The Creation of a Philippine National Language

Abstract

This article discussed on the problem of nation building in the Philippines at the time of its becoming an independent nation, focusing on the creation of a Philippine national language.In 1934, a Constitutional Convention was held in Manila and attended by 202 delegates representing every region of the Philippine Islands, in order to draft a charter which would form the foundation of coming nationhood. A common national language had been aspired to even in the early period of American colonial rule. However, there was little consensus among the Philippine people about what would be the national language, thus leaving the 1934 Convention to tackle the matter. The discussion on the national language turned out to be one of the most entangled ones. In this article, the author analyzes the discussion in depth, using the proceedings of the Convention. Her conclusions are as follows.In the 1930's, there had emerged an educated class in the Philippines, which was linked together through English and Spanish. The delegates came mostly from this educated-bilingual class. They had many characteristics in common, such as school life in Manila and political affiliation.However, once the language question was taken up, it was very difficult for them to reach a consensus. Intense debates took place between those who favored Tagalog and those who did not. The crucial issue was what kind of language could best express the uniqueness or “national soul” of the Philippine people.After heated discussions, the suggestion that Tagalog be made the national language was defeated, because the majority of the delegates were convinced that the uniqueness of the Philippine people could never be fully expressed through only one language, and by excluding other native languages. So, finally, another suggestion that a national language be created by way of amalgamation of all Philippine native languages was adopted. This meant that the delegates had understood that the future national language should incorporate the diversity of the cultures pertaining to each region into one “distinctly Filipino” culture. However, on the last day of the convention, the creation of a national language based on only one of the existing native languages was adopted as constitutional provision without sufficient discussion, and the language question remained a source of conflict long after the Independence.