of Luzon and Palawan, no province had over 12% Tagalog speakers. Cebuano also covers a dozen provinces, a compact group in the central Visayas and northern and eastern Mindanao. Although Mindanao still is popularly thought of as a prominently Mohammedan, “Moro”, island, more than half of its 3,000,000 people speak Cebuano, less than 1/4 speak English, and less than 1/7 speak Tagalog. The most important “moro” language, Maguindanao, is spoken by less than 1/12 of the island’s people. Ilocar.os are known as the most adventuresome of Filipinos, but their once vigorous language expansion now has been checked and is largely confined to northern Luzon, the northern, half of central Luzon, metropolitan Manila, and Cotabato in Mindanao. Ilocano is the leading language in all eight northern Luzon provinces. Although slightly outnumbered by Pangasinans in the province of Pangasinan, the Ilocano-speaking population there is the largest of all provinces, many Pangasinans having learned Ilocano. The western Visayan dialect, Ilongo or Hiligaynon, for the most part is spoken by the people in that conti guous island area including Panay, western Negros, and the Romblon group. Smaller numbers are found on Masbate and in Cotabato province. Virtually all B/cof-speaking peoples live in the four provinces of southeastern Luzon and the island of Catanduanes. The eastern Visayan dialect, Samareho or Waraywaray, is largely confined to Samar and eastern Leyte. Pampar\go is spoken principally in the province of Pampanga, southern Tarlac, southwestern Nueva Ecija, and northern Bataan, all in central Luzon. Pampangos also constitute the fourth largest language group in the city of Manila. Distribution of this group bears a significant relation to. the extent of Huk guerrilla operations, since the founders of the movement were largely Pampangos and Tagalogs. It is noteworthy that the hard core of the Huk movement extends only up to those municipalities which have considerable percentages of Pampango- or Tagalog-speaking people. Pangasinan is spoken almost entirely in the province of the same name. Spanish is a language declining both absolutely and relatively, but it still has considerable importance as a link between members of a small elite group. Its chief centers are Manila, Cebu, Bacolod, and Iloilo cities. Bas tard versions of Spanish are spoken in Cavite and Zam boanga cities. It is probably more a language of the home thaw English. Although most Chinese in the Philippines are from Fookien and Kwangtung, no breakdown between Chinese dialects was made in the Census. The largest numbers of Chinese live in the principal cities. Iij. 1939, 40% of all Chinese speaker? ifi The’Philippines lived in Manila, con stituting 7.8% of its population. Because many Chinese are in the Philippines illegally, they would not be easily accessible to a census-taker. For instance, in Davao the Chinese consul estimates the real Chinese population to be nearly 100% greater than the official figures. Secondand third-generation Chinese often are more at home in English than their own language, particularly insofar as published material is concerned. All Chinese schools in the country teach Kuo-yo (Mandarin). /considerable doubt has been expressed in some quarters regarding the accuracy of the 1948 Census figures. It is not possible to evaluate the ability of Filipinos to speak the languages they claim to speak. It is, however, possible to check the claimed circulation figures of the leading weekly news magazines as furnished by the pub lishers. Such a comparison indicates that the Tagalog Liwayway increased its total circulation by 155% between 1948 and 1953, the English-language Philippines Free Press increased by 33.8%, and the Ilocano-language Bannawag, published by the same firm as Liwayway, declined in circulation by 16%. Many of the more specta cular relative increases in Liwayway circulation took place in non-Tagalog provinces. Thus while Liwayway gained 146% in Central Luzon, 193% in the Visayan islands, and 385.7% in the Bicol region, Free Press increases were much more evenly distributed, ranging only from 22.1% in Southern Luzon to 55.4% in Mindanao and Sulu. Bannawag showed a 129.5% increase in Mindanao and Sulu but only from 470 to 1,079 copies, while it lost ground everywhere else, even in the Ilocano-speaking provinces of Northern Luzon. Bannawag and Liwaytway are di rectly comparable, since they contain largely the same materials and are directed to similar audiences. The Free Press on the other hand goes to a higher-level group. It may be assumed, therefore, that whether or not the Census figures on languages are entirely accurate, the trends they indicate are continuing. Although