Qualitative Research Sample Chapter 1-3

Republic of the Philippines
SULTAN KUDARAT STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES
ACCESS, EJC Montilla, Tacurong City
Preserved Ilonggo Literary Pieces: Analyzing
Hiligaynon Grammar
Prepared By:
Rizza Mae C. Abong
Rustom M. Gaton
Earl Prince D. Procalla
Submitted to:
MAT, May Nectar Cyrill Loja-Tabares, Ph.D.
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CHAPTER I
Introduction
Background of the Study
Long before the 1600s, the fertility of the Western Visayas region in the
Philippines permitted the Hiligaynon people to develop one of the archipelago's most
advanced societies. They engaged in international trade (as evidenced by large finds of
Chinese porcelain) and created fine work in gold and semiprecious stones.
The Western Visayas region of the Philippines includes Panay island, Negros
Occidental, and Romblon. The region's population numbered 5.4 million in 1990, all
speakers of Hiligaynon Ilongo or closely related dialects. Hiligaynon speakers constitute
approximately 10 percent of the national population. They inhabit one of the major rice-
producing areas of the Philippines. The landscape consists of broad plains stretching
between mountain ranges. Large rivers deposit the volcanic sediments that make the
lowlands fertile.
The Hiligaynon language is the language of Iloilo province, which has come to be
spoken throughout the Western Visayas region. Other regions of Panay have their own
distinct speech forms (Capizeño, Aklanon, and Kiniray-a, the last spoken in interior
villages), but these are mutually intelligible with Hiligaynon (speakers of one can
understand the other). Hiligaynon intonation is noted for its gentle lilt under which, it is
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said, a curse may go unrecognized. The narrow straits link Panay and western Negros,
and Hiligaynon is spoken on both shores. Mountains separate western from eastern
Negros, where the people speak Cebuano, a language that the Hiligaynon people
cannot readily understand. (LeBar, Frank M., ed., 1972)
Ang Pagpangayaw sa Dutang Ginsaad: A Study of Migration and Settlement of
Ilonggos in Tacurong, Cotabato (1951-1960's)" discusses about the migration of the
Ilonggos to Mindanao, particularly in a predominant Christian City of Tacurong. In the
1950's all the way towards 1970's, there was a massive migration of Ilonggos going to
Mindanao. Most of them were attracted due to the flow of information coming from "The
Land of Promise" in which they believed that they can avail any jobs and lands in an
untapped island. This changed the social, economic, political and demographic profile of
Mindanao and marked events that would shape the Philippine history. (Arellano, B. III,
2008)
Understanding Hiligaynon is one of the number of steps to appreciate the
literature of Ilonggo and embrace its underrated culture. Through this paper, the
promotion of the said dialect would be highlighted and non-Hiligaynon speakers would
come to realize the hidden beauty of Ilonggos’ living language and stories worth looking
up to.
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Conceptual Framework
The figure 1 The figure 1 is the conceptual framework that shows the entire
procedure which the researchers will be utilizing as guide to conduct the study and
come up with an output fundamental to this paper.
PROCESS
The study will use
ethno-linguistic approach.
Whereas, he Researchers
will coordinate with the
Native speakers of
Hiligaynon in the making
INPUT of the manual. OUTPUT
The researchers will
Preserved Ilonggo Literary Pieces Critereon sampling
produce a manual that can
Techniques will be the
Basis in finding the suited be instrumental in analyzing
Songs Respondents for this study. Hiligaynon grammar and
Epics By which, the respondents shall be dubbed as;
Poems And Researchers will study Introduction to
The Grammar structure Hiligaynon– Mindanao’s
of Hiligaynon using
biggest spoken dialect
Preserved Ilonggo
Literary Pieces.
Figure 1.1. Conceptual Framework of the study that will be used as basis/guide of the
paper.
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Objectives of the Study
This study aims to:
a. analyse the structure of Ilonggo literature in terms of Grammar and
application of figurative languages or idiomatic expressions;
b. understand the morpho-sematics of Hiligaynon as revealed on their
preserved contemporary literature ;
c. develop a manual which can be used as an instrument to understand
and speak the Hiligaynon dialect; and
d. promote the Ilonggo literature not only in the region but in the national
aspect.
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Statement of the Problem
Generally, this paper aims to analyse the quality of morpho-semantics posed by the
native Ilonggo people as applied on their preserved contemporary literature. It will also
answer the following questions:
1. What are the morpho-semantic features reflected in the Ilonggo’s preserved
contemporary Literary pieces?
2. In what context are the identified morpho-semantics projected in terms of their
preserved contemporary literature?
3. What cultural characteristics are projected in the literary genre of the identified
contemporary Ilonggo literary pieces?
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Significance of the Study
This study essentially shows the realization that preserving the Ilonggo culture
through their songs is not only fundamental to know the literacy of the Ilonggo tribe
concerning their language and its structure.
This study is in line with the mandate in the Article XIV, sections 14 and 15 of the
Philippine Constitution. This constitutional mandate goes in the same vein as the NCCA
mandate that to ‘’conserve and promote the nation’s historical and cultural heritage, it
shall: 1) support, monitor and systematize the retrieval and conservation of artifacts of
Filipino culture… and all Filipino cultural treasures…; 2) encourage and support the
study, recognition and preservation of endangered human cultural resources…; 6)
encourage and support scholarly research and documentation of Philippine cultural
traditions, arts and crafts, as well as significant cultural movements, achievements, and
personalities especially in the literary, visual and performing arts…; and 8) encourage,
support, systematize the audio-visual documentation of Filipino cultural expressions in
the contemporary period.’’
This study will benefit the country in general and the Ilonggo people in particular,
in terms of ‘’fostering the preservation of their songs, enrichment and dynamic evolution
of a Filipino national culture based on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate of
free artistic and intellectual expressions.’’
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The university can benefit by realizing its cultural objectives. One of the
purposes of a local university should be on developing and encouraging the evolution
and development of the Ilonggo literacy.
Scope and Delimitation of the Study
The researchers will coordinate with native residents of Sultan Kudarat
specifically in its two major municipalities such as Isulan and Tacurong with age ranges
from fifty (50) and higher. Ilonggos within this age bracket probably would have more
established and strong foundation of the dialect compared to native locals on their early
adulthood. Further, this will ensure the reliability of the results for the respondents had
been accultured with the traditional and conventional culture (talking manner,
conversational method and talking etiquette) of the native Ilonggo speakers probably
took place in the early to late 90’s.
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Definition of Terms
Age- the amount of time during which a person has lived.
Beliefs- An acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.
Central Theme- The central idea described as the dominant impression or
universal, generic truth found in the story.
Cultural Awareness- knowing and understanding a lot about the beliefs, customs,
arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time.
Ilonggo- the Ilonggos are concentrated in the Western Visayas region,
particularly in Panay Island (Iloilo, Capiz, etc.) and Negros Occidental. They are
also found in some areas of Mindanao. The word “Ilonggo” normally refers to a
person whose language is Hiligaynon.
Isulan- it is the provincial capital of Sultan Kudarat, Philippines.
Language- The method of human communication, either spoken or written,
consisting of the use words in a structured and conventional way.
NCCA – This refers to the National Commission on Culture and the Arts.
Tacurong City- Is a third class city in the province of Sultan Kudarat, Philippines.
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CHAPTER II
Review of Related Literatures
Hiligaynon literature is the construct of the Hiligaynons, a group of brown people
who inhibit the Western part of the Visayan Region in the central part of the Philippine
archipelago (Hosillos, 1). These people, popularly known also as the Ilonggos, are
blend of the indigene—the Negrito, the Indonesian, and the Malay, the blend later
infused with the Indian, Chinese, Arab, Spanish, American and other races. However,
the nature of this region, the races that peopled it, and the society and culture that they
have developed are determinants of the literature created by the Hiligaynons at the
specific moments of their lives, and at particular stages of their cultural development.
Geographical, Economic, Socio-political and Cultural Context, Key Traditions and
Forms. Located in Central Philippines, Western Visayas lies between two large bodies
of water—the Sibuyan Sea and the Visayan Sea. Constituting of approximately 6.74
percent of the total land area of the country, the region is composed of six provinces,
namely; Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Iloilo on Panay Island, Guimaras on Guimaras Island
and Negros Occidental on Negros Island. These provinces inhabit one of the major rice-
producing areas of the country. The landscape consists of broad plains stretching
between mountain ranges. Large rivers deposit the volcanic sediments that make its
lowlands fertile. Since the Spanish conquest, exploitation has been extensive,
especially in the lowlands resulting in extensive modification of the landscape and the
terrain. From archaeological studies, it is commonly held that Panay Island was used to
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be a part of the islands of Luzon in the north, Palawan in the southwest, and Mindanao
in the south during the inter-glacial period. It was also believed that this island was
underwater at certain geological periods as evidences show presence of extensive
areas of coral in many areas of its towns.
Geologically younger, Negros is occasionally convulsed by the eruptions of Mt.
Kanlaon which rises to about 2, 465 meters near the mid-section of the island (Hosillos,
2). However, Panay and Negros could have been covered with a depterocarp forest at
one time up to the more recent prehistoric period as evidenced by remnants of trees
especially in the interior of the islands. Analysis of faunal and flora associations within
what remains of these forest suggests that they could have had provided a variety of
