Filipino women writers
Encyclopedia
The history of Filipino women writers is an account of how Philippine women
became literary “mistresses of the ink” and “lady pen-pushers” who created works of fiction
or factual and historical
story
book
s, poetry
, novels, short stories
, essays, biographies, autobiographies and other known writing genres. Writing in English
, Spanish
, Filipino
and other local languages and native dialects
, female writers from the Philippine archipelago utilized literature, in contrast with the oral tradition
of the past, as the living voices of their personal experiences, thoughts, consciousness, concepts of themselves, society, politics, Philippine and world history
. They employed the “power of the pen” and the printed word in order to shatter the so-called "Great Grand Silence of the Centuries" of Filipino female members, participants, and contributors to the progress and development of the Philippine Republic
, and consequently the rest of the world. Filipino women authors have “put pen to paper” to present, express, and describe their own image and culture to the world, as they see themselves.
Among the principal influences to the Filipina image of herself and to her writings include four women in Philippine history, namely: Gabriela Silang
, Leonor Rivera
, Imelda Marcos
and Corazon Aquino
. Often mentioned in Philippine literature, these four represents the struggle, perception and character of how it is to be a woman in Philippine society. Gabriela Silang was a katipunera
or a revolutionary – a representation of female bravery – who fought against the Spanish colonialism in the 18th century. Silang was a contrast to the chaste and religiously devout image of the Filipino lady as portrayed by Jose Rizal through his Spanish-language novels, Noli Me Tangere
and El Filibusterismo
. Within the pages of these novels of the 19th century, Rizal depicted Leonor Rivera - a girlfriend of his - through the fictional character of Maria Clara
as the epitome of virtue, the ideal Filipina. Then there was the arrival of Imelda Marcos
– the “beauty queen… dictator’s wife… the power-seeking kind of a woman…” – and then there was the advent and the rise of Corazon C. Aquino, the first woman president in Asia
and the Philippines – the elected 1986 replacement of a male despot, Ferdinand Marcos
. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
, after two male presidents (Fidel V. Ramos
and Joseph Estrada
, respectively), followed the footsteps of Corazon Aquino into becoming a leader and political figure of an Asian nation.
In later years of modern-day Philippine literature, from the 1960s to the 1980s, feminism
became the focus of Philippine women writers – first in poetry and then prose – in order to break away from what is termed as the “Great Grand Silence of the Centuries”. The creation of an image unique to themselves – through their own individual efforts – became the norm. There were criticisms against the Maria Clara image portrayed by the Philippine paladin, José Rizal, as well as critiques and female disapproval of how Filipino men writers wrote about women. Contemporary feminist female writers were also inclined towards breaking away from the traditional, idealized and typecast image of Filipina women of the past, being matriarchal mystics, and figures that perform sacrifices, undergo suffrage and works of martyrdom which were expected from their pious upbringing. Women writers also passed judgment against the typical portrayal of women as sex symbols. Among the first lady writers to break away from the old style and genre exemplified in the works of past female writers such as Paz Latorena's traditional "teachings" about the ideal Filipina was the feminist poet, Marjorie Evasco
. Other women writers like Kerima Polotan Tuvera
, Rosario Cruz Lucero, Ligaya Victorio-Reyes and Jessica Zafra
even stepped forward to boldly make it a “fashion” to discuss aspects of womanhood that were previously regarded as taboo
in Philippine society, such as subjects about female
anatomy
, erotica
, divorce
or separation
from former husbands, abortion
, premarital affairs
, and childless marriages. An example is the 1992 publication of Forbidden Fruit, a bilingual volume combining Filipino and English language works of women.
and U.S. military personnel in the islands beginning the early 20th century. Thus, only the elite class of society – those known as the Ilustrados – preferred the use of Spanish rather than enhance and develop the native ancient scripts
(baybayin
), languages and dialects. Filipinos of both genders were able to obtain school and learning opportunites resulting to being educated in the English-language and a high literacy rating for a developing country like the Philippines. However, despite of this advantage, grants and similar forms of funding were not immediately available to Philippine writers, for both men and women. But in turn, in contrast to this lack of pecuniary support for writers, many works in the Filipiniana
style proliferated and were written dominantly in Philippine English
, but fewer however in the local maternal languages.
During the four-year Japanese occupation of the Philippines
during the Second World War, the Japanese delivered the concept of “Asia to Asians,” an idea that halted the proliferation of English as the language of literature in the Philippines, because it sparked the publication and media broadcasts by means of the exclusive use of the vernacular or the “childhood languages” of Filipinos. This Japanese contribution to the Filipino’s linguistic enlightenment reawakened the already existing move towards uplifting the status of the local languages as forms of literary expression prior to the introduction and propagation of English in the Filipino archipelago. The common “languages of childhood” of the Filipinos, in general, include Tagalog
, Visayan, Hiligaynon
, Cebuano
and Ilocano, among others.
