Philippine literature in English
Encyclopedia
Philippine 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 year, around 600 educators in the S.S. Thomas (the "Thomasites
") to replace the soldiers who had been serving as the first teachers. Outside the academe, the wide availability of reading materials, such as books and newspapers in English, helped Filipinos
assimilate the language quickly. Today, 52% of the population can understand or speak English (see List of countries by English-speaking population).
However, the beginnings of anything resembling a professional market for writing in English would not be realized until the 1920s with the founding of other newspapers and magazines like the Philippines Herald in 1920, the Philippine Education Magazine in 1924 (renamed Philippine Magazine in 1928), and later the Manila Tribune, the Graphic, Woman’s Outlook, and Woman’s Home Journal. The publications helped introduce the reading public to the works of Paz Marquez Benitez, (Jose Garcia Villa), Loreto Paras, and Casiano Calalang, among others. Cash incentives were given to writers in 1921 when the Free Press started to pay for published contributions and awarded P1,000 for the best stories. The organization in 1925 of the Philippine Writers Association and in 1927 of the University of the Philippines National Writers Workshop, which put out the Literary Apprentice, also helped encourage literary production. In 1939, the Philippine Writers League was put up by politically conscious writers, intensifying their debate with those in the "art for art’s sake" school of Villa.
Among the significant publications of this fertile period were:
Dramatic writing took a backseat due to the popularity of Filipino vaudeville (bodabil) and Tagalog movies, although it was kept alive by the playwright Wilfredo Ma. Guerrero.
, when Tagalog
was favored by the Japanese military
authority, writing in English was consigned to limbo, since most of the English writers are forced to write in Tagalog or joined in the underground and write English stories based on the battles to serve as propaganda pieces in boosting the morale of the guerrillas. It picked up after the war, however, with a fervor and drive for excellence that continue to this day. Stevan Javellana
’s "Without Seeing the Dawn" (1947), the first postwar novel in English, was published in the United States
. In 1946, the Barangay Writers Project was founded to help publish books in English.
Against a background marked by political unrest and government battles with Hukbalahap
guerrillas, writers in English in the postwar period honed their sense of craft and techniques. Among the writers who came into their own during this time were, among many others:
Fresh from studies in American universities, usually as Fulbright or Rockefeller
scholars, a number of these writers introduced New Criticism
to the country and applied its tenets in literature classes and writing workshops. In this way were born the Silliman National Writers Workshop
.
to Salvador P. Lopez for "Literature and Society" (essay), Manuel Arguilla
for "How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife and Other Stories" (short story), R. Zulueta da Costa
for "Like the Molave" (poetry), and Juan C. Laya for "His Native Soil" (novel).
Government recognition of literary merit came in the form of the Republic Cultural Heritage Awards (1960), the Pro Patria Awards for Literature (1961), and the National Artist Awards
(1973). Only the last of these three awards survives today. Writers in English who have received the National Artist award include: Jose Garcia Villa
(1973), Nick Joaquin (1976), Carlos P. Romulo
(1982), Francisco Arcellana
(1990), N. V. M. Gonzalez
, Rolando Tinio (1997), Edith L. Tiempo
, (2000), F. Sionil José (2003), and Bienvenido Lumbera
(2006).
A select group of local writers have also received the international Magsaysay Award, namely, F. Sionil José
, Nick Joaquin
and Bienvenido Lumbera
.
Poets include:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, then engaged in a war with Filipino nationalist forces
Philippine-American War
The Philippine–American War, also known as the Philippine War of Independence or the Philippine Insurrection , was an armed conflict between a group of Filipino revolutionaries and the United States which arose from the struggle of the First Philippine Republic to gain independence following...
at the end of the 19th century. By 1901, public education was institutionalized in 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...
, with English serving as the medium of instruction. That year, around 600 educators in the S.S. Thomas (the "Thomasites
Thomasites
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:...
") to replace the soldiers who had been serving as the first teachers. Outside the academe, the wide availability of reading materials, such as books and newspapers in English, helped Filipinos
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
assimilate the language quickly. Today, 52% of the population can understand or speak English (see List of countries by English-speaking population).
