The Politics of Language in OPM
Last September 1, 2007, at the Nepo Quadrangle, Angeles City, San Miguel Beer, Kikoman Productions, and the Angeles City Tourism Office held a Battle of the Bands. In the event, the host said something that praises “Pampangueno Rock” (in Tagalog), and ironically, Kapampangan is never used in rock.
Some argue that anything produced by a Kapampangan is already Kapampangan music. Well, this is what they want us to think. I call most bands “Kapampangan People who make non-Kapampangan songs.”
And then the host also said something like (the host speaks mostly in Tagalog, by the way), “give the Pampangueno rockers a chance to play with national rock musicians (who are, duh, mostly Tagalog musicians.”
Isn’t it insulting and amazing at the same time, that we are placed inferior to our co-Filipino musicians, yet we feel as if nothing is wrong? This is because the ideology that we are REGIONAL/unofficial and they are NATIONAL/official has been injected in our brains. We have internalized downgrading ourselves as Kapampangans, to the point that the enemy is no longer the national language policy or the domination of Tagalog in mass media but OURSELVES.
Katimauan para king sariling Amanu!
Para king Bulan ning Amanu, yayampang ke ining makuyad kung kauatasan e pemagatan kung MÁNUKLUAN. Para ya ini karing anggang Kapampangan a kayanakan a mengaparusan king iskuela iniang gagamitan de ing sarili rang Amanu king kilub ning silid-aralan.
[For the Language Month, I present this short poem the title of which is SQUATTER. This I dedicate to all the Kapampangan children who got punished at school for speaking their own language inside the classroom.]
Kailangan da nang abalu ring anggang Pilipinu king meto yatu na e kailangan ing paten ta ra ring aliuang amanu keti Pilipinas ban mung mikamasikan a bangsa.
[It's high time that all Filipinos around the world know that we don't have to kill our linguistic diversity in the Philippines just to uphold a strong nation.]
Misasanmetung king pamimialiua!
[Unity in diversity!]
MÁNUKLUAN
[Squatter]
neng Jason Paul Laxamana
Oyta i Ginang Nacionalista
Ngana king ulaga ning salita
“Ang `di ma-al ang sariling wika
Masa-ol pa sa malansang isda”
Ita kanu’ng amanu nang Pepe
Inia mag-Filipinu king bale
Sibuknan, oneng dipan-ning-alti!
E pa rin asalikut ing gege
[There goes Mrs. Nacionalista
She stated regarding the importance of language,
"Ang `di ma-al ang sariling wika
Masa-ol pa sa malansang isda"
That's what Rizal said, she asserted
So we should speak Filipino (Tagalog) at home
I tried, but God-damn-it!
I can't hide my native accent]
