The triumph of tagalog and the dominance of the discourse on english language politics in the philippines during the american colonial period 6

CHAPTER SIX MULING PAGSILANG, 1903-1906 El Renacimeinto (and its Tagalog counterpart Muling Pagsilang) will always be enshrined in popular, textbook Philippine history because of the famous “Aves de Rapiña” (Birds of Prey) libel case that made easily identifiable protagonists and antagonists in the story of anticolonial struggle during the American period In 1908, El Renacimiento published an editorial, written by its city editor, Fidel A Reyes Dean Worscester, one of the members of the Philippine Commission at the time, brought a suit against the newspaper as he felt the editorial alluded to him and he felt insulted by it In a much-publicized trial that lasted several years, Worcester (through the justice system that was controlled by Americans) won the case and managed to have the newspapers closed In the century since it happened, the libel case has been recounted in various books and the inclusion of its story an imperative for every Philippine history textbook The essay itself has been republished many times and the characters involved have become stereotypes of American colonialism in the Philippines: Worcester, the evil colonial official bent on snuffing out any expressions of freedom and El Renacimiento and its writers and publishers, the brave nationalists who stood up to America In as much as there is truth to them, these stereotypes, however, not tell a story that reflects the actual complexity of how the concepts of “nationalism” and “colonialism” came into play during this period El Renacimiento/Muling Pagsilang have been characterized as brave voices that were the “vehicles of nationalist views” during a period of suppressed nationalism390 and as “popular because of its vigorous campaign against dishonesty and corruption in the government” through its “strongly worded comments on the abuse of …unscrupulous government officials.”391 390 Maximo M Kalaw, The Development of Philippine Politics, 1872-1920, (Manila: Oriental Commercial Company, 1926), 284 391 Teodoro A Agoncillo and Milagros C Guerrero, History of the Filipino People, 292 142 There is, however, an alternative view of El Renacimiento/Muling Pagsilang Michael Cullinane, for example, describes them this way: “During the Guerrero392 years (1903-1907), El Renacimiento became the leading ‘radical’ newspaper the most ‘radical’ staff member was probably Lope K Santos, the editor of Muling Pagsilang.”393 Cullinane’s skepticism of the description of “radical” for the newspaper and its writers and editors comes from his analysis of the period during which the newspapers functioned as a period when interests and focus in Manila politics shifted from militant labor movements and the sedition dramas “toward the campaigns of El Renacimiento, and a somewhat more moderate and distinctly more ilustrado style of political propaganda.”394 Thus, Cullinane tells us “little of what the paper reported or editorialized on was radical or even particularly extreme” and that they served as “a responsible voice for its primary constituency, the ilustrado opportunists.”395 This description of El Renacimiento and Muling Pagsilang reflects the dramatic changes in Philippine politics From 1898 onward Philippine politics was increasingly moving away the idea of revolution and armed struggle as a way toward an independent nation toward more “democratic” models for struggle, through legislative efforts, through political negotiation, through the pen rather than the sword The height of Philippine participation in the PhilippineAmerican war and the height of the popularity of the seditious plays lasted just a few years, until around 1905 With American hints that independence would eventually be granted, that America would tutor the Philippines in self-government and slowly hand the reigns of the country back to the Philippines (the proof of which was the institution of the Philippine Assembly in 1907), radical, anti-colonial protest slowly gave way to peaceful, even cordial negotiations for independence This is no more dramatically illustrated than in the surrender (and betrayal) of Katipunan leader, Macario Sakay in 1906 Convinced by former labor leader Dominador Gomez 392 Fernando Ma Guerrero Editor of El Renacimiento from 1903-1907, Guerrero won a seat at the first Philippine assembly and his position as editor was taken by Teodoro M Kalaw, who, along with El Renacimento/Muling Pagsilang prublisher, Martin Ocampo were the defendants of the libel suit 393 Michael Cullinane, Ilustrado Politicis, 125 394 Ibid, 124 395 Ibid, 126 143 that the Philippine Assembly was the way toward independence, Sakay and his staff surrendered and were quickly arrested, tried, and executed,396 This shift would, of course, create a schism between the different meanings given to “freedom,” “independence,” and “nationhood.” The ideas that were gaining currency during the first years of the American occupation and that were mostly borrowed from the West and initially adopted by elite nationalists, contrasted from the ideas that were generated through the Katipunan and the revolution and were held mostly by the peasant and laboring classes.397 The modern idea of the nation as a location with definite and clearly-defined territorial boundaries, politically independent, citizens with unified aspirations and who pledged allegiance to the government and constitution, would conflict with other more organic ideas of the Philippine nation The work then of the nationalist elite during this time would have been to toggle between these two worlds To comprehend the meaning of politics and the politics of meaning during this time, one necessarily has to consider the interplay and negotiation of meaning between these two “factions.” This is done, for example, by Reynaldo Ileto in his study of a Tagalog awit (metrical romance) “written” (more precisely narrated) during the Philippine-American War.398 The authorship of the awit is unknown but Ileto deduces from the author’s familiarity both with folk beliefs and his knowledge of Spanish and of anti-clerical literature that he would have been a “rural ilustrado,” someone who occupied a middle position who was “engaged in the activity of translation, comprehending late nineteenth-century concepts of history and nation through the meaning-matrix of Tagalog, and rendering them into verses comprehensible to his audience.”399 This description might easily apply to Muling Pagsilang Though El Renacimiento, written in Spanish and run by Western-educated elite like Guerrero, and would have had a “principal constituency” of illustrados, as Cullinane argues, this could not have been true of Muling 396 For an explanation of Gomez’s use of particular vocabulary of the Katipunan to convince Sakay of the legitimacy of the Philippine Assembly to fulfill the distinct Katipunan ideal of freedom (kalayaan) see Reynaldo C Ileto, Pasyon and Revolution, 192-197 397 See Chapters Four and Five of Pasyon and Revolution for a discussion of the folk emphasis on the loob or inner self in the transformation of the nation and on kalayaan not just as political autonomy but as a kind of revolution of the self 398 Reynaldo C Ileto, “A Tagalog Awit of the ‘Holy War’ Against the United States, 1899-1902,” forthcoming publication 399 Ibid 144 Pagsilang which was published in Tagalog which was then, most decidedly, the language of ordinary folk Its editor, Lope K Santos, had a working class background (his father was a printer) and had gotten his education at the Normal College through a scholarship He became known as a journalist because, according to him, there were few journalists at the time writing in Tagalog He had gained a reputation because of his style, which had the “lilt