Lope K. Santos
Encyclopedia
Lope K. Santos was a Tagalog language
writer from the Philippines
. Aside from being a writer, he was also a lawyer, politician, critic, labor leader and considered as "Father of the Filipino
Grammar". He was a freemason.
, Philippines
(now a part of Metro Manila
) - as Lope C. Santos - to Ladislao Santos and Victoria Canseco, both natives of Rizal province. He used Kanseko instead of Canseco for his middle name to show his nationalism. During his time, the letter C
had begun falling out of use in favor of the letter K
in the Tagalog alphabet
. Santos studied at Escuela Normal Superior de Maestros (Normal Superior School of Teachers) and Escuela de Derecho (Law School); and got his Bachelor of Arts degree in Colegio Filipino (Filipino College). He became an expert in dupluhan, a popular poetical debate competition in his time, which can be compared to balagtasan, a similar contest but with shorter discourse.
In 1900, he served as editor on publications written in Tagalog, such as Muling Pagsilang (Rebirth) and Sampaguita, which he founded. Through Philippine President
Manuel L. Quezon
, he was appointed as director of the Surian ng Wikang Pambansa (National Language Institute).
from 1910 to 1913, and governor of Nueva Vizcaya
from 1918 to 1920. During the 5th Philippine Legislature
, he also served as Senator in the Twelfth District
under the Nacionalista Party
.
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...
writer from the Philippines
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...
. Aside from being a writer, he was also a lawyer, politician, critic, labor leader and considered as "Father of 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:...
Grammar". He was a freemason.
In the field of literature
Santos was born in Pasig, RizalPasig City
The City of Pasig is one of the city municipalities of Metro Manila in the Philippines and was the former capital of the province of Rizal prior to the formation of this grouping of cities designated as the National Capital Region...
, Philippines
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...
(now a part of Metro Manila
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...
) - as Lope C. Santos - to Ladislao Santos and Victoria Canseco, both natives of Rizal province. He used Kanseko instead of Canseco for his middle name to show his nationalism. During his time, the letter C
C
Ĉ or ĉ is a consonant in Esperanto orthography, representing the sound .Esperanto orthography uses a diacritic for all four of its postalveolar consonants, as do the Latin-based Slavic alphabets...
had begun falling out of use in favor of the letter K
K
K is the eleventh letter of the English and basic modern Latin alphabet.-History and usage:In English, the letter K usually represents the voiceless velar plosive; this sound is also transcribed by in the International Phonetic Alphabet and X-SAMPA....
in the Tagalog alphabet
Abakada
The Abakada alphabet is an indigenized Latin alphabet of the Tagalog language of the Philippines. The alphabet, which contains 20 letters, was created by Lope K. Santos in 1940. The alphabet was officially adopted by the Institute of National Language for Filipino...
. Santos studied at Escuela Normal Superior de Maestros (Normal Superior School of Teachers) and Escuela de Derecho (Law School); and got his Bachelor of Arts degree in Colegio Filipino (Filipino College). He became an expert in dupluhan, a popular poetical debate competition in his time, which can be compared to balagtasan, a similar contest but with shorter discourse.
In 1900, he served as editor on publications written in Tagalog, such as Muling Pagsilang (Rebirth) and Sampaguita, which he founded. Through Philippine President
President of the Philippines
The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...
Manuel L. Quezon
Manuel L. Quezon
Manuel Luis Quezón y Molina served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. He was the first Filipino to head a government of the Philippines...
, he was appointed as director of the Surian ng Wikang Pambansa (National Language Institute).
Political career
Santos became governor of Rizal provinceRizal
Rizal is a province located in the CALABARZON , just 16 kilometers east of Manila. The province was named after the country's national hero, José Rizal. Rizal Governor Casimiro A. Ynares III on June 17, 2008 announced the transfer of the Capitol from Pasig. Its P 270-million capitol building,...
from 1910 to 1913, and governor of Nueva Vizcaya
Nueva Vizcaya
Nueva Vizcaya is a province of the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region in Luzon. Its capital is Bayombong. It is bordered by, clockwise from the north, Ifugao, Isabela, Quirino, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, and Benguet.-History, people and culture:The name was derived from the...
from 1918 to 1920. During the 5th Philippine Legislature
5th Philippine Legislature
The Fifth Philippine Legislature was the meeting of the legislature of the Philippines under the sovereign control of the United States from 1919 to 1922.-Philippine Senate:-House of Representatives:-See also:*Congress of the Philippines...
, he also served as Senator in the Twelfth District
Senatorial districts of the Philippines
The Senatorial districts of the Philippines were the representations of the provinces of the Philippines in the Philippine Senate from 1916 to 1935.-History:...
under the Nacionalista Party
Nacionalista Party
The Nacionalista Party is the oldest political party in the Philippines today and was responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the 20th century since its founding in 1907...
.
Personal life
On February 10, 1900, Santos married Simeona Salazar and they had 5 children. He had an operation for his liver disease but later died in May 1, 1963. Santos' last request on his deathbed was to make Tagalog a National Language of the Philippines.Works
The works of Santos include the following:- Balarila ng Wikang Pambansa (National Language Grammar)
- Banaag at SikatBanaag at SikatBanaag at Sikat or From Early Dawn to Full Light is one of the first literary novels written by Filipino author Lope K. Santos in the Tagalog language in 1906. As a book that was considered as the "Bible of working class Filipinos", the pages of the novel revolves around the life of Delfin, his...
, a novelNovelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
See also
- Norberto RomualdezNorberto RomuáldezNorberto Romuáldez y López was a Philippine writer, politician, jurist, and statesman. He was the first Lopez-Romuáldez to attain national prominence, and is deemed the "Father of the Law on the National Language"...