FOR A SIMPLE BIKOL ORTHOGRAPHY
Merito B. EspinasIn this age of hurry and confusion in which the awakening masses play a vital role, education becomes not only a routinary activity, a mere aspect of civilization, but a weapon of survival itself. “Civilization,” according to H., G. Wells, “is the race between education and catastrophe.” And although nobody really wants war, it is ignorance that leads the masses to be swayed. “Ignorance, ignorance, ignorance everywhere,” lamented the late G. B. Shaw, “that is what is wrong with us, and what defeats our good intentions every time.”
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| DR. MERITO B. ESPINAS |
But education is impossible without language. And what is worse, education of the masses requires not only the major languages but also the dialects and the vernaculars. This makes the task more complicated. In the Philippines alone, where teaching in the vernacular for the first two years of the primary grades has been in a phase of wider implementation since its adoption in 1957, no less than eight major languages and about eighty dialects are involved. So it appears that if the curse cast by God on the builders of the Tower of Babel confusing their tongues is true, then it certainly is worse compounded in this country.
At any rate, in this article we limit ourselves to Bikol, the major language of almost 2.5 million Malays who, according to the Webster’s new International Dictionary, “were advanced in civilization even before the Spanish occupation.” And of the language, we further limit ourselves to its orthography, , from the Greek words orthos (right) and graphein (to write), which means “correct or standard spelling.”
We take up a few terms before we proceed: vernacular, dialect, and language.
Vernacular, which is the term widely used in the Philippines to describe teaching in the dialect, actually comes from varna, a Sanskrit word meaning “a slave born in his master’s house.” This was likely a species of dialect that was developed among the slaves who talked only among themselves to distinguish it from the cultivated language of the masters who only gave commands. This term indicating slave origin does not seem proper to use in this country where variations in language arose more from accidents of geography than from class distinctions.
Dialect is from the Latin dialectus and from the Greek dialektus or dialegesthai, meaning to converse or discourse, Dialogue. Thus it is clear that a dialect is not expected to be written but mainly to be spoken. The Owásnon and the Kamalígnon, for example, are dialects that are somewhat awkward to write faithfully unless probably accompanied by musical notations. A dialect, being only for conversation, must rise to the level of a language for it to be written. Thus it is not unusual to observe a Bikolnon speak in his dialect but write in his language, which is Bikol.
Language is a “system of conventionalized signs, especially words or gestures having fixed meanings,” or specifically, as “the words themselves in their grammatical relationships.” A language, says G. L. Kittredge, “is an elevated dialect.” This involves the following: it is spoken, it has a fixed vocabulary set, if possible, by a dictionary, it is written, it has a grammar. In other words, language is a dialect that has undergone refinements, broken edges, tended towards uniformity in its being written and spoken. People have to study language. It sets standards. It becomes the literary medium. It will be seen that an American or Englishman studies English. It is especially required if he is to teach English. In the same manner a Filipino studies Pilipino, particularly is he is to teach it. But neglectfully enough, the average Bikolnon does not study Bikol, not even the BSEE student who will have to use it in the primary grades. He takes the language for granted. While a student pursuing a bachelor’s degree is required at least twenty-four units of Spanish and eighteen of English, he is not made to earn a single unit in the language to qualify him to teach in the first two years of the primary level. Somehow this has retarded the growth of the language, if not actually defeated its purpose as a medium of instruction.
It can be that Bikol is not being taught as a course in our local schools offering the Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education because of lack of instructional materials and of teachers equal to the task. Among other things this calls for a standard dictionary, a grammar to start with, and written works in Bikol, including folk literature.
Above all, however, is the need for a simplified uniform spelling. The various ways by which Bikol is being written today are already discouraging, but steps have to be taken immediately before things become complicated. Even elaborate languages tend towards simplification of orthography. Thus latest adjustments have been tried with the English language without evident success, although it is to be admitted that modern English is a far cry from the written language of Chaucer and Shakespeare. The Japanese have been more successful, though. Simplifying the 55,000 Chinese characters which were introduced from China in the middle of the sixth century A.D., they have devised a group of letters known as hiragana and katakana to represent the sounds made by the Japanese tongue.
We can do no less with Bikol. We can take advantage of this newly developing language. What changes the established languages may not be able to effect in generations, we can accomplish by the simple act of setting up norms. Thus we may consider the following principles to simplify Bikol orthography.
1. Spell the word as it is spoken and read it as spelled. The pronunciation is to follow the pattern set by the ancient Tagalog Baybayin.