Census figures are not entirely comparable, it is also possible to gain a good picture of the rising im portance of English and Tagalog by noting that circula tion of English-language publications and newspapers in creased from 83,009 in 1918 to 917,213 in 1950 and 1,168,810 in 1952. In 1918 all vernacular publications were listed together with a circulation of 58,084. In 1940 Tagalog publications alone had a circulation of 301,026 and in 1952 the figure was 840,260. Of increasing importance is the publication of magazines both in English and a native language. Thirteen English-Tagalog publications, mostly monthlies and weeklies, had a circulation of 467,345 in 1952 to place them in third rank. npHE following assumptions may be made as to the pro sper languages to be used in output to Filipino audiences: English is the most widely spread language. Since education is conducted principally in English, output directed to well educated audiences should be in English, particularly when the subject matter is “high level,” re quiring a good background of technical knowledge for proper comprehension. The number of English-speaking Filipinos is a direct indication of the extent of education. Tagalog, while spoken by almost as many people as English, is not so widely spread at present. As a Philip pine language closely allied to the other languages and dialects of the nation, it is more easily learned by Filipinos (Continued at bottom of page 9F) 93 interest of Philippine-American relations if this regulation were officially modified, as we do not believe that the Philip pine Government has the right to control or regulate assets located abroad belonging to American citizens residing in the Philippines, when these assets are transferred to for eigners residing abroad. On October 19, the Philippine Government took a decisive step to ease the tight money situation by repealing Central Bank Circular No. 19, known as “Selective Credit Control”. Lifting of the selective control on credit meant that importers of luxury or non-essential items no longer are required to deposit 80% cash margin on all letters of credit obtained to pay for such items. Many firms found that requirement rather difficult to meet. Proposed Revision of the Philippine Trade {Bell) Act The Philippine Trade Act of 1946, known as the Bell Trade Act, imposes, on July 4, 1954, gradually increasing customs duties on Philippine products entering the United States, and on American goods entering the Philippines. For some time, the Philippine Government has been voicing its desire for a revision of the Act. . . To ascertain the views of members concerning re vision, a questionnaire was sent to all members. Based on their replies, and the many discussions held by your Board of Directors over a period of months, a tentative position was taken, and submitted to the Chairman of the interdepartmental committee, Washington, in the letter quoted below: "December 29, 1953. “MR. LEONARD S. TYSON Provisional Chairman Interdepartmental Philippine Trade Agreement Committee Department of State Washington 25, D. C. "Dear Mr. Tyson: “The Board of Directors of The Philippine American Chamber of Commerce has, for many months, had under consideration the views of its members (all of whom are engaged in business in or with the Philippines) concerning any modification in the present provisions of the Philippine Trade Act of 1946 and the Agreement on Trade and Related Matters between the United States and the Philippines which was entered into pursuant to this Act. “We realize that the concrete proposals submitted by the Philip pine Government some months ago may be changed by the completely new incoming administration of the Philippines, and as there seems to be little possiblity that a thorough examination of the proposed revision of the Trade Act could be accomplished before July 4, 1954, at which time partial tariffs are to become applicable, we believe that our Congress should be requested to provide the necessary legislation so that the Act could be extended. “Based on our understanding that the provisions of the Trade Act will continue to be the subject of study by the Interdepartmental Philippine Trade-Agreement Committee, our Board, at a meeting on December 9, 1953, decided that the time has come to submit its present views on the proposed changes already submitted by the Philippine Government. These are as follows: “(1) Revision.—We are emenable to a revision since the Philip pines requested it but are of the opinion that the revision could not be accomplished before July 4, 1954. “(2) Postponement.—We favor a five-year postponement of the present status as regards the effective date of duties which go into effect July 4, 1954, as well as a continuation of the present quotas. “(3) Selective Free Trade.