Still, despite of the Filipino’s reawakening to their “languages of childhood”, the status of the English language returned and elevated. This rejuvenation was due in part to the spread of English-based Philippine magazines, in conjunction with the publication of serial “romantic and melodramatic” novels by women writers who wrote in their “mother tongue” through the pages of comics
and magazines such as Liwayway
, Bannawag
, Bulaklak, Aliwan and Tagumpay.
The competition between the use of English and Filipino as main modes of communication was unrelenting even after the end of World War II, the proclamation of Philippine Independence in 1946, and the official adoption of Filipino as a second official language other than English in 1987. The persistence of this competitive phenomenon had been accounted for the economic, military and cultural association of the Philippines to the United States, the encouragement of the use of English in combination with the dialects in schools and universities, and also the need to gain a larger audience of readership. As a result, bilingualism - and even multilingualism
- became the linguistic style and norm.
, their formative years, married life, employment; culture
, beliefs, religion, rituals and tradition, womanhood, livelihood, family and motherhood, the duties of a female spouse; periods in history such as the Second World War, the war for Vietnam
, the presence of the American military bases
, nationalistic ideals and questions of cultural identity, the Marcos despotism, the EDSA revolution
of 1986; poverty
, prostitution
, the effects of globalization
and pollution
, volunteer work, and the need to migrate
for economic survival
.
s, and had the right to divorce husbands. In this sense, the Philippines was very similar to Spain, where the highest power was bestowed upon a woman. Both the founder of the Spanish nation (Isabella I of Castile
and the highest ruler of Spain and the Philippines during the last times of the Spanish colonization (Isabella II of Spain
) were women and had absolute powers to lead the future of the nation.
Isabella II introduced the Education Decree of 1863 (10 years before Japan had a compulsory free modern public education and 40 years before the United States government started a free modern public school system in the Philippines) that provided for the establishment of at least two free primary schools, one for boys and another for girls, in each town under the responsibility of the municipal government. That put the Philippines way ahead in offering education for women in Asia, even ahead of some European countries.
Leona Florentino
, a female poet who was the product of that public education system during the final moments of the 19th century, is now regarded as the "founder of women's literature" in the Philippines.
against the governing Spaniards, although less prominently than their male counterparts. Among their role and contributions were “to influence” the state of affairs of an “emerging republic” and to claim equal opportunity in education, which includes learning the Spanish-language. An inspiring group of women who debated against and pushed for the eradication of discriminatory laws, particularly the right to be educated in schools, was the so-called “21 women from Malolos, Bulacan
". Another would be Leona Florentino
(1849–1884), who eventually became “the mother of Philippine women's literature”, and who was also regarded as the conduit from “oral to literary tradition”. Born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur
, Florentino was a poetess of Ilustrado
background who wrote in Ilocano and Spanish. Her poems were recognized in Europe
in 1889 following her untimely death.
education system. Both men and women were able to study in schools, colleges, universities such as the University of the Philippines
. Women were gradually beginning to regain equal footing with men, as it was during precolonial times. Both genders were able to publish works in their newly adopted language. During this European-Hispanic to Anglo-American linguistic transition, among the women who became active in creating Philippine literature in English were Paz Marquez Benitez, Paz M. Latorena, Estrella Alfon
, Angela Manalang-Gloria
, Genoveva Edroza-Matute, Loreto Paras-Sulit
, Lilledeshan Bose, Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo
, and Lina Espina-Moore
. Most of these literary pioneers also wrote simultaneously in the vernacular, although there were also those who became defiant and wrote exclusively in their mother tongue. An example of which was Magdalena Jalandoni
, a Hiligaynon
-language writer who was able to produce volumes of manuscripts. Among Jalandoni’s 24 Hiligaynon novels, two were translated into English. Those who excelled in both English and their local lingua franca was Lina Espina Moore, who became known as a forefront promoter of Cebuano literature
. Moore's 1968 novel, Heart of the Lotus was the first Cebuano novel in the English language. Filipino women authors also became active pariticipants in the development of Philippine media.
and Liwayway Arceo
. There were also published manuscripts that confer personal familiarity with events that occurred during the four-year long Japanese period such as those achieved by Estrella Alfon
, Maria Luna Lopez, and Rosa Henson
.
and Ninotchka Rosca
. Anti-Marcos movements, the “fiery texts” of writers, the People Power movement or the 1986 Edsa Revolution dislodged the despot from the seat of power, and was replaced by an elected first woman president, Corazon C. Aquino.
The destinations of journeying migrant settlers were North America
- primarily the United States
– and Europe
, Australia
, Arab nations, Japan
, Singapore
and other Asian countries
. In general, this “Great Migration” of Filipinos created “films, novels, short stories, poetry and comics” in the Philippines that portrayed wayfarers as economic heroes and heroines of the country.
Yet there were still some of those who chose to remain, instead of abandoning the Philippines, as in the case of Lilledeshan Bose; and there were also home-comers who, after traveling and staying abroad, returned to stay permanently, such as Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo. Other authors of “migrant literature” are Marianne Villanueva, Nadine Sarreal and Edessa Ramos.
In addition, the Filipino settlers who founded Filipino communities in the United States of America triggered the generation of Filipino-American literature such as the works of female novelist Jessica Hagedorn
. Migrant Filipino writers Linda Ty-Casper and Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
stayed in the U.S., publishing for both Philippine and American readers.