food resources as monkeys, pigs, deer, rats and bats among hunter-gatherers.
Meanwhile, as seas and rivers of Panay are teemed with rich fishes and other food
sources until now, it could have had provided food also for survival.
Although the prehistoric Hiligaynons were brave and hardy sailors, they were
primarily farmers and skilled hunters, fishermen and gatherers who expertly exploited
land, forest and aquatic resources and also practiced subsistence economic activities.
The people of Antique were said to be the first to raise cotton while the Aklanons were
said to be the first Filipinos to manufacture alcohol. When it comes to trading, long
before the 1600s, the fertility of the Western Visayas region in the Philippines permitted
the Hiligaynon people to develop one of the archipelago's most advanced societies.
They engaged in international trade and created fine work in gold and semiprecious
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stones. Hiligaynons had it extensively among Chinese exchanging junks loaded with
porcelain, gold ornaments, metals, mirrors, and silk fabrics. Commerce was by barter or
with the use of small snails and shells serving as money.
The culture history of Western Visayas is a story woven out of traditional lore and
scientific studies. Mythology, archaeology, and history combined to tell the story of the
richness of the local culture. This story started in legend about the Bornean datus who
purchased Panay from the Negritos and established the first political confederation in
the country around the 12th century AD. Early Hiligaynons performed rituals and
ceremonies commonly led by the babaylanes. Though there were no specific places for
worship, they still managed to believe and do sacrifices for their gods and goddesses.
They were also lovers of music, song poetry and dance. These arts were integrated, not
differentiated into specific forms, although there were already indications of
specialization. Myth, legend and folktales were recounted for entertainment; to explain
nature and natural phenomena; to rationalize behavior, customs and traditions; to
preserve the tribe; and to explain the origins of the race and its cultural development.
One of their popular epics, Hinilawod, was sang and chanted in verse, by bards
narrating the origin of the world and the race, the deluge, the role of heroes in the
development of the culture, and their adventures and battles of epic proportion. While
longer texts provided perspectives and orientation through which Hiligaynon culture
could be viewed, the ritual, verses, riddles, proverbs and folksongs and other shorter
forms of expression give direct insights into everyday life, traits and human relationships
of the early Hiligaynon as a people. From here on history takes over the narration of
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events: the coming of the Spaniards in the 16th century, the revolution in 1896, the fight
against the Americans in 1898, the establishment of the civil government, the Second
World War (1941-1945), the aborted HUK movement which followed the war years, and
economic recovery of the Region during the 1960s onward.
At the time the Spaniards arrived, Western Visayas was a fully developed
Region. They established not only settlements but also "confederated form of
government, with a legal system known as the Kalantiao Code." Kalantiao was believed
to be the third chief of Panay. Shortly after their arrival in Cebu in 1565, the Spaniards
encountered lots of problems like shortage of food supply and threat of Portuguese
invasion. Thus, in 1569, they moved over to Panay. They first settled in Capiz. From
here, they explored the neighboring places, subdued local resistance, and placed the
entire Region under the Spanish colonial government. The economic development of
the Region began systematically, especially in the area of sugar and rice production.
The Hiligaynons were called upon to render services for the encomienderos, either to
work in the haciendas or in the construction of churches. With the union of Church and
State, the Hiligaynons suffered under two types of foreign domination, the civil and the
religious. It was common knowledge that the real power in the local government were
the parish priests who supervised the local elections, intervened in judiciary and
influenced political affairs. The rivalry, intrigues, and power struggle between and
among the religious orders and their exploitation and oppression of the people, in the
name of the faith, aroused anti-friar sentiments and contributed to the awakening of
patriotism and the birth of nationalism. It was this colonial form of government which
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bred rebellion among the Hiligaynons, a peace-loving people whose history does not
record violence, but consultations and consensus as the means of settling disputes
(Hosillos, 56).
Since Christianization played the most important role in this era, the earliest of
the literary forms introduced by missionaries could have been the auto sacramentales,
short religious plays the missionares used in evangelical work; miracle plays which
narrated the lives of saints; and mystery plays which dramatized the life of Christ and
biblical stories. The Passion could have been introduced later separately from the mass
and was chanted at Lent. Prayers, novenas, sermons, and other religious and moral
tracts, although not literary forms, also formed part of the reading fare.
Conscription of labor produced strains in the relationships between the
Hiligaynons and the Spaniards. The local leaders protested against the cruelty of the
encomienderos and the friars. They took arms against the invaders. But the Hiligaynon
patriots did not give up; they continued their struggle for freedom. Thus, when the mass
revolution, started by the Katipunan under Andres Bonifacio took place in 1896, the
people in Western Visayas readily joined the movement. They fought and defeated the
Spaniards in many bloody encounters. Their victories however were short-lived. When
they were about ready to deliver the last blow against the enemy, the Americans came
in 1898 to take over the Spaniards the administrative control of the Region. The
Hiligaynons resisted but, weary of war and poorly armed, they were soon overwhelmed
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by the new and well-armed enemy. Many of the leaders surrendered and by 1901,
peace was restored.
The period following 1901 was one characterized by massive efforts for
economic development and social progress. The Americans rebuilt the agricultural
economy and encouraged local participation in trade and commerce. Education was
opened to everyone. Administration of the local governments was given to Hiligaynon
leaders. Writing in Spanish declined, though the influence was still dominant. Around
1910’s and the 1920’s was a flowering of the types of writing that were created and
initiated at the turn of the century and which flourished with an audience composed of
all social issues constitute of what is considered the “Golden Age” of Hiligaynon
literature. Literary nationalism and moralism took various forms, especially because of
the censorship with the passage of the Sedition Law in 1901. However, purposive
writings still continued as self-expression for entertainment, to delight and instruct and
for whatever were the intentions of the writer. Thus, in this period, newspaper also
played a significant part in developing creative minds and expressing nationalist
resistance. This period in turn, became the milieu for a generation of younger writers
who were already publishing. Serapion Torre, Magdalena Jalandoni, Delfin Gumban,
Flavio Zaragoza y Cano, and others took over and wrote new realities and challenges
and they have witnessed the erosion of the language and the decline of Hiligaynon
writing under the impact of English, the alienation of the younger generation from their
cultural tradition and the rise of the different literary trends and development patterns
(124).
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However, although public education with the English language as medium
“Americanized” the writer, enough to provide an employment, was not yet strong to
wean away from literary tradition and his commitment to his native language. Here, the
first issue of Ang Bisaya sa Hiligaynon was published in 1934 with 32 pages. But in
1936, it dropped and the supplement became the independent Hiligaynon magazine
that circulated over Panay, Negros, Masbate, Romblon, Palawan, Cuyu, Mindoro,
Mindanao and even in Sorsogon.
The inclusion of English and American literature in the school curriculum and the
influx of foreign books and magazines, particularly American, increased the number of
readers and speakers in English. They also led the Hiligaynon writers to other Western
writers and their works, literary traditions and world-wide trends and movements. The
‘mis-education’ of the Filipinos as veritable consumers of American goods, culture and
lifestyle which put up things American as superior to the native culture, was alienating
the Hiligaynon from its own culture. Movies, radio and pulp magazines supplemented
the schools in uprooting the younger generation from their native culture. Until World
War II drew the Philippines into the war of its colonial master. This war was a turning
point in the history of Hiligaynon literature. It abolished publication outlets and cultural
activities and made survival the writer’s prime concern. More significantly it concretized
and revealed the alienating effects of the colonial public school system. As a result, a
new generation of Hiligaynons wrote about the war experience with artistic maturity but
in English. With the passing away of the older writers, resistance to American rule
waned. Although the nationalist sentiment did not die, it was muted from outright protest
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into poetic expression of love of country, paeans to national heroes, and the natural
beauty and sceneries of the land, and the love of the native language (192-194).
After World War II, Hiligaynon writers tried to restore Hiligaynon literature to its pre-war
status but times radically changed. But still, people needed to face the challenge of
independence, longed-for since Spanish colonial times which the American promised to
grant in 1946. But the task of healing the physical and spiritual wounds and traumas of
the war and the liberation years was gigantic. Rebuilding the physical environment,
finding solutions to the economic problems, and reestablishing the political system and
social structures drained human resources. Even more so, making whole again
shattered lives paralyzed creativity and progressive thinking. Hiligaynon writers escaped
to the idyllic, the past, fantasy, dreams, and aspirations. Inevitably however, they need
to confront realities. A new generation of writers emerged, creating a dual trend—
romanticism and realism in genres of poem, short stories and even in novels. However,
literary situation reflected the post-war economy which was at its lowest ebb. With
dwindling readership, major newspaper and magazines folded up one by one, leaving
