I can't remember the last time I heard the words "..enbam nan segpan.." (..close the door..). It's not a deep Kankanaey term but I don't hear it anymore. It's synonymous to "..irikep mo nan ruangan.." but even this word, "irikep" is not commonly used. Then what do I hear when somebody wants to say that? It's "..i-close mu nan ruangan..". This is mixed anymore not pure Kankaney.
When my grandmother died the word "idos" (spoon) went with her. I used it for some time but I was the only one using it. Some old folks knew the term but they didn't use it. They preferred "kutsala" or "kutsara". What's happening?
Globalization is the superior culprit robbing us slowly of our native dialect. It's modifying our dialect, our culture, our ways of life, our-identity. The worldwide economy is expanding promoting its interest in one language, English. People are driven to use this dominant tongue, being not their own, to compete and survive in this giant metropolis. In Asia, non-English folks flock to the Philippines, India, and Singapore to learn English. In Baguio ESL schools were put up and ESL tutorials become the trend. It became a necessity, a survival weapon, to speak the globe's language. But this necessity is responsible for the evolution of native dialects, one of which is our own - Kankanaey. What could be a worse possibility of this change? Will our dialect be ever spoken in the years to come? But one thing is sure-it will always be in history.
The effect of this big picture is very evident in my hometown, a typical barrio, which is miles from the center of e-commerce. The people greet each other in English ("Ey, hello!") ; they are getting used to statements that are not in full Kankanaey (90% Kankanaey and 10% English or it varies); most of public notices either written or spoken are in English; and; announcements, invitations, speeches , etc are in English!
English were once spoken in English classes only but even this evolved. All other subjects except Filipino ,which will always be in Tagalog, requires English. Now, it became the medium of instruction.
Believing that teaching children to speak English prepares them for schooling, mothers talk and insist this foreign language to their kids. Babies are greeted in English and while they grow up they have a pool of English vocabulary. And what about the dialect? It's slowly displaced because of nonuse.
Igorots, just like other tribe members don't stay in their huts forever. They migrate to other nations taking with them their identity. They live with foreign people and speak their language. They give birth to babies who will soon adapt to their new home and will soon speak English or the dominating language in that area.
I observed some trends outside my hometown. People of similar dialects communicate with each other in another dialect. Many times in my travel to Bontoc I encountered neighbors speaking to Bontoc vendors in Ilocano. When I was standing with MPSPC students in a building patio I heard them communicating in Ilocano and Tagalog for a whole hour. I guessed one was from Sagada and the other from a distant town and speaking in a more dominant dialect will help them express their ideas. I found out one is from Ambasing, Sagada and the other from Sabangan. Close neighbors. I wasn't able to guess their intonations because they blended neutrally. I asked if they grew up in their native barrios and "Of course!" was the reply. See? It's not even "Wen"!
The congregation in my church can't read the Kankanaey Bible properly. They react, " Aye dan aped mensigab nan kabasaan nan kali tako!" ( Why, it's difficult to read in our own dialect"!)
There was one time I heard a young lady speaking in English to her young sibling and the kid blurted out " Aaaa adyak amu!" (Aaaa I don't know!") Her sister said, " Shhh it's bad to speak in Igorot!" Doesn't that hurt?
A lot of times I would use deep Kankaney terms to communicate with fellow Igoys specially to those who were brought up in Ilocano. They would ask what do I mean then it ends there. They are not interested to know more.
As an advocate of the dialect, I speak in Kankanaey if I have the slightest thought that I'm facing an Igorot. As foreseen, they reply in the dialect and the conversation becomes normal and homely. I would challenge 'evolved' Igoys to a solid Kankanaey conversation and often times I'm the one challenged. I lose but I'm fulfilled. My goal is to see what percent is the igorot in them and it's always a victory..but I don't know how inclined are they to preserve their identity.
I guess you will begin to agree and start to observe more..
While our Kankanaey is speeding towards being a mixed dialect, there are struggles to keep it genuine. There are a lot of Igorots out there promoting indigenous awareness. I will just mention two. Our very own Mauricio Domogan. He's a proud Igorot native upholding the Igorot native attire, the "wanes" or G-string. Is there another public servant who prided his identity through this "ginnalot ay lupot"? Yes, there was Alfredo Gayagay Lam-en! There's also Mr. Isikias Picpican, an advocate for the preservation and promotion of Cordilleran Culture and Tradition.
We can also name an unending list of National and International Igorot Organizations. I will highlight the OFW ANTS (Ankileng-Nacagang-Taccong-Suyo ) Association found in every igorot-infected (!)countries. It's members hail from the four barangays mentioned. There are also Igorot cultural dance troupes like the CCPG (Cordillera Cultural Performing Group) where I was an inactive member (!) and a new comer "DANUM" ( water), a group of promising teenagers.
The famous 'Igorotak ' t-shirts! Congratulations to the person who had this original idea of printing this ethnospecific term on the t-shirt that was just a piece of cloth! Now, donning this shirt is more than saying "I am an Igorot!". In Sagada, a famous scenic municipality in Mountain Province, the idea of imprinting pictures or images of anything endemic to Sagada started in the days of publicizing Eduardo Masferre's photo collection. Before "Igorotak" found its niche on meaningless t-shirts, there were, and still are, shirt collections embedded with antiquities and artifacts. Now, not only shirts were igorotized. A lot of local shops in the Cordillera sells clothings and accessories that are very Igorot! Isn't this a wonderful medium of slowing the inevitability of our identity extinction? Awesome Igorots!
I have seen some websites owned by Igorots. The site names are in the dialect, which makes the igorot viewer 'at home'. I expected the contents to be pro-igorots and of course they are. The only missing thing I always fail to find is that which is WRITTEN IN FULL KANKANAEY. I would envy other nationalities because they really mazimize their sites to be full ethnospecific. They write in their own alphabets and if they can't they do so in their languages. If I could write in our Alibata I will do so. I know you would ask, "Why then are your blogs in English?" Well, I expect non-Kankanaey readers. Who knows, they will also campaign against their dialect extinction?
I'm inviting you to this site. If you have articles you want to publish in Kankanaey please you are needed!
That was tooooo long and still I want to write more.I will leave the rest to you. The term "Kankanaey" is not extinct. It's not even endangered, but the dialect itself is getting modified. A lot of terms are extinct already and some are endangered of becoming so. I mentioned the flow and the trend above. Inevitable? If so then "kankanaey" will not be spoken anymore in many years to come. It will be read in history books. So..,let's build a lot of information about this topic so that history will have a lot of it! (yee-ha!)