, and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, among other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the Philippines. Outside the country, there is the Philippine-Finnish Society in Helsinki
, Finland
.
Samples of published Filipino women literature are Comfort Woman: Slave of Destiny by Rosa Henson
published by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and Tulikärpänen - filippiiniläisiä novelleja or Firefly: Writings by Various Authors (Firefly: Filipina Short Stories) by Riitta Vartti sponsored by the Philippine-Finnish Society. Another non-governmental human rights organization publication is She Said No!, an anthology
of stories.
The Ateneo Library of Women’s Writings - a part of the Rizal Library at the Ateneo de Manila University and the first of its kind in Philippines - facilitates the collection, archiving, preservation, and promotion of Filipino women literature about and written by Filipino women. The program includes the acquisition of related photographic material, and literary promotion are held through lectures, exhibitions, publications and book launchings. ALIWW holds the annual Paz Marquez-Benitez Memorial Lectures, a series of lectures established to honor Paz Marquez-Benitez
who is considered as the “matriarch of Filipino writers in English”. This special program also assists in bringing to light Filipino women who excel in vernacular writings.
Women in the Philippines
The role of women in the Philippines is explained based on the context of Filipino culture, standards, and mindsets. The Philippines is described to be a nation of strong women, who directly and indirectly run the family unit, businesses, government agencies and haciendas.Although they generally...
became literary “mistresses of the ink” and “lady pen-pushers” who created works of fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
or factual and historical
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
story
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s, poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, novels, short stories
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
, essays, biographies, autobiographies and other known writing genres. Writing in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Filipino
Filipino language
This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...
and other local languages and native dialects
Philippine languages
The Philippine languages are a 1991 proposal by Robert Blust that all the languages of the Philippines and northern Sulawesi—except Sama–Bajaw and a few languages of Palawan—form a subfamily of Austronesian languages...
, female writers from the Philippine archipelago utilized literature, in contrast with the oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
of the past, as the living voices of their personal experiences, thoughts, consciousness, concepts of themselves, society, politics, Philippine and world history
World History
World History, Global History or Transnational history is a field of historical study that emerged as a distinct academic field in the 1980s. It examines history from a global perspective...
. They employed the “power of the pen” and the printed word in order to shatter the so-called "Great Grand Silence of the Centuries" of Filipino female members, participants, and contributors to the progress and development of the Philippine Republic
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and consequently the rest of the world. Filipino women authors have “put pen to paper” to present, express, and describe their own image and culture to the world, as they see themselves.
Image and influence
Gabriela Silang
María Josefa Gabriela Cariño Silang was the wife of the Ilocano insurgent leader, Diego Silang. Following Diego's assassination in 1763, she led the group for four months before she was captured and executed....
, Leonor Rivera
Leonor Rivera
Leonor Rivera–Kipping was the childhood sweetheart, first cousin, and “lover by correspondence” of Philippine national hero José Rizal. Rivera was the “greatest influence” in preventing Rizal from falling in love with other women while Rizal was traveling outside the Philippines...
, Imelda Marcos
Imelda Marcos
Imelda R. Marcos is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986...
and Corazon Aquino
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
. Often mentioned in Philippine literature, these four represents the struggle, perception and character of how it is to be a woman in Philippine society. Gabriela Silang was a katipunera
Katipunan
The Katipunan was a Philippine revolutionary society founded by anti-Spanish Filipinos in Manila in 1892, whose primary aim was to gain independence from Spain through revolution. The society was initiated by Filipino patriots Andrés Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa, and others on the night...
or a revolutionary – a representation of female bravery – who fought against the Spanish colonialism in the 18th century. Silang was a contrast to the chaste and religiously devout image of the Filipino lady as portrayed by Jose Rizal through his Spanish-language novels, Noli Me Tangere
Noli Me Tangere (novel)
Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino polymath José Rizal and first published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. Early English translations used titles like An Eagle Flight and The Social Cancer, but more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title.Though originally written in...
and El Filibusterismo
El filibusterismo
El filibusterismo , also known by its English alternate title The Reign of Greed, is the second novel written by Philippine national hero José Rizal. It is the sequel to Noli Me Tangere and like the first book, was written in Spanish. It was first published in 1891 in Ghent, Belgium...
. Within the pages of these novels of the 19th century, Rizal depicted Leonor Rivera - a girlfriend of his - through the fictional character of Maria Clara
María Clara
María Clara, whose full name is María Clara de los Santos, Rizal also described her as Inang Pilipinas is the mestiza heroine in Noli Me Tangere, a novel by José Rizal, the national hero of the Republic of the Philippines...
as the epitome of virtue, the ideal Filipina. Then there was the arrival of Imelda Marcos
Imelda Marcos
Imelda R. Marcos is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986...