2. The alphabet shall consist of the five vowels A E I O U and the fifteen consonants B K D H L M N NG P R S T W Y.
3. The vowels E and I are interchangeable. This is also true of O and U. No distinctions in meaning arise from such interchange. Examples: lalake or lalaki, sampulò or sampulù.
4. Consecutive vowels are to be pronounced separately. Examples: babae, làum, higdàan. The vowels ao, however, are not to be confused with aw. Thus, the ao in the tao must be differentiated from the aw in baláw, pantáw, danaw, karabaw.
5. The gn, which is Portuguese, must be change to ng. Thus manga (mga, Tag.) instead of the usual magna. This is to be distinguished from the gg sound, as in banggi and mangga.
6. Accent marks are to be placed over stressed vowels. These marks are the acute accent
( ́ ), the grave accent ( ́ ), and the circumflex accent ( ̂ ). Examples: diít, kalán, makusóg, pusò, luhà, akì, pilsî, dugô, mabatâ. Not only will the accent marks set the pronunciation immediately but also distinguish the meaning of certain Bikol words that are composed of identical vowels and consonants but which differ only in accent. Thus the unaccented salug (river) if accented becomes salúg (floor). Likewise pakó is fern but pakò is nail; kokó is fingernail; kòko is chin.
7. The nya, the bye, the dya and other similar sounds are to be spelled without the customary i between the consonants, unless evidently pronounced, or if found in some loan words. Examples: bunyág, ngunyán, madyá. Evidently pronounced: makuriyon, araniyon (variants of makurihon and aranihon). Loan words: kumpaniya, pansiteriya, panaderiya.
8. The uw sound as in duwa, buwal, tuwad, luwas is found in true Bikol words, but not with most loan words where the u is omitted. Thus, kwarto, twalya, bwís.
9. Names of persons, geographical places, buildings, streets, and similar entities identified with proper names in English, Spanish, and other foreign languages are to be retained in their original spelling for the meanwhile, but efforts must be made to produce their Bikol equivalents moulded after local pronunciation and spelling. If other languages can have their own versions of proper names, we see no reason why Bikol cannot do likewise. Here are some comparisons: Juan (Sp.); John (eng.), Ivan (Rus.); Maria (Sp.) Mary (Eng.), Marie (Fr.), Mariae (Lat.); London (Eng.), Londres (Sp.); Japan (Eng.), Japon (Sp.); Philippines (Eng.), Pilipinas (Tag.), Hiripin (Jap.).
10. Geographical names in the Philippines other than those of Spanish, English, and other foreign languages are to be spelled as pronounced. This might prove a little hard to take at the start, especially for the old writers in Bikol, but it would save the future much inconvenience in spelling. Thus: Catanduanes should be Katanduanes; Oas, Owás; Guinobatan, Ginobatan, Polangui, Polanggi; Ligao, Ligáw; Tabaco, Tabakó; Putiao, Putiáw; Virac, Birák.
11. If a prefix is attached to a word that begins with a vowel, hyphenate. Examples: ma-abot, mag-ulî, nag-itokitok. Sometimes, the prefix is nothing but a repeated vowel: i-iwalon, a-abtan, o-osip, u-uli. Repeated end vowels, however, are not to be hyphenated: warâa, halèe, tiwîi, pasâa.
12. The hyphen that separates a repeated vowel used as a prefix is to be removed once another prefix is attached to it. Thus, a-abtan becomes ma-aabtán; i-iwalon, ma-iiwalon; u-utang, nag-uutang; e-erok, mag-eerok.
13. Repeated words are to be hyphenated. Exmples: apod-apod, lakaw-lakaw, hiling-hiling. But not gamgam or dapdap because gam and dap alone are meaningless in themselves.
14. The hyphen that connects a repeated word is to be removed once a prefix or suffix is attached ti it. Thus lakaw-lakaw becomes naglakawlakaw, lakawlakawan, lakawlakawi; apod-apod becomes ma-apodappod or apodapodi.
15. The f in loan words is to be pronounced as p (opisyal, kapé, telépono); the v as b (byolín, bakasyón, bírhen); the z as s (sero, asúl, basár).
16. The ch in loan words is to be written as ts or s (sinelas, kutsilyo, tsiko); q and c as k (bakero, kinse, kwarto, loko); j as h, s, dy (hustisya, sabón, dyunyor); ñ as ny (monyika, senyór, karinyo); ll as ly (pilya, sinsilyo, mwelye, lyeno); x as ks (seksi, ekskursyón, boksíng).
