Some "theories" on Language Decline

Apo Ariel,

Sacsiac ti kinapudno dagiti paliiw ni Apo Firth McEachearn maipapan iti agdama a sasaaden ti Iluko idiay La Union. Naidestinoak idi iti daydiay a provincia idi panawen ti martial law. Nacarcaro ket ngata no di tagtaginayonen dagiti mestizo-Castila nga Ortegan ti kannawidanda ng Ilokano.

Malagipko man ti reversed assimilation ken ti saan a panagballigi ti multiculturismo idiay Germany. Dagiti imigrante a kaaduanna a Muslim, they keep to themselves and their culture. Never have they assimilated the Germanic life, its perspective, its language.

Kasta met idiay Ilocos. It is us who are assimilating the culture of Tagalog-speaking immigrants from other provinces, instead of them assimilating ours, that culture that includes the ability to talk in the language.

The Iluko decline could have started during the onset of martial law when Ferdinand Marcos regionalized national agencies with the establishment of administrative regions. In the Ilocos, San Fernando became the administrative center where regional offices sprouted and where non-Ilocano regional agency heads flocked along with their chosen employees. Tagalog, of course, became the language agency meetings and communication (along with English)and regional conferences.You know the consequences.

This phenomenon is also true with the establishment in the provinces of branches of fast food chains like McDonald, Jollibee and Chowking and even TV and radio networks. Tagalog-speaking crews and employees. Fuera de los buenos, kadagiti food chain outlets idiay San Fernando, Vigan ken uray idiay Laoag, kasapulan nga agorderka iti makan iti Tagalog.

Iti naminsan, I was covering for PDI an early morning fire idiay Baguio city market. I chanced upon this ABS-CBN TV crew in the burned area. One of the victims,a Mr. Calimlim,was being interviewed and he was talking in fluent Iluko--the supposed lingua franca of the mountain provinces, when the anchor interrupted him, saying, "Agtagalogka."

Nagbeddal la ngarud diay tao. Nagsinsinal-itak lattan, a, iti unegko iti daydiay nga anchor a puro nga Ilocano a taga-Bacnotan.

Then there is this radio program in one of the radio stations of Laoag. One time, a Bacarra female caller was exchanging views with the Tagalog-speaking anchor and she was trying to sound (accent) like him. Very akward and insulting use of Tagalog in the heart of Ilocoslovakia.

Can TMIF and Gumil chapters make resolutions requesting provincial boards and municipal and city councils to pass ordinances obligating Manila food chains and other companies doing business in Amianan to employ all-Ilocano crews in their provincial branches? Or whatever ethnic group that dominate in the area? Or, at least employ, more Saluyot? After all, they earn their revenues here? For TV and radio networks to allocate, say, 60-70 percent of their broadcasts in Iluko out of respect for the culture?


to be completed