– the “beauty queen… dictator’s wife… the power-seeking kind of a woman…” – and then there was the advent and the rise of Corazon C. Aquino, the first woman president in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and the Philippines – the elected 1986 replacement of a male despot, Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
, after two male presidents (Fidel V. Ramos
Fidel V. Ramos
Fidel "Eddie" Valdez Ramos , popularly known as FVR, was the 12th President of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. During his six years in office, Ramos was widely credited and admired by many for revitalizing and renewing international confidence in the Philippine economy.Prior to his election as...
and Joseph Estrada
Joseph Estrada
Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada was the 13th President of the Philippines, serving from 1998 until 2001. Estrada was the first person in the Post-EDSA era to be elected both to the presidency and vice-presidency.Estrada gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role in over 100 films in...
, respectively), followed the footsteps of Corazon Aquino into becoming a leader and political figure of an Asian nation.
In later years of modern-day Philippine literature, from the 1960s to the 1980s, feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
became the focus of Philippine women writers – first in poetry and then prose – in order to break away from what is termed as the “Great Grand Silence of the Centuries”. The creation of an image unique to themselves – through their own individual efforts – became the norm. There were criticisms against the Maria Clara image portrayed by the Philippine paladin, José Rizal, as well as critiques and female disapproval of how Filipino men writers wrote about women. Contemporary feminist female writers were also inclined towards breaking away from the traditional, idealized and typecast image of Filipina women of the past, being matriarchal mystics, and figures that perform sacrifices, undergo suffrage and works of martyrdom which were expected from their pious upbringing. Women writers also passed judgment against the typical portrayal of women as sex symbols. Among the first lady writers to break away from the old style and genre exemplified in the works of past female writers such as Paz Latorena's traditional "teachings" about the ideal Filipina was the feminist poet, Marjorie Evasco
Marjorie Evasco
Marjorie Evasco is an award- winning Filipino poet, born in Maribojoc, Bohol on September 21, 1953. She writes in two languages: English and Cebuano-Visayan and is a supporter of women's rights, especially of women writers...
. Other women writers like Kerima Polotan Tuvera
Kerima Polotan Tuvera
Kerima Polotan Tuvera was a Filipino author.-Early life:Born in Jolo, Sulu, she was christened Putli Kerima. Her father was an army colonel, and her mother taught home economics...
, Rosario Cruz Lucero, Ligaya Victorio-Reyes and Jessica Zafra
Jessica Zafra
Jessica Zafra is a fiction writer, columnist, editor, publisher and former television and radio show host. She is known for her sharp and witty writing style...
even stepped forward to boldly make it a “fashion” to discuss aspects of womanhood that were previously regarded as taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
in Philippine society, such as subjects about female
Woman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
anatomy
Human anatomy
Human anatomy is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy is the study of anatomical structures that can be seen by the naked eye...
, erotica
Erotica
Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...
, divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
or separation
Legal separation
Legal separation is a legal process by which a married couple may formalize a de facto separation while remaining legally married. A legal separation is granted in the form of a court order, which can be in the form of a legally binding consent decree...
from former husbands, abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, premarital affairs
Fornication
Fornication typically refers to consensual sexual intercourse between two people not married to each other. For many people, the term carries a moral or religious association, but the significance of sexual acts to which the term is applied varies between religions, societies and cultures. The...
, and childless marriages. An example is the 1992 publication of Forbidden Fruit, a bilingual volume combining Filipino and English language works of women.
Language and education
Contrary to the treatment received by Filipinos during the Spanish colonialists’ period, education of the Philippine citizenry was prioritized during the times of American occupation, such as the activities of the ThomasitesThomasites
The Thomasites is a group of about five hundred pioneer American teachers sent by the U.S. government to the Philippines in August 1901.-Foundation, purpose and etymology:...
and U.S. military personnel in the islands beginning the early 20th century. Thus, only the elite class of society – those known as the Ilustrados – preferred the use of Spanish rather than enhance and develop the native ancient scripts
Baybayin
Baybayin , is a pre-Spanish Philippine writing system. It is a member of the Brahmic family and is recorded as being in use in the 16th century...
(baybayin
Baybayin
Baybayin , is a pre-Spanish Philippine writing system. It is a member of the Brahmic family and is recorded as being in use in the 16th century...
), languages and dialects. Filipinos of both genders were able to obtain school and learning opportunites resulting to being educated in the English-language and a high literacy rating for a developing country like the Philippines. However, despite of this advantage, grants and similar forms of funding were not immediately available to Philippine writers, for both men and women. But in turn, in contrast to this lack of pecuniary support for writers, many works in the Filipiniana
Filipiniana
Filipiniana, based on the definition by Isagani Medina from “Collection Building: Filipiniana,” in his In Developing Special Library Collections, Filipiniana: Proceedings , refers to Philippine-related books and non-book materials...
style proliferated and were written dominantly in Philippine English
Philippine English
Philippine English is the variety of English used in the Philippines by the media and the vast majority of educated Filipinos. English is taught in schools as one of the two official languages of the country, the other being Filipino, a standardized version of Tagalog.English is used in education,...
, but fewer however in the local maternal languages.