17. A word that is foreign is to be rendered in its original spelling but underlined or put in italics to show it is not part of the language.
18. If a foreign word becomes part of the language, its spelling must be made to conform with Bikol orthography.
19. A foreign word might be corrupted in its process of being assimilated into the language, in which case it should be spelled as commonly pronounced. Examples: kumustá, pyamrera, bistík (beefsteak), súsmaryosep.
20. Inasmuch as some Bikol words are pronounced acceptably in two or more ways, they must be spelled as intended to be pronounced. This will prove helpful, especially in poetry. Examples: iyan may be yan; paghilngon, paghilingon; tàno daw, tadáw; dai, di; ini, ni; saimo, sìmo.
To see how some of these principles apply, we compare below the old spelling of a folk lullaby with the new.
CATUROG NA, NENENG KATUROG NA, NENENG
Caturog, caturog Katurog, katurog
Sacloton nin banog Sakloton nin banog
Ipaglayuglayug Ipaglayuglayug
Sa poro can maniog Sa poró kan manyóg
Ipaglacaolacao Ipaglakawlakaw
Sa tagnod anahao Sa tangód anahaw
Ipagduyanduyan Ipagduyanduyan
Sa poon cauayan. Sa pòon kawayan.
Caturog na, Neneng Katurog na, Neneng
Caturog na baya Katurog na bayâ
Dai pa si Tay mo Dai pa si Tay mo
Naghanap qui sira Naghanap ki sirâ
Pag-abot niya, Neneng Pag-abót nya, Neneng
Quita maglalaga Kita maglalàga
Humigop ca, Neneng Humigóp ka, Neneng
Gnani cang tumaba. Ngani kang tumabâ.
It is to be expected that this offer to simplify Bikol orthography will meet opposition among old writers whose use of the language has been freely left alone for years to their whims and caprices. They naturally would cling to what they have been used to. But in this article, it is the future we think of. If we find the language even now too complicated to write and read, it is because of what was done in the past. As the participants of the First District Vernacular Symposium held at Camaligan Central School in Camarines Sur on August 2-3, 1956, have rightly concluded, “We can make the future of our children as unsatisfactory as ours is today by bequeathing to them our inadequacies and prejudices or we can make their future better than ours as it should be.”
Despite what appears to us today as a low state of the Bikol language, it must have enjoyed a measure of progress long ago when the region was a land of heroic deeds by fierce warriors. If for no other source legendary epics are to be believed for what little truth they contain then, probably earlier than other peoples in the country, Bikol had its own system of writing. It is even likely that the much-vaunted Tagalog baybayin was of Bikol origin. The Bikol epic, HANDYONG (sic), stanza 40, for instance, mentions as certain Sural who invented the ancient writing of Ibalon in what is now Libon, Albay. Later engraved in a stone slab by Gapon, this weighty evidence however, still remains to be found. Incidentally, the Bikol word for “to write” is surat. In Tagalog, it is sulat. Could it be that Tagalog derived this word from Bikol?
Anyhow, the syllabary gave way to the Roman method of writing shortly after the arrival in 1573 at Libon of the dashing young conquistador, Juan de Salcedo. Since then the Roman alphabet (sic) has been here to stay, it seems. But like the Japanese in the middle of the sixth century A.D., we have to adapt it to our peculiarities of spelling and writing, to make a simple, workable system of it to facilitate its learning by as many of our fellow Bikolnon as possible in order that, hand in hand with the other brown peoples of this country, we can give our share to mass education, upon the success or failure of which rests the outcome of “the race between education and catastrophe.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Agustin, Andres de San. Arte de la Lengua Bikol. Manila: Tipografia de Ramirez y Giraudier, 1879
Arce, Alejo. An Approach to the Standardization of Writing Bikol. Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Nueva Caceres, City of Naga, 1956.
Dy-Liacco, Leonor H. R. Bikol Syntax. Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Nueva Caceres, City of Naga, 1956.
____. Guiding Principles for the Nationally Uniform Orthography of All Philippine Languages and Dialects. Institute of National Language, Manila, December 26, 1956. (mimeographed)
Ofracio, (Rev.) Jose O. “Morphographic Study , of the Bikol Dialect,” The Vinculum. Serialized: March, September, and December, 1961.
____ Report of the Committees on the Adoption of Standard Bikol Alphabet. Division of Camarines Sur, Bureau of Public Schools, City of Naga, 1955. (mimeographed)
____ Work Plan. First District Vernacular Symposium. Camaligan Central School, District of Milaor, Division of Camarines Sur, August 2-3, 1956.
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