Sawikaan 2007 & Buwan ng Wika

Celebration of the Buwan ng Wika was to open last August 15, 2007 in our school. Typhoon Egay and a series of "no classes" days moved the remembrance of its historical and cultural relevance in the community on August 31, 2007. The GS LRC has of course, prepared activities for the unit with storytelling sessions, film viewing and trivia contests.

It is during this time of the school year when Filipiniana books are disturbed from their silence in the shelves. Filipino and Tagalog become, all of a sudden, langauge stars to students who'd rather speak English or Taglish, a combination of both Tagalog and English language. While many traditional educators raise eyebrows to this mixture of langauge, it can not be denied that the assimilation of English words into hard core Filipino is ever present, and, inevitable. Our language is very much alive, and so is English. The result has actually prompted columnist Mike Tan to coin a new term for this mix - Finglish.

His article today is an interesting observation at how our langauge has morphed over time. Economics, changing contexts, cultural revolutions, etc., motivates and usher such changes. All this he reflects upon the announcement of the winners in the Word of the Year in the Sawikaan 2007. Miskol was granted the first place, followed by runner ups, roro and Friendster.

For more information on Sawikaan 2007, go here.