of revolution” in them400 and because of this was asked to head Muling Pagsilang Muling Pagsilang then would have been in this middle position, translating for the popular masses the new ideas that were coming to the fore through ilustrado or western-style politics Lope K Santos himself describes this situation in his autobiography The first few years of the American occupation, he tell us, was a time when very few people knew either Spanish or English and it is during this period when people like Santos (who knew Spanish and had learned some English) became important for their ability to translate speeches, letters, directives, etc into Tagalog Santos is just too aware of the translator’s role in bringing a whole new culture and way of thinking to the common Filipino people: Lumabas nga noon ang mga mananagalog at mamamahayag sa wikang Tagalog at doon nila nagamit sa pagpapakilala sa bayan ang kabutihan ng bagong rehimen, ng kasamaan ng nagdaang panahoon ng mga bagong panukala at mga alituntunin na iniisip itatag sa Pilipinas , upang makilala ang iyong tinatawag na Demokrasya, at yakapin, gayundin naman ang pamahalaang Republikano 401 At that time, the Tagalog speakers and the journalist in the Tagalog language came out and were used to introduce to the nation the goodness of the new regime, the evil of the previous rulers, the new plan and objectives that they had for the Philippines, in order to introduce what is called Democracy, and for the Philippines to embrace a Republican government The work of translation, however, cannot be seen simply as verbatim transposition of these ideas into Tagalog Ileto tells us: “In order for ‘history’ and ‘nation’ to make sense [to the Tagalog audience], popular ideas of community, of self and others, of the past and the future, and of the interaction of human and divine agency, needed to be articulated and translated into ‘modern’ yet 400 From Lope K Santos’s autobiography Santos poetically describes this as “panulat ko noon na may himig ng mapaghimagsik” and explains this as coming from his recent experience as a revolutionary who fought in the Philippine-American war Talambuhay ni Lope K Santos, (Manila: Capitol Publishing House, 1972), 25-26 401 Ibid, 42 145 ‘localized’ discourses.”402 Yet, “translation” here is not a matter of “dumbing down” the concepts Such Tagalog translations would be witness to, as Ileto tells us, “the resistance and limits of the imposition of notions of modernity in their raw, alien forms.”403 The modern notions would be remade into something quite unique and quite different from its originating idea An additional idea has to be asserted here about the process of translation in Muling Pagsilang and particularly for the language campaign In as much as new concepts of nationhood, progress, and modernity were disseminated to the Tagalog readership through Muling Pagsilang, so were the sentiments of the common readership about language and Tagalog and the unrelenting campaign of the Muling Pagsilang writers for Tagalog disseminated to the nationalist elite who would soon have control of the government "Translation" goes both ways Muling Pagsilang did operate on a rubric that was adopting the new politics, ilustrado in character, that was shying away from radical politics and from the meanings generated from below However, in the language issue at least, Muling Pagsilang "translated" ideas also upward Ideas of the connection of the revolution to Tagalog and the nation and sentiments of ordinary folk about the absolute essentialness of Tagalog were brought forward into the legitimate political realm and made a permanent part of what would eventually be Philippine national identity The importance of this cannot be underscored enough If colonial politics were simply a matter of the imposition of the colonial will upon the colonized, then English, and only English would have been the language of the Philippines If Philippine politics were simply a matter of the nationalist elite imposing its will upon the whole Philippine population then Spanish (or maybe even English) would have been the languages of the Philippines However, through these Tagalog language campaigns and through the tremendous popularity of the Tagalog language itself not only in the Tagalog region but throughout the Philippines, (as witnessed by the popularity of Tagalog writers404, popular films, magazines and other forms of literature in Tagalog) Tagalog shifted from being a language under threat of extinction to the basis of the national language not merely in name but in effect 402 Ileto, “A Tagalog Awit of the ‘Holy War.’” Ibid 404 See description of Jose Corazon de Jesus and the Balagtasan in the following chapter 403 146 Tagalog Under Threat The Muling Pagsilang essays on language were of two kinds The first were the output of an organization called the Kapulungan ng Wikang Tagalog (Convocation for the Tagalog Language), set up in September, 1903 by Lope K Santos and Faustino Aguilar The Kapulungan met regularly throughout 1903 until mid-1904 and its meetings would have a designated speaker who would talk on a variety of topics: a discussion of general ideas about language such as the reach of Tagalog throughout the country or the relation of language to culture, language pedagogy, Tagalog literature, and Tagalog linguistics The lecture or speech would later be published in Muling Pagsilang, sometimes over several days, in a manner that was intended for it to be snipped out of the newspaper and folded into a pamphlet (the pages as they appeared in Muling Pagsilang were sometimes not in order but would fall into order if collected, cut, and folded into a pamphlet) The second kind of essay were those that were published as opinion articles Most of these were written under pseudonyms and generally were more open about making statements against the English policy and against colonialism in general These essays were also different from the essays written under the Kapulungan as they quite often referenced the revolution and Philippine nation, the Inang Bayan (mother nation) and the role of Tagalog in this nation The tone of these essays, especially the pseudonymed essays, is decidedly emotional In them one detects an almost furious but very moving desire to save Tagalog This desire to save Tagalog was a reaction to the equally furious English policy and campaign to transform the whole Philippines into an English-speaking nation English had become an obsession for the colonial officials; it was everywhere and, as an official from Malaya observing the Philippine school systems had noted: “The curriculum on the theoretical and academic side is simple in all the courses of study The note of it is English, more English, still more English.”405 American colonial officials would even go as far as to predict the eventual demise of all the local Philippine languages.406 Given this very real threat to Tagalog, the Muling Pagsilang writers launched a 405 406 R.O Winstedt who had come to the Philippines in 1916 See footnote 54 of Chapter Two See the discussion of David Barrows in Chapter Four of this thesis 147 campaign that thoroughly implicated the heart, soul, mind, and body in its envisioning of the Philippine nation and of the place of Tagalog in that nation This campaign is described here by Tagalog novelist Valeriano Hernandez using chivalric elements (bravery, strength, the quest to save, romantic love) Ang wikang Tagalog na sadyang may sariling dangal, yaman at kaayusan, ay wari bagang nagbibigay wili sa sino mang umiirog ng tapat sa kanya at dahilan dito’y may katwirang pang hinayangan ang kanyang pagkasira at paglubog na siyang tiyak na pinaghahabol ng buong kaya, buong lakas at buong tapang ng loob nitong aming maralita nguni’t mayaman sa pagirog na pahayagan.407 The Tagalog language which has an honor, a