Defining the Line: How Tagalog and Filipino is one and the same #DoNotBeATagalista | Luzvimindan Project



Are Tagalog, and Filipino one and the same?  The answer to the question is probably easy, most will answer yes, while it is true that there is some difference between Tagalog and Filipino, in this article we will discuss, why and how it is essentially one and the same.

Context, context, context...

Are Tagalog, and Filipino one the same? Short answer, yes and no. Why? Essentially Tagalog, and Filipino is different. Filipino is simply a dialect of Tagalog much like Batangueno Tagalog, Bulacan Tagalog, Marinduque Tagalog, etc. However, vis-à-vis with Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, and the other native languages in the country, Tagalog, and Filipino dissipates into one. It is like asking if British English, and American English is different. In essence, they are but in a context where we ask if they are of different languages they are not, since both of them is simply a dialect of English. Such is the case with Filipino, and Tagalog, they are simply one language.

The National Artist for Literature, F. Sionil JoseTagalog said in his article in The Philippine Star, "Tagalog chauvinists will go into euphemistic contortions to say that Pilipino — the so-called “National Language” — is not Tagalog. That is a blatant lie —Tagalog as it is spoken and taught is the same as the Pilipino that is propounded as the National Language."

The Philippine Language family.
The table above shows the Philippine languages branch which forms the sub-family in the Austronesian languages. The languages in the Philippine languages branch doesn't necessarily mean that they are found in the Philippines. It just means that they are more closely related to each other. For instance, Minahasan languages are not spoken in the Philippines, but rather they are spoken in North Sulawesi of Indonesia. The table above only focuses, and gets detailed on how Tagalog relates to Filipino, in which it shows that Filipino is a dialect of Tagalog spoken in Manila, much like Marinduqueño Tagalog, Batangueño Tagalog, etc.

 Ricardo Ma. Nolasco bests states it:

 "Are "Tagalog," "Pilipino" and "Filipino" different languages? No, they are mutually intelligible varieties, and therefore belong to one language. According to the KWF, Filipino is that speech variety spoken in Metro Manila and other urban centers where different ethnic groups meet. It is the most prestigious variety of Tagalog and the language used by the national mass media.
The other yardstick for distinguishing a language from a dialect is: different grammar, different language. "Filipino", "Pilipino" and "Tagalog" share identical grammar. They have the same determiners (ang, ng and sa); the same personal pronouns (siya, ako, niya, kanila, etc.); the same demonstrative pronouns (ito, iyan, doon, etc.); the same linkers (na, at and ay); the same particles (na and pa); and the same verbal affixes -in, -an, i- and -um-. In short, same grammar, same language."

The failure of Filipino, a faux, quick fix to a divided nation

Since we've already established that Filipino is a dialect of Tagalog, and that Tagalog is the national language of the Philippines, if you've removed the sugarcoating. Besides it was actually Tagalog, and the reason that it ended being called as Filipino as its name was to disassociated itself with the Tagalog ethnic group.  Let's go back as to why it was chosen in the first place.
Tagalog was chosen as a "basis" for the Wikang Pambansa because of five (5) reasons which is:
  1. Tagalog is widely spoken and is the most understood in all the Philippine regions.
  2. It is not divided into smaller languages, as Visayan, or Bikol are.
  3. Its literary tradition is the richest of all native Philippine languages, the most developed and extensive (mirroring that of the Tuscan language vis-à-vis Italian). More books are written in Tagalog than in any other autochthonous Philippine language but Spanish, but this is mainly by virtue of law and privilege;
  4. Tagalog has always been the language of Manila, the political and economic center of the Philippines during the Spanish and American eras.
  5. Spanish was the language of the 1896 Revolution and the Katipunan, but the revolution was led by people who also spoke Tagalog.

Why this criteria fails: 

Reason 1:  In reality, Tagalog is only understood by the educated, and experienced non-Tagalog natives. A Tagalog native will not understand even a speaker of Cebuano ,which is its nearest relative in the Philippine languages (refer to the table above), if they have no prior knowledge of the language of the other, even though Tagalog, and Cebuano shares some degree of lexicon, this somehow defeats the purpose of a national language. If they really wanted to make a national language based on the languages of the country it should have been Balay Kubo or something since many native languages use Balay as their term for house. (See the image below)


Reason 2: Tagalog was chosen out of convenience. After 327 years of Spanish occupation, the Spanish language or Castilian to be specific, which was the main language became very influential in the linguistic domain of the Philippines. The Americans came, English was used though Spanish persisted until its decline two decades after the 20th century. After the Philippines gain independence, Manuel L. Quezon wanted to have a national language. This is where the problem begins. The Spanish language left a vacuum in the linguistic domain in the Philippines, which was abruptly filled by conveniently choosing Tagalog supposedly as a basis for an artificial language but Filipino just ended up as a dialect of Tagalog. The same logic in choosing a national language cannot be the same with other countries like Spain (in which they chose Castilian) because we have no strong sense of national identity. Notice how most of the former Spanish territories (Cuba, El Salvador,  Puerto Rico, etc.) still uses Spanish as their national language. Now, the band-aid solution to fill the vacuum left by Spanish is undoing itself.  

