On language and the economy

THIS month we celebrate Buwan ng Wika, and the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino, the agency that leads the national celebrations, has chosen the theme “Filipino at mga Katutubong Wika sa Dekolonisasyon ng Pag-iisip ng mga Pilipino.” I find the part about our indigenous languages particularly interesting because many languages today are facing a serious risk of extinction. I would imagine those languages that are spoken by small groups or tribes in remote areas are in greater danger of disappearing.

According to research, multilingualism or linguistic diversity has a powerful and positive impact on the economy. Gabrielle Hoganbrun, a research fellow in Language Studies at the University of Bristol, says that “language matters on a large-scale national level and at the level of smaller businesses.” A country that nurtures or promotes the use of several languages may enjoy more successful trade relations or export activities and builds

stronger, more innovative human resources.

It makes sense, therefore, to not just improve our English communication skills but to also continue to nurture our local languages, protect our indigenous languages, and even learn more foreign languages to add to our repertoire.

Studies show that companies that invest in maintaining a multilingual staff are able to add more export countries to their market,

According to research, multilingualism or linguistic diversity has a powerful and positive impact on the economy. Gabrielle Hogan-brun, a research fellow in Language Studies at the University of Bristol, says that “language matters on a large-scale national level and at the level of smaller businesses.” A country that nurtures or promotes the use of several languages may enjoy more successful trade relations or export activities and builds stronger, more innovative human resources.

and that companies that invested less actually missed out on opportunities. Switzerland, a country that has four national languages—german, French, Italian, Romansh— attributes 10 percent of its gross domestic product to its multilingual heritage.

We don’t need to be language experts to realize that people who know more languages have better earning power. A Canadian study found that bilingual men earn 3.6 percent and bilingual women earn 6.6 percent more than their English-only peers.

In the Philippines, I believe that the vast majority of our workforce is bilingual—able to speak both Filipino and English. Many of us even have third, fourth, or fifth languages. The authors of the abovementioned study believe that knowing a second language is seen as “a sign of cognitive power, perseverance and a good education.”

I agree that we need to use our mother tongue as often as we can, and that we must be proud of it, teach it to our children, and make an effort to deepen our love and appreciation for it.

Let us read more books written in Filipino and let us introduce our children to Filipino authors and their books. At the same time, we must also work hard to remain competitive in the business and professional arena by improving our language game. As shown in the research findings stated above, it is the economy that will benefit in the long run.

Isang mainit na pagbati sa inyong lahat ngayong Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa. Mabuhay ang wikang Filipino!