richness, and a logic seems to give enjoyment to whomever loves it truly Despite this, it has been left to sink and be destroyed This impoverished newspaper, which is however, rich in its love for it, will, with all its capability, all its strength and all its bravery, work to save it Sympathy for Tagalog and for the campaign to save it is generated by emphasizing pity and the underdog position (“left to sink and be destroyed” and “impoverished newspaper”) More importantly, though, Tagalog is quietly personified as a beloved (most likely) woman This is done through the use (twice) of the specific word of irog instead of the more general mahal Though both terms mean “love,” the more general mahal, is used to refer to a beloved but also anything of value (mahal also means “expensive”) Irog, however, is used almost exclusively to refer to the object of romantic love The word has an almost personal and private quality to it and the use of it brings the experience of Tagalog to a deep and intimate level Both times, the word is used as a verb and in the first instance, umiirog, as an active verb; and thus in “whomever loves it truly,” “sino mang umiirog ng tapat sa kanya,” the reader, while reading these lines is made to simultaneously participate in deep and true love for Tagalog Hernandez is a master at teasing out an emotional response, at generating excitement, and, for an inanimate concept like a language at that He managed this because he knew the tangible quality of many of its words In these lines, he describes the emotional/physical response to the death of Tagalog: Mamatay ang wikang Tagalog! Oh, isang bagay na nakapanglulumo, gunitain lamang.408 407 408 Valeriano Hernandez, “Ang Wikang Tagalog,” Ibid 148 The death of the Tagalog language! Oh, even the thought of it makes one weak The power in these lines is all centered on the nakapanglulumo, which cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be simply translated as “to make one weak.” Nanlumo does not mean only to become physically weak, and is never used to express the experience of feeling faint because of a lack of food or sleep It is used only to express physical weakness brought on by emotional stress; it is most commonly used to describe the condition one feels when one is given news of the death of a loved one It is not, however, only an emotional response as nanlumo also suggests physical reactions such as feeling faint and feeling so weak that the knees buckle and one is almost unable to stand All the palpable connotations that nanlumo carries with it is brought to the discussion of Tagalog’s fate More importantly, the experience that is described when thinking about Tagalog is both a physical and emotional one The reader is here, thinking about Tagalog, and later, by extension, the nation with heart and body A different tact is taken by Anak-Bayan (a pseudonym meaning child of the Nation) to drum up support for Tagalog Whereas most other Muling Pagsilang writers who were writing in 1903-04 picture Tagalog as being in need of rescuing, Anak-Bayan talks about a resurgence of Tagalog Anak-Bayan begins with describing the lowly position of Tagalog used to occupy: Iyang sariling ari na hangang kahapon ay di natin natutunghan at naririnig kung di lamang sa ‘Pasion,’ sa mga ‘Novena,’ sa mga ‘corrido’ at awit at sa mga noo’y pagpupulungan ng mga hamak at taga-bukid at kung nasangkap sa mga matatandang libro, ang lahat ng ito ay pawing ukol lamang sa mga buhay buhay ng Santo That which is ours but which, up until yesterday, we never met with or heard unless it was in the ‘Pasion,’ in the ‘Novena’ and in the ‘corrido’ and awit (traditional metrical romances) or at the meetings of the lowly and the peasants or in books of old that tell of the lives of the saints The lowly position of old is established by recounting Tagalog’s folk and uncosmopolitan character, its formerly exclusive association with the lowest elements of society, mga hamak at taga-bukid, and with folk religion and folk literature Then its resurgence: ang sariling wikang iyan, ay napapakarurukan na ngayon sa mga dulaan, natutunghan na sa maraming pahayagan, pinalalaya na ng mga pinuno, pinagpupumilitan nang matutunan at magamit ng ibang mga bayan, pinanonood 149 na at pinakikingang malugod ng mga tagaritong pagsusuklam-suklam at naggagaril garilang dati That language which is our own is now used in plays, is met with in many newspapers, is used by many leaders, is excitedly being learned and used by other nations, is respectfully watched and listened to by locals you used to despised it and could not be spoken There is joy in reading these lines simply because it narrates a rising up, a resurrection, if you will The spirits of the reader are being lifted up simply by the positive surge that is described and by the movement from the association of Tagalog with sullen earth (taga-bukid or “from the countryside” and hamak which is the strongest word to select to personify abject pitifulness because it means “lowly” but also means “harmed” or “endangered”) to its association with the most respectable and intelligent symbols of society (plays, newspapers, leaders, international recognition) Anak-Bayan continues: sa biglang sabi hindi na iilan lamang ang nagbibigay buhay sa wikang tanging kaluluwa ng ating Lahi, upang ito ay mabuhay naman magpasa walang hangan.409 In other words, it is not just a few who now give life to the language, which is the single soul of our race, so that it may live again in eternity A reader might recognize a subtle illusion to resurrection and though Christ is never mentioned, the passage certainly suggests a connection between the Tagalog language and spirituality with the mention of “the soul” and the idea of eternity (magpasa walang hangan) The description of the rise of Tagalog here is a holistic one that links the aspects of the human person to that of a society: Tagalog is at first simple, and dwells within (those who are normally considered as mindless) bodies (taga-bukid, peasants or folk practices) but then comes to be recognized by the mind (writers, leaders) It is at that point, when the mind or those above recognize what the body or those below have valued all along, and it is at that point of unity that the soul of the race (which is language) may live in eternity Unlike some of the other depictions in the Muling Pagsilang essays, the depiction here of the simple folk and their practices is not derogatory The high position of Tagalog now is achieved through the recognition by the more “respectable” aspects of society This is important 409 Anak-Bayan (pseudonym), “Ang Wikang Tagalog,” El Renacimiento, 16 February 1903, 150 because it is through this coming together and the fact that “it is not just a few who now give it life” that the soul (Tagalog) can live in eternity However, it used to be that “that which is ours” (emphasized twice) was recognized and respected only by the lowly; in this respect the lowly served as a kind of vanguard or originator of the idea The idea of the nation (and here also the word used is not a modern concept of nation but lahi—the following section will discuss this further) is the coming together of the two sectors of society through the language that originates from below It is rather strange that the condition of Tagalog is here placed positively while all the other writers spoke about, often times in very emotional language, a fear for its demise The mystery is even more puzzling when one realizes that Anak-Bayan was one of the pseudonyms of Lope K Santos410, the moving spirit behind the Kapulungan ng Wikang Tagalog Within a seven months of writing this essay, Santos will deliver his inaugural address that launches the Kapulungan.411 In this address, Santos harps over the near death of Tagalog and therefore the need to resuscitate it by