The word “selfie” was declared by the Filipinas Institute of Translation, Inc. (FIT) as the “Salita ng Taon” of the year.
It was nominated by Dr. Luna Sicat-Cleto, the University of the Philippines Diliman professor. It had beat other 12 nominated words that had been part of the Filipino culture this 2013 and 2014.
2nd slot was for the word “endo” nominated by Dr. David Michael San Juan and John Kelvin Briones from De la Salle University professor and Bulacan State University professor respectively.
3rd slot was for the word “Filipinas” nominated by professor Dr. Rebecca Anoñuevo of Mirriam College.
All the nominated words were represented on Friday, September 27, 2014 considered as the 2nd day of the three-day “Sawikaan Pambansang Kumperensiya sa Wika” which was organized by the FIT as per reported by GMA News.
All the winners were chosen through members and honored guests of FIT after a meticulous deliberation.
Indeed, the word “selfie” also won the “Best Presentation Category” that was chosen through a ballot vote.
“Sawikaan Pambansang Kumperensiya sa Wika” started way back in 2004. It began as a language competition. It also served as a relevant language strategy on that time after former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo officially ordered English to be used as the medium of instruction and communication.
It also strengthen the use of English as the Second Language in Filipino Education System. On 2010, it was the formally announced that this word of the year will be conducted every after 2 years.