Hiligaynon the sole outlet until it also closed down in 1973. With the very little pay for
contributions, it was only their love of writing and of their native language that kept the
writers to persevere in their art. As they continued to recover from the stasis of the post-
war years, writing intensified that made them more curious and inquisitive analyzers,
critics, fiscalizers, and bold and daring innovators influenced by Western literature.
Writers dwelled still in poems, short stories, plays and novels. They were not, however,
rebels and revolutionaries whom the society needed out to protest. The times called for
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revolutionary realists, which from the late sixties to the eighties the Marcos martial law
regime itself, ironically, to create out of necessity against its oppression and
exploitation. Under the martial law regime and its Bagong Lipunan or New Society
slogan, things turned to worse. A number of socially-conscious media practitioners,
writers, professionals and intellectuals worked underground. Thus, the revolutionary
realists created a new literature—people’s literature—which proclaims itself as being
‘from the masses, to the masses’ (233-235). This became the most important
development out of the Third World condition of the region and the country as a whole.
Three trends of people’s literature have developed, mainly, the Third World writing,
community literature and guerilla literature.
In Third World writing, consciousness of liberation and the liberation of
consciousness were given focus. However, the most effective component of people’s
literature was people’s theater which could be the community and the guerilla theater
that were both political and polemical, with protest as basic element. These literature
contributed significantly to the development of the Hiligaynon language and strongly
involved the masses to find their roles to change the society and clamor for liberation.
After the EDSA Revolution, the nationalist movement had considerably gained much
headway as to prioritize literary culture as one of its indispensable elements. Writing
that can awaken the consciousness of the masses to their social realities became a
militant trend. The development of the regional vernacular literatures toward integrating
them into national literature was recognized as necessary to the definition of Filipino
identity (284-286).
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Toward fulfilling the human nature and function of literary art, “Hiligaynon writers
need to reorient their perspectives and world view. It is not enough for them to retrieve
and preserve the Hiligaynon language or even reflect the dialectics of culture change in
society. They need to enter the main stream of Philippine and Third World writing. For
the Hiligaynon writers, like any other regional writers, tend to be preoccupied only with
immediate realities of their society and region and interaction on a broader scale with
various cultures, social, economic, and political realities, sensibilities, and world views
which could considerably enrich them and their art, all toward creation and growth of
their regional and national cultures” (287).
Hiligaynon Major Figures and Literary Works: Their Place in Hiligaynon Literature
Riddles, proverbs, ritual chants, elaborate love songs, tales and epics encompass
Hiligaynon folk literature. The arts, music, song, poetry and dance, of which early
Hiligaynons were passionate, expresses the feelings and thoughts of their development,
emerging from their wonderment at existence, their interaction with nature and their
struggle for survival (Hosillos, 10). Hiligaynons call their poem as binalaybay, tale as
asoy or sugilanon, riddle paktakon, while a proverb hurubaton. Their equivalents of
folksongs are ili-ili for lullaby, a long song ambahan, long poetic joust between two
poets which is the siday or a jocose love song like balitaw (Deriada in Hiligaynon
Literature).
With the advent of Spaniards having the people converted to Christianity, what
had been produced were new forms of folk literature. This was when written literature
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also began, initially in the forms of Spanish texts of prayers and lives of the saints
(Deriada in Hiligaynon Literature). It was Mariano Perfecto who engineered written
Hiligaynon literature in the late nineteenth century through his establishment of Libreria
La Panayana in Iloilo City in 1877 which supplied prayer books and other printed
reading fare in Hiligaynon Iloilo readers, Negros, Capiz, Antique, Romblon, Masbate,
Cuyo and other parts of Eastern Visayas and Manila. This encouraged more natives to
write in Hiligaynon. Mariano Perfecto published Almanake Panayanhon (Panayan
Almanac) with his Pasion, novenas, and corridos (Deriada in Hiligaynon Literature).
Hiligaynon literature brimmed of struggles and challenges spanning centuries of
dehumanization in the face of colonial oppression and exploitation. The Hiligaynon
writers would awaken to the realities and present condition through drudging economic,
political, and social developments, in the process bringing the Hiligaynon writer face up
to his role in life and society, becoming conscious of his artistic talents and social
responsibility.
One inciting event was the decline of the region’s textile industry after the
opening of the port of Iloilo to foreign trade in 1890. In exchange, the sugar export trade
flourished and brought change over region’s commercial activity, demography and
social and cultural life (Hosillos, 70).
The rich sugar export trade brought along prosperity and affluence that opened
doors to entertainment and recreation throughout the region in 1893. The region’s towns
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and districts abounded with fiestas, religious celebrations, comedias, and zarzuelas with
the assistance of parishes, municipal governments, and artistic organizations.
Among notable writers and works during this period were Ramon Severino with
his Ang Sultana nga Taga Jolo an original Visayan drama in Silay, Negros Occidental
and Angel Magahum with her Visayan drama in three acts (Hosillos, 71).
Writers in Hiligaynon found a large audience among the people who could not
read in Spanish. The masses welcomed writers such as Cornelio Hilado with his work
Ang Babae nga Huaran (The Model Woman), touted as the first full-length play in
Hiligaynon written in 1894 and published in 1899 and also the plays of Eriberto Gumban
who used mixed medium of Spanish and Hiligaynon.
In spite of the economic prosperity since the turn of the 19th century fostered by
the sugar export trade, exploitation and injustices by the friars and the landowners
continued. The ilustrados, described as the educated and enlightened class pressed for
reforms and civil and political rights. This intensified aspirations and ideals of
nationalism. The people were buoyed up to observe the systems and eventually saw
through what lay beneath the surface of “manifest destiny” and “benevolent
assimilation.” Writers whose works lay bare the principles of individual rights and
equality, and other democratic tenets were Jose Ingalla with his poems Dutang Olipon
(Enslaved Land), Manuel Laserna’s play Pagmahal sa Banwa (Love of Country)
published in 1909, Angel Magahum’s Benjamin acclaimed as the first novel in
Hiligaynon, finished in 1894 but published only in 1907, Cornelio Hilado’s Ang Babae
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nga Huaran (The Model Woman) commended as the first full-length drama in
Hiligaynon written in 1894 published after revolution against Spain, including also
Salvador Ciocon’s Ang Nagahigugma sa Iya Duta (The Patriot) regarded probably the
first zarzuela in Hiligaynon, written in 1899 but not staged until 1906 (Hosillos, 74).
Benjamin was a rich man’s son from the province of Iloilo. He studied in a big
university in Manila. While studying in the big city Benjamin was very care free. He
usually gambled to amuse himself.
One day he visited Manuel, his best friend and provincemate. Living near
Manuel’s rented apartment was a beautiful young lady by the name of Inocencia, the
daughter of Dolores , a widow of a captain in an army. Her son, Serafin – also a military
man and the sole provider of their family – was also said to have died while fighting
against the bandits.
Not long after their first meeting Benjamin and Inocencia fell in love. Months later
Inocencia became pregnant. Dolores was worried and confronted Benjamin to seek his
assurance that he would marry her daughter. Confused, Benjamin left without making
any commitment.
What led to the coming of age of Hiligaynon literature were the awakening of the
writer to his realities through economic, political, and social change and his
consciousness of his talents. The noteworthy names in poetry and plays were Salvador
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Ciocon, Jose Ingalla, and Manuel Laserna; Valente Cristobal and Jimeno Damaso for
zarzuelas; others like Angel Magahum and Eriberto Gumban stretched their thread of
versatility writing plays in new stages. Having discovered their talents through their
native language, these writers committed themselves upon preserving the beauty and
remarkable qualities of Hiligaynon language. They continued the struggle for freedom
even after the American civil government was established. This time they wrote no
longer in Spanish but in Hiligaynon which they proclaimed the language of the people
and of their aspirations (Hosillos, 74).
The advent of American occupation witnessed the Golden Age of Hiligaynon
literature spanning the relatively short period from 1920s to the dawn of Japanese
occupation. This period was descriptive of the decline in writing Spanish, the looming
consumerist culture of United States delineated by foreign movies, radios, books,
newspapers that soon captured Hiligaynon imagination, the inevitable resistance to
American, and the resignation of the majority of Hiligaynons to American system.
Writers saw exploitation in the systems especially in the cases of the employees
working in sugar export industry where profits only benefitted the upper classes and
foreign business. In view of Sedition Law in 1901, literary nationalism took various
forms. Hiligaynon writers hankered for freedom against foreign domination and sought
from people social consciousness (121). Pedro Monteclaro’s Maragtas, despite it being
questioned as a historical document, inspired materials about Hiligaynon historical past
such as Angel Magahum’s Datu Paubare and Jose Ma. Ingalla’s Dumut kag Huya
(122). The dramatic tensions of plays of Eriberto Gumban, Salvador Ciocon, Valente
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Cristobal, Angel Magahum, Jose Ingalla, and Jimeno Damaso clashed the erosion of
morality and traditional Christian values, moral degeneration, especially of the women,
individual, social, and cultural conflicts. These conflicts were also evident in Miguela
Montelibano’s Cailo nga Tapalan Cusug sang Imul (Strength of the Poor, 1924) and his
Filipinas (1929). Magdalena Jalandoni’s lyrical narrative poem Angya exposed the
oppression of the poor by the rich particularly in rural setting.