—We are opposed to ‘selective free trade’, in principle, as we believe it is unworkable. “(4) Currency Stabilization.—We have no objection to the elimination of the currency stabilization clause, realizing that the argu ment for it4 removal is based on infringement of sovereignty, and re cognizing that the Philippine Government is a member of the Inter national Monetary Fund. However, we feel that the maintenance of the 2 to 1 ratio of the peso to the dollar has been a very stabilizing influence in the economic development of the country, and will remain so for the future. Any devaluation of the peso would produce unfor tunate results in the economy of the Philippines. “(5) Parity.—The Parity clause should be retained. We believe that the record will show that the existence of this clause has been of great value to the Philippine economy, and feel its retention is necessary to maintain the confidence of Americans with investments in the Philip pines. “(6) Immigration.—Concerning the entry of Americans into the Philippines and Filipinos into the United States, we feel that an arrangement similar to the one contained in the Trade Agreement should be provided for in a revision of the Trade Act. We strongly support any legislation by our Congress whereby Filipinos will have Treaty Merchant Status; any revision of the Trade Act should be reciprocal for Americans in the Philippines, such provisions to remain in effect for the duration of the Trade Act, as amended. “(7) Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation.— We are opposed at this time to the conclusion of a Treaty of Friend ship, Commerce, and Navigation. New trade relations between the Philippines and the United States should be established by a revision of the Trade Act. “In submitting the present views of the Chamber, we wish to reserve the right to revise any of our statements should developments warrant such action. “May we express our appreciation for the cooperation you and your associates have invariably given this Chamber. Sincerely yours, (signed) W. E. MURRAY President. Bill to Cut Tax on Coconut Oil It will be recalled that last year the Board of Directors of the Chamber went on record with the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee as being in favor of the passage of the Havenner Bill, H. R. 6292 to repeal the 3/ per pound processing tax on coconut oil. This bill, however, had not been reported out of committee when Congress adjourned. A new bill, H. R. 2915, identical in content with the Havenner bill, was introduced in the 83rd Congress, First Session, on February 12, 1953, by Representative John J. Allen, Jr., and referred to the Com mittee on Ways and Means. The Board of Directors, on March 20, 1953, went on record as being in complete sym pathy with the provision of the Allen bill and in favor of its passage. The Board felt that passage of the bill would materially benefit the economy of the Philippines and improve United States commercial relations with that country. It is hoped that elimination of this burdensome tax will be accomplished during the current session of the United States Congress. The Chamber has received letters from various Philip pine officials and others expressing appreciation for our interest and cooperation in supporting this measure. In closing In closing, your Board of Directors wishes to record its indebtedness to the American Chamber of Commerce, Manila, through its Executive Vice-President, Mrs. Vir ginia Gonder, and to the Philippine Association, New York. Both have been especially helpful in keeping us currently informed of events and trends in the Philippines. Much of the information so gathered has been passed along to our members in the weekly bulletin. The Board of Directors also wishes to thank the members of the various committees of the Chamber, the Secretary and his staff, and the entire membership for their loyal support during the entire year. Philippine Languages—(Continued from page 93) than English or other European languages. It should have the highest priority among Philippine translations, partic ularly those intended to combat Communism, since the areas of the country most affected by Communist doctrines are those in which Tagalog is spoken. Material intended to reach the mass of the population must be translated into the six major languages or dialects for fullest comprehension. hthe following data was furnished by the Bureau of the Census and Statistics of the Republic of the Philip pines from the Census of 1948: (Continued at bottom of page 108) 91 108 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL March, 1954 Coconut Oil Prices. Coconut oil prices did not move over so wide a range, but in general followed the pattern of copra prices and moved down from 15-5. 