My Reaction to all Filipino Language Critics

I was so disappointed that some Filipinos who live in our country don’t know how to use their native language.  And the worst thing is they degrade our language, making it the language of the unprivileged people.  They use the foreign language, English, as their primary language.  It is a bad image for those who are Filipino and yet they are foreign to their own language.  They discriminate their own language to their own country.  For them speaking Filipino is “cheap” while speaking English is “high class” or “well-educated”.

I admit that nowadays, learning of English language is beneficial, not only that it is the universal language, but it make us more competitive and modernize.  If you know how to speak English, it is an advantage in school and in work especially if you are engage of meeting foreign people like in tourism and hospitality industry.

It’s not true that our language is for the poor.  As a matter of fact, Filipino language is rich in our culture and history.  It makes us more determined for being a true Filipino.  The use of our own language shows nationalism and pride for the country.

The enacting of law that states Filipino language must be our national language makes us unified as a state and as a country.  Thanks to the late Manuel L. Quezon, we can communicate in other parts of the country using our native tongue.  The Filipino language is a bridge that connects us to each other despite of being an archipelago with a lot of dialects.

Before all else, you must know your roots.  Remember of what Rizal said “Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika ay higit sa mabaho at malansang isda.”  As a Filipino, it is required to love and use our own language.   The mother must teach her child our language because this is where we belong and where we live.

I’m not against to the use of English but we must prioritize our own language because this is where we were identified.  On my part, I want every Filipino to love our national language not making Filipino language for the poor and English language for the privileged ones.  We must be ethnocentric because we are only the ones who will love our language and our identity for being a Filipino.