In response to the erosion of the language and the decline of Hiligaynon writing
under the impact of English and to the younger generation’ alienation from cultural
tradition, Serapion Torre’s Yesterday and Today took form along with the works of
Magdalena Jalandoni, Delfin Gumban’s Song of Freedom, Flavio Zaragoza y Cano’s
Arise and Carmelo Abeto’s Sisa (124).
Foreground showing a well-to-do house. There are two doors, one at the left and
another at the right. Backdrop shows a door leading to the kitchen or stairs. The sala is
neat and proper, a table and chairs are well-aligned.
The period between 1931-1945 was descriptive of worsened plight of the
workers, rise of labor movements and strikes, exploitation of natural resources by
foreigners, gaping gap between the rich and the poor, Americanization and
modernization that eroded traditional ways of life, dispossession of lands and crops
among farmers. Hiligaynon writers unsheathed poetry texts to shake up politics, the
state of the nation and leaders, particularly in presence of the works of Ramon Muzones
in his Haw Haw Tulihaw (Ho Ho Tulihaw) and Kuting Kuting sang Kudyapi (Strumming
25 | P a g e
the Kudyapi), Delfin Gumban with his Kon sa Akong Lamang (In My Opinion) and
Santiago Alv. Mulato with Gugma sa Pungsod (1936).
During this period the Hiligaynon writer found himself torn between his native
literary tradition and the Western. In the purpose of striving to obtain philosophical depth
toward introspection and individualism embodying the poet’s retreat to privacy, Dilag
Fajardo brought out Ngaa? (Why?).
World War II was a turning point in the history of Hiligaynon literature. Leopoldo
dela Cruz’ Dear Americans and Stevan Javellana’s Without Seeing the Dawn were
among the works of new generation of Hiligaynons that used the theme of war
experience utilizing great artistic maturity, written however in the medium of English.
The theme would be recurred in the novels of Abe Gonzales’ Gugma, Katarungan kag
Kaisug (1946), Ramon Muzones’ Labi sa Tanan (1946) and Magdalena Jaladoni’s Sa
Kapaang sang Inaway (In the Heat of the War) but unsuccessful to line up with the
artistic maturity of the novels of dela Cruz and Javellana (194).
The aftermath of Japanese occupation made the Ilonggos individualistic and
prone to immorality. Leopoldo de la Cruz’s poem in English Iloilo City on VJ Day
creatively imaged the post-war hardships and conditions.
In order to survive, the Hiligaynon writer attempted to escape to the idyllic and
aspirations to no avail; he had to confront his realities eventually. Consequently,
romanticism and realism emerged which the new generation of writers embraced.
26 | P a g e
Exposing the economic problems through texts bathed with the concept of social
realism, Abe Gonzales’ Pasunaid (Being Considerate) went against trade unionisim;
Russel Tordesillas’ And Capid (The Twins) resisted social injustice; Gregorio Sumcad’s
Sacada (Migrant Worker) on feudal conditions in the sugar cane plantations; Ramon
Muzones’ Anak sang Umalagsa on agrarian relations; Conrada Norada’s Bulak nga
Ilahas (Wild Flower) on corrupt politicians; Juanito Marcella’s story Panaghoy sang
Ginahandos nga Palpal (Lament of a Driver Peg) exposed the injustice in landowner-
tenant relations (234).
Other notable works during the period 1946-1970 were Margosatubig of Ramon
Muzones, The Dead of Agustin Sayno, Ernesto Nietes’ Opportunity, Romulo Cabales’s
Young Bud and Hanglo of Augurio Paguntalan.
The only heir to the sultanate of Sulu – Datu Parang – violated Islamic tradition
by having an affair with a Christian woman, Dulcinea. The provided an opportunity for
Datu Mohamed, the adviser of the Sultan, to realize his ambition of becoming the
Sultan.
Another significant turning point in Hiligaynon literature were the 1964 reelection
of Ferdinand Marcos and his declaration of martial law on September 21, 1972. The
events associated with this page in Philippine history forced mass media practitioners,
writers, professionals, and intellectuals to go underground. Agriculture, business and
industry suffered during this period. Plight of the workers in sugar industry worsened
27 | P a g e
tremendously. Land reform programs did not benefit farmers more. And innumerable
incidents of human rights violations occurred.
Hiligaynon writers responded in different directions. They escaped to writing that
merely entertains. Some insulated their works in the tower of art-for-art’s sake. Most
risked their lives to expose the ills of society toward reforms, awaken readers to social
realities and to struggle for liberation (279).
Notable works during this period were Ilong-Ilong ang Banwa Ko (Iloilo is my
Birthplace!, 1970) by Paola Lailahnee G. Sobrevega, Ano Ka Kabuhi (Life, What Are
You?, 1969) of Ernesto F. Javellana, Juanita Cruz (serialized 1967-1968) of Magdalena
Jalandoni, Diin and Hustisya (Where is Justice, 1976) by Nilo Par. Pamonag, Nahadluk
Manaksihon (Afraid to Testify) of Jose E. Yap, Makaon Ako Aswang, ‘Nay (I Will Eat a
Witch, Mother) by Ricardo Oebanda, and Nahibal-an na Bala sang Agut nga
Ginsalbeyds si Tatay Niya? (Does the Youngest Already Know That His Father Has
Been “Salvaged”?) of John Paul B. Tia among others.
As we talked, he too recalled Nita who looked and spoke so much like me and
who died because of love for him. He remarked that he cannot do anything because
Nita was dead and if fate would allow it he will replace her with another who looked
exactly like his dead sweetheart if this other one will love him with as much tenderness
as his former beloved. Secretly I felt happy listening to his revelation but I never
betrayed my true identity as that lost Nita.
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THE WEAPON he decided to use took Tyo Doroy there days of secret
preparation. It is a weapon that does not explode, but rather flies and pierces. He calls it
Indian arrow. He has kept what he is doing from Tya Nena because he knows that his
wife will surely object to his plan. So, by gradually working on it in secret, he was able to
finally finish the weapon with which he will kill Eddie.
What Hiligaynon writers realized during the constraints of this period was that
literature was no longer just expressing, reflecting, and symbolizing reality. Literature
was already helping in restructuring society.
Current state of Hiligaynon Literature (1989 – present)
Since the resurgence of writings in the vernacular in 1900’s, literature in
Hiligaynon has appropriated to the demand of publications that appeal to the taste of its
public audience, thereby accounting to the didactic, sentimental, and melodramatic
formula in writing (Cruz-Lucero, xiii-xiv). Some writers, to gain a commercial appeal,
only imitated the stories written in Tagalog and in English, but later on evolved into
writing in their native language and sensibilities with strain of nationalism.
Significant to the development of Hiligaynon literature from its Golden Age
(1920’s-1940’s) are its publications such as Hiligaynon magazine of Liwayway
Publications in Manila, Makiugalingon Press by Rosendo Mejica in Iloilo City, Yuhum
magazine of La Defensa Press in Iloilo, and Kasanag of Diolosa Publications. These
publications paved way to showcasing young and old writers of the West Visayan
region, including not only the lingua franca Hiligaynon but also Kinaray-a and Aklanon.
29 | P a g e
Yuhum magazine stopped its publication in the 1960’s and resumed during the Martial
law years, while Hiligaynon closed during Martial law and reopened in 1989 in Cory
Aquino’s governance.
Deriada (in NCCA article) noted that the Cory Revolution of 1986 sought the
advent of historical landmarks in Hiligaynon Literature:
1. The emergence of Kinaray-a writing
2. The emergence of Aklanon writing
3. The emergence of writing in Filipino (Visayan-based)
4. The ferment of campus writing in these languages
5. The emergence of multilingual writing in the region
During this time, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) took on a new
administration and the Presidential Commission for Culture and the Arts [now National
Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA)] was established. Henceforth, grants to
writers of marginalized languages were given, and workshops and competitions were
subsidized nationwide. Such is the progressive ferment of writing in the vernacular that
in 1997, Hiligaynon short story was added as a category in Palanca Awards.
Since 1990, Deriada has worked on “literature engineering in West Visayas”
through mentoring and encouraging writers to produce writings in Kinaray-a, Aklanon,
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and Visayan-laced Filipino other than Hiligaynon and English. In fact, CCP published
Kinaray-a issue of Ani in 1990, and Aklanon issue in 1993, both edited by Deriada.
Writing in Visayan-laced Filipino has been a transgressive act for West Visayan
writers who write in Tagalog with the blending of Visayan words that need no
translation. On this account, a true Filipino language comes into being through the
fusion of Philippine languages taken as equal to one another.
The multilingual capacity of West Visayan writers and writing in those languages
“make the literary geography of West Visayas an extremely visible landmark in the
country’s mapping out of a richer, more diverse yet more defined nationhood.” (Deriada
in Kritika Kultura 1, 88)
The contemporary West Visayan literature in general has expanded its scope of
publication commissioned by the NCCA through Deriada who edited Patubas, An
Anthology of West Visayan Poetry 1986-1994 (1995) and Mantala 3 (2000), containing
more than a hundred “poets and fictionists who have subsequently garnered prestigious
literary prizes and national distinction.” (Cruz, 3)
Other than Deriada’s engineered anthologies are the Philippine literature
anthology projects of three universities namely University of the Philippines, Ateneo de
Manila University, and De La Salle University. Sugilanon: Mga Maikling Kwentong
Hiligaynon, published in 1991 and edited by Rosario Cruz-Lucero, was a product of De
La Salle.
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In these anthologies, Cruz (153) posited that marginalization happens in the
marginalized language/literature such that those who get to be included in researches
are the writers who created a name in the national literary scene and the others who do
not are left unrecognized. Thus, he called for the study of the lesser-known writers of
the West Visayas region to avoid this further marginalization.
As an answer to this call, whether directly/implied or conscious/unconscious, the
UBOD New Authors Series II came out with Hiligaynon fiction Ang Mga Anak Sang
Montogawe (edited by John Iremil E. Teodoro, 2010) by J.V.D. Perez and Hiligaynon
collection of poems Duha Ka Tingog by Jay Gallera Malaga (edited by Genevieve L.
Asenjo, 2010). UBOD is a series of literary works in various Philippine languages
published through the Ateneo Institute of Literary Arts and Practice with the grant given
by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts and the National Committee on
Literary Arts. Its first publication was in 2005 including Asenjo’s taga-uma@manila, a
Hiligaynon fiction.
Vernacular literature, including Hiligaynon, faced or is still facing the following