During the four-year Japanese occupation of the Philippines
Japanese occupation of the Philippines
The Japanese occupation of the Philippines was the period in the history of the Philippines between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan occupied the previously American-controlled Philippines during World War II....
during the Second World War, the Japanese delivered the concept of “Asia to Asians,” an idea that halted the proliferation of English as the language of literature in the Philippines, because it sparked the publication and media broadcasts by means of the exclusive use of the vernacular or the “childhood languages” of Filipinos. This Japanese contribution to the Filipino’s linguistic enlightenment reawakened the already existing move towards uplifting the status of the local languages as forms of literary expression prior to the introduction and propagation of English in the Filipino archipelago. The common “languages of childhood” of the Filipinos, in general, include Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
, Visayan, Hiligaynon
Hiligaynon language
Hiligaynon, often referred to as Ilonggo, is an Austronesian language spoken in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines.Hiligaynon is concentrated in the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Capiz but is also spoken in the other provinces of the Panay Island group, including Antique,...
, Cebuano
Cebuano language
Cebuano, referred to by most of its speakers as Bisaya , is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 20 million people mostly in the Central Visayas. It is the most widely spoken of the languages within the so-named Bisayan subgroup and is closely related to other Filipino...
and Ilocano, among others.
Still, despite of the Filipino’s reawakening to their “languages of childhood”, the status of the English language returned and elevated. This rejuvenation was due in part to the spread of English-based Philippine magazines, in conjunction with the publication of serial “romantic and melodramatic” novels by women writers who wrote in their “mother tongue” through the pages of comics
Komiks
Comics in the Philippines were partially inspired by American mainstream comic strips and comic books during the early 20th century, particularly after World War II, the medium became widespread and popular throughout the country, though its popularity has subsided somewhat with the advent of...
and magazines such as Liwayway
Liwayway
Liwayway is a leading Tagalog weekly magazine published in the Philippines since 1922. It contains Tagalog serialized novels, short stories, poetry, serialized comics, essays, news features, entertainment news and articles, and many others. In fact, it is the oldest Tagalog magazine in the...
, Bannawag
Bannawag
Bannawag is a Philippine weekly magazine published in the Philippines by Liwayway Publications Inc. It contains serialized novels/comics, short stories, poetry, essays, news features, entertainment news and articles, among others, that are written in Ilokano, a language common in the northern...
, Bulaklak, Aliwan and Tagumpay.
The competition between the use of English and Filipino as main modes of communication was unrelenting even after the end of World War II, the proclamation of Philippine Independence in 1946, and the official adoption of Filipino as a second official language other than English in 1987. The persistence of this competitive phenomenon had been accounted for the economic, military and cultural association of the Philippines to the United States, the encouragement of the use of English in combination with the dialects in schools and universities, and also the need to gain a larger audience of readership. As a result, bilingualism - and even multilingualism
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
- became the linguistic style and norm.
Themes, character, and genre
Literature penned by women authors in the Philippines embark upon the many realities and faces of Filipino society: the gap and the friction between the rich and the peasantry, personal experiences and dilemmas, love storiesRomance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
, their formative years, married life, employment; culture
Culture of the Philippines
Philippine culture is related to Micronesian, Bornean, Mexican and Spanish cultures. The people today are mostly of Malayo-Polynesian origin, although there are people with Spanish, Mexican, Austro-Melanesian and Chinese blood. Geographically, the Philippines is considered part of Southeast Asia...
, beliefs, religion, rituals and tradition, womanhood, livelihood, family and motherhood, the duties of a female spouse; periods in history such as the Second World War, the war for Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, the presence of the American military bases
Philippines-United States relations
Philippines – United States relations are bilateral relations between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America.- Overview :...
, nationalistic ideals and questions of cultural identity, the Marcos despotism, the EDSA revolution
EDSA Revolution
The EDSA Revolution may refer to three events in Philippine history referring to popular political upheavals occurring in the EDSA highway:*People Power Revolution of 1986 that toppled the administration of Ferdinand Marcos after allegations of widespread cheating in the 1986 presidential...
of 1986; poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
, the effects of globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
and pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
, volunteer work, and the need to migrate
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
for economic survival
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
.
Historical background
- Main articles: Women in the PhilippinesWomen in the PhilippinesThe role of women in the Philippines is explained based on the context of Filipino culture, standards, and mindsets. The Philippines is described to be a nation of strong women, who directly and indirectly run the family unit, businesses, government agencies and haciendas.Although they generally...
and History of the PhilippinesHistory of the PhilippinesThe history of the Philippines is believed to have begun with the arrival of the first humans via land bridges at least 30,000 years ago. The first recorded visit from the West is the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan, who sighted Samar on March 16, 1521 and landed on Homonhon Island southeast of Samar...
.
