The Origins of Linguistic Nationalism: Its Problems and Implications

Kim Jayson G. Villezca

In the article entitled “Ang Wikang Filipino sa Taong 2000” (The Filipino Language in the Year 2000) written by Andrew Gonzales, FSC, the author clearly narrates the history of the Tagalog language as to how it became the basis of the Philippine national language, Filipino. Gonzales recounts that after the ratification of the Constitution under the Commonwealth government in 1935, Rep. Romualdez introduced the National Language Law. According to Gonzales, this law mandated the government to establish the National Institute of Language that eventually renamed to Institute of National Language in 1938.

The 1932 Philippine Constitution declared Spanish and English as the official languages in the islands. Due to varied languages existing in the islands, the government came up with a program that will develop and adopt a common national language based on the existing native languages. After deliberation, Tagalog was chosen as the basis of the national language and it is to be called “Pilipino”. The Commonwealth government intensified the effort to introduce “Pilipino” by mandating the Higher Education Institutions to teach the national language as a subject to teacher training colleges in 1940. In 1959, the Secretary of Education, Jose Romero, recognized the national language as “Tagalog-based-Pilipino.”

Contra Gonzales, Maria Teresa Tinio made a bold claim that Gonzales’ slips in his facts concerning the origins of the Tagalog-based national language. Tinio claims that Bro. Gonzalez made a mistake when he refered to the Kapulungan ng Wikang Tagalog as Kapulungan ng Wika. The removal of the word “Tagalog” would really make a difference in understanding the origin of linguistic nationalism. “The misnomer makes it appear that the organization was interested in languages in general, its actual name shows it was committed to Tagalog at the very outset.” Against the backdrop of the intense drive of Americans to assimilate Philippines, a leading newspaper, El Renacimiento/Muling Pagsilang, during that time has been in front of the movement being pushed by the Kapulungan ng Wikang Tagalog. Tinio emphasizes the fact that in Philippine linguistic history, the said newspaper, is regarded to be the sponsor of the first organization that started a campaign for a national language based on Tagalog.

The quest for establishing a national language persisted even in the drafting of the 1935 Constitution. The Commonwealth Government (1935-1944) led by Manuel Quezon pushed for a constitutional provision on the creation of a national language.

It says on Article XIII, Sec. 3 “The National Assembly shall take steps toward the development and adoption of a common national language based on one of the existing native languages. Until otherwise provided by law, English and Spanish shall continue as official languages.”

However, some argued that the said constitutional provision on the 1935 Constitution was a smuggled version. According to Vicente Albano Pacis, “the provision of the 1935 Constitution which launched Tagalog as national language was never knowingly approved by the Constitutional Convention because it was somehow smuggled into the constitutional draft either during the revision by the Style Committee or when the entire Constitution was being finally printed.”

Pacis claims that the duly approved provision is on the adoption of a common national language based on all the existing languages in the archipelago. There were attempts to change the resolution by making Tagalog the basis of the national language but was overwhelmingly rejected by the convention 71 (against) and 47 (in favor). In December 30, 1937, Pres. Quezon in his Executive Order No. 134, approved the recommendation of Institute of National Language resolution’s making Tagalog as the basis of the national language. In fact, even in the short-lived 1943 Philippine Constitution (Philippine Second Republic during the Japanese Occupation), the government was mandated to promote and develop Tagalog the national language.

The 1943 Philippine Constitution, Article IX, Sec. 2 claims that “the government shall take steps toward the development and propagation of Tagalog as the national language.”

The debate on the adoption of a national language persisted even during the Constitutional Convention in 1971. In fact, a constitutional provision on the adoption of a national language was also included in the 1973 Constitution. This provision was carefully worded to term the national language as Filipino.

According to the 1973 Philippine Constitution, Article XV, Sec. 3, “The Batasang Pambansa shall take steps towards the development and formal adoption of a common national language to be known as Filipino.”

This is a deviation from the usual Tagalog-based-national language and the usage of Pilipino, a term that was proposed in 1959 by the Department of Education to be used to appease non-native Tagalog speakers.

However, this change of tune was met with criticism that the language being proposed is nothing but an artificial and contrived language that is still operating within the linguistic bounds, syntax and lexicon of the Tagalog language. Since 1973 to 1986, there was no significant development in drafting a law realizing the provisions of the Constitution on the adoption of a national language. In an attempt to correct the grievances of the past, it was only in the 1987 Philippine Constitution that the national language should be an amalgam of all the existing languages.

Furthermore, in an effort to recognize the linguistic diversity of the country, the Constitution provided a provision for the development of other Philippine languages albeit much is yet to be done since Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (Commission on the Filipino Language) is heavily criticized for its neglect in attending to its constitutional mandate in protecting other existing Philippine languages.

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The author is Independent Researcher at Don Bosco Academy, Pampanga, Member, Council for Research and Values in Philosophy, Washington D.C, USA