UP Department of Linguistics

Asst. Prof. Ria P. Rafael gave a short talk titled, “よろしくおねがいします: Filipinos and Japanese language education” during the launch of the Japanese language teaching courses facilitated by the Faculty of Education of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU). The theme of the event was “Mirai no Manabi x Bayanihan para sa Kinabukasan x Learning for the Future,” and was held this 18 June 2026 at the UPOU Headquarters and online via Facebook livestreaming.

The two courses, JLT 101 (“Becoming a Reflective Teacher for Japanese Language Learning”) and JLT 102 (“Intercultural Communicative Competence Approaches to Japanese Language Teaching”) were developed through the collaboration of the UPOU, the Japan Foundation, Manila, and some of the members of the Japanese language cluster of the Department. Among the teachers are Asst. Prof. Ria P. Rafael, Senior Lecturer Farah C. Cunanan, and Lecturer Cristopher Vincent L. Dofitas.

The recording of Asst. Prof. Rafael’s talk may be viewed at the official page of UPOU.

Rafael presents at launch of JPN teaching courses at UPOU - Department of Linguistics - UP Diliman Asst. Prof. Ria P. Rafael gave a short talk titled, “よろしくおねがいします: Filipinos and Japanese language education” during the launch of the Japanese language teaching courses facilitated by the Faculty of Education of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU). The ...

BA Lingg students set to take Lingg 125 (Introduction to Field Methods) this Midyear Term, AY 2025-2026 attended an orientation session which introduced the course overview, expectations, required trainings, and necessary processes. Asst. Prof. Jay-Ar Igno and Instr. Brian Baran will lead this year's Lingg 125 classes.

We wish the field classes a successful and productive term ahead!

Several of the Department's faculty members, graduate students, and alumni participated during last week's UP System General Education Conference 2026. This year's installment of the GE conference was organized by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA) "with the aim of enriching the continuing discussion and review of the university’s GE Program, and coming up with strategies to further reinforce the UP GEP."

Asst. Prof. Divine Angeli Endriga was among the participants in the event. Meanwhile, PhD Lingg student Diane Manzano (UP Los Baños) and MA Lingg alum Edward Estrera (UP Mindanao) presented at the conference. PhD Lingg alum Arwin Vibar (UP Manila), MA Lingg alum Liberty Balanquit (UP Los Baños), MA Lingg alum Mariyel Liwanag (UP Los Baños), and MA Lingg alum Daryl Pasion (UP Los Baños) attended the event as well.

Read more at .

UP Lingg at GE conference - Department of Linguistics - UP Diliman Several of the Department’s faculty members, graduate students, and alumni participated during this week’s UP System General Education Conference 2026. This year’s installment of the GE conference was organized by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA) “with the aim of...

LESSONS FROM THE FIELD
23 June 2026 | Tuesday | 10:00 AM
Palma Hall Rm. 428

Katrina Joyce S. Jose
Teaching Associate

Everyone is invited to join "Lessons from the Field," featuring Teaching Associate Katrina Joyce S. Jose. Below is the abstract of the talk:

Sa presentasyong ito ibabahagi ang mga karanasan sa pagsasagawa ng field work bilang isang mag-aaral ng linggwistiks, partikular sa Lingg 225 na ginanap noong Hulyo 2024 sa Manticao, Misamis Oriental kung saan Bisaya (ISO 639-3 [ceb]) ang wikang ginagamit ng karamihan. Tatalakayin dito ang mga mahahalagang dapat isaisip at dapat iwasan bago, habang, at pagkatapos isagawa ang pag-aaral sa komunidad, partikular sa konteksto ng ating multilinggwal na bansa na binubuo ng iba’t ibang ethnolinggwistikong grupo. Bahagi rin nito ang mga kagawian at (tamang) pakikisalamuha ng isang mananaliksik sa mga miyembro ng komunidad na kanilang bibisitahin. Isa pang paksa na bibigyang-diin ang patuloy na kahalagahan ng field work sa panahong ito kung kailan posible na ang pakikipanayam at pangangalap ng datos online. Pag-uusapan din ang iba’t ibang metodo ng pangangalap ng datos na maaaring gamitin ng mga mananaliksik sa kanilang field work.

Sa kabuuan, inaasahang makakatulong ang presentasyong ito upang maihanda ang mga mag-aaral ng linggwistiks para sa kani-kanilang fieldwork na isasagawa.

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This event is free and open to the public.

/// Chinese Teochew Eng Ting Ting, 60, said the film [Dear You] mirrored her grandfather’s journey [from Guangdong province] to Singapore, during which he braved rough seas to reach a foreign land and build a family.

She looks forward to reliving old memories through the film: her grandfather toiling at a small provision shop in a Teochew fishing village at Upper Serangoon Road and the grunts of pigs, ducks and chickens from the backyard of her kampung.

[...] Reports of Dear You being screened commercially in Mandarin in Singapore have sparked dismay among many in the local Teochew community, who say such a move would result in the loss of cultural nuances and hasten the decline of dialect use among the country’s Chinese diaspora.

Teochews make up about one fifth of the Chinese resident population in Singapore, according to the 2020 census. About 75 per cent of Singapore’s population is ethnically Chinese.

Eng said she was disappointed the original version would not be readily available for her and her children in theatres. “My conversations with my grandmother in Teochew have given me an extra dimension in my life, but sadly, my kids do not have a similar experience.”

Nick Huang, an assistant professor of English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies at the National University of Singapore, said the choice to screen the film in Mandarin meant a “missed opportunity to appreciate the distinctiveness of the Chinese Singaporean community”.

He noted the linguistic differences between the dialect spoken in the film, which originated from southern China, and that of Singapore’s Teochew community. “Singapore viewers, especially Teochew speakers, might find it interesting and even surprising, to hear these differences for themselves … This point can’t be appreciated with a Mandarin dub.”