Precolonial to Spanish colonization
Prior to the surge of Spanish conquerors and colonizers, Filipino women were already creating and recording poetry using perishable materials such as banana leaves. Indigenous Filipino women were also singing tribal songs, at a time when they were of equal status to their male counterparts. They could own property, become rulers themselves in place of the men, act as ritual leaders or babaylanBabaylan
Babaylan is a Visayan term identifying an indigenous Filipino religious leader, who functions as a healer, a shaman, a seer and a community "miracle-worker"...
s, and had the right to divorce husbands. In this sense, the Philippines was very similar to Spain, where the highest power was bestowed upon a woman. Both the founder of the Spanish nation (Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...
and the highest ruler of Spain and the Philippines during the last times of the Spanish colonization (Isabella II of Spain
Isabella II of Spain
Isabella II was the only female monarch of Spain in modern times. She came to the throne as an infant, but her succession was disputed by the Carlists, who refused to recognise a female sovereign, leading to the Carlist Wars. After a troubled reign, she was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of...
) were women and had absolute powers to lead the future of the nation.
Isabella II introduced the Education Decree of 1863 (10 years before Japan had a compulsory free modern public education and 40 years before the United States government started a free modern public school system in the Philippines) that provided for the establishment of at least two free primary schools, one for boys and another for girls, in each town under the responsibility of the municipal government. That put the Philippines way ahead in offering education for women in Asia, even ahead of some European countries.
Leona Florentino
Leona Florentino
Leona Florentino was a Filipino poet in the Spanish and Ilocano languages. She is considered as the "mother of Philippine women's literature" and the "bridge from oral to literary tradition"....
, a female poet who was the product of that public education system during the final moments of the 19th century, is now regarded as the "founder of women's literature" in the Philippines.
Revolution against Spain
During the final stages of the 19th century, Filipino women participated in the nationwide revoltPhilippine Revolution
The Philippine Revolution , called the "Tagalog War" by the Spanish, was an armed military conflict between the people of the Philippines and the Spanish colonial authorities which resulted in the secession of the Philippine Islands from the Spanish Empire.The Philippine Revolution began in August...
against the governing Spaniards, although less prominently than their male counterparts. Among their role and contributions were “to influence” the state of affairs of an “emerging republic” and to claim equal opportunity in education, which includes learning the Spanish-language. An inspiring group of women who debated against and pushed for the eradication of discriminatory laws, particularly the right to be educated in schools, was the so-called “21 women from Malolos, Bulacan
Bulacan
Bulacan , officially called the Province of Bulacan or simply Bulacan Province, is a first class province of the Republic of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Region in the island of Luzon, north of Manila , and part of the Metro...
". Another would be Leona Florentino
Leona Florentino
Leona Florentino was a Filipino poet in the Spanish and Ilocano languages. She is considered as the "mother of Philippine women's literature" and the "bridge from oral to literary tradition"....
(1849–1884), who eventually became “the mother of Philippine women's literature”, and who was also regarded as the conduit from “oral to literary tradition”. Born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur
Ilocos Sur
Ilocos Sur is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Vigan City, located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the provincial capital...
, Florentino was a poetess of Ilustrado
Ilustrado
The Ilustrados constituted the Filipino educated class during the Spanish colonial period in the late 19th century....
background who wrote in Ilocano and Spanish. Her poems were recognized in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 1889 following her untimely death.
American interlude
From the onset of the early years of the "benevolent" American occupation of the Philippine archipelago – after Spain lost control of the islands through war and opted to sell its Asian colony to the U.S. – the ambience was approving to the publication of vernacular literature which included the abundance of local magazines. Parallel to this, the United States of America established an English-based publicPublic
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individuals, and the public is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the Öffentlichkeit or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science,...
education system. Both men and women were able to study in schools, colleges, universities such as the University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
. Women were gradually beginning to regain equal footing with men, as it was during precolonial times. Both genders were able to publish works in their newly adopted language. During this European-Hispanic to Anglo-American linguistic transition, among the women who became active in creating Philippine literature in English were Paz Marquez Benitez, Paz M. Latorena, Estrella Alfon
Estrella Alfón
Estrella D. Alfon was a well-known Filipina author who wrote almost exclusively in English. As a Filipino writer, Estrella Alfon lived her life of being a prolific writer who hailed from Cebu. Because of unwavering and poor health, she could manage only an A. A. degree from the University of the...
, Angela Manalang-Gloria
Angela Manalang-Gloria
Angela Manalang-Gloria was a Filipina poet in the English language.-Early life:Angela Caridad Legaspi Manalang was born on August 2, 1907 in Guagua, Pampanga to parents, Felipe Dizon Manalang and Tomasa Legaspi . However, their family later settled in the Bicol region, particularly in Albay...
, Genoveva Edroza-Matute, Loreto Paras-Sulit
Loreto Paras-Sulit
Loreto Paras-Sulit was a Filipino writer best known for her English-language short stories.-Biography:Paras-Sulit was born in Ermita, Manila. After finishing her secondary education in Manila, she entered the University of the Philippines, where she first gained notice for her short fiction. While...
, Lilledeshan Bose, Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo
Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo
Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo is an award-winning Filipina fictionist, critic and pioneering writer of creative nonfiction....
, and Lina Espina-Moore
Lina Espina-Moore
Lina Espina-Moore was a Cebuano writer.She was born in Toledo, Cebu, the fifth child and second daughter of Yrinea Regner and Gerundio Espina. Her formative academic years were spent at the Cebu Central School and at the Cebu Intermediate High School...