purifying and promoting it.412 Tagalog at that point was really at a point between being strong after having gone through a resurgence but also being weak and in danger of demise Its strength (as will be explained later) comes from the idea, forwarded by some of the Muling Pagsilang writers, that the recent revolution had united the nation in spirit and through the use of Tagalog during the revolution, had brought it to the fore Soon after, with the arrival of the Americans and with the implementation of the English policy, Tagalog is again under threat The fate of the language here parallels the state of the nation and the Filipino people and Tagalog under threat is a nation under threat The call of the Kapulungan, done through their essays and answered through them as well, was a reaction to the threat to Tagalog and the local languages brought by the American 410 See Virgilio S Almario, Balagtasismo Versus Modernismo: Pamulaang Tagalog sa Ika-20 Siglo, (Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1984), 49 Almario here identifies the many pseudonyms of various authors who were writing in the early part of the century Lope K Santos, according to Almario wrote under the pseudonyms “Anak-Bayan,” “Doktor Bejuco,” and “Katubusan.” 411 The address is published as the first of the series from the Kapulungan in September of the same year in El Renacimiento Although El Renacimiento had a Tagalog version beginning 1903, it was only in 1904 that it received its own name, Muling Pagsilang, which also means “rebirth.” 412 See the discussion of this particular essay in the previous chapter 151 ‘Ilocano’ he meant Filipino and when he said ‘Tagalog’ he meant ‘thugs.’” 450 Her description of the fierce loyalty the faculty members had for their mother tongue and the acrimonious feelings they had for the other Philippine languages that were not their own is different from the claims the Muling Pagsilang writers made that Tagalog was already accepted and was functioning as a common language throughout the country Around sixty years later, this sentiment will be evident and discussed in a scholarly study of sentiments about and ideas on the national language The exponents of the study reviewed national newspapers, popular magazines, scholarly journals and books for a period of five years and found a preponderance of statements (that they classified as either “emotional” or “rational”) that reflected suspicions about Tagalog or Filipino and an approval for English The statements included “Tagalog is an uncivilized tongue;” “Cebuano is superior to Tagalog;” “Filipinos are unified in English;” “English does not favor any regional group and is acceptable to a great number of people.”451 It is a curiosity, this idea that ninety years after the Kapulungan ng Wikang Tagalog was formed with the objective of promoting the Tagalog language, the issue would still meet with so much controversy Was/is this rivalry innate? Were the Muling Pagsilang writers deluded or were they just lying? Could it not be that this idea of a bitter rivalry was partially fabricated? The idea of a bitter rivalry among the different Philippine language groups was absolutely essential to success of the logic of the colonial discourse regarding English in the Philippines American officials had to justify the imposition of English as the future common language; therefore, it had to be argued that there existed a hatred between the language groups that would not tolerate the imposition of one of the other Philippine languages as the common language English was the best expedient Here Atkinson argues for the existence of that hatred: “There was no common language; and racial antipathy argued strongly against the adoption of any one of 450 Virginia Benitez Licuanan, Paz Marquez Benitez: One Woman’s Life, Letters, and Writing, (Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1995), 106 451 Jasmin Espiritu Acuña and Bienvenido T Miranda, “A Closer Look at the Language Controversy,” in The Language Issue in Education, edited by Jasmin Espiritu Acuña, (Manila and Quezon City: Congress of the Republic of the Philippines, 1994), 5-6 172 the dialects, which, though somewhat similar in structure, are quite different in vocabulary.”452 Worcester expresses a similar sentiment: The second important barrier between the several Filipino peoples is built up of dislikes and prejudices, in part handed down from the days when they were tribally distinct and actively hostile; in part resulting from the well-marked tendency of the Tagalogs and the Ilocanos to impose their will upon the others The actual differences between a Tagalog and a Visayan are not so great The important thing, from the American point of view, is that every Tagalog and Visayan really considers them very great.453 The essence of the ideas expressed here, that of a difference felt between people belonging to different language groups may not necessarily be untrue However, it is also possible that what was a latent and fairly harmless sentiment was drawn out, emphasized, repeated, perpetuated, maybe even hyperbolized such that what was an unemotional truth that existed without much rancor turned into a deeply-felt concept that eventually was to be taken as natural The Muling Pagsilang essays which argued that Tagalog was indeed already functioning as a common language can easily be dismissed as being produced by self-serving Tagalog writers who projected their desire to impose their own brand of colonialism on the rest of the Philippines There is much historical basis for the idea that, at the moment that Filipinos became united in revolution, there was also acceptance of Tagalog as the national language There is the example of the Miller-Lopez affair in Iloilo (in the Visayas island) recounted by Leandro H Fernandez in his essay on Filipino nationality Fernandez tells us that prior to the outbreak of hostilities between the Americans and the Filipinos in 1899, an American expedition under General Miller was sent to Iloilo They were refused entry into the harbor and were told that there was an order, dated December, 1898, from the United States president to enforce American sovereignty Lopez, the head of the Federated Government of the Bisayas is supposed to have said: “The supposed authority of the United States began with the Treaty of Paris, on the tenth of December, 1898 The authority of the central government of Malolos is founded on the sacred bond of 452 453 Fred W Atkinson, The Philippine Islands, 404 Dean C Worcester, The Philippines Past and Present, 936-937 173 blood, language, uses, customs, ideas, sacrifices.”454 This idea that the experience of the revolution was what defined Philippine nationhood (and therefore made it acceptable for Tagalog to be the common/national language) was present also in the Muling Pagsilang essays and it would be important for the Kapulungan that one of the non-Tagalog generals of the revolution affirm this very idea Makabulos essay, from its very title, is quite clearly an attempt to show that Tagalog is acceptable to people outside of the Tagalog region The title of the essay “Ang Wikang Tagalog sa mga Lupang Kapampangan” means “The Tagalog Language in the Land of Pampanga.” Makabulos view is that the reception of Tagalog, not as an imposed language that means to take over the native Kapampangan but as the language of communication with people from other regions of the Philippines, is quite unproblematic Makabulos, himself seems aware of efforts to emphasizing linguistic difference rather than cultural unity: Ang ikinalayo ng Wikang Tagalog sa Kapampangan ay dili sa udyok ng ating katutubong bait kundi buhat sa isang maling hangad na naghari ng mga nagdaag panahon, na alinay ‘Ang pagkakaiba ng ating paguusap ay siyang maghahatid sa landas ng pagkakatiwalagtiwalag at ito naman ang siyang