The Commonwealth Period
The founding of Silliman University by Presbyterian missionaries and the Philippine Normal School (PNS) in 1901 and the University of the Philippines (U.P.) in 1908, as well as of English newspapers like the Daily Bulletin 1900, The Cablenews 1902, and the Philippines Free Press 1905, helped boost the spread of English. The first ten years of the century witnessed the first verse and prose efforts of Filipinos in student publications such as The Filipino Students’ Magazine first issue, 1905, a short-lived quarterly published in Berkeley, California, by Filipino pensionados (or government scholars); the U.P. College Folio (first issue, 1910); The Coconut of the Manila High School (first issue, 1912); and The Torch of the PNS (first issue, 1913).However, the beginnings of anything resembling a professional market for writing in English would not be realized until the 1920s with the founding of other newspapers and magazines like the Philippines Herald in 1920, the Philippine Education Magazine in 1924 (renamed Philippine Magazine in 1928), and later the Manila Tribune, the Graphic, Woman’s Outlook, and Woman’s Home Journal. The publications helped introduce the reading public to the works of Paz Marquez Benitez, (Jose Garcia Villa), Loreto Paras, and Casiano Calalang, among others. Cash incentives were given to writers in 1921 when the Free Press started to pay for published contributions and awarded P1,000 for the best stories. The organization in 1925 of the Philippine Writers Association and in 1927 of the University of the Philippines National Writers Workshop, which put out the Literary Apprentice, also helped encourage literary production. In 1939, the Philippine Writers League was put up by politically conscious writers, intensifying their debate with those in the "art for art’s sake" school of Villa.
Among the significant publications of this fertile period were:
- Filipino Poetry (1924) by Rodolfo Dato;
- English-German Anthology of Filipino Poets (1934) by Pablo Laslo;
- Jose Garcia VillaJosé García VillaJose Garcia Villa was a Filipino poet, literary critic, short story writer, and painter. He was awarded the National Artist of the Philippines title for literature in 1973, as well as the Guggenheim Fellowship in creative writing by Conrad Aiken...
’s Many Voices (1939) and Poems of Doveglion (1941); - Poems (1940) by Angela Manalang-GloriaAngela Manalang-GloriaAngela 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...
; - Chorus for America: Six Philippine Poets (1942) by Carlos BulosanCarlos BulosanAlso known as Julius Zafra , a Filipino, an English-language novelist and poet who spent most of his life in the United States, and is best known for the semi-autobiographical America Is in the Heart.-Life and career:Carlos Bulosan was born to Ilocano parents in...
; - Zoilo Galang’s A Child of SorrowA Child of SorrowA Child of Sorrow is a 1921 novel by Zoilo Galang. It is considered the first Philippine novel written in the English language. Critics have suggested that the novel was heavily influenced by the sentimentalism of the Tagalog prose narratives of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries....
(1921), the first Filipino novel in English, and Box of Ashes and Other Stories (1925), the first collection of stories in book form; - Villa’s Footnote to Youth: Tales of the Philippines and Others (1933);
- "The Wound and the Scar" (1937) by Arturo Rotor, a collection of stories;
- "Winds of April" (1940) by N. V. M. GonzalezN. V. M. GonzálezNéstor Vicente Madali González was a Filipino writer.-Biography:He was born on 8 September 1915 in Romblon, Philippines. González, however, was raised in Mansalay, a southern town of the Philippine province of Oriental Mindoro. González was a son of a school supervisor and a teacher...
; - "His Native Soil" (1941) by Juan C. Laya;
- Manuel ArguillaManuel ArguillaManuel Estabillo Arguilla was an Ilokano writer in English, patriot, and martyr.He is known for his widely anthologized short story "How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife," the main story in the collection "How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife and Other Short Stories" which won first prize in...
’s "How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife and Other Stories" (1941); - Galang’s "Life and Success" (1921), the first volume of essays in English; and
- the influential "Literature and Society" (1940) by Salvador P. LópezSalvador P. LópezSalvador Ponce Lopez, born in Currimao, Ilocos Norte, was an Ilokano writer, journalist, educator, diplomat, and statesman....
.
Dramatic writing took a backseat due to the popularity of Filipino vaudeville (bodabil) and Tagalog movies, although it was kept alive by the playwright Wilfredo Ma. Guerrero.
The Post-war period
During the Japanese occupationJapanese 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....
, when 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...
was favored by the Japanese military
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
authority, writing in English was consigned to limbo, since most of the English writers are forced to write in Tagalog or joined in the underground and write English stories based on the battles to serve as propaganda pieces in boosting the morale of the guerrillas. It picked up after the war, however, with a fervor and drive for excellence that continue to this day. Stevan Javellana
Stevan Javellana
Stevan Javellana was a Filipino novelist and short-story writer in the English language. He is also known as Esteban Javellana.-Biography:...
’s "Without Seeing the Dawn" (1947), the first postwar novel in English, was published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 1946, the Barangay Writers Project was founded to help publish books in English.