8/ t * 13-3/4X per pound f.o.b. tank cars, Pacific Coast, for Apri shipment. Oil stocks in the United States continued at high level. Copra Cake and Meal Prices. The West Coast meal market has shown some signs of weakness because at competition from cottonseed meal which is being freely offered at lower prices, but the market is still at $70-$73 per short ton c.i.f. West Coast. Copra Statistics Coconut Oil Exports United States.............................................. 4,845 3,463 OthK .CoiaotnCS . . • -“mu . . «. —« Total.................................................. 4,845 *2 '5^63 Manila and»Cebu Copra Arrivals .. . (Jn Metric Tons) Philippine Copra and Coconut Oil Exports (In Long Tons) December Copra Exports United States................................................ 30,199 Europe............................................................ 22,000 Other Countries.................................................. 1,753 January (1954) 1951 monthly average. 1952 monthly average............. 1953 monthly average............. January, 1954 ............................. February, 1954........................... February, 1953 .......................... February, 1952 .......................... February, 1951.......................... MafiWa Manna Cebu and Ceba *14,344 19,667' •34,011 14,604 15,102 29,706 12,052 15,979 28,031 13,038 15,490 28,528 11,674 14,218 25,892 7,741 13,029 20,770 16,570 11,705 28,275 12,849 20,698 33,547 Total. 53,952 22,685 25,650 1,986 FROM THIS DAY ONWARD! Old Gold cI GAR ETTE S The graduating mon and women of today are the pro mise of tomorrow. They are pledged to offer their services unselfishly and willingly to the country. Rat. Phil Pat. Off. I OLD GOLD, too, has a promise — to continue curing just one thing: the world’s best tobaccos... to offer the same friendly blend smokers have come to love. Listen to OLD GOLD'S "TWO FOR THE MONEY.” over Station DZRH. Manila, every Mi nday, 8:00-8:30 P.M. and over Station DZPI, Manila, every Saturday, 7:00-7:30 P.M. P. Lorillard Company Established 1760, U. S. A. Philippine and Indonesian Copra Exports (In Metric Tons) Philippine Indonesian November, 1953 ................ Copra Exports . . . . 43,511 Copra Exports 21,986 December, 1953................. 62,269 18,359 1953 monthly average . . . 57,821 19,998 1952 monthly average . . . . . . . 67,533 23,992 1951 monthly average . . . . 74,586 38,566 January, 1954...................... 53,992 15,116 January, 1953.................... 41,025 14,230 January, 1952 .................... 77,050 32,657 January, 1951...................... 68,890 27,181 'Include coconut oil exports converted to copra. Production and Future Prospects. Even though copra production is in a seasonally-low period, it is much improved over the same period last year. Arrivals at Cebu and Manila are up about 30% from January February, 1953. During March production should begin to rise from the present seasonal low. Improved production coupled with limited demand, particularly in Europe, should result in gradually declining prices over the next few months. Desiccated Coconut By Howard R. Hick President and General Manager Peter Paul Philippine Corporation FOLLOWING are the shipment figures for the month of January, 1954: Shippers Franklin Baker Company Blue Bar Coconut Company Peter Paul Philippine Corporation Red V Coconut Products, Ltd. Sun Ripe Coconut Products, Inc. Cooperative Coconut Products, Inc. Pounds 292,600 580,730 1,041,500 1,472,500 82,500 0 3,469,830 lbs. Philippine Languages-(Confinued from page 93) LANGUAGES AND DIALECTS SPOKEN (000’s omitted) 1948 1939 1948 Rank Language % Number % Number 1 English........................ 26.6 4,831 32.4 7,156 +5.8 2 Tagalog...................... 25.4 4,068 32.2 7,126 + 7.8 3 Cebuano-Visayan. . 22.6 3,620 25.5 4,840 +2.9 4 Ilocano........................ 14.7 2,353 13.1 2,678 —1.6 5 Hiligaynon................. 12.1 1,951 12.8 2,436 +0.7 6 Biccl ............................ 8.0 1,289 8.1 1,535 +0.1 7 Waraywaray (Samar) 5.7 920 6.4 1,226 + 0.7 8 Pampango.................. 3.9 621 3.7 707 —0.2 9 Pangasinan................. 3.6 573 3.5 665 —0.1 10 Spanish........................ 2.6 417 1.8 345 —0.8 LANGUAGES SPOKEN COMPARED TO MOTHER TONGUE (000’s omitted) Numerical Mother Non-Mot her Percentage Rank Languages Tongue Tongue Non-Mother 1 English...................... 20 (est.) 7,136 (est.) 99 2 Tegalog...................... 3,730 4,366 61 3 Ilocano...................... 2,340 347 13 4 Pangasinan............... 515 150 22 5 Bicol.......................... 1,467 68 4