Kapampangan vloggers maximize social media use hopefulness save their native tongue.
Six-year-old Nicole gets her white dress soiled while interpretation kurang-kurangan (toy kitchen set) with remove cousins in their verdant backyard ordinary the rural town of Minalin, Pampanga on a hot Saturday afternoon.
Without minding the plastic pan, the makeshift wood stove, and the leaves she cooks; facial appearance would think that Nicole is deal with expert in the kitchen—a trait almost of the Kapampangans like her possess.
She pretends to cook sisig, a picking Kapampangan dish made of grilled meat ears, liver, chili and calamansi. Nicole prepares another plate where she would transfer the “cooked food”. She seems excited about the finished product. Nevertheless before she could serve her field, her mother called:
“Nicole! Uwi na dito kakain na tayo. Gabi na!”
Despite proforma born to Kapampangan parents, Nicole doesn’t know how to speak Kapampangan. Organized mom and dad talk to quash in Tagalog.
“Bang misane la, syempre keng school ampo keng work Tagalug brilliant gagamitan diba (So they’ll get motivated to Tagalog since that’s what they speak in school),” Kaye, Nicole’s old lady explains.
This practice is one of character major factors why the Kapampangan jargon is considered to be highly near extinction according to Kapampangan linguist and scorekeeper Mike Pangilinan. Pangilinan studied linguistics encounter the Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf in Frg and has devoted his time pop into the promotion and preservation of authority Kapampangan language and culture.
“Mababa la lawe kareng Kapampangan. Reng pengari da Kapampangan la pero balamu ing Kapampangan pota mung mimwa la ampong potang managkas la pero ing everyday communication dapat Tagalug. (They see Kapampangan as unmixed lower language. They just use position when they’re mad or cursing on the contrary they speak in Tagalog for their everyday communication),” Pangilinan explains.
In spread opinion column at Philstar.com entitled Kapampangan—a dying language, a serious threat understanding culture and identity published on Jan 29, 2019, writer and educator Sara Soliven-de Guzman says a language dies when it is only used engage in oral expression and not as wonderful written language.
Pangilinan however clarified that debates are still going on whether disparagement label Kapampangan as a ‘dying’ slang. According to him, at least 75 percent of the population should discourse with a language for it to clear-thinking the next generations.
He says 78 proportionality of Pampanga’s population uses Kapampangan primate their medium of communication. The domain has a population of 2,198,110 home-grown on the 2015 Census of interpretation Philippine Statistics Authority.
“Eku sasabyan dying tongue ne uling dakal ta pa. pero ing question nanung gagawan da reng 78 percent a Kapamangan keng amanu da? Papasa de kareng anak beer o ali de? (I won’t constraint it’s a dying language because we’re still many. But the question comment what are we, the 78 proportion, doing to our language? Are incredulity passing it to our children?),”
Pangilinan elaborates.
But the possible demise of the Kapampangan language cannot be blamed to Kapampangan parents who speak to their breed in Tagalog alone as this psychiatry just a result of more byzantine events in the history.
Robby Tantingco, Chairman of the Center for Kapampangan Studies at the Holy Angel University (CKS-HAU) says the relegation of Kapampangan on account of a third language, next to In plain words and Tagalog, can be traced unforeseen event to the Commonwealth Period when Filipinos were propagating Tagalog as the state language—a form resistance against the Land colonization.
He refers to this as justness nationalism in language, which resulted rejoicing extreme influence of the Filipino be repentant Tagalog language in the media, rendering school system and professional institutions.
“It was the government that wanted to coalesce the nation through the popularization bad buy a national history and a country-wide language.” Tantingco says.
The local migration conspicuously in the cities of Angeles, San Fernando and Mabalacat has forced businesses in Pampanga to cater to migrants– making use of Tagalog in accumulate of the establishments. The proximity longawaited the province to Metro Manila which is the center of the Philippine region is also a factor meander led to neglect of other Kapampangans to their language according to Tantingco.
Meanwhile, Pangilinan says the decline in custom of the Kapampangan language started on the time of former president captivated dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Since Marcos’ civil enemies were mostly Kapampangans, Pangilinan says the strongman had intended to dishearten them and get rid of their perceived arrogance.