Against a background marked by political unrest and government battles with Hukbalahap
Hukbalahap
The Hukbalahap , was the military arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines , formed in 1942 to fight the Japanese Empire's occupation of the Philippines during World War II. It fought a second war from 1946 to 1954 against the pro-Western leaders of their newly independent country...
guerrillas, writers in English in the postwar period honed their sense of craft and techniques. Among the writers who came into their own during this time were, among many others:
- T. D. Agcaoili
- Estrella Alfon
- Carlos Angeles
- Francisco ArcellanaFrancisco ArcellanaFrancisco "Franz" Arcellana was a Filipino writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist and teacher. He was born on September 16, 1916. Arcellana already had ambitions of becoming a writer during his years in the elementary. His actual writing, however, started when he became a member of The Torres...
- Gregorio C. BrillantesGregorio C. BrillantesGregorio C. Brillantes, a Palanca Award Hall of Famer and a multi-awarded fiction writer, is one of the Philippines' most popular writers in English....
- Carlos BulosanCarlos BulosanAlso known as Julius Zafra , a Filipino, an English-language novelist and poet who spent most of his life in the United States, and is best known for the semi-autobiographical America Is in the Heart.-Life and career:Carlos Bulosan was born to Ilocano parents in...
- Linda Ty CasperLinda Ty CasperLinda Ty Casper is a Filipino writer who has published over fifteen books, including the historical novel DreamEden and the political novels Awaiting Trespass, Wings of Stone, A Small Party in a Garden, and Fortress in the Plaza...
- Gilda Cordero-FernandoGilda Cordero-FernandoGilda Cordero-Fernando is a multiawarded writer, publisher and cultural icon from the Philippines. She was born in Manila, has a B.A. from St...
- Amador Daguio
- jansen allen abanes
- Ricaredo Demetillo
- N. V. M. GonzalezN. V. M. GonzálezNéstor Vicente Madali González was a Filipino writer.-Biography:He was born on 8 September 1915 in Romblon, Philippines. González, however, was raised in Mansalay, a southern town of the Philippine province of Oriental Mindoro. González was a son of a school supervisor and a teacher...
- Sinai C. Hamada
- Alejandrino Hufana
- Dominador Ilio
- Nick JoaquinNick JoaquínNicomedes Márquez Joaquín was a Filipino writer, historian and journalist, best known for his short stories and novels in the English language. He also wrote using the pen name Quijano de Manila...
- F. Sionil JoséF. Sionil JoséF. Sionil José or in full Francisco Sionil José is one of the most widely-read Filipino writers in the English language. His novels and short stories depict the social underpinnings of class struggles and colonialism in Filipino society...
- Virginia Moreno
- Vicente Rivera Jr.
- Alejandro R. Roces
- Bienvenido SantosBienvenido SantosBienvenido N. Santos was a Filipino-American fictionist, poet and nonfiction writer. He was born and raised in Tondo, Manila. His family roots are originally from Lubao, Pampanga, Philippines...
- Abelardo and Tarrosa Subido
- Edilberto K. TiempoEdilberto K. TiempoEdilberto Kaindong Tiempo , also known as E.K. Tiempo, was a Filipino writer and professor. He and his wife, Edith L. Tiempo, are credited by Silliman University with establishing "a tradition in excellence in creative writing and the teaching of literacy craft which continues to this day" at that...
- Kerima Polotan TuveraKerima Polotan TuveraKerima 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...
- Manuel A. Viray
- Oscar de Zuñiga
Fresh from studies in American universities, usually as Fulbright or Rockefeller
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
scholars, a number of these writers introduced New Criticism
New Criticism
New Criticism was a movement in literary theory that dominated American literary criticism in the middle decades of the 20th century. It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of literature functioned as a self-contained, self-referential aesthetic...
to the country and applied its tenets in literature classes and writing workshops. In this way were born the Silliman National Writers Workshop
Silliman National Writers Workshop
The Silliman National Writers Workshop was founded by the late Edilberto K. Tiempo and National Artist for Literature Edith L. Tiempo of Silliman University...
.
