A RECAP on ISSUE DISCUSSED ON TV

What is a language? This was the first question hurled at Dr. Patricia Schneider-Zioga, a linguistics professor at California State University-Fullerton, and me, when Jannelle So invited us to guest in her TV program, Kababayan L.A., on Channel 18 two days ago, June 8th.

Dr. Schneider-Zioga responded that there's no clear-cut definition what language really is among linguists. She supported her answer by citing a case in Europe. Unfortunately, some viewers, particularly my friends, were not satisfied with her answer. ( I knew...with mine, as well.) A few sent me email that she should have given an example on the Philippine languages, because Kababayan L.A. is a Filipino program. Since her answer is true, I didn't react against it. Instead, I reinforced it by saying that mutual intelligibility is a criterion that linguists uses to determine whether a particular medium of communication is a language or simply a dialect. By mentioning a technical terminology, I made the answer murkier to lay people. I should have given a Filipino example to satisfy the Filipino community. I'm sorry, I didn't. It is tough to think on your toes, especially if there's time constraint.

Anyway, allow me to use this blog to address it now.

It is a fact; a linguist would consider a medium of communication a dialect of another language on the basis of mutual intelligibility, even if the speakers of that "dialect" would consider it differently. A case in point is the Batad Ifugao and the Mayoyao Ifugao. For an outsider or a linguist, he or she may immediately say that these two cultural groups are identifiably speaking the same language. The reason is: mutual intelligibility is high. Ethnologue (1984) mentioned that the intelligibility is at least 86%. It's too high to be considered as two separate languages.

Certainly, the language scientist may come up with his or her decision on how the two language groups understand each other (i.e. mutual intelligibility). Hence, if there is high percentage of cognate or identical words with similar meaning and no big differences in affixation and word formation (i.e. morphology), that other language group may be treated as a mere dialect of the other.

I mentioned in the program that the Laguna Tagalog is a dialect (i.e. language variation) of Tarlac Tagalog, or vice versa. Most Filipinos know that Laguna is south of Manila, while Tarlac is north. It's true, they have disparity, which is more than accent (i.e. pronunciation or intonation); however, both could perfectly understand each other.

The same thing with Binisaya of Cebu and Mindanao; the obvious difference is just the /l/. Cebuano will never say the /l/ in between vowels, while the Binisaya in Mindanao will always have it. (e.g. waa vs. wala (nothing), baay vs. balay (house).) The meanings are the same; hence, the Binisaya in Mindanao is just a dialect of that of Cebu.

Nevertheless, if we'd compare Binisaya of Cebu or the Binisaya in Mindanao to the Bisaya of Ilo-ilo, there are words (i.e. lexicon) that may be said or spelled without any difference at all; however, the meaning may be 100% not the same. (e.g. sabut is a word found in both Binisaya in Cebu, Mindanao, and in Ilo-ilo. However, sabut in Cebu and Mindanao means 'to understand', while in Ilo-ilo it means "pubic hair". Besides different meaning in some words, affixation or affixes also has considerable differences. Hence, the Bisaya of Cebu and Mindanao is one language, and the Bisaya of Ilo-ilo is another. We, Filipinos, all know it as Hiligaynon. Well, with regular contact, speakers of Hiligaynon and Binisaya do understand each other. We just have to be careful on our word usage so as not to offend someone.

Definitely, mutual intelligibility is not a perfect criterion to distinguish a language from the other. The reason is that language is strongly interrelated to the speaker's thought process and behavior. How one conveys meaning is affected by how he thinks of the person (or a people group) and how he behaves around that person.

Historically, a feud existed between the Batad Ifugao and the Mayoyao Ifugaos. Socially, interaction between the two language groups might be reserved and minimized. Competition as to who might be speaking the high or the low standard language might be existing. So, when a translation of literature had started for the Batad, the Mayoyao speakers did not accept it as theirs. (But the language difference is very minimal!) Mayoyao speakers wanted to be recognized that theirs is a distinct language. As a result, in Philippine linguistics, Batad and Mayoyao Ifugaos are recognized as two different languages; two of the 175 languages in the Philippines.

Therefore, what is a language? Let me now put it this way. It is a set of symbols of sounds that is structured using a set of rules to express a meaning to a thought process or behavior and is transmitted from one generation to another.


(NOTE:

1) In celebration of the Philippine Independence (June 12th), I plan to blog about the Philippine language and culture for the whole month of June.

2) Those who have checked out my poetry reading on You Tube, please accept my sincere thanks. I apologize of the poor synchronization of my voice and my mouth in Part 1. Part 2 and 3 are better. Check them out.