predicaments (DLSU Research Center in Cruz-Lucero, ix):
1. Lack of research in literature in other ethnolinguistic groups was identified.
2. Literary researches made on these ethnolinguistic groups were rarely published;
if published, these were in English or in expensive editions.
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3. Literary works considered by critics as classics were obsolete or available only in
private libraries.
To address these problems, the three universities worked on anthology books as
mentioned before. This project was set in the following guidelines: 1) unbound literary
criticism from Tagalog literature and give space to literature written in major ethnic
languages, 2) include representative works from pre-colonial period to contemporary to
see its tradition and changes influenced by the Spanish and American cultures, 3)
translate the works in Filipino to be better felt by the Filipino audience, and 4) employ an
expert in that literature to give a critical and socio-historical explanation on the body of
work for further understanding (x-xi).
As a result of the successive actions brought by the writers, scholars,
universities, and government agencies to let the ‘other’ literatures thrive, “now the native
writer progressively takes on the habit of addressing his own people (Fanon in Cruz,
145)” through the use of Filipino language. Deriada, through his idea of
language/literature engineering in West Visayas, is asserting his take on using a Filipino
language to account for the nationhood devoid of cultural divide and dominant culture/s.
Influenced by the idea, Teodoro has taken liberty in using Visayan words as Filipino
words for he believes that
There is no such thing as a non-Tagalog word having to gain entry first into the
mainstream Filipino vocabulary before being used in writing – as in being ‘entered’ in
the Filipino dictionary published in Tagalog language centers which have long supposed
33 | P a g e
they are the sole gatekeepers of the national language. Metaphorically, Teodoro’s
language move images a nation that is all-inclusive, one that does not slant the marks
of regional culture to make difference apparent and the culture apparently subordinate
(150).
With this move, Cruz names it “damming the nation” as the contemporary West
Visayan literature asserts its way in “engineering the nation through strategies that
transgress the norms but reconstruct it… By means of this engineering the region hopes
it can take its proper place in the nation and claim the resources it deserves (152).”
A study on the contemporary grammar of Hiligaynon, considered the
fourth major language in the country, with more than 5.7 million speakers as of 2000
(Hiligaynon, 2010), is in order. There are several studies, articles, papers, theses, and
dissertations on Hiligaynon, but many of the recent ones were about its literature. It has
been several decades ago when previous comprehensive studies that investigated the
grammar of the language (i.e., Kaufmann, 1939; Wolfenden, 1971) were conducted. The
latest investigations on its grammar (e.g., Spitz, 2001; Gaitan, 2003) were not as
comprehensive as the earlier mentioned ones.
The linguistic studies on Hiligaynon reviewed in this paper spanned over
100 years. The first one (Jonkergauw, 1900) looks into the grammar of the language, but
covers a limited number of word classes or parts of speech. The latest study in the
review (Corradini, 2009) also focuses on grammar but on only one class or part – the
34 | P a g e
Hiligaynon causative pa-. As mentioned earlier, it is noteworthy that many of the more
comprehensive studies on the grammar of the language were only up to the 1970s.
The earliest research studies conducted were on Hiligaynon grammar
(Jonkergauw, 1900; Kaufmann, 1939; Howard, 1957).
In the 1960s, however, there were more studies on specific word classes
or parts of speech of the language. These include number concord (Juntado, 1961);
word structure (Tordesillas, 1961); English-tense aspect for Hiligaynon speakers (Ruiz,
1963); common Hiligaynon sentence patterns (Kapili, 1967); common transfers of
Hiligaynon into English (Dichupa, 1967); pronouns (Grino, 1967); verb roots (Ruiz,
1968); English junctures as spoken by Hiligaynon speakers (Hernandez, 1969); and
similarities and differences in Hiligaynon and English noun reduplication (Solis, 1969).
The 1970s saw a variety of investigations on the linguistic aspect of
Hiligaynon, most notable of which is the reference grammar by Wolfenden (1971). The
outputs for this decade also include the following specific topics: affixes in Tagalog and
Hiligaynon (Militar, 1970); active vocabulary list in Pilipino for Hiligaynon speakers
(Aguirre, 1971); dictionary and lessons (Motus, 1971); cognate words (Diaz, 1972);
syntax, specifically phrase and clause construction (Wolfenden; 1975); and sentences
(Sansolis, 1977). A comprehensive study by Zorc (1977) focused on the sub-groupings
and reconstruction of Hiligaynon together with 36 other Bisayan dialects of the
Philippines.
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It is notable that this review did not find any study on the linguistic aspect
of Hiligaynon in the 1980s. Meanwhile, the 1990s produced studies on the Hiligaynon
language on three areas: a language packet for use by Peace Corps volunteers (1990);
an investigation on the morphological causative constructions of Hiligaynon together with
another language, Yogad (Spitz, 1997); and a dictionary (Alcantara, 1997).
From 2000 onwards, there were a number of research studies on the
Hiligaynon language. These include three dictionaries (Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino,
2000; Makabenta, 2004; Abuyen, 2007), phonological, morphological, and syntactic
aspects of Hiligaynon/Ilonggo (Spitz, 2001), grammatical aspects of Hiligaynon-Filipino
translations (Gaitan, 2003), lexicon related to gender (Villareal, 2006), deictic or
demonstrative pronouns, together with six other major Philippine languages (McFarland,
2006), and a Peircian approach to the Hiligaynon causative pa- (Corradini, 2009).
Hiligaynon, often referred to as Ilonggo, is an Austronesian language
spoken in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Hiligaynon is concentrated in
the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Capiz but is also spoken in the other
provinces of the Panay Island group, including Antique, Aklan, Guimaras, and in many
parts of Mindanao including Koronadal City, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and parts of
North Cotabato. Further, it is spoken as a second language by Karay-a speakers in
Antique, Aklanon and Malaynon in Aklan and Capiznon in Capiz.
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There are approximately 7,000,000 people in and outside the Philippines
who are native speakers of Hiligaynon, and an additional 4,000,000 who are capable of
speaking it with a substantial degree of proficiency. Hiligaynon is a member of the
Visayan language family. It is distinctive from most Filipino languages for its sing-song
intonation, much like Italian, particularly in the Bacolodnon dialect.
Until the second half of the 20th century, Hiligaynon was widely written
based on Spanish orthography consisting of 32 letters called ABECEDARIO. The core
alphabet consists of 20 letters used for expressing consonants and vowels in Hiligaynon,
each of which comes in an upper case and lower case variety. Hiligaynon has sixteen
consonants: /p t k b d g m n ñ s h w l r j/. There are three main vowels: /a/,/e-i/, and /o-u/.
[i] and [e] (both spelled i) are allophones, with [i] in the beginning and middle and
sometimes final syllables and [e] in final syllables. The vowels [u] and [o] are also
allophones, with [u] always being used when it is the beginning of a syllable, and [o]
always used when it ends a syllable. Consonants [d] and [r] were once allophones but
cannot interchange as in other Philippine languages.
Hiligaynon has a large number of words that derive from Spanish words
including nouns (e.g. santo from santo, saint), adjectives (e.g. berde from verde, green),
prepositions (e.g. antes from antes, before), and conjunctions (e.g. pero from pero, but).
Moreover, Spanish provides the Ilonggo base for items introduced by Spain, e.g. barko
(barco, ship), sapatos (zapatos, shoes), kutsilyo (cuchillo, knife), and kambiyo (cambio,
change).
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Spanish verbs used in Hiligaynon often remain unconjugated (have the
verb endings –ar, -er or –ir) which in Filipino would almost always be conjugated in the
‘vos’ form, e.g. komparar, mandar, pasar, tener, disponer, mantener, and asistir.
The Spanish word derivatives of the names of the months are presently
used in everyday language and in the mass media. Almost nothing is heard (except in
the academe and language groups) about their original Hiligaynon form .
Hiligaynon is said to have originated from the term Yligueynes or people of
the coast, considering that Western Visayas is surrounded by large bodies of water. The
language has a distinct characteristic that may be viewed as either positive or negative.
Ilonggos speak in a sing- song manner, which is what projects them as affectionate
(Francesca Climacio, University of the Philippines, Diliman Retrieved October 3, 2011
(http://www.ethnicgroupsphilippines.com/news-bulletin/thehiligaynon- language-of-the-
ilonggo).
Changes in the native tongue due to heavy borrowing from foreign
language is not peculiar to the Philippines. During the age of colonialism, colonialists
were aware of the importance of language in cultural domination. To quote M.K. Shakib,
“Language relationship with mind, soul, identity and thought of those who speak in their
mother tongue, make most of colonialists societies to colonizing other societies focus on
language and language identity of those societies. Being aware of importance of
language and cultural domination, during colonialism, colonialists try to convey their
38 | P a g e
thought, beliefs and their customs through language as a cultural tool in an invisible and
imperceptible way. Using this policy, they can compete and strengthen their process of
penetration and colonialism on others. As a result of lingual and cultural weakness,
conquered societies submitted to colonialists’ sovereignty and occasionally they have
accepted all aspects of their cultural and lingual sovereignty.”
Many societies have subordinated or lost their native tongues in
conquest. Alsace in France was a Germanspeaking region where German and Alsatian
(the native Germanic dialect) were spoken; but when these languages were banned for a
period of time by the French government after WWI and WWII, they disappeared as
useful languages and were replaced by French.
In Belarus, the use of the Belarusian language is declining despite the
country’s separation from USSR.. A study done by the Belarusian government in 2009,
showed that 72% of Belarusians speak Russian at home, while Belarusian is used by
only 11.9% of Belarusians. 29.4% of Belarusians can write, speak and read Belarusian,
while only 52.5% can read and speak it. According to the research, one out of ten
Belarusians does not understand Belarusian.
After Singapore’s independence in 1965, there was a general
