FILIPINO language experts on Monday pushed for the use of Filipino as the “language of knowledge” in the education and research of various disciplines.
“We must reaffirm the Filipino and his and her national identity through the language that is organically connected with Philippine realities and the Filipino experience,” said Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino chairman and National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario, in a statement during the forum Samahang Plaridel, Kapihan sa Manila Hotel.
Almario, together with Dr. Bernardita Churchill, president of the Philippine Studies Association, are convenors of the planned Pandaigdigang Kongreso sa mga Pag-Aaral hinggil sa Filipinas sa Wikang Filipino (International Congress on Philippine Studies in Filipino) on August 2 to 4, 2017 at the National Museum.
Dr. Galileo Zafra, head of the Filipinas Institute of Translation and congress director, said it is high time to establish Filipino as the language of knowledge in the Philippines and to use it in various disciplines and fields of knowledge, especially in the study of the nation itself.
“We must use and spread the use of Filipino in the discourse about being Filipino and in addressing the Filipino nation,” said Zafra, explaining the objectives of the congress.
For a long time now, he said many studies on the Philippines as a subject matter, from history and culture to the sciences, are conducted in English.
While there are quite a number of schools and universities abroad that have more or less strong Philippine studies programs, they are conducted in Filipino or English, he added.
The congress is proposing and intends to demonstrate that Philippine Studies are more properly and effectively conducted in Filipino than in any other language, the experts said.
This is especially true if either foreign or local scholars would like to look deeply into the Philippine context of history, the social sciences, and other fields of knowledge concerning the Philippines and its people, the experts said.
The Congress has called for the submission of proposed papers and issued invitations to Philippine Studies associations and related organizations, scholars in all disciplines, in the country and abroad.
The proposals, they said, should be composed of an abstract of not more than 250 words; affiliation; organization; email address; and telephone or contact numbers. The proposals must be submitted to KWF on or before January 16.
All proposals must be submitted to Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, Watson Building, 1610 Jose P. Laurel, San Miguel, 1005 Manila. Email address: [email protected] and [email protected].