Our archipelagic nation is rich in culture that is as diverse as our islands. It is home to many indigenous communities that also have their own language.
In fact, the Philippines has 175 living indigenous languages, according to the Ethnologue, which categorizes these languages based on their level of vitality. Among the 175 that are still living, 20 are “institutional,” those that are used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community; the 100 that are considered “stable” are not being sustained by formal institutions, but are still the norm in the home and community that children continue to learn and use; while 55 are considered “endangered,” or no longer the norm that children learn and use.
There are two languages that are already “extinct.” This means that they are no longer used and no one retains a sense of ethnic identity associated with these languages. I wonder what happened to the culture and traditional knowledge that are associated with those languages. We can only hope that they have been documented enough even just to be part of our history and culture books.
If we fail to preserve and promote the 55 endangered languages in our country, it won’t be long before they become extinct as well.
There are international conventions related to indigenous language rights that the Philippines has adopted throughout the decades. These can support programs that can give renewed vitality to languages that are already endangered. One of these is the Convention against Discrimination in Education (CDE), which the country adopted in 1964.
The CDE is the first legally binding international instrument that recognizes education as a human right. It has a provision that recognizes the rights of national minorities, such as indigenous groups, to have their own education activities, including the use or the teaching of their own language.
Another agreement that the Philippines adopted in 1986 is the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which seeks to protect civil and political rights including freedom from discrimination. One specific provision promotes the rights of ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities “to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language.”
The Philippines is also a signatory to the Convention for the Safeguarding of _the Intangible Cultural Heritage (CSICH) in 2006, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2008.
The CSICH aims to safeguard intangible cultural heritage (ICH) mainly by bringing awareness in a local, national and international domain, establishing respect for the practices of the communities, and providing cooperation and assistance on an international level. The Convention states that intangible cultural heritage is manifested through, among others, oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the ICH.
Meanwhile, the UNDRIP is a landmark agreement that has been instrumental in protecting the rights of indigenous peoples “to live in dignity, to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions and to pursue their self-determined development, in keeping with their own needs and aspirations.”
Lastly, the UNCRPD reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of expression and opinion, which must be supported by state parties through inclusive measures, such as accepting and facilitating the use of sign languages, among others.
In line with this, one of the 175 living indigenous languages in the Philippines is the Filipino Sign Language (FSL), which is used as a first language by deaf people of all ages.
While it is noteworthy that we have agreed to these conventions, it needs to be emphasized that adopting these international agreements is only our starting point. Equally crucial is honoring our commitments. We must be more proactive in utilizing these agreements to strengthen our programs and policies toward the preservation and promotion of all the living languages in the Philippines, especially those that are already endangered. We must also look into and take part in other international conventions that can be instrumental in our fight to save our languages.