. Most of these literary pioneers also wrote simultaneously in the vernacular, although there were also those who became defiant and wrote exclusively in their mother tongue. An example of which was Magdalena Jalandoni
Magdalena Jalandoni
Magdalena Gonzaga Jalandoni was a Filipino feminist writer. She is now remembered as one of the most prolific Filipino writers in the Hiligaynon language...
, a Hiligaynon
Hiligaynon language
Hiligaynon, often referred to as Ilonggo, is an Austronesian language spoken in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines.Hiligaynon is concentrated in the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Capiz but is also spoken in the other provinces of the Panay Island group, including Antique,...
-language writer who was able to produce volumes of manuscripts. Among Jalandoni’s 24 Hiligaynon novels, two were translated into English. Those who excelled in both English and their local lingua franca was Lina Espina Moore, who became known as a forefront promoter of Cebuano literature
Cebuano literature
Cebuano literature refers to the literary works written in Cebuano, a language widely spoken in the southern Philippines. The term is most often extended to cover the oral literary forms in both indigenous and colonial Philippines....
. Moore's 1968 novel, Heart of the Lotus was the first Cebuano novel in the English language. Filipino women authors also became active pariticipants in the development of Philippine media.
Japanese intervention
As discussed, during World War II, the Japanese were able to influence and encourage the Philippine literati in developing the vernacular literature, in parallel existence with the English language introduced by the Americans through public education. The impact of this fellow-Asian intervention lingered through and survived after the Philippines achieved the status of a freely governing Republic. Exemplars are the Philippine-language works written by Lualhati BautistaLualhati Bautista
Lualhati Torres Bautista is one of the foremost Filipino female novelists in the history of contemporary Philippine Literature. Her novels include Dekada '70, Bata, Bata, Pa'no Ka Ginawa?, and ‘GAPÔ....
and Liwayway Arceo
Liwayway Arceo
Liwayway A. Arceo was a multi-awarded Tagalog fictionist, journalist, radio scriptwriter and editor from the Philippines.Arceo authored a number of well-received novels, such as Canal de la Reina and Titser...
. There were also published manuscripts that confer personal familiarity with events that occurred during the four-year long Japanese period such as those achieved by Estrella Alfon
Estrella Alfón
Estrella D. Alfon was a well-known Filipina author who wrote almost exclusively in English. As a Filipino writer, Estrella Alfon lived her life of being a prolific writer who hailed from Cebu. Because of unwavering and poor health, she could manage only an A. A. degree from the University of the...
, Maria Luna Lopez, and Rosa Henson
Rosa Henson
Maria Rosa Luna Henson or "Lola Rosa" was the first Filipina to tell the world of her story as a comfort woman for the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.-Her story:...
.
Marcos and Martial Law years
The 20-year authoritarian rule of Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s brought forth literary themes of cultural revolution, social awakening and political consciousness, reinvigorated nationalism, opinionated movements and protests, disapproval of the patriarchal society, and mass migration. Women writers began writing about the situations of female domestic helpers and slum dwellers employing their skills in both the vernacular and English. The purpose of writing also in the native language was to stimulate, educate and awaken consciousness of the citizenry. Many writers were either “detained, tortured,” or “killed.” Among the women who became writers of this societal, political and activist genre were Gilda Cordero-FernandoGilda Cordero-Fernando
Gilda Cordero-Fernando is a multiawarded writer, publisher and cultural icon from the Philippines. She was born in Manila, has a B.A. from St...
and Ninotchka Rosca
Ninotchka Rosca
Ninotchka Rosca is a Filipina feminist, author, journalist and human rights activist who is active in AF3IRM , the Mariposa Center for Change , Sisterhood is Global and the initiating committee of the MARIPOSA ALLIANCE , a multi-racial, multi-ethnic women's activist center for understanding the...
. Anti-Marcos movements, the “fiery texts” of writers, the People Power movement or the 1986 Edsa Revolution dislodged the despot from the seat of power, and was replaced by an elected first woman president, Corazon C. Aquino.
Modern-day challenges and status
Filipino women have been receiving recognition and support from non-governmental organizations, libraries, and other publishers, but despite the efforts of these organizations and the writers themselves there are challenges that still confront Filipino women’s literary career. These include literary commercialism that prevents women writers from becoming parallel with so-called "esteemed authors", the struggle for additional acknowledgment of their status as writers, and obstacles related to economics.Migrant literature
One aspect of Filipino women writings includes the production of the so-called “migratory literature,” an account of how and why women had to leave their country in order to excel and express themselves through pen and print. In the 1930s, Filipino women authors opted to travel after obtaining the liberty to do so, and for other reasons such as the lack of a grant system within the confines of a developing country and the “resistance of a patriarchal society”. But the exodus of Filipino female writers during the 1970s differed in purpose from that of the 1930s, because they left the country to survive economically and escape government persecution. One of the first voyager-writers was Paz Latorena.The destinations of journeying migrant settlers were North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
- primarily the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
– and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Arab nations, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and other Asian countries
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. In general, this “Great Migration” of Filipinos created “films, novels, short stories, poetry and comics” in the Philippines that portrayed wayfarers as economic heroes and heroines of the country.