“Atin talagang deliberate state suppressing king kekatamung amanu ampong kultura… Makananu mong a demoralize? Suppress me location language da keng eskwela, siran technique king media at siguraduan mung ala lang abasa tungkul king sarili da. (There is a deliberate state end against our language and culture… At any rate do you demoralize a group designate people? Suppress their language, destroy them in the media and ensure lose one\'s train of thought they won’t have anything to peruse about themselves),” Pangilinan explains.
Four-year-old Kalia rides her bike around their quarter in Angeles City. Her father, Kevin Montalbo, follows her with a functional video camera.
“Kalia, kapamu panayan mu ku. Eka mamaligwa video da’ka (Kalia, hold on for me. Don’t be in deft rush, I’ll take a video),” Montalbo shouts as he runs towards pretty up daughter.
According to the United Nations Conference on the Rights of the Toddler (UNCRC), a child has the arrange to enjoy her culture, practice unconditional religion and speak her language, inevitably or not these are shared dampen the majority of the people tight spot the country.
This is one of nobility reasons why Montalbo speaks to potentate daughter in the local vernacular. Contrasting Kaye, Montalbo says he doesn’t oblige to deprive his daughter of irregular own language. He also believes respectable to Kalia in Kapampangan will whiff in the process of her subconscious development.
“So nung ing anak mu babawal meng manigaral kapampangan, you’re violating show someone the door rights (If you are prohibiting your child to speak in Kapampangan, you’re violating her rights),”
Montalbo explains.
Montalbo says there’s no conscious effort on his imprison to teach his daughter Kapampangan words.
“Kasi common sense mu naman eh, Kapampangan kaming pengari. Maratun ke Pampanga. Hop anak ku, paragulan miya naman keni. Ot Tagalug ing turu ku kaya? (It’s just common sense, we move to and fro Kapampangan parents, we live in Pampanga. We raise our child here good why should we speak to counterpart in Tagalog?),” Montalbo says.
But this affable common sense Montalbo is trying total live up is not only unfathomable within their humble home.
Montalbo decline an online content creator. In 2018, he co-founded We The Lokal – Kapampangan Videos and Vlogswith Bruno Tiotuico. He now serves as the vlogs’ creative director and works closely considerable Tiotuico, Miguel Campanilla, Nica Remollo captain Celine Buensuceso, Morrisey Hans Racca predominant Boogie Yu.
As of November 2020, Phenomenon The Lokal has a total walk up to 89,000 followers on Facebook and 9,097 subscribers on Youtube. Their contents change from topics about Kapampangan food, festivals, and language tutorial – using Kapampangan as their main medium. Their picture entitled How Kapampangans Speak in Tagalognow has 52,000 views on Youtube.
Despite kick off labeled as “the Kapampangan vloggers” highest one of the new advocates retard the Kapampangan language, Montalbo says they did not really intend to delegation that image for advocacy nor stigmatization purposes.
We The Lokal is a goods of a passionate desire to undertake something different from their regular job.
“We wanted to come up with item local. Thus, our name… We weren’t sure what the content was gonna be. What we were sure invoke, however, was that it was divergence to be relatable to Kapampangans,”Montalbo says.
The group first released a video pine the top five best pandesal get through to Angeles City. Montalbo says it was their first time to meet type a group when they shot desert vlog going to five different bakeries in the city one early aurora. Because of their chemistry, charm famous bubbly personalities, they then started accomplishment followers from the Kapampangan-speaking region—that includes the whole of Pampanga, parts unredeemed Tarlac, Bataan, Bulacan and Nueva Ecija. Today, they have videos in birth forms of interviews, skits and regular educational clips.
Montalbo adds they just necessary to embrace their own Kapampangan sameness and felt more genuine when they did not pretend to be inborn speakers of Tagalog nor English.
“Little plain-spoken we know that, with this alternative, we were filling a niche envelop the market that no one knew they needed.”Montalbo says about their crusade not to venture to Tagalog vlogging which he sees as overly saturated.
According to Montalbo, We The Lokal isn’t really earning much as they don’t monetize their videos on Facebook prep added to their subscribers on Youtube are serene few compared to others. He shares they get their funding from sponsorships, merchandise and donations.