language shift in the country’s inter-racial lingua franca from Malay to English, as English
was chosen as the first language for the country. Among the Chinese community in
Singapore, there was a language shift from the various forms of Chinese to Mandarin
Chinese. Mandarin Chinese has replaced Singaporean Hokkien as the lingua franca of
Chinese community in Singapore today. There has been a general language attrition in
39 | P a g e
the use of Chinese other than Mandarin, especially among young Singaporean
populace. [10]
Populations of many countries in the world which speak
vernaculars that are not mutually intelligible, use lingua franca as a means of
communication. Lingua franca came from the Italian “Frankish language”. The term was
first used during the Middle Ages to describe a French- and Italian-based jargon, or
pidgin, that was developed by Crusaders and traders in the eastern Mediterranean and
characterized by the invariant forms of its nouns, verbs, and adjectives. These changes
have been interpreted as simplifications of the Romance languages. Because they bring
together very diverse groups of people, many empires and major trade entrepôts have
had lingua francas. [11]
In Africa, Swahili is widely used as a lingua franca in Tanzania,
Kenya and Congo. In Tanzania, it is the language of administration and primary
education; while in Kenya, it is after English, the main language for these purposes.
In India, the two major lingua francas are Hindustani and English.
Hindustani is based on an early dialect of Hindi, known by linguists as Khari Boli, which
originated in Delhi and an adjacent region within the Ganges-Yamuna Doab. During the
Mughal period (early 16th to mid-18th C), when political power became centered on
Delhi, Khari Boli absorbed numerous Persian words and integrated them into the
language.
Other than conquest, societies are rapidly losing their native
tongues with the rise of the global economy that favors modern languages, and the
40 | P a g e
spread of the mass media which use standard forms of a language rather than local
dialects.
As Miidzo Mavesera (2010) puts it, “Globalization and the
information age have put weaker languages at the risk of being marginalized. Information
is being relayed through global languages…” Global languages such as English, French
and Portuguese are now widely used in technology, trade and commerce, governance
and education. Their integration into local language systems results to bilingualism which
is the initial stage towards language assimilation – a looming threat to the local
indigenous language!
Mavesera, observed that almost all African countries seem to enjoy
doing business in foreign languages despite attainment of political power. This status
emanates from a long history of colonial subjugation, which induced perpetual
marginalization of African languages such that African states view their languages as
unfit to transmit business ideas and higher knowledge. In Zimbabwe, English continues
to be the global language, the language of the Internet, wider communication and official
documents. Realizing that Zimbabwe requires high level of manpower, technology and
contact with the external made sense to continue with colonial legacy for two reasons: to
keep track with global developments, maintain internal unity and contacts with friends of
Zimbabwe; and, there was strong motivation to adopt incremental policies that capitalize
on available resources and ride on existing structures. In his study, Mavesera concluded
that Africa still needs to gain a significant place in the global economy, politics and other
development initiatives so the temptation to retain colonial languages is great. On the
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one hand, globalization increases the visibility of African languages beyond the African
continent yet on the other, it exposes them to stiff competition against established global
languages such as English, French, and Portuguese. For African languages to claim
significant space in the global village, the languages must be able to transmit high status
knowledge and technological information that is in demand globally. Currently, African
languages are highly challenged as a majority of them are struggling to gain space in
education not even as media of instruction but as subjects of study. [12]
One attempt to preserve and document an endangered language
was done by Uchenna Oyali, [13] The research is an ethno-linguistic and pragmatic
documentation of the forms of address in Oko, a dialect in Igbo, Nigeria. Such a study,
according to the author, is necessary considering the gradual yet steady death of many
languages in Nigeria or aspects of these languages as in the case with Igbo. He quoted
Akinlabi and Connel (2008) to have emphasized the need for the documentation of
languages. They observed that even in cases where development or stabilization (of
languages) is no longer feasible, for example due to reduced number of speakers,
documentation of such languages is still nonetheless desirable, as means of preserving
both the unique linguistics structures that might exist in these languages, as well as the
cultural and other forms of knowledge embodied in them. Oyali justified his choice of Oko
for analysis. Oko is an ancient city that lies a few kilometers south of Asaba in Oshimili,
Delta State of Nigeria. It is one of the riverine Igbo communities generally referred to as
Olu or Ogbahu. Oko has not bent to the influence of English like the dialects of the
surrounding communities.
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Pedro Ponce [14] in his article Songs of the Sephardim, described
the efforts of Samuel Armistead and his colleagues to rescue a language that “…is the
language of the Sephardic past.” Sephardic Spanish was the dominant language of trade
in the Balkans in the 18th and 19th C and carried around the world by Jews expelled
from Spain. Today it is quickly disappearing as the number of people able to speak it
declines. The language has a rich legacy of storytelling and ballad making. To save
those tales and songs, Armistead and his colleagues have been gathering them from
Sephardic Spanish speakers as far as Washington, and Tetuan, Morocco, for more than
forty years. What contributes to making Sephardic Spanish obsolete aside from global
economy, is the dominance and spread of mass media.
The mass media are among the linguistic trendsetters in society.
Words uttered or printed in media strongly influence people and the language they use.
Hence, many researchers tried to investigate media content and language used in
media.
In India, Asima Ranjan Parhi [15] looked into what he calls
“postcolonial, deviant use of language” in certain national dailies during the late 1990s
“when actually the print media went through a well perceived change in the use of
language. He says that the English print media in India has taken up the growing
challenge in preparing a linguistic model of Indian English. Parhi believes that the
content of English newspapers in India provides a text of the country’s cultural history. It
explores a new medium in terms of both a language revolution and cultural renovation.
Newspapers appear to have become more accessible and comfortable as alternate
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textual canon. By exploiting and exploring alternative semantic possibilities, the print
media offers models of experimentation and usage. The Times of India is the major
source of data provided, where writers are fast using many Indian words and structures
embedded in the body of the print media to cater to the demands of a highly globalised
and trendy body of readers. And when the mainstream newspapers use a number of
such words and structures freely, it is a sign of assertion of Indian usage since they are
read across the world. Parhi further adds that Indians have come of age through such
massive mention of the words which are very common to all. And when they are
repeatedly used, the newspapers have asserted the Indian self to express itself by the
kind of English they are comfortable with.
S.A.Rahim and L. Pawanteh, [16] observing that the preponderant flow of
information from western societies to the rest of the world engaging the western media in
issues of cultural hegemony, posit that in the era of globalization where information
transcends borders, preserving cultural identity is vital. In their study, they discussed how
globalization “has spawned the expeditious growth of the local media industry in
Malaysia since the 1980s, and in turn became a catalyst to the escalation of the local
content industry.” The content industry does not merely create and publish content in the
forms of information, entertainment and education programs, but is construed as an
industry of culture that disseminates society values, lifestyles and norms to its target
audience. Their study examined the relevance of local media content as a cultural
commodity, the mitigation and availability of content prior to expounding local content,
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the ratio of local to foreign content and a balanced approach in services rendered. They
worked on certain assumptions: media content is regarded as a pertinent information
commodity in a nation’s development; regulating produced media content is vital to the
nation’s endeavor to develop a information society; uncontrolled information pollution will
adversely affect society; and,.in the globalization process, the growing sentiment of
concern is that the unrestricted flow of media content may unconsciously influence the
younger generation into incorporating foreign culture into the current environment.
In the study, a simple analysis of television program broadcast over
Malaysian terrestrial televisyen stations was conducted. Two sets of data were collected
representing a week in August, 2007 and another set from August, 2010. TV guide from
a leading English language newspaper Star was used to calculate the number of hours
of local versus foreign programs shown on various channels for a particular week. Ratio
of each category of program was calculated by dividing the number of hours of local or
foreign programs by the total airtime for a particular television station. The researchers
concluded that the potential for growth of the local content market can not be denied but
its growth needs to be monitored to ensure it does not stray from the nation’s aspirations.
Local content should not be restricted to using Bahasa Malayu or the national language
only. Usage of a local language that is comprehensible to segments of the local
community can be construed as local content.
45 | P a g e
Chapter III
Methodology
This chapter presents the methodology that will be used to undertake this study.
This includes the research design, respondents of the study, locale of the study,
sampling technique, data gathering instrument and data gathering.
Research Design
This study will be using Ethnolinguistic approach. This research design is a social
psychological approach to language maintenance and contemporary studies of
historical evidence.
Respondents of the Study
The researchers will coordinate with native residents of Sultan Kudarat