magsasadlak sa kahinaan na icapipigil ng mabilis na takbo ng bayan sa ikapapasulong.455 The difference between Tagalog and Kapampangan (languages) is not in our native personalities but from a wrong concept that reigned in the past that ‘The difference in our language will lead us down the road of division and will cause the delay or seizure of rapid national development.” The difference then is presented here as a false idea instituted to convince people that the difference was the enemy of national development To counter this, Makabulos presents numerous arguments about how Tagalog is actually used in the Pampanga region (which includes Tarlac which is where Makabulos is from), not to communicate amongst each other but to communicate with people from other regions Tagalog, he claims, is the language the Pampangeño uses when they communicate with people from the Ilokos or Pangasinan regions 454 Leandro H Fernandez, “The Formation of Filipino Nationality.” Thinking for Ourselves: A Representative Collection of Filipino Essays, Vicente Hilario and Eliseo Quirino, ed (Manila: Oriental Commercial Company, 1928), 270 455 Fransico Makabulos, “Ang Wikang Tagalog sa mga Lupang Kapampangan,” 174 His wish, he claims, is for the Tagalog language to be the developed such that it can become the language that unites Filipinos; his call is that a stop be put to the practice of linguistic isolation and linguistic division The idea that Tagalog is acceptable to most as a common medium of communication without rancor and rivalry certainly makes more sense than the idea that English would be preferred In these early days of occupation, popular sentiment was still very much against the American colonizer One need only to look at the many manifestations (all the way until about 1915)456 of a vigorous radical sense among the people It does not seem logical that a people, much of whose sense of unity came from a sense of outrage at how that unity was frustrated, would choose the language of its identified enemy to supposedly instigate that unity that was already there Tagalog and Modernity The paradox of nationalist thought in the colonial world is, as Patha Chaterjee reminds us, that it has to reject the claims of the backwardness of the colonized but also affirm the ability of the colonized to modernize It rejects the domination of the foreigner while accepting the modern, rational premises upon which the domination was based Nationalist thought “cannot remain only a negation; it is also a positive discourse.”457 It is a discourse that is based on and yet also denies the modern system of knowledge that sprung forth from the West It is what Chaterjee calls “a different discourse, yet one that is dominated by another.”458 The Muling Pagsilang essays on language struggle with this paradox too They are, at once, a rejection of the English policy and a confirmation of the modernizing project of mass public education of which the English policy was to be carried out Most of the writers even take the position of the acceptance of English (albeit not as the common language) as a feature of 456 See for example Reynaldo C Ileto, “Orators and the Crowd: Independence Politics, 19101914.” In Filipinos and their Revolution: Event, Discourse, Historiography, (Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1998) 457 Partha Chatterjee, Nationalist Thought and the Colonial World, (London: Zed Books, 1993), 42 458 Ibid 175 modern life In many ways than just in its position vis-à-vis English, these essays were verification that the modern epistemic order was an inescapable part of nation-building and nationalism Perhaps precisely because the Muling Pagsilang writers were advocating the use of Tagalog and because they anticipated being associated with promoting a “backward culture,” the emphasis on their support of progress and modernization seems especially pronounced This affirmation comes in the form of either using the history of Europe as the model toward progress, in rejecting traditional Philippine myths and literary forms, or in acknowledging the importance of English in any developing society This affirmation is evidence of the incongruous situation of nationalist discourses in the colonial context that forces both a rejection and an affirmation of rational, enlightenment thinking In addressing the colonizers, these essays will use the history of the West to point out both the triumphs and successes of Western civilization and the contradictions and anomalies of colonialism, almost as if to say: “You actually have it right, except you contradict yourself on this one point.” In arguing that education is best carried out in one’s own language, Isang Guro (pseudonym) summarizes the linguistic history of Europe in one paragraph and recounts how Latin was once the official language of Europe, the use of which was limited to only a few Development for these European countries came through the efforts that were made toward the development of their own languages and books on all sorts of knowledges that were written in these languages Isang Guro argues that one’s own language is the first ingredient of knowledge, that this fact is “clear as the light of day” (“maliwanag pa sa araw”) and true for the whole history of the world (“Kasaysayan ng Sangdaigdig”).459 Apo ni Kapampangan (pseudonym) argues for education in one’s own language “the way it is in Europe” (“gaya ng mga taga-Europa”) because this will bring the Philippines up to speed with the development of Europe and will show that “the Philippines is not behind Europe” (“makikita natin lubos na ang Filipino ay hindi huli sa Europa.”)460 These arguments insist on an inclusion into what the writers saw as 459 460 Isang Guro, “Ang Pagtuturo .” Apo ni Kapampangan, “Ang Bayang Pilipino (part 1)…” 176 an organic and natural order in the development of civilization in the rest of the world At the very same time that these writers were arguing that the nation was to be found in revolution, in resistance, in the lahi and in the inner self or loob, they also argued for a kind of integration Even in the more radical of the essays, the insistence on Tagalog was always twinned with an affirmation of English In the essay by Apo ni Kapampangan, the depiction of English as the language that will usher us into more honor and expertise (“ang siyang wikang Europeo na maghahatid sa atin sa lalong ikadadakila at ikabibihasa”)461 follows the paragraph that talks about the Katipunan as being an essential part of our culture Though the goal of all of these essays was the institution of Tagalog into a central place in Philippine life and (the often unstated) Philippine independence, all these are premised on the idea of progress and development The articulation of this idea of progress and development is merely implied One, however, gleans from the arguments about language that they are based principally on the idea of the creation of relevant education that will produce a responsible and thinking citizenry As the essays are clear and sometime even bold about what it is that will bring us to this goal—Tagalog as the medium of instruction, common language, national language— they also identify what in Philippine culture belonged to an antiquated age and needed to be reformed or removed The targets of this cleansing were components of our past, elements of prehispanic culture and of the Spanish legacy These targets were the folk belief in the spirit world and the bulk of the literary legacy of Spain to the Philippines—religious literature in the form of novenas, passions, and prayers Taga Danaw (pseudonym) warns against exposing children to the stories that come from the servants (“mga alila”), most especially those that are superstitious—“aswang, encanto, gigante, hari at reyna” (evil ghosts, spirits, giants, kings and queens) 462 A most scathing description of the literature that should be avoided because it “destroys the mind and promotes stupidity and ignorance” (“nakasisira ng isip at nakapagpapaulol ng kamangmagan) comes from Severino Reyes: 461 462 Ibid Taga Danaw, “Pagtuturo ng Mga Anak (part 1).” 