CLASSROOM INTERACTION strengthens the value of a national language. (Juan Carlo De Vela)

August, being Buwan ng Wika (National Language Month), as mandated by Proclamation 1041 signed in 1997, is a good time to talk about the many languages in our country.

According to the National Museum of the Philippines, there are 186 languages in the country, 175 of them indigenous.

While many of those languages are nearing extinction, there have been initiatives to preserve it through online dictionaries. One of them is Marayum, an online community-based dictionary that is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), which is owned by graduates of the University of the Philippines.

“The Marayum platform was created to allow communities who speak and practice indigenous languages to create an online dictionary “whose content would be owned by its members and peer-reviewed by language experts,” the website said.

The website features four Filipino languages: Asi (a regional Visayan language), Cebuano (the most common spoken-language in the southern Philippines), Kinaray-a (an Austronesian regional language spoken mainly in Antique), and Hiligaynon (also known as ‘Ilonggo’ and is spoken predominantly in Western Visayas and Soccsksargen).

Another initiative to document languages is that of the faith-based non-profit organization Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL International), which has made efforts to consolidate various online dictionaries of indigenous languages that are not widely spoken. As of this writing, they have 14 languages available in their website.

These include languages from Luzon: Ibatan (spoken in the Islands of Batanes), Ayangan Ifugao or Batad (Malay-Polynesian language spoken in the northern valleys of Ifugao), Keley-i (spoken in Ifugao), Tuwali Ifugao (indigenous to Ifugao), Tanudan Kalinga (spoken in the southern end of the Tanudan valley in southern Kalinga Province), Ayta Mag-antsi (spoken by Aeta communities in Botolan, San Marcelino, and Castillejos, Zambales, in Capas and Bamban, Tarlac, and in Mabalacat, and Angeles City in Pampanga), Kagayanen (spoken in the province of Palawan), and Agutaynen (spoken by people in Agutaya Island, Palawan).

One language comes from Visayas: Masbatenyo (part of the Bisayan subgroup of the Austronesian language family spoken in the provinces of Masbate and Sorsogon).  The rest originates from Mindanao: Agusan (Manobo language in northeastern Mindanao), Mapun (spoken in Tawi-Tawi  and Cagayan de Sulu (Mapun) island), Yakan (primarily spoken in Basilan, and the native language of the Yakan people), Maranao (language of the Maranao people in the Provinces of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte, in the Islamic City of Marawi, Iligan City, and even in Sabah, Malaysia), Tausug (spoken by the Tausūg people in the Sulu Archipelago, Zamboanga Peninsula, Southern Palawan, and in the eastern part of Sabah, Malaysia.

Tagalog: Victim to time

Meanwhile, despite it being the most common language in northern Luzon, Tagalog (or Filipino) has also become a victim to time – some of its words are lost and forgotten.

A few examples of old Tagalog words that are not used today are: alili (violet), alimbukad (full bloom), anakula (a ship’s captain), kalatas (paper), kuwasa (religious fasting), lakha (red lacquer), likhak (a stone or wooden statue), malim (a pilot), mangsigit or mansidig (church or mosque), musim (the wind or season), paho (small mango), and wingkag (forcibly open).

Street slang

Meanwhile, some new words are added simply because these have become “street slang” – like those created out of fun by mixing syllables which results in a catchy term. A few examples are: lodi (for idol), petmalu (malupet), which generally means “cool” in English, werpa (power), tsekot (kotse, or car), rapsa (sarap, or delicious), matsala (salamat, or thank you), and dehins (hindi, or no).

Another example is the word “mars” which one would think refers to the planet in our solar system.  However, “mars” is now taken as a term of endearment between friends, coming from the Filipino term “mare” (from kumare) which implies a relative through marriage, baptism, or long friendships.

Another is the term “awit” – which does not mean “a song” but a word that expresses dismay over a bad situation (formed by the words – “aw” and “sakit”).

And then there are the cute slang words that have stayed on for decades, among them – “kilig” (feeling of excitement), and “susmariosep” (from “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph” to express surprise or shock).

Frequent communication, which will only become more frequent because of technology and social media, will produce new words and will also cause the “retirement” of traditional terms. (Pancho Parian)