The Philippine Linguistics Congress (PLC) for this year has gone virtual due to the COVID-19 situation.
Now on its 14th year, PLC was streamed live on the official page (
) and channel () of the UP Department of Linguistics from August 24 to 27.
Prof. Jem R. Javier, department chair, remarked that although the face-to-face gathering with its perks of 鈥渢he smell of good brewed coffee, a hearty 鈥榣ugaw鈥 for breakfast, luncheon comparable to a wedding reception, cute tote bags,鈥 was greatly missed, a positive outcome of going virtual is that the 鈥渃onference has been accessible to as many audience members as possible.鈥
The 14th PLC was held together with Linguistics Month, celebrating the 99th founding anniversary of the UP Department of Linguistics.
In her message to the participants, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy dean, Prof. Maria Bernadette L. Abrera, PhD, said 鈥渓anguage, and significantly its study, provides us an insight into the human historical experience, human knowledge, and behavior that we wish to understand. The papers that you will find here will be a record of this human experience that we hope to deepen our awareness of ourselves.鈥
Axis relationships. The 14th PLC had Prof. R. David Zorc, PhD, as plenary speaker; he discussed his research 鈥淎xis Relationships in the Philippines 鈥 When Traditional Subgrouping Falls Short.鈥
According to Zorc, as early as 1972, he found innovations 鈥渢hat did not belong to any specific subgroup, but had crossed linguistic boundaries to form an 鈥榓xis.鈥欌 He noted that this term is related to German 鈥楽prachbund,鈥 鈥榥etwork,鈥 and 鈥榣inkage.鈥
In his paper鈥檚 abstract, Zorc said his study discusses at least a dozen axis relationships throughout the Philippines.
鈥淥ut of over 6,700 etyma in the Zorc Data Sheets, 285 represent axis relationships.聽 This is less than 4 percent, so they do not undo the overall standing of well-established subgroups, which make up its bulk.聽 However, these illustrate undeniably evident interrelationships among languages which subgrouping could not otherwise account for,鈥 he said.
The eminent linguist said, 鈥淢ost scholars seem to agree that the Malayo-Polynesian expansion left Formosa around 3,000 BCE and virtually raced south through the Philippines in less than one millennium. From southern Mindanao migrations went westward through Borneo and on to Indonesia, Malaysia, and upwards into the Asian continent (Malayo-), and others went south through Sulawesi also going eastward across the Pacific (-Polynesian),鈥 which makes the Philippine languages as the 鈥溾榣eft behinds鈥 allowing at least two more millennia for multiple interlanguage contacts within the archipelago.鈥
Zorc has over 40 years of experience in comparative-historical linguistics, lexicography, language teaching, language analysis, curriculum development, and applied linguistics. He is one of the world鈥檚 leading authorities on less commonly taught languages, especially of the Philippines.
An accomplished author, Zorc has published 31 books on 24 languages, 40 journal articles, and six dictionaries. He has also presented 30 papers in various international conferences. In 2005, the Linguistics Society of the Philippines awarded Zorc with the Brother Andrew Gonzalez, FSC Distinguished Professorial Chair in Linguistics and Language Education.
Five panels.聽 Meanwhile, the conference had five panels spread throughout the event鈥檚 duration.
鈥淐ounter-Babel: Reframing Linguistic Practices in Multilingual Philippines鈥 was a round-table discussion that explored the various faces of multilingualism in the Philippines, in large- and small-scale communities, and in different modalities (oral, written, physical, and virtual).
Included in the panel were Prof. Maria Kristina Gallego for 鈥淏abuyan Claro,鈥 Louward Zubiri (鈥淏ikol鈥), Vincent Christopher Santiago (鈥淐amotes Islands鈥), Prof. Diane Manzano (鈥淧anay鈥), De La Salle University lecturer, Jeconiah Dreisbach (鈥淪outhern Mindanao鈥), and University College London lecturer, Ruanni Tupas, PhD, (鈥淢ultilingual Virtual Interactions鈥).
鈥淩ising to the Challenge of Teaching Foreign Languages during a Pandemic鈥 discussed case studies of some of the Department鈥檚 Asian language instructors during the pandemic. Presented at the panel were 鈥淒esigning a Responsive Curriculum for Teaching Foreign Languages during a Pandemic鈥 by Prof. Farrah Cunanan, 鈥淒eveloping Oral Communication Skills Online鈥 by Prof. Kritsana Canilao, PhD, 鈥淣urturing Language Learner Autonomy鈥 by Prof. Kyung Min Bae, PhD, and 鈥淐reating and Maintaining Student Engagement in Distance Learning Courses鈥 by Prof. Ria Rafael.
The third panel, 鈥淪IL LEAD and Translation Services in the Pandemic,鈥 shared the innovations made to the methods and processes involved in addressing language-related issues during the time of pandemic. It also discussed SIL Philippines鈥 projects.
Presented were 鈥淢achine Translation Using TBTA Software: A Linguistic Approach鈥 by Roger Stone, 鈥淣o-Fieldwork Linguistic Data Collection: The Journey So Far鈥 by Rynj Gonzales, 鈥淏loom: Blooming thru Online Workshops鈥 by Manuel Tamayao, and 鈥淒eveloping a Skeleton Primer: A Multi-Strategy Approach鈥 by Maria Cecilia Osorio-Van Zante.
Panel 4, 鈥淧hilippine Lexicography through the Ages,鈥 explored different aspects of Philippine lexicography, from past to present, and toward an envisioned future.
Discussed were 鈥淭rends in the Philippine Lexicography against the Linguistic Milieu of the 1950s to the Present鈥 by Honeylet Dumoran, 鈥#LexiCOVID2: Language of the Pandemic鈥濃揳 group research by Prof. Divine Angeli Endriga, Vincent Christopher Santiago, Noah Cruz, and Janes Dominic Manrique, and 鈥淚ntroducing Marayum (marayum.ph): An Online Dictionary Maker for Philippine Languages鈥 by Samantha Sadural.
Lastly, 鈥淒isaster Dialogues: Analyzing Multivocal Experiences of Disaster Narrated through Various Media鈥 investigated how language is used in the experiences of disaster.
Discussed were 鈥淏agyo鈥 (Typhoon) by Michael Manahan, 鈥淗abagat鈥 (Southwest Monsoon) by Prof. Jay-Ar Igno, 鈥淧agputok ng Bulkan鈥 (Volcanic Eruption) by Prof. Jem Javier, and 鈥淟indol鈥 (Earthquake) by Prof. Mary Ann Bacolod, PhD.
笔尝颁.听 PLC is an international occasional conference that focuses on advances in the scientific study of language, the realm of theoretical or applied linguistics, as well as the application of linguistic theories in the context of the Philippines.
It is a platform for disseminating the developments in Philippine linguistics where scholars get to share their research on various language issues in the country. It also serves as a good venue where academics can present their comparative analyses of Philippine and foreign languages.
In closing, Javier said, 鈥淢ay the research projects and advocacies presented during this PLC always remind us of the dreams of linguistics as a social science: To bust stereotypes and prejudices, to empower and inform communities, and to bring truth and justice to all.鈥
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