Teach Pangasinan, not preserve it.
Sonny Villafania
13 Aug 2007
Re: Pangasinan college graduates as “one of the most unfit for employment” worldwide.
Sir Jun Velasco, certainly the governor will not junk English. On the other hand, we should NOT merely preserve the Pangasinan language. It should be taught in schools.
Many studies have shown children do better if they get a basic education in their own language or mother tongue. [Educ. Today Newsletter, Jul-Sep 2003]
I write in Pangasinan and I don’t want to see my language as library and museum pieces in the near future. Heck, I want it to flourish like the English language. I want Pangasinan language and literature be at par with other major Philippine languages if not at par with other Asian languages. “Mother tongue education and multilingualism are increasingly accepted around the world and speaking one’s own language is more and more a right. International Mother Language Day proclaimed in 1999 by UNESCO and marked on 21 February each year, is one example. Encouraging education in the mother tongue, alongside bilingual or multilingual education, is one of the principles set out by UNESCO in a new position paper. On top of this, languages are now regarded as an integral part of a people’s identity, as shown in the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001), which recognizes the importance of languages in promoting cultural diversity.”
No say RP et 30 years behind Malaysia say Pangasinan a century behind laut la’y salita tayo.
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