Literary awards and competitions
In 1940, the first Commonwealth Literary Awards were given by President Manuel L. QuezonManuel 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...
to Salvador P. Lopez for "Literature and Society" (essay), Manuel Arguilla
Manuel Arguilla
Manuel Estabillo Arguilla was an Ilokano writer in English, patriot, and martyr.He is known for his widely anthologized short story "How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife," the main story in the collection "How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife and Other Short Stories" which won first prize in...
for "How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife and Other Stories" (short story), R. Zulueta da Costa
R. Zulueta da Costa
Rafael Zulueta da Costa is a Filipino poet. He uses the name R. Zulueta da Costa as a writer, and Rafael Zulueta as a businessman.He was a graduate of De La Salle College where he specialized in business administration. He began writing poems in Spanish and later he also wrote in English...
for "Like the Molave" (poetry), and Juan C. Laya for "His Native Soil" (novel).
Government recognition of literary merit came in the form of the Republic Cultural Heritage Awards (1960), the Pro Patria Awards for Literature (1961), and the National Artist Awards
National Artist of the Philippines
A National Artist of the Philippines is a title given to a Filipino who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts...
(1973). Only the last of these three awards survives today. Writers in English who have received the National Artist award include: Jose Garcia Villa
José García Villa
Jose Garcia Villa was a Filipino poet, literary critic, short story writer, and painter. He was awarded the National Artist of the Philippines title for literature in 1973, as well as the Guggenheim Fellowship in creative writing by Conrad Aiken...
(1973), Nick Joaquin (1976), Carlos P. Romulo
Carlos P. Rómulo
Carlos Peña Rómulo was a Filipino diplomat, politician, soldier, journalist and author. He was a reporter at 16, a newspaper editor by the age of 20, and a publisher at 32...
(1982), Francisco Arcellana
Francisco Arcellana
Francisco "Franz" Arcellana was a Filipino writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist and teacher. He was born on September 16, 1916. Arcellana already had ambitions of becoming a writer during his years in the elementary. His actual writing, however, started when he became a member of The Torres...
(1990), N. V. M. Gonzalez
N. V. M. González
Néstor Vicente Madali González was a Filipino writer.-Biography:He was born on 8 September 1915 in Romblon, Philippines. González, however, was raised in Mansalay, a southern town of the Philippine province of Oriental Mindoro. González was a son of a school supervisor and a teacher...
, Rolando Tinio (1997), Edith L. Tiempo
Edith L. Tiempo
Edith L. Tiempo , poet, fiction writer, teacher and literary critic was a Filipino writer in the English language.Tiempo was born in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya...
, (2000), F. Sionil José (2003), and Bienvenido Lumbera
Bienvenido Lumbera
Bienvenido Lumbera is a prizewinning poet, critic and dramatist from the Philippines.He is a National Artist of the Philippines and a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communications...
(2006).
A select group of local writers have also received the international Magsaysay Award, namely, F. Sionil José
F. Sionil José
F. Sionil José or in full Francisco Sionil José is one of the most widely-read Filipino writers in the English language. His novels and short stories depict the social underpinnings of class struggles and colonialism in Filipino society...
, Nick Joaquin
Nick Joaquín
Nicomedes Márquez Joaquín was a Filipino writer, historian and journalist, best known for his short stories and novels in the English language. He also wrote using the pen name Quijano de Manila...
and Bienvenido Lumbera
Bienvenido Lumbera
Bienvenido Lumbera is a prizewinning poet, critic and dramatist from the Philippines.He is a National Artist of the Philippines and a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communications...
.
Contemporary Writers
Despite the lack of a professional writer's market, poetry and fiction in English continue to thrive and be written with sophistication and insight. Among the fictionists of recent years are:- Dean Francis AlfarDean Francis AlfarDean Francis Alfar , is a Filipino playwright, novelist and writer of speculative fiction. His plays have been performed in venues across the country, while his articles and fiction have been published both in his native Philippines and abroad, such as in Strange Horizons, Rabid Transit, The...
- Cecilia Manguerra BrainardCecilia Manguerra BrainardCecilia 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...
- Linda Ty CasperLinda Ty CasperLinda Ty Casper is a Filipino writer who has published over fifteen books, including the historical novel DreamEden and the political novels Awaiting Trespass, Wings of Stone, A Small Party in a Garden, and Fortress in the Plaza...
- Ian CasocotIan CasocotIan Rosales Casocot is a creative writer and journalist from Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, Philippines. He is known for his prizewinning short stories Old Movies, The Hero of the Snore Tango, Rosario and the Stories, and A Strange Map of Time...
- Erwin Castillo
- Jose Dalisay, Jr.José Dalisay, Jr.Jose Y. Dalisay Jr. is a Filipino writer. He has won numerous awards and prizes for fiction, poetry, drama, nonfiction and screenplay, including 16 Palanca Awards.-Early life and education:Dalisay was born in Romblon in 1954...