177 Saan matutuhan ng ating mga kababayan ang paniniwala sa “Anting-anting” kundi sa mga Awit at Corrido at Novena; saan natutuhan ang paniniwala sa “gayuma” kundi sa Awit; saan nangalig ng paniniwala sa Encanto kundi sa Awit; saan natututuhan ang ating mga kababayan ang pagsasampalataya sa mga himala at mga kababalaghan nalalaban sa tunay na licod ng Hambo (naturaleza) cundi sa mga Novenang sinulat ng mga frayle upang makasamsam ng maraming pilac sa mga pamisa at tirik ng kandila.463 Where could our countrymen have learned the belief in amulets if not from the Awit and Corrido464 and the novenas; where could they have learned to believe in spells if not through the Awit; where could they have learned to venerate miracles and other such nonsense that are against logic if not from the novenas that were written by the friars in order to earn a lot of silver from masses and candle offerings Here, a modern aesthetic and logic is proclaimed through a demand for realism The spiritual/religious world is rejected on the grounds of it being the enemy of the mind and of logic but also because it was used in the past to fool and rob the people This worldview is associated with dishonest friars but also with a folk and unschooled class (servant, “mga alila”) The vision of the nation these essays embody is not inclusive but based on the idea of a vanguard class that will dispel old superstitious thinking that keeps the Filipino people away from progress The vanguard class will be creators of a new, modern mindset that will bring the nation forward Reyes provides a lengthy summary for some of the most popular folk stories and epics of Tagalog culture such as Ibong Adarna and Bernardo Carpio These he argues must be replaced by books that will help readers improve their lot He recommends the writing of Histories and Geograhies and the translation of such works as the Noli Me Tangere.465 463 Severino Reyes, “Mga Aklat at Kathaning Dapat Pagsikapan Magawa ng mga Manunulat, Upang Maihalili sa mga Awit at iba pang Matatanda at Walng Kabuluhang Babasahin ng Bayan sa Wikang Tagalog,” Muling Pagsilang, 27 February 1904, 464 Forms of metrical romances that have settings in fantastic and mythical lands and have kings, queens, princes and princesses as characters 465 It is notable that Severino Reyes is silent on Balagtas, the great Filipino poet who wrote using the awit form There will be a campaign, starting a few years after Reyes wrote this essay to appropriate Balagtas as a great Filipino writer and a modern thinker Balagtas will become the central symbol for the Tagalog language and his popularity will reach an all-time high beginning around 1910 till around the war with elaborate celebrations organized every year in schools and by language organizations on the anniversary of his birthday See Hermenegildo Cruz, Kung Sino ang Kumatha ng “Florante:” Kasaysayan ng Buhay ni Francisco Baltazar at Pag-uulat nang Kanyang Karunungan at Kadakilaan, (Manila: Libreria manila Filatelico, 1906) See also Almario, Balgtasismo Versus Modernismo, 57-59; Galileo S Zafra, Balagtasan: Kasaysayan at Antolohiya (Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1999), 4-9; and Vicente L Rafael, The Promise of the Foreign: Nationalism and the Technics of Translatin in Spanish Philippines, ( Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, 2006), 125-131 178 One other aspect of Philippine culture that was anathema to the project of nation building was the moro-moro, the theater tradition based on stories of Muslims versus Christian set always in mythical kingdoms, with characters dressed in mock medieval costumes who perform mock sword fights Lope K Santos describe the theater form of the moro-moro as being suited only to those with a slow wit and an immature character (“bagay lamang sa mga tungak na isip at musmos na kalooban”).466 Santos hails the marginalization of this theater form and change in attitude and focus of the playwrights toward writing more realistic plays Apart from a call to write grammars and dictionaries for Tagalog, Santos also calls for the writing of “novellas sociales,” realist novels that describe the lives of the people of the nation467 as well as histories These rejections of the moro-moro and especially the folk epics are rejections of what so many of us have come to relate so closely to Philippine culture (What school child does not know the story of how Don Juan squeezed kalamansi on his self-inflicted cuts so as not to be lulled to sleep by the song of the magical bird, Ibong Adarna?) This may seem to us today as a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater However, such a mindset can only really be understood from the perspective of the dawn of modern thinking when religion and fantasy, that which represented the opposite of a much-sought after realism and rational thinking, were vilified It is perhaps quite relevant and fitting that Severino Reyes likens these vilified pieces of literature to the Spanish chivalric romances, what he says are called “caballeria andante.” Reyes mentions that these romances were the reason Cervantes wrote Don Quixote: “siyang dahilan ng pagkasulat ni Cervantes ng dakilang Quijote, na pumatay sa matatapang na Encantado”468 (which is the reason Cervantes wrote the honorable Quixote who killed the fierce enchanted spirits) Indeed, quite in the same way that Cervantes was “slaying” these medieval romances by writing the very modern and realistic Don Quixote, so were Reyes and Santos and the Muling Pagsilang writers concerned with “slaying” these antiquated attitudes by ushering in modern thinking 466 Lope K Santos, “Isang Wikang Filipino,” Lope K Santos will, within a few years, write Banaag at Sikat, a lengthy “social realist” novel about the Philippine working class 468 Severino Reyes, “Mga Aklat at Kathaing Dapat…” 29 February 1904, 467 179 through literature For these writers, the Filipino people were like silly Quixote who had lost reason because of these fanciful epics and narratives They were going to be the Cervanteses who were going to bring the Philippines into the modern era.469 The idea of the nation in the Muling Pagsilang essays on language was composed of contending ideas of resistance and revolution as the essence of the Philippine spirit and modernism and the rejection of Philippine folk and religious culture The meanings they generated and the contradictions that were in turn generated from these meanings were much more complex than Chatterjee’s basic contradiction of “a different discourse, yet one that is dominated by another.” This “domination” or acceptance of the modern mindset would take the form of what could be seen as a betrayal of that very difference that they were trying to establish Severino Reyes, in lines that probably appalled and disgusted some of his co-writers and comembers at the Kapulungan expressed his belief in the project of modernity when he said: tulungan natin ang Norte America sa kanyang pagmamalasakit na pagturo sa ating mga anak; huwag nating sayangin ang liwanag ng pagkasulong na likha ng kalayaang gayo’y itinatanglaw sa atin ng mga anak ni Washington…470 let us help North America in its concern in teaching our children; let us not waste the light of progress created by freedom that is promised us by the children of Washington… In a similar manner, Taga Danaw vehemently rejects folk belief in favor of a modernizing project but of a different sort He (or she) rejects the folk tales of the servants but calls for the telling to children of stories about the heroes and martyrs of freedom