Thanks again, guys.

Edmund Industan

Language & Culture: Essential for Effective Communication

An Asian crooner was just picked up by her host at the Los Angeles International Airport. Feeling tired and sleepy, she decided to pass, when her host invited her to come with them to their concert. Just as her hosts left, the telephone rang. She picked it up.

"Hello! This is the coroner speaking," she said thinking that it was her host calling.(She had that nickname, because she used to sing in a small bar.)

"Hi,", a woman's voice answered. "May I talk to Tommy?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, mom, but Tommy just pass away."

"WHAT?" Shocked, the woman asked. "What about Linda?"

"I'm sorry, mom, Linda also pass away."

"You mean, my daughter also passed?"

"Yes, mom. They have a cancer."

"WHAT? May I know again who is talking?"

"This is Alona, the coroner.

********

An absolute mess. Certainly, the guest meant it well, but the message was not communicated well. Now, put yourself in the shoes of Linda's mom. How would you feel?

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis theorized that language is not only a tool to express ideas, it is itself the shaper of ideas. We express and shape ideas based on our culture and language ability. Definitely, Linda's mom was devastated after that short conversation.

What about when you are manning a call center? The call center agent interacts with a stranger everyday. Yes, he/she had a month of intensive training, but it certainly was not enough to know everything. And I am pretty sure, the trainer (hopefully a native English speaker or if not, has lived and interacted for many years with a native English speaker)have not taught them everything. The would-be agent must keep on practicing and learning the English language and the culture of his/her clients.

I will give myself as a case in point. My mother tongue or first language is Binukid, which is an indigenous language. My second language is Binisaya, which is also the lingua franca in southern Philippines. My third is Tagalog, which is the Philippine national language that I learned from school. My fourth is English, which I also learned alongside with Tagalog. So, I linguistically grew up with only four vocoids: /a/,/i/,/u/, and /e/. The sound of my /e/ is like that of /oo/ in "book"; however, when I produced the sound, my lips are unrounded. Instead, I produced /e/ with my mouth slightly stretch sideways, like posing a trace of a smile.

The sounds of my consonants are produced pretty much the same as in any other Philippine languages. Unlike in English, I produced my /t/ with the tip of my tongue touching the front of my palette, and voiced, not at the back of my teeth, and voiceless. Unlike in English, I produced my /d/ with the tip of my tongue touching the mid-section of my palette and voiced, not touching the back of my teeth, and voiced.

With such pronunciation used from childhood to college, it was a painstaking effort for me to unlearn and relearn. I felt bad that my English teachers from elementary to high school did not teach the proper English pronunciation, while my tongue was still soft and supple. I felt real bad, because my English Communication college professor, who earned his English degree from a very reputable private university in Manila, did not meticulously and exaggeratedly teach the class on phonics. All the while, I thought that my English was okay, because I was getting "A's" and "A minuses" in my English courses.(Definitely, my English, when written, was alright. Unfortunately, writing is different from speaking.)

I realized my shortcoming in the English language, when I took Orthography and Phonology courses in my graduate studies in applied linguistics. Slowly, but surely, my pitfall began to unravel. Often times, I stirred misconception and I vehemently reacted to the culture of my Australian colleague. In fact, I have been feeling embarrassed to say that I have caused them to end their work in southern Philippines 25 years ago after I wrote a despicable letter in reaction to one natural, idiomatically correct, English statement. I was very close to this couple. Matter of fact, they were one of my wedding sponsors. And I blew away my relationship with them. I ended their love to live and work in southern Philippines.

I have to unlearn my "carabao English". Sorry for the description. I don't want to label it as a "Filipino English", because there are Filipinos, who have been trained to speak the English language properly even when they were still in their mom's belly.

I have to learn the proper production of my vowel and consonant sounds. And, oh boy, despite several applied linguistic courses in graduate school, I didn't learn the proper English pronunciation overnight. Quite frankly, traces of my "carabao English pronunciation" still lingers unwittingly sometimes. That said, I still practice. My wife and my grandchildren still see me learning the nasal twang as I watch, listen, and mimic my favorite TV personalities. I still am learning.

I hope those call center aspirants, who are non-native English speakers, will do the same. Well, they have to double their effort, because they don't rub elbows with native English speakers most of the day. Nevertheless, they should not be discouraged. Just keep on learning both the English language and the culture. Practice, practice, practice! Exaggerate, exaggerate, exaggerate! Use the English language when talking either to yourself or friends. Definitely, you have to speak English to your teachers. Ignore those who laugh at you and label you as "trying hard" or "keeping up with the Joneses". You need it when applying for a job that requires a good command of English.