specifically in its two major municipalities such as Isulan and Tacurong with age ranges
from fifty (50) and higher. Ilonggos within this age bracket probably would have more
established and strong foundation of the dialect compared to native locals on their early
adulthood. Further, this will ensure the reliability of the results for the respondents had
been cultured with the traditional and conventional culture (talking manner,
conversational method and talking etiquette) of the native Ilonggo speakers probably
took place in the early to late 90’s.
The researchers will be selecting two (2) varied respondents from Tacurong City:
(1) a teacher from Southern Mindanao Institute of Technology, Inc. (SMIT) and a local
preferably a housewife from EJC Montilla (Bario Dos); and also two (2) respondents
from Isulan: (1) A teacher from Montessori Learning Center of Isulan, Inc. and (2) a
local tricycle driver.
Locale of the Study
46 | P a g e
This study will be conducted in Sultan Kudarat specifically at Isulan and

Tacurong. The researchers will be coordinating four respondents (two participants each
municipality) chosen from different parts of the specified localities.
Figure 2.1. The picture above is the map of Sultan Kudarat taken from Google map service provider.
Sampling Technique
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The study will use Criterion sampling technique which will select participants who
meet specified qualifications as native speakers of Hiligaynon. This will be appropriate
for this will concretely search for native locals who were really proficient and have broad
knowledge in terms of the vernacular.
Data Gathering Instrument
The researchers will collect data from the respondents such as texts, videos and
audio recording. Having the participants as co-creators of the manual, the researchers
will conduct an in-depth interview and Document collection and analysis with the
selected participants. The respondents will have an active participation during the
making of the manual and in imparting their insights about their known literary pieces.
The researchers will also collect information on how do the respondents construct their
grammar in Hiligaynon and how do they inject expressions in their daily conversations
with others.
The researchers will present retrieved Ilonggo literary pieces by which the
researches and the respondents will join the structure analysis session to which they
will review the most common morphology of Hiligaynon with the use of preserved
Ilonggo literature.
The researchers will discuss and review the collected audios, texts and videos to
validate the reliability of its outcomes. They will compare and evaluate their data
gathered from the different participants and sort the most valid concepts from data that
need further evaluation. The sorted and verified reliable data will be synthesized, plot
the best paradigm in producing the manual. Lastly, come up with a theory or process to
better understand, pronounce and speak the Hiligaynon dialect.
Data Gathering Procedure
48 | P a g e
In this study, the needed data will be gathered using the following steps, the
researchers will discuss and review the collected audios, texts and videos to validate
the reliability of its outcomes. They will compare and evaluate their data gathered from
the different participants and sort the most valid concepts from data that need further
evaluation. The sorted and verified reliable data will be synthesized, plot the best
paradigm in producing the manual. Lastly, come up with a theory or process to better
understand, pronounce and speak the Hiligaynon dialect.
The waterfalls diagram presents the clearer picture and the data gathering procedures.
Discuss and review the