and of the revolution (“”pagsikapan ninyong ihalili sa gayong mga kakana ang mga kasaysayan o historia ng ating mga bayani at 469 The issue of the ideology and aesthetic these writers espoused has been viewed differently by others who have looked at this period Virgilio Almario, for example, viewed the poets of this period more from the perspective of a rejection of and differentiation from imposed foreign culture He associated them with a movement that he calls “Balagtasismo” which was ideologically influenced by anti-colonialism but aesthetically was drawing from older, traditional forms A newer movement, “Modernismo,” he describes as nationalist in sentiment but now more open to the modern, Western influences Almario argues that the strongest influence of Balagtasismo was felt from the beginning of the century to World War Two and that of Modernismo after the War See Almario, Balagtasismo Versus Modernismo, 11-14 Soledead Reyes, on the other hand, identifies the modern tendencies and the identification with Realism in the novels of Lope K Santos and Faustino Aguilar She ascribes this, however, to the authors’ ideological leanings As socialists, Reyes argues, Santos and Aguilar were principally concerned with social realism See Soledad S Reyes, Nobelang Tagalog, 42 470 Severino Reyes, “Mga Aklat at Kathaing Dapat .” 180 martir ng kalayaan at ng pag hihimagsik…”471 ) Taga Danaw calls for the creation of a citizenship that replaces religion with nationalism: “Turuuan din naman ninyo sila .na sumamba sa Inang Bayan, gaya ng pagkaturo sa ating pagsamba sa isng Diyos”472 (Teach them also to worship the motherland they way they were taught to worship God) He asks that children always be reminded to read Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo such that these books become the Bible of the children (“ .ang mga aklat na ito ay siyang magiging Biblia ng inyong mga aka.”473) Taga Danaw’s post-superstitious society is a society in which “the citizens’ religion is the worship of the nation or the native land and the citizens are those who honor those who have died in our holy objective and who are ready to save and defend our land when it is endangered by evil foreigners .” (“ .mga taong ang magiging “religion” ay ang pagsamba sa Bayan o Tinubuanm at mamimintuho sa mga namatay sa ating banal na layon mga taong handa sa pagliligtas at pagtatangol ng ating lupain kapag ito’y binabalaan ng masaskim na ibang nasyon .”474) The modern vision here is one of defiance and resistance Even here we see not a facile formulation of the contradiction of a difference within a dominant but possibly another reappropriation even of those supposed imperative modern categories Language, Power, and Domination As the previous sections have demonstrated, most of the Muling Pagsilang essays were based on the assumptions of the modern mindset and on the idea of nation building and on the creation of an informed and intelligent citizenry However, some of the essays also showed a keen awareness of the need to be wary of these modern categories and of the thin line between envisioning a modern nation and buying into the colonial project A few of the essays reveal an intimate and sophisticated understanding of the relation between language and power Though the Philippine-American War was officially over by 1902, resistance to American occupation persisted; the counter-resistance campaigns were equally intense Probably 471 Taga Danaw, “Pagtuturo ng Mga Anak (part 1).” Ibid 473 Ibid 474 Ibid 472 181 because of the strict censorship of newspapers and other published materials, not one of the essays on language, save for one, mentions this fact and connects it to the equally violent act of language imposition The essay “Pagbabaka ng mga Wika’t Lahi”475 by Simoun476 (discussed above) opens with a statement about how one nation holds power over another through force or “through the bullet of power” (“sa ilalim ng bala ng kapangyarihan”) More important is his argument that the power is maintained through language: “Ang unang paraan upang mapapanatili ang alin mang kapangyarihan ng isang lahi sa iba, ay ang wika.” (The first way to maintain power over a people is through language) Simoun points to an American plan to spread English throughout the world and links this to consequent extension of American views, values, and culture Simoun is writing against the American colonial discourse of English as a neutral language that will not change Philippine culture This assertion is seen for example in Fred Atkinson’s justification for the presence of English in the Philippine: “the Filipinos will become Americanized only in the sense that they will speak English and adopt American innovations as they are introduced; the character of the people and their stronger, more individual characteristics will be retained.”477 Simoun, of course, would disagree Simoun’s essay seems quite remarkable as it pre-dates Gramsci’s theory of the maintenance of power through coercion and consent and it pre-dates such Philippine historians as Constantino who focused on language as the most important tool of colonial control Simoun is unique in that he openly discusses the American military campaign and juxtaposes it to its civil campaign of education in English Yet, his arguments are not unique and are actually found in many minor points and assumptions of the other Muling Pagsilang works Almost all the essays were based on the assumption that seemed quite obvious to most of these writers—that language is the carrier of culture Tagalog, claims one of the essays “has the power to better express the 475 Simoun (pseudo.), “Pagbabaka ng mga Wika’t Lahi,” Simoun is the name of the main character of Rizal’s novel El Filibusterismo 477 Atkinson, The Philippine Islands, Atkinson was one of the first directors of education in the American colonial government in the Philippines 476 182 shape and language of the Filipino soul” (kakayahang lalong mabuting magpahayag ng mga hugis at pananalita ng kaluluwang pilipino.”478) Even the idea of rule through coercion and consent must have been quite common to these authors as they themselves (because of censorship) were coerced into writing in a neutral style about what was a seemingly neutral topic: language, the very instrument through which consent was being generated Seeing the connection between the two, sometimes a forbidden comment about this very connection would surface as it did in this wonderful line from Liborio Gomez’s essay: “Ginagahis, pinaghaharian, dinudusta, inaapi, ginagahasa at inaalipin ng bayang bantog at matalino ang isang bayang munti at payat, sa wikang sarili ng bayang malaki.”479 (A stronger and smarter nation subjugates, overpowers, oppresses, maltreats, rapes and enslaves a weaker nation through the language of the stronger nation.) With all the synonyms for tyranny lined up, nowhere in Philippine linguistic history has an oppressive linguistic relation been more forcefully and more palpably described Simoun describes the power of coercion to dissipate the cause of independence He contrasts the Spanish methods of sowing dissension and creating barriers toward independence He argues that Spain was able to create a barrier toward independence through this one group of Filipinos, the illustrados, who spoke Spanish and rejected Philippine culture What damage, he wonders, can America with hundreds of teachers spread out to every corner of the Philippines and with the help of the teaching they are undertaking America, he feels, poses an even greater threat to the cause of Philippine independence in that it aims to disseminate American attitudes and culture to the masses (“hangad na maabot pat nang nangasa ibaba”) By contrasting Spanish and American strategies, Simoun is here identifying this new method of extending control and authority in an