A lingua franca or working
language is a language used to make communication possible between people not
sharing a common language. For example, a Czech may converse to a Sudanese in
English so that they may understand each other or a Senegalese will converse to
a Frenchman in French so that they may understand one another. Examples of
lingua franca include French, Chinese, Hindi-Urdu, Spanish, Arabic, Russian,
and English.
Before we discuss the lingua
franca used in the Philippines, let us first give you a background of the
languages used in the Philippines. Philippines is a country situated southeast
of China, composing of more or less 7,107 islands as well as plenty of mountain
ranges and volcanoes. Because of this geography, no wonder each group of people
that settled in the different parts of the country developed its own ethnicity
and language or dialect over the course of centuries. No wonder, Filipinos do
not understand one another and have to use English, Filipino or other regional
language just to communicate. For example, a Cebuano has to speak in English or
Filipino to an Ilocano in order for them to communicate. Currently, there are
about 120 or 175 different languages or dialects spoken in the islands
depending on the method of classification you used. Most are related but not
mutually intelligible. Most also belong to the Austronesian family of languages
and as such are related to the languages and dialects spoken in nearby Malaysia
and Indonesia. The top six most commonly used languages are Tagalog, Cebuano,
Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Waray-Waray, and Kapampangan. There are currently two
official languages in the Philippines: English and Filipino.
During Pre-Hispanic times, the
lingua franca used in the islands that will eventually become the Philippines
is Malay or Old Malay which is different from the one spoken in modern-day
Malaysia. The language of trade is Malay and this is evidenced by the fact that
when Ferdinand Magellan came to the Philippines, his Malay slave, Enrique
conversed to the natives in his own tongue, which was a sign that he reached
the Far East.
When the Spaniards finally
established the Philippines in 1565, Spanish gradually became the lingua franca
in the islands. It was during this period of Spanish rule that the native
languages gradually became Hispanized or influenced by Spanish. A lot of words
were borrowed from Spanish and today one will be surprised of the many
similarities between Spanish and the languages spoken in the Philippines. The
reason why Spanish never replaced the different languages or dialects in the
country is because of the climate and distance of the former colony. The
climate is so hot that most Spaniards never permanently settled in the islands.
The length of travel was so long it will take months or almost a year just to
reach the islands either you travel by way of Mexico and then the Pacific or
around the southern tip of Africa and across the Indian Ocean. This was true
especially during the days before the Suez Canal was constructed and ships had
to rely on the wind for power. Most Spaniards that stay in the country are
either government employees or clergymen and so once their duty was accomplished,
they return to their mother country. The missionaries also contributed to the
preservation of the native languages by publishing dictionaries of the native
languages. By the time the Spaniards left in 1898, Spanish was mutually
understood by most people in the country well into the first half of the 20th
century wherein it fell into gradual decline thereafter. Finally it ceased to
function as an official language in 1987. Nowadays, very few people used it as
a language with most of them Spanish
Filipino living in the capital.
English gradually replaced
Spanish as the working language in the country when the Americans replaced the
Spaniards as the master of the islands after the brief Spanish-American War
(1898). With the introduction of the American public school system, English
quickly replaced Spanish as the medium of instruction and it was not long that
most Filipinos have an understanding of the new language. The Americans
eventually granted the Philippines independence on July 4, 1946 and it was
after this date that English will eventually become the language of education,
business, trade, law, medicine, and technology in the country. Today, the
Philippines is the third largest English-speaking nation. Because most
Filipinos have a good command of English even though it is just their second
language, the Philippines is now the world’s center for business process
outsourcing and a lot of call center companies have established themselves in
the country.
While English was busy
establishing itself in the islands, another language was established as another
lingua franca or official language in the archipelago alongside English and
Spanish. However, this time it was based on the language used in the capital
Manila which was Tagalog much like modern English was based on the dialect used
in London. Tagalog was chosen as the base language on the 20th of
December 1937. In 1939, President Manuel Luis Quezón renamed the Tagalog
language as Wikang Pambansa or the national language. The language was further
renamed in 1959 as Pilipino by Secretary of Education Jose Romero. The 1973
constitution declared the Pilipino language to be co-official, along with
English, and mandated the development of a national language, to be known as
Filipino. In other words, Filipino and Tagalog are one and the same. The
present constitution, ratified in 1987, stated that Filipino and English are
both the official languages of the country. The constitution also made mention
of Spanish and Arabic, both of which are to be promoted on a voluntary and
optional basis. Filipino is an official language of education, but less
important than English. It is the major language of the broadcast media and
cinema, but less important than English as a language of publication (except in
some domains, like comic books, which are meant to speak directly to the
Filipino psyche) and less important for academic-scientific-technological
discourse. Filipino is used as a lingua franca in all regions of the
Philippines as well as within overseas Filipino communities.
While Filipino is used as a means of communication between
Filipinos of different ethnicities, there are other regional languages as well.
Regional languages are a lingua franca in their own right but instead of being
used in the whole country, they are only used in one region of the country.
Examples of regional languages in the Philippines include Cebuano, Hiligayon,
Kapampangan, Ilocano and Chavacano.
Pictures and some statements courtesy of Wikipedia.
