lb. In the 1930s, Tagalog started being promoted as the Philippines’ national language, which today bears the name ‘Filipino’. In order to consolidate this status, the month of August was defined in 1997 as ‘Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa’ – the commemorative month for the national language. On 4 August 2022, the Philippine Consulate in Frankfurt invited three German speakers to share their experience in teaching, learning as well as losing Filipino with a broader audience. One of them is studiyo filipino contributor Lenny Bugayong. (The interview is available on the Consulate’s Facebook page.)
Whether Tagalog truly merits the status of the Philippines’ national language remains contested, however, since a perceived majority in the country speaks Bisaya as a mother tongue or at least a lingua franca (common language). The predominance of Tagalog as the national language and, in some cases, as the variety that bears prestige, ultimately leads to the endangerment of other, partly smaller languages that receive less attention from public authorities. (What makes a language ‘small’ is also discussed by Annette Hug in her essay for Babelwerk.)
The question of how and if the Philippine languages survive in the diaspora is not only relevant for the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs. It has also aroused an academic interest (e.g. Umali 2016, Clerc 2018). Most Filipina migrants, just like Filipinos living in the country, may believe that speaking (any) Philippine language is the primary if not only way to keep the Philippine culture alive. By the same token, various factors appear to influence the maintenance of what is called the heritage language: among other things, the value attributed to Filipino compared to other languages – be it in the Philippines or beyond.
Clerc, Lorena. (2018, September 1). Language use in Swiss-Filipino mixed marriage families in Switzerland (conference presentation). Conference: The Philippine Paradox: Trending Traditionalism(s). Zurich, Switzerland.
Umali, Ronalyn M. (2016). Tagalog Language Maintenance and Shift among the Filipino Community in New Zealand. [Master’s thesis, Auckland University of Technology].