Yet there were still some of those who chose to remain, instead of abandoning the Philippines, as in the case of Lilledeshan Bose; and there were also home-comers who, after traveling and staying abroad, returned to stay permanently, such as Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo. Other authors of “migrant literature” are Marianne Villanueva, Nadine Sarreal and Edessa Ramos.
In addition, the Filipino settlers who founded Filipino communities in the United States of America triggered the generation of Filipino-American literature such as the works of female novelist Jessica Hagedorn
Jessica Hagedorn
Jessica Tarahata Hagedorn is a Filipino-American playwright, writer, poet, storyteller, musician, and multimedia performance artist.-Biography:...
. Migrant Filipino writers Linda Ty-Casper and Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard is a Filipina author of fiction based in California, U.S.A.. She was born in Cebu, Philippines, attended St. Theresa's College in Cebu and in San Marcelino, Manila. She also went to Maryknoll College in Quezon City from 1964 to 1968, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts...
stayed in the U.S., publishing for both Philippine and American readers.
Recognition and support
Present-day associations that support, endorse, publish and collect works of Filipino women writers include the Ateneo Library of Women’s Writings (ALIWW) of the Ateneo de Manila UniversityAteneo de Manila University
The Ateneo de Manila University is a private teaching and research university run by the Society of Jesus in the Philippines. It began in 1859 when the City of Manila handed control of the Escuela Municipal de Manila in Intramuros, Manila, to the Jesuits...
, and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, among other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the Philippines. Outside the country, there is the Philippine-Finnish Society in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
Samples of published Filipino women literature are Comfort Woman: Slave of Destiny by Rosa Henson
Rosa Henson
Maria Rosa Luna Henson or "Lola Rosa" was the first Filipina to tell the world of her story as a comfort woman for the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.-Her story:...
published by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and Tulikärpänen - filippiiniläisiä novelleja or Firefly: Writings by Various Authors (Firefly: Filipina Short Stories) by Riitta Vartti sponsored by the Philippine-Finnish Society. Another non-governmental human rights organization publication is She Said No!, an anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of stories.
The Ateneo Library of Women’s Writings - a part of the Rizal Library at the Ateneo de Manila University and the first of its kind in Philippines - facilitates the collection, archiving, preservation, and promotion of Filipino women literature about and written by Filipino women. The program includes the acquisition of related photographic material, and literary promotion are held through lectures, exhibitions, publications and book launchings. ALIWW holds the annual Paz Marquez-Benitez Memorial Lectures, a series of lectures established to honor Paz Marquez-Benitez
Paz Márquez-Benítez
-Biography:Born in 1894 in Lucena City, Quezon, Marquez - Benítez authored the first Filipino modern English-language short story, Dead Stars, published in the Philippine Herald in 1925. Born into the prominent Marquez family of Quezon province, she was among the first generation of Filipinos...
who is considered as the “matriarch of Filipino writers in English”. This special program also assists in bringing to light Filipino women who excel in vernacular writings.
See also
- Women in the PhilippinesWomen in the PhilippinesThe role of women in the Philippines is explained based on the context of Filipino culture, standards, and mindsets. The Philippines is described to be a nation of strong women, who directly and indirectly run the family unit, businesses, government agencies and haciendas.Although they generally...
- Literature of the PhilippinesLiterature of the PhilippinesPhilippine literature is the literature associated with the Philippines and includes the legends of prehistory, and the colonial legacy of the Philippines, written in both Indigenous, and Hispanic languages. Most of the notable literature of the Philippines was written during the Spanish period and...
- History of the PhilippinesHistory of the PhilippinesThe history of the Philippines is believed to have begun with the arrival of the first humans via land bridges at least 30,000 years ago. The first recorded visit from the West is the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan, who sighted Samar on March 16, 1521 and landed on Homonhon Island southeast of Samar...
- Timeline of Philippine historyTimeline of Philippine historyThis is a timeline of Philippine history. To know more about the background of these events, re-read the history of the Philippines article. For the country, see Philippines.-Pre-historic:* 500,000 BC - The early humans in the Cagayan cave...
- The ThomasitesThomasitesThe Thomasites is a group of about five hundred pioneer American teachers sent by the U.S. government to the Philippines in August 1901.-Foundation, purpose and etymology:...
- Philippine EnglishPhilippine EnglishPhilippine English is the variety of English used in the Philippines by the media and the vast majority of educated Filipinos. English is taught in schools as one of the two official languages of the country, the other being Filipino, a standardized version of Tagalog.English is used in education,...
- Philippine literature in EnglishPhilippine literature in EnglishPhilippine literature in English has its roots in the efforts of the United States, then engaged in a war with Filipino nationalist forces at the end of the 19th century. By 1901, public education was institutionalized in the Philippines, with English serving as the medium of instruction. That...
- List of countries where English is an official language
- List of countries by English-speaking population
External links
- Filippiinit-seura ry Finnish-Philippine Society (official website, navigation page)
- Finnish-Philippine Society (official website, main page)