AN ORGANIZATION in Cebu is set to promote the Visayan language with a set of activities during the celebration of ”Buwan ng Wika” or Language Month, this August.
Akademiyang Bisaya Inc., also known as the Visayan Academy Arts and Letters Foundation Inc., initiated activities to strengthen communication and Cebuano literature.
Lita Bacalla, vice president of Akademiyang Bisaya Inc., said they are preparing different writing and composition competitions to be held this month. She said categories include balak, sugi-balak, salaysay, sanaysay, kulitaw, poster-making.
Submissions of literary works written in Cebuano and Filipino started on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024.
“All sugi-balak or spoken poetry will be done in the SunStar Publishing Inc. studio. For the specific dates of the contests, we will still have to clarify it in our meeting,” said Bacalla in an interview with SunStar Cebu online news and commentary program “Beyond the Headlines” on Thursday.
Bacalla also mentioned that in collaboration with the Sentro ng Wika at Kultura, they came up with an activity with the theme, “Kalandrakas sa Wikang Cebuano” wherein participants will write a three-paragraph essay about societal issues.
Writers can choose any topic within the themes set by the organizing committee.
Specific mechanics and dates on how to join the contests and submit entries will be posted on the foundation’s official Facebook page, said Bacalla.
The Akademiyang Bisaya Inc. was relaunched in 2023 after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The organization now has over 30 members.
Cebuano, a language or dialect?
A majority of netizens still don’t know the debate between Cebuano as a language or dialect.
Sharamae Fe Singco, a Filipino professor from a state university in Cebu, clarified that Cebuano is a language.
“Ang Cebuano ay isang wika. Ang wika kasi mas malawak sa diyalekto.
Halimbawa, rehiyon 7, ang ating wika ay Sinugbuanong Bisaya o Sebwano.
Ginagamit ito sa Cebu, Bohol at Siquijor. Pero kapag siningit natin ang diyalekto, ito ay ang sanga mismo ng wika,” said Singco.
(Cebuano is a language. The language is wider than the dialect. For example, in region 7, our language is Sinugbuanong Bisaya or Sebwano. It is used in Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor. But when we insert the dialect, it is the branch of the language itself.)
Singco noted that sometimes individuals may notice that there are similarities in words; however, differences vary especially in pronunciation.
Examples of dialects in the Visayas region are Sugbuanong Binisaya in Cebu and Bul-anong in Bohol.
Singco also highlighted that her students are busy preparing for activities, such as writing and “larong pinoy” contests.
This year’s Buwan ng Wika, themed “Filipino: Wikang Mapagpalaya,” emphasizes the use of the Filipino language to freely express thoughts, opinions, feelings, and issues. / DPC