Spanish Language In The Philippines
Three hundred thirty three years of Spanish regime went by slowly in Philippine history. Just like South America, the natives were colonized and treated like slaves and below in status by the white complexioned invaders. It is a wonder why in their three centuries of colonizing our country, not all Filipinos learned and mastered the Spanish language. In their duration of stay, writing and speaking in Spanish language should have been easier. Three generations of Filipinos lived and flourished our country during the Spanish era. In that span of time, Spaniards’ ways and language would have been the flesh and blood of the majority of our nation. How is it possible that the Spaniards failed to educate us with their own language?
The Americans accomplished what the Spaniards failed to do during their three centuries of stay in the Philippines. Positive attitude and ownership of the English language were instilled to us by Americans. They have seen that spreading English is a valuable resource in effectively connecting to the people. They made education available for all and not just for the elites. They introduced public school education where we have access to English language. Unlike the Spaniards who made Spanish available only to Filipinos who have money. If you cannot afford to study in an elite school, then you are not given the opportunity to learn and speak Spanish. The Spaniards refused to educate the Filipinos because of their experience in South America. They fear that once Filipinos are educated and learned to speak Spanish a revolt will happen too and escalate to make them flee. They strongly believed that they should learn the local language instead to spread Christianity better. It was even indicated that some books were printed using the native Baybayin scripts so the people can understand them. Deliberately not integrating Filipinos with Spanish made a big contribution why the Spaniard ruled our land in an agonizingly long time. The control and power over our ancestors made us ignorant of most of their evil ways and plans. They stayed for 333 years enslaving our people and keeping them uneducated.
Speaking Spanish became a status symbol. If you know how to speak Spanish, your family belongs to the elite class. They can even send their children abroad just like Jose Rizal. He has written Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo along with numerous essays, poems and plays. However, it is evident that our Filipino language is mixed with Spanish word and phrases. If you happen to visit some old areas of our country, the use the Spanish inherited way like the chavacano and certain areas of Visayas. Their manner of speaking is not like the Spaniards though it is still acceptable even in the call centre industry nowadays.
How the use of Spanish language did become obsolete in our country? How can a language fade away in our society even the elites? The Americans came and eventually dominated Philippines. They established public school system and were more than eager to teach our people the English language. Their arrival paved the way to modernization and industrialization. There were factories established and built that needed workers to speak in English. Who would decline a job that can help their families? Our people grabbed the opportunity and started studying English. The Americans never stopped schools from teaching Spanish. In 1937, Tagalog became the “national language” under President Manuel Roxas. Tagalog was renamed Pilipino then Filipino but most refer it as Tagalog.
The Japanese murdered Spanish from existing because of what happened during World War 2. They destroyed the large Spanish speaking population in Intramuros Manila. It was a big hit because even the survivors fled and migrated to Spain. History has proven that a language can sleep or die depending on the occurrences in a nation.
The Filipino language evolved through time. It has succeeded to remain in most areas of our country. Thus, it remained to be our National language until now. We can thank the circumstances and history for making our native language strong. It is a reflection of every Filipino here and anywhere in the world. A language can be subdued but a part of it will remain just like Spanish.