industrial age—the creation of a common idiom to which citizens of the nation will consent Simoun’s analysis is remarkable not only for its ability to push the limits of what could be said but for his analysis of the complex connection between language, domination and power 478 479 P.L Stangl, “Ang Wikang Pilipino,” Muling Pagsilang, April 1907, Gomez, “Ang Wika ay Siyang Pag-iisip…,” 183 Pedagogy As diverse as the Muling Pagsilang essays on language were, they were also clearly unified in a number of things Although some essays not fully articulate the idea of lahi and on the connection of identity to the past, most affirm the belief that Tagalog and the local languages are intimately tied to Philippine culture Almost all the essays call for the modernization, systematization and/or the purification of Tagalog These two concerns, one representing the assertion of a culture separate from that of the colonizer and the other implicitly signaling the acceptance of the matrix within which the colonizer’s culture is built on, are really just the rationale for the principal object of these essays: the campaign to make Tagalog the common language and the medium of instruction in the public school throughout the Philippines The manner in which the campaign for Tagalog as the medium of instruction was argued was equally diverse and yet all claims are inseparable from what was seen as Philippine identity The most typical way in which this was argued was to assert that learning happened most easily and most swiftly through the language that the child was most familiar with The contention went that if learning is done in a foreign language, the child would have to translate the information first into the language the child was familiar with and in the process lose some of the learning and slow down the learning process Sefronio Calderon argues that learning in one’s language is most efficient because the students “recognize, right away, the meaning of the words and things they study.” (“nawawasian niyang madali ang kahulugan ng mga pinagaaralang salita at bagay.”480) Similarly, Eusebio Daluz places the blame on the slow progress of learning of children to the use of a foreign language as a medium of instruction rather than the one that is really being used by the majority of the citizens of the nation (“mabagal na pagsulong sa carunungan ng ating mga bata ay sanhi sa hindi pagkatanghal ng isang wikang talagang gamit ng Bayan, o ng karamihan ng manga mamamayan.”481) This line of argument which is centered 480 Sefronio G Calderon, “Kamahalan ng Sariling Wika,” Muling Pagsilang, 16 February 1905, Eusebio Daluz, “Alin and Lalong Magaling na Paraan sa Pagturo ng Wikang Tagalog, Upang Matutuhan Madali at Pag-aralan si Lamang ng mga Tagalog Kundi ng mga Iba Pang Kapatid sa Lahi?” Muling Pagsilang, March 1904, 481 184 really on the idea of efficiency, will dominate much of the campaign for Tagalog in the coming years and it will be the particular focus of the campaign that will be carried out in English The issue of education and democracy is used by Mapaninta to argue for Tagalog as the medium of instruction He argues that learning in English requires that the student know that language well Where, he asks, will the child get practice in English if the child’s companions at home not know the language themselves? It is unlikely, he argues, that a poor person will pour time and energy into this undertaking “Maniwala kayong walang kabuluhan ang maghiram ng ibang wika, kung ang hangad ay lumaganap ang mga karunungan nauukol sa lahat, lalo na sa mahihirap.”482 (Believe that borrowing a language is useless, if the objective is to spread learning that is relevant to all, especially the poor.) Mapaninta is the only one of these writers to address the specific linguistic situation of the lower classes His special emphasis is on social equality and the ideal of a relevant and efficient education for all Whereas these arguments focused on Tagalog as the medium of instruction, some others took the tact of arguing for the melding of medium and message One argument, that of Taga Danaw, focused on Tagalog being the medium of instruction because it contained within it the Filipino attitudes that are to be the very basis of the nation while another, that of Andrea Vitan’s, focused on Tagalog itself being the subject of study Taga Danaw finds a unity between what should be taught and the language it should be taught in He argues that if we want to save and protect true Philippine attitudes and culture—which is the strong basis of our nationhood—we need an education for our children that is based on our own language (“kung ibig din natin ingatan at papanatilihin ang wagas na mga damdaming pilipino—na siyang matibay na salig ng ating ikapagiging nasyon—ay kailangan lubha na ang pagtuturo sa mga anak ay ibatay sa wakiang sarili.”483) Taga Danaw’s vision is one that is based not so much on efficiency as it is on the insistence on that which is truly Filipino, and which can only be expressed in Tagalog, should be the content of what it is that children study Andrea Vitan’s essay, on the other hand, ask in the very title of the essay: Do we need to study our own language? Her answer, given 482 483 Mapaninta, “Katutubong Wika,” Taga Danaw (pseudo.), “Pagtuturo sa Mga Anak (part 2), 185 straight off in her first paragraph and emphasized in capital letters is “KAILANGAN” (it is needed) Her reason range from the very practical (because few people really know the language well) to the usual (using a foreign language as a medium of instruction will be a barrier to the intellectual development of children) Her most remarkable and poetic argument, though is that as the knowledge of our own language improves and develops, so is the knowledge of a person increased and made healthy (“habang ang pagkaalam sa sariling wika ay bumubuti at nawawasto, ang karunungan ng tao naman ay nagdaragdag at lumulusog.”484) Here, we find an almost instinctive sense of the idea of knowledge being inscribed into language It is interesting to note how these essays combine the objective of moving forward with the essence of being in the past They embody the ideas of modernity and progress within the spirit of what they felt was essential to their identity—the revolution What is most remarkable about these essays, however, is the palpable sense of lahi—history, culture, and language cemented by the revolution The tangibility of this sense of lahi comes from the deep emotions expressed in the essays—emotions of love, anger, anxiety, excitement, devotion—and with every line and paragraph that is invested with a real concern and love for the Tagalog language The most perceptible difference between these essays and the essays written in English (also campaigning for Tagalog) is the absence of this emotion, concern and personal involvement This experience the Muling Pagsilang essays give, the experience of the “medium is the message” becomes so much more emphasized when one compares them to the English essays (even as they defend Tagalog), which remove any strong sense of nationhood and seem to operate purely on the level of efficiency, proper scholarship, and scientific logic 484 Vitan, “Kailangan pa Kayang Pag-aralan .,” 186 ... 477 Atkinson, The Philippine Islands, Atkinson was one of the first directors of education in the American colonial government in the Philippines 4 76 182 shape and language of the Filipino soul”... of the Americans and with the implementation of the English policy, Tagalog is again under threat The fate of the language here parallels the state of the nation and the Filipino people and Tagalog. .. Recent Philippine History The key to really understanding the connection between the Tagalog language and the idea of nationhood is in the understanding of the concept of lahi.4 16 The word lahi,