Reason 3: I will let other ethnic groups defend their literature on this one.

Reason 4: Which is why it will be problematic to have Tagalog a.k.a. Filipino as the national language when we go about with Federalism. Notice why the disdain for Tagalog is prominent in Cebu province specially in Cebu City, Davao City, etc. though an entire article can be written for this, I think this is not because of a Cebuano vs. Tagalog rivalry. as provinces in Leyte for instance speaks Cebuano, but the disdain for Tagalog sn't as strong as it is compared with that in Cebu or Davao City, but it has something to do with progress, disdain for Tagalog mostly comes from progressive cities. Why is this so? It relates to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, people in Cebu and Davao City, is more likely to care about what is the national language than those who are living in Leyte, Saranggani, etc. as their regions is among the top earning cities in the country while Leyte, and Sararanggani is one of the poorest provinces. Having an identity as an ethnic group helps reach self-actualization. Federalism will help our provinces grow but the ethnic divide will surely widen which is why there is a need to resolve this before we shift to Federalism. 

Reason 5: Which is why you have secessionist movements, and ethnic groups that disdain Tagalog because of this reason. The Philippines as a whole was never considered, which is why problems are now arising. While it is true that Katipunan was the main player in the Philippine revolution, they never did succeed in defeating Spain, to which Negros Island succeeded, and there was even a short-lived Republic of Negros. If we look even further with this category, Cebu's Lapu-Lapu defeated Magellan himself and his forces the first time they arrived in the Philippines. More so, technically, Mindanao, and Sulu never became part of Filipinas (The Philippines' name during the Spanish occupation) and calling their inhabitants as Filipinos would be inappropriate.

Backlash, effects of having an artificial Tagalized identity

As mentioned before, there is a disdain for Tagalog by non-Tagalog natives especially with Cebuano speaking groups this is a possible side-effect of Tagalog being the national language. More so, non-Tagalog natives are pressured to use "po" and "opo" which has no equivalent in other native languages. A provincial government government even mandated that the national anthem be sung in Cebuano as a form of linguistic protest despite the fact that the law punishes the singing of the national anthem in other languages aside from Tagalog with fines or imprisonment.  As a result, some academics have called either for the overthrow of local government officials who resist official Manila-centrism and more recently, the ostracization and outright "shooting [of] regionalists … pointblank in the head". Imposing Tagalog on our Moro brethren may even be fueling the ideology of secessionist movements since some groups perceive imposing Tagalog as the national language as some for of "ethnic cleansing".

According to Save Our Languages Through Federalism Foundation, Inc. (SOLFED); the Visayans want the national language which is Tagalog to be driven out because of this reasons:

  1. There is no reciprocity among Tagalog speaking regions to learn non-Tagalog language, culture, and history, but Tagalogs are allowed to impose their language, history, and culture in non-Tagalog speaking regions.
  2. Tagalogs are allowed to teach their own language, their own culture, and their own history in Tagalog speaking regions, but non-Tagalog language, culture, and history are banned in their own non-tagalog speaking regions for no apparent reason at all.
  3. The propagation, preservation, and enrichment of the Tagalog national language was done at the taxes of Tagalog and non-Tagalog people alike. But nothing has been to propagate, preserve, and enrich the non-Tagalog languages and cultures through out the archipelago. It is the foreign NGOs and the foreign Christian missionaries who are doing so, but the government has never sponsored any non-Tagalog dictionary until now. Ironically, China being a communist nation has been recently been congratulated by UNESCO for the promotion, preservation, and protection of its ethnic languages. But the Philippines being a democratic country and one of the original signatories of the Universal Declaration of Human rights promotes nothing else but Tagalog. It believes in this mantra: “Ang Filipino/Pilipino ay hindi Tagalog kundi hango siya sa iba’t ibang wika ng Pilipinas.” This is just a ploy to project an image of fairness that the Filipino language does accept equal influences from other ethno linguistic group in the Philippines. But Filipino is just renamed and neutral term for the Tagalog language, so that the government can be very efficient in its Tagalization campaign of the entire Philippine archipelago.
  4. To propagate, preserve and enrich Tagalog is considered “nationalism” or “patriotism”, but if non-Tagalogs do equally as what the Tagalogs do to their own language, it is considered regionalism, secessionism, and parochial aspirations.
  5.  The singing of the national anthem other than Tagalog criminalizes anyone through Republic Act No.8491 or the National Flag Law – even though this is sung in one’s very own linguistic homeland. This is in complete violation of the freedom of speech clause in the Philippine constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which guarantees protection on the mother languages.
  6. Native Tagalog speakers don’t require themselves to learn any language of non-Tagalogs, but Non-Tagalogs are required and expected to learn the Tagalog language. In other words, there is no reciprocity on the native Tagalog speakers.
  7. The imposition of the national language has led to the vulgarization of the mother languages, since the Philippine government promotes ONLY the Tagalog language hidden under the neutral name Filipino language. Non-Tagalog languages and the cultures they represent have been treated with contempt. The nationalists have a very hostile attitude exhibited towards mother language advocates by equating them as having secessionist and regionalist agenda in mind.
  8. Filipino, which is the neutral name for Tagalog , is the only language recognized by the Philippine government. The rest of the Philippine languages are demoted as mere dialects. Some people confuse a language from a dialect. A language is distinct while a dialect is just a variation of a language. Just like Batangueno Tagalog, Metro manila Tagalog, Filipino or Pilipino, or Bulakeno Tagalog, Marinduque Tagalog are just dialects of one language which is Tagalog. But Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano, Hiligaynon, Waray-Waray, Kapampangan, Bikol, Pangasinan, Maranao, Maguindanao, Kinaray-a, and Tausug are not dialects of Filipino / Pilipino but languages in their own right.
Basically, it boils down to cultural hegemony. Imposing a standardized dialect of Tagalog which is Filipino to the country has it's own set of implications, which is both advantageous, and disadvantageous. 

