Tuesday, May 13, 2008 Tantingco: Why you must speak Kapampangan By Robby Tantingco Peanut Gallery
THE cultural renaissance in Pampanga which started a few years ago is, surprisingly, still going strong, thanks in part to the continuous stream of publications, recordings, performances and researches which fuel the interest in culture and history, and thanks in part also to the availability of new tools of communication like the Internet, mobile phones and digital recorders which make it easier to document, reproduce and share information and opinion.
There have been many attempts at revival before, launched with the best intentions and by the best minds, but unfortunately did not last long because the number of cultural workers and interested people did not reach critical mass.
We can also thank the willingness of local government officials to pass legislation in support of Kapampangan culture.
In recent years, there have been several resolutions, both in the provincial and municipal levels, that not only expressed solidarity with cultural workers, but also set concrete directives, like the creation of arts and culture councils, integration of Kapampangan in the curricula and the mandatory airing of Kapampangan music on radio and in theatres.
While the actual implementation of these laws remains unsatisfactory, we can at least say that our local government is officially supporting culture, unlike many other provinces that aren't.
I think what we need to do now is to make our individual, personal resolutions to promote Kapampangan culture, especially our language, which is without doubt facing extinction. If we lose our language, we lose our identity as Kapampangans.
More than our common land, our common history and our common traditions, it is our common language that truly defines and unites us and leads us to a common destiny.
We should stop waiting for our leaders to lead the way. They are far too busy with too many basic and more urgent problems. We should stop relying on so-called experts who are reluctant to share their expertise or are inadequate to articulate it. We should stop bickering among ourselves over conflicting methodologies and stop savaging each other for small errors -- at this stage when we are still struggling to catch the attention of the very distracted, very uninterested young generation.
We should all wear happy, optimistic faces to show the young people that the study and experience of culture is fun and rewarding.
Here are two very specific, very easy things that every Kapampangan can do to help sustain this cultural renaissance:
1. Make a promise, similar to the resolution that you do on New Year's Day, to speak Kapampangan in places where you are not required to speak English. That means at home, in the streets, in the malls, practically everywhere except the classroom (if you're a student) or your workplace (if you're an employee). Of course some argue that even in those two places we should impose Kapampangan, but since that's controversial, let's leave those two for a while and go to the places where we are allowed to speak Kapampangan and yet still choose not to speak Kapampangan.
I get really sad when I see Kapampangans talk to each other in Tagalog. I can still accept it when they converse in English, because I know they are just trying to practice a language that they think will help them advance in life. But Tagalog? If you really want to go up the ladder of success, the only other language you need to learn is English.
Everywhere else you must speak in your native language, Kapampangan.
It is your obligation to your race and your ancestors. We have been Kapampangans for a thousand years, and Filipinos for only a hundred years, so our native language is Kapampangan, not Tagalog (or Filipino).
When Rizal said, "Ang taong hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika ay daig pa ang mabaho at malansang isda," he was referring to one's native language (Kapampangan, in our case), not the legislated national language.
I would of course still speak Tagalog, but only as a third option (after Kapampangan and English, in that order).
2. After acquiring the will and the motivation to speak Kapampangan at all times and in all the places where it is all right to do so, the next thing to do is to learn to speak it well. Of course most of us will initially speak a bastardized Kapampangan, as in "Bawal magtapun basura keni" or "Hay naku, I have no time munta karin." That's okay, provided you make an effort to improve. Right now there are no available good and effective Kapampangan grammar books, only a few dictionaries, so what I suggest is for you to get any printed material in Kapampangan.
We have them in libraries, bookstores and churches. Even the old pasyon in your grandmother's closet will do, as long as it's in Kapampangan.
Read them aloud. Set aside a few minutes everyday to do this. You will notice your tongue loosening almost immediately. Before long you will be speaking like a pro.
That's because Kapampangan is the language you were born with. It's in your chromosomes, unlike English and Tagalog which are alien languages. (The reason you speak Tagalog better than Kapampangan today is your daily exposure to it on TV, in school, in publications.)
Next, you practice writing in Kapampangan. At first it will be like five sentences per hour. Then slowly you will notice it's getting easier. Again, that's because it's already in your genes and you only need to bring it out.
You can start trilingual (Kapampangan with a mixture of Tagalog and English), but don't get tired asking your parents or grandparents for the Kapampangan translation of words. You don't need to worry about sounding like a poet. Use the Kapampangan you're comfortable with. I don't even mind you creating your own Kapampangan.
As I've said time and again, the future of our language belongs to our youth. We old folks can only teach them and wish they will remember, but other than that, they and only they will determine how they will write and speak the language in their own time and in their own world.
Make it your personal initiative and commitment to learn Kapampangan. It will enrich your life, because you will be using a language that resonates with your spirit, a language that is able to articulate fully and easily what you really think and feel.
(You will have a chance to get acquainted with many Kapampangans who can help you in your struggle to learn the language, on Saturday, May 17 at the Holy Angel University Theatre. The event is Aldo ning Amanung Sisuan. It is the reunion of old and young Kapampangan poets, and Kapampangan poets based abroad and those living here. We will launch a new book of Kapampangan poems and revive the tradition of crowning poets laureate. Program starts at 4 p.m. Admission is free. The project is co-sponsored by the Academia ning Amanung Sisuan International (Anasi) and the HAU Center for Kapampangan Studies.)
