KWF Commissioner De Lima Spoke on “Endangered” Dialects
KWF – Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) is greatly concerned about the “endangered” dialects in the Philippines.
There are lots of dialects in the Philippines. However, now, not each of them is widely-used by the people in the place where it originates. The use of other languages could be one of the potential causes of this reality now.
Recently, based on a report on UNTV, 41 dialects out of 123 are tagged as “endangered” or “almost obsolete”. In line with this, the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino or KWF expressed concern over the sad reality.
KWF Commissioner Purification De Lima expressed that one of the causes why a dialect is diminishing is because it is not anymore used.
Based on the report, most of the 41 dialects that are tagged as “endangered” or “almost obsolete” are those that are in the tribal communities. In the pursuit of saving the native dialect in the country, KWF launched a campaign.
The agency has decided to build monuments around the Philippines that would remind the people to utilize their own dialects.
“Ngayon mayroong monumento kongkretong simbolo nang ating mga wika na magpapalala na kailangan nating pangalagaan ang ating mga wika bago pa sila mamatay,” the commissioner said.
Based on the report, one of the 41 “endangered” dialects that the KWF is greatly concerned about is the language of the Casiguran Agta people.
Aside from the target monuments, De Lima believes that another way to save the dialects in the country is through education. According to her, incorporating the study of regional languages in the curriculum used in the schools can be a “big help”.
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