collected audios, texts and
videos
Compare and evaluate the

data
Sorting and verifying of Plotting the best paradigm

data in producing the manual
Come up with a theory or

process (to better
understand, pronounce and
speak Hiligaynon)
Figure 3.1. The waterfalls diagram above represents the actual process by which the reserachers
Will undertake during the conduct of the study.
Bibliography
49 | P a g e
Belza, D., (2014) “Hiligaynon Literature” Academia. Retrieved from:
https://www.academia.edu/10915924/Hiligaynon_Literatureacademia.edu
retrieved on August 17, 2019.
Dita, S., (2013) “A Contemporary Grammar of Hiligaynon”, ESL Journal. retrieved from
https://www.philippine-esl-journal.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/01/V11_A7.pdf
Robles, C., (2012) “Hiligaynon an endangered language.” Wordpress. Retrieved from
https://mlephil.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/26/Hiligaynon-an-endangered-
language/
50 | P a g e

Qualitative Research Sample Chapter 1-3

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Republic of the Philippines

SULTAN KUDARAT STATE UNIVERSITY

Preserved Ilonggo Literary Pieces: Analyzing

Rizza Mae C. Abong

Earl Prince D. Procalla

MAT, May Nectar Cyrill Loja-Tabares, Ph.D.

Background of the Study

speakers of Hiligaynon Ilongo or closely related dialects. Hiligaynon speakers constitute

cannot readily understand. (LeBar, Frank M., ed., 1972)

Ang Pagpangayaw sa Dutang Ginsaad: A Study of Migration and Settlement of

Ilonggos in Tacurong, Cotabato (1951-1960's)" discusses about the migration of the

Ilonggos to Mindanao, particularly in a predominant Christian City of Tacurong. In the

Understanding Hiligaynon is one of the number of steps to appreciate the

come up with an output fundamental to this paper.

Objectives of the Study

This study aims to:

a. analyse the structure of Ilonggo literature in terms of Grammar and

application of figurative languages or idiomatic expressions;

b. understand the morpho-sematics of Hiligaynon as revealed on their

preserved contemporary literature ;

c. develop a manual which can be used as an instrument to understand

and speak the Hiligaynon dialect; and

Statement of the Problem

answer the following questions:

1. What are the morpho-semantic features reflected in the Ilonggo’s preserved

contemporary Literary pieces?

2. In what context are the identified morpho-semantics projected in terms of their

preserved contemporary literature?

contemporary Ilonggo literary pieces?

Significance of the Study

concerning their language and its structure.

study, recognition and preservation of endangered human cultural resources…; 6)

encourage and support scholarly research and documentation of Philippine cultural

support, systematize the audio-visual documentation of Filipino cultural expressions in

the contemporary period.’’

of a Filipino national culture based on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate of

free artistic and intellectual expressions.’’

purposes of a local university should be on developing and encouraging the evolution

and development of the Ilonggo literacy.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The researchers will coordinate with native residents of Sultan Kudarat

took place in the early to late 90’s.

Age- the amount of time during which a person has lived.

Beliefs- An acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.

Central Theme- The central idea described as the dominant impression or

universal, generic truth found in the story.

arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time.

Ilonggo- the Ilonggos are concentrated in the Western Visayas region,

person whose language is Hiligaynon.

Isulan- it is the provincial capital of Sultan Kudarat, Philippines.

Language- The method of human communication, either spoken or written,

consisting of the use words in a structured and conventional way.

Review of Related Literatures

Hiligaynon literature is the construct of the Hiligaynons, a group of brown people

Geographical, Economic, Socio-political and Cultural Context, Key Traditions and

underwater at certain geological periods as evidences show presence of extensive

areas of coral in many areas of its towns.

Geologically younger, Negros is occasionally convulsed by the eruptions of Mt.

with the use of small snails and shells serving as money.

differentiated into specific forms, although there were already indications of

nature and natural phenomena; to rationalize behavior, customs and traditions; to

economic recovery of the Region during the 1960s onward.

Conscription of labor produced strains in the relationships between the

peace was restored.