On Loyalty to One's Native Language

    

          I had reacted violently in devastating frustration when copied a series of articles entitled

Diversity Shock, - all these, authored by Firth McEachern.  He is a Canadian stationed in the Ilokano speaking part of Northern Philippines.  And he had expressed distaste for a particular 

observation, one among others, - that some  Ilokanos shrink from their own native language 

apparently because it was supposed to be 'corny, old-fashioned, low-class, and considered too

native '!   From a number of instances, he found out that even when spoken to in Ilokano,  

some would answer in Tagalog just because the latter was the national language!

       To go along with McEachern's words -" Healthy cultures do not dismiss themselves so 

readily!....They (some Ilokanos)  threaten to kill the language they grew up with....and this is 

disrespectful to one's language, to one's culture,  and to the generations of parents who came 

before them, all of whom, until now,  succeeded in passing on their native language."   My 

sentiments, exactly.  And certainly, there is much more to be said but let me cut it short 

 here.  Am sure there'll be other times for it.   I might just express the fact that it was actually

a foreigner who mentored me to appreciate my own Ilokano language as unique, poetic, and 

linguistically rich - particularly, in semantic shades.   In two of my own studies of the 

language,  I had in fact made the conclusions that Ilokano is pregnant with meaning and that 

it is no less than a language in poetry! Few of the many reasons I can revere my own native 

language.

        In the above-mentioned reaction,  I had stated that the news came with the lightning!. 

(Kinadua daytoy nga damag ti sal-it!)  Sal-it means 'lightning'!  But used colloquially, it may 

have well functioned as a curse word...not nice!  But another word which also means 'lightning' 

would be 'kimat', a term more nuetral.   So I had gone on from saying  (Kinadua daytoy nga 

damag ti sal-it.) to mellowing it down with  (Sige ngarud, uray kimat laengen.!),  translated 

roughly as  'Okay, let's then rather use kimat'.  I realized I hadn't exactly spoken politely and 

not even apologize to the community I was addressing.  That 's another thing  not nice!  

But here and  now, I would like to say:   Agpadespensarak man Apo!  I  am sorry!  I truly am...and truly sincerely!