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Filipino,
Tagalog or Pilipino that is the question
The
existence of national language unites individuals in a country but how can one
society be united if there is no clear existence of what their national
language really is?
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There are over 7,000 islands in the Philippines so don’t expect that all of the people living here speaks the same language, and that my friend is the problem. As there are 8 major dialects classified in the country, namely: Kapampangan, Ilocano, Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon (Ilongo), Pangasinan, Waray and the most common of all Tagalog. Plus, don’t get me started to the other minor dialects also spoken furthermore, to make life more complicated and confusing, English is also being use within the country, so don't come being confuse to how complex the Filipino language is.
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How could we coin our national language given that we have many?
In
1936 by the pursuant of Commonwealth Act 184 signed by the late President
Manuel L. Quezon a research was conducted in accordance of our national
language. In the conclusion of this
research, it has been recommended that Tagalog should be the national language
for it was widely used and accepted by a number of Filipinos and that many
literary works are written in Tagalog. Based on this recommendation the former
president issued Executive Order 134 in December 1937, in this order it was
proclaimed that Tagalog shall be the foundation of the country’s national
language.
However,
in 1959 the Department of Education altered Tagalog into Pilipino, to
conciliate non-native Tagalog speakers.
The 1973 Constitution ended up with Article XV, Section 3,
which states: “(2) The Batasang Pambansa
shall take steps towards the development and formal adoption of a common
national language to be known as Filipino. (3) Until otherwise provided
by law, English and Pilipino shall be the official languages.”
Still,
according to Article XIV Section 6 of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of
the Philippines, our up-to-date organization of laws: “The national language of the Philippines is Filipino. As it evolves,
it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine
and other languages.”
And
so that being said, by the latest constitutions of laws in the country,
Filipino is our national language. However many “Filipino” opposes this as the
term Filipino is also classified as our nationality. Some says that it should be Tagalog while
other compromise with Pilipino. That my friend is the real problem, because
other doesn’t accept what was conceptualized in the law. The law stated that
Filipino is our national language, and it’s either you stick with it or fly on
wherever country you wanted to and find your perfect name for your perfect
national language.
Sources:
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