Defying the establishment, Rizal, Quezon, etc.

"Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika, daig pa ang hayop at malansang isda." or in English, "He who does not love his own language is worse than an animal and smelly fish." While there is truth in the maxim which came from the national hero of the Philippines himself, Jose Rizal, there is a problem when we imposed Tagalog among those who have languages of their own. How can they love their own language if only Tagalog is being taught in their schools? What good could it be if the supposed national language itself is the root of the divide? Just because it is was good a hundred years ago doesn't mean it is still applicable today. At the end of the day, love for the country exceeds love for a certain language.

 Remember, there is even a term called Tagalista. nope, that is not a term used to describe someone who makes lists, but it is a term used to describe people "who promote or would promote the primacy of Tagalog at the expense of [the] other [Philippine] indigenous tongues."

 Furthermore the term Tagalista is describe as who follows the Tagalista ideology which is describe as: "Tagalista ideology or Tagalog nationalism does not believe in unity in diversity. It is steadfast in its belief system that unity can only be achieved through uniformity only. They are very negative and have a hostile attitude towards mother language advocates. They equate them immediately as a bunch of secessionist or possessing parochial aspirations."

Bottom line: Does it really matter?

At the end of the day, Tagalog and Filipino is both different, as well as the same, what matters is how Filipinos would discern this information given the ethnic divide in the country along the pejorative epithet that is Imperial Manila. To be frank, Filipino should be called Dyalketong Pambansa since it is really not a language of its own. With Federalism right around the corner, the rest of the country will break away from the hold of Imperial Manila, the pejorative epithet will most likely fade away, however as regions progress their individual identities will strengthen which might further their disdain for Tagalog. Though a topic for another article, the possibility alone is a reason why we should resolve this socio-cultural divide before we shift into a Federal government.  It's a complicated problem, and resolving this is the goal of Luzvimindan Project.

Post Script

You might be wondering where is this disdain I am pointing to: Here, here, here,here, although there is a lot more to cite but that is a gist of it. Don't be a Tagalista, that can actually be a good hashtag, #DoNotBeATagalista.

References

F. Sionil Jose's article in The Philippine Star:

Dialects of Tagalog:

Basis for the Philippine Languages table:

Ricardo Ma. Nolasco's quote:

Criteria that was used by Quezon's administration that lead to Tagalog being chosen as the national language:
Aspillera, P. (1981). Basic Tagalog. Manila: M. and Licudine Ent.

 Cebu being one of the richest province:

http://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/11/18/15/which-regions-provinces-cities-are-philippines-richest

Republic of Negros:


 Save Our Languages Through Federalism's 8 reasons why Visayans' want the national language to be driven out:
http://solfedph.org/why-do-visayans-foremost-want-the-national-language-be-driven-out

There is no "Po" and "Opo" in Cebuano:
 Dado, N. L. (2015, June 7). http://aboutmyrecovery.com/there-is-no-poopo-in-cebuano/

Academics calling for the overthrow of local government officialls
Almario, V. S. (2009). Filipino ng mga filipino, p. 138.

 The term Tagalista:
Martinez, David (2004). A Country of Our Own: Partitioning the Philippines. Los Angeles, California: Bisaya Books. p. 202. ISBN 9780976061304.

 Description of Tagalista ideology:
http://eduphil.org/the-tagalization-campaign-philippine-government%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%E2%84%A2s-genocidal-policy.html

 Imperial Manila:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/91545/imperial-manila