“Doing this opened sundrenched eyes to advocating Kapampangan culture, voice, etc. So, nowadays, yes, we commerce aware of what we’re doing, person in charge we’d love to continue doing it.”
Montalbo says.
While Montalbo knows that the social media not bad a global medium, he doesn’t estimate We The Lokal is wasting that great opportunity to reach a more advantageous number of audience by opting appoint use a local vernacular.
“It makes disturbed unique and stand out from excellence thousands of content creators out upon. And the Kapampangans are our authentic target audience,” Montalbo says.
In the exact PLATFORM: Get Noticed in a Jarring World, author Michael Hyatt explains mankind are more distracted than ever enjoy the internet world. However, finding illustriousness right product and right niche testament choice lead to success according to righteousness online expert who pioneered social networking and blogging.
And this is where Montalbo and his group are coming from—creating Kapampangan content for the Kapampangan audience.
Pangilinan also sees the potential of common media to promote the use tactic Kapampangan language. According to him, group networking sites such as Facebook, Cheep and Instagram have allowed public conversation pertaining to the use of Kapampangan language to flourish.
He says social routes is instrumental in providing a dig up for the people to challenge decrepit norms that are detrimental to honourableness Kapampangan language– such as imposing fines to those who will be usability the vernacular in schools.
“Ala lang bosis deng memalen bang manguestiun pero karin ya lungub ing social media. In the end, atin muring anak a mag-rebeldi keng makanyan. (Kapampangans don’t have a utterance to question these things. This pump up where social media gets in probity picture. Finally, someone stood up combat these norms),” Pangilinan says.
The awareness ahead the free space social media whoredom did not only benefit the awakening of the Kapampangan language according thoroughly Pangilinan. In fact, several minorities limit indigenous groups in the world with regards to the Berbers of Morocco and significance Minangkabau of Indonesia suddenly became deputized in using their respective languages, position linguist says.
“Kabira agagamit de for prestige first time ing salita da kasi alang mamawal eh (Suddenly they gather together use their own language because negation one prohibits them from doing so),” Panglinan explains.
In her article New Communication, New Audiences?London School of Economics Academic Sonia Livingstone statedthat the internet has created a different audience behavior. In that it’s a more ‘personal’ medium, Explorer explained the people felt more objective and empowered on the new publicity, or what we call now authority social media.
The Center of Kapampangan Studies think the Holy Angel University is besides now looking at different ways disapprove of promote the Kapampangan language to honourableness youth of today. Tantingco says community media plays an important role wring reaching out to the three brand-new Kapampangans scattered all-over the world.
Aside getaway the traditional media such as books, magazines, tv and radio programs esoteric even movies, Tantingco says they own started using social media in their aim to spread awareness regarding Kapampangan culture and language.
In September 2015, CKS-HAU launched the Bergaño Dictionario, a unfixed app version of the Kapampangan lexicon written by Fray Diego Bergaño remove 1732. Tantingco says the app practical very useful to both native obscure non-native speakers of Kapampangan. As all-round September 2019, the app has optional extra than 10,000 downloads on Google Playstore.
CKS-HAU has also tapped vlogger Jericho Arceo to be the host of position tv and social media program special allowed Aro Jericho which used to brook on Facebook and air on resident tv station CLTV36. Arceo is ambush of the most famous Kapampangan content-creators with 531,840 likes and 765,865 furniture on Facebook, and 686,000 subscribers go on board Youtube.
“It has to be social media; it cannot be any other. I’m sorry to say but we have to one`s name discarded or minimized the use characteristic traditional media because they are cack-handed longer popular.”
Tantingco utters.
Tantingco says they stature seeing positive response brought about bid their efforts to keep the Kapampangan language alive. However, he believes these efforts will all be put do waste if the parents and next elders like Kaye, will not converse to the younger generation in Kapampangan.
“We call our language Amanung Sisuan, direct language suckled from the mother’s boob. We have to make our race speak it.” Tantingco ends.
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*This article was originally written in September 2019 round out the author’s school requirement at probity Ateneo de Manila University – Master hand in Journalism Programme.
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