- Antonio Enriquez
- Eric Gamalinda
- Vicente Garcia Groyon
- Amadis Ma. Guerrero
- F. Sionil JoséF. Sionil JoséF. Sionil José or in full Francisco Sionil José is one of the most widely-read Filipino writers in the English language. His novels and short stories depict the social underpinnings of class struggles and colonialism in Filipino society...
- Luis Joaquin Katigbak
- Ma. Francezca Kwe
- Angelo Rodriguez Lacuesta
- Susan Lara
- Jaime An Lim
- Issh Gajo
- Rosario Cruz Lucero
- Renato Madrid
- Resil MojaresResil MojaresResil Mojares is a Filipino literature professor, historian and critic. He has a Ph.D. in Literature from the University of the Philippines. He is retired as Professor at the University of San Carlos in Cebu City...
- Timothy Montes
- Wilfredo Nolledo
- Charlson Ong
- Ninotchka Rosca
- Menchu Aquino Sarmiento
- Lakambini Sitoy
- Katrina Tuvera
- Alfred A. Yuson
- Jessica Zafra
Poets include:
- Gemino AbadGémino AbadGémino Henson Abad is a poet and critic from Cebu, Philippines. His family moved to Manila when his father, Antonio Abad, was offered professorships at Far Eastern University and the University of the Philippines. He earned his B.A. English from the University of the Philippines in 1964 and Ph.D....
- Alexis Abola
- Merlie Alunan
- Cirilo BautistaCirilo BautistaCirilo F. Bautista is a multi-awarded Filipino poet, fictionist, critic and writer of nonfiction. He received his basic education from Legarda Elementary School and Mapa High School . He received his degrees in AB Literature from the University of Santo Tomas , MA Literature from St...
- Salvador Bernal
- José Wendell CapiliJosé Wendell Capiliis a writer and academic from the Philippines. He earned degrees from the University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines, University of Tokyo , University of Cambridge and Australian National University...
- Elsa Coscoluella
- Ricardo de Ungria
- Lourd Ernest De Veyra
- Ophelia Alcantara DimalantaOphelia Alcantara DimalantaOphelia Alcantara Dimalanta was a poet, editor, author, and teacher. One of the country's most respected writers, Dimalanta published several books of poetry, criticism, drama, and prose and edited various literary anthologies. In 1999, she received Southeast Asia's highest literary honor, the S.E.A...
- Simeon Dumdum, Jr.Simeon Dumdum, Jr.Simeon Dumdum, Jr. is a Regional Trial Court Executive Judge in Cebu City, The Philippines, and a published poet. He once studied for the priesthood in Galway, Ireland, but left the seminary to take up law. After years of practicing law, he was appointed Regional Trial Court judge in Cebu...
- Federico Licsi Espino Jr.
- Marjorie EvascoMarjorie EvascoMarjorie 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...
- J. Neil C. Garcia
- Ramil Digal Gulle
- Ma. Luisa Igloria
- Mookie Katigbak
- Marne Kilates
- Emmanuel Lacaba
- Paolo ManaloPaolo ManaloPaolo Manalo is a Filipino poet who teaches at the College of Arts and Letters, University of the Philippines. For a time he served as the literary editor of the Philippines Free Press....
- Danton RemotoDanton RemotoDanton R. Remoto, Ph.D. is a Filipino writer, essayist, reporter, editor, columnist, and professor. Remoto was a first prize recipient at the ASEAN Letter-Writing Contest for Young People. The award made Remoto a scholar at the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. As a professor,...
- Angelo Suarez
- Ramon Sunico
- Anthony Tan
- Joel Toledo
- Emmanuel Torres
- Naya Valdellon
External links
- "Summit Books home page"
- Linh DinhLinh DinhLinh Dinh is a Vietnamese-American poet, fiction writer, translator, and photographer. He was a 1993 Pew Fellow.-Biography:...
interviewing Marianne Villanueva about *contemporary Philippine poetry
See also
- 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...
- Philippine Literature in SpanishPhilippine Literature in SpanishPhilippine literature in Spanish is a body of literature made by Filipino writers in the Spanish language. Today, this corpus is the third largest in the whole corpus of Philippine literature . It is slightly larger than the Philippine literature in the vernacular languages...
- Philippine Literature in FilipinoPhilippine Literature in Filipino-Notable Literary Works in Philippine languages:Florante at Laura, by Francisco Balagtas.-Availability of literature in Filipino outside of the Philippines:...
- 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,...
- List of countries where English is an official language
- List of countries by English-speaking population