In response to queries, Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said the Mandarin-dubbed version of the film would be screened commercially for the public.

But exclusive viewings of the Teochew version will be available at the film’s premiere. [...] IMDA added that subsequent festivals and niche events would be allowed to screen the film in Teochew. “This continues to support the bilingual policy which aims to promote Mandarin as the main language amongst Chinese Singaporeans,” it said.

Singapore guidelines dictate that dialect films are allowed on a case-by-case basis. Chinese films meant for theatrical release should generally be in Mandarin, in line with the country’s “Speak Mandarin” Campaign.

Launched in 1979, the movement aimed to promote Mandarin as a common language to maintain cohesion within Singapore’s linguistically diverse Chinese community. It has restricted the use of Chinese dialects like Hokkien and Cantonese in film, television and radio.

[...] Political scientist Jeremy Siow said the government had “notably loosened” its stance on dialect films over the years.

“But more could be done, especially in reviewing and updating the regulations to make it less onerous for filmmakers and distributors to showcase dialect films in Singapore,” said Siow, a postdoctoral research fellow at Oxford University.

[...] [Darlene Machell Espena, associate professor of Southeast Asian studies at Singapore Management University,] urged more recognition for the role dialects played in preserving culture and heritage.

“They carry forms of memory, social relations, and historical experience that cannot be fully captured through state-defined official languages. Acknowledging and preserving these dialects should therefore not be seen as divisive, but as part of a broader effort to sustain cultural diversity.” ///

Lost in translation? Singapore wants Dear You film mostly in Mandarin, not Teochew Linguists and the local Teochew community say watching the hit Chinese film in its original form can help sustain cultural diversity.

Senior Lecturer Mark Rae De Chavez went to Busan, South Korea earlier this month to pay a courtesy visit to the office of the Philippine Consulate General. There, he met with Consul General Leah Victoria T. Carada and BA Lingg alum (Plan A) Vice Consul Mahgie Lacaba. Representing the UP Korea Research Center (UP KRC), De Chavez "briefed on Korea-related activities in UP campuses and discussed point of interest and partnerships in the future."

More information may be found at the UP KRC's official post.

De Chavez visits PH Consulate General in South Korea - Department of Linguistics - UP Diliman Senior Lecturer Mark Rae De Chavez went to Busan, South Korea earlier this month to pay a courtesy visit to the office of the Philippine Consulate General. There, he met with Consul General Leah Victoria T. Carada and BA Lingg alum (Plan A) Vice Consul Mahgie Lacaba. Representing the UP Korea Resear...

WIKA AT HISTORIOGRAPIYA: ANG PAG-AARAL NG KASAYSAYAN TUNGO SA PAGBUBUO NG BANSA
Ni Zeus A. Salazar
1998

Wika at Pagpapalaya: Mga Papel ng Ika-8ng Konggreso ng Linggwistiks sa Pilipinas

[EXCERPT]

Bilang pagsusulat ng Kasaysayan kapwa sa pakahulugan nito sa Kastilang historia (mula sa Griyegong historiè = ulat/pagsisiyasat) at sa Pilipinong kasaysayan (salaysay na may saysay) at bilang simpleng metodolohiya o teknika ng pagsusuri/pag-uusisa, ang historiograpiya ay may malaking kaugnayan sa wika hindi lamang bilang midyum ng komunikasyon at ng batis pangkasaysayan kundi, higit sa lahat, bilang imbakan-kuhanan at tagapagpahayag o ekspresyon ng kalinangan (na napapaloob sa mismong batis pangkasaysayan). Ang pagkakaugnay na ito ng wika at historiograpiya ay mahigpit ding nakakabit, sa kaso ng Pilipinas, sa mithiin/gawain ng pagbubuo ng Bansa. Magiging malinaw ito kung susuriin muna natin (a) ang kahulugan ng “historia” (ulat/pagsisiyasat) at “kasaysayan” (saysay/salaysay) sa konteksto ng ating nakaraan at kalinangan, bago natin analisahin nang mas masusi ang kaugnayan ng “pag-aaral ng nakaraan,” kapwa (b) bilang historia (ulat) at “kasaysayan” (saysay) at (k) bilang disiplina ng pagsusuri ng, at pagpapahalaga sa, batis (metodolohiya at pananaw) sa ating pagiging isang bansang kabuuan.

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Senior Lecturer Kenichiro Kurusu has published his co-authored paper, “Linggwistikang Pangmigrasyon: Pagpapakilala sa Isang Sumisibol na Disiplina” in the latest special issue of the Philippine Journal of Linguistics (PJL). The paper is co-authored with Ariane Macalinga Borlongan of the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS).

The paper may be accessed at the PJL’s official website.

Read more at .

Kurusu co-authors paper in PJL - Department of Linguistics - UP Diliman Senior Lecturer Kenichiro Kurusu has published his co-authored paper, “Linggwistikang Pangmigrasyon: Pagpapakilala sa Isang Sumisibol na Disiplina” in the latest special issue of the Philippine Journal of Linguistics (PJL). The paper is co-authored with Ariane Macalinga Borlongan of the Tokyo Un...

On June 3, 2026, Department of Linguistics Chair Francisco Rosario, Jr. and Dr. Danica Salazar, Executive Editor of World Englishes at Oxford University Press (UK), discussed planned activities under the World Expert Lecture Series (WELS), joined by Dr. Anna Marie Sibayan-Sarmiento, Chair of the Department of European Languages. These include a public lecture on how the Oxford English Dictionary documents global varieties of English, including Philippine English, and a workshop on lexicography that will introduce participants to dictionary-making, corpus research, and the use of digital and AI-assisted tools in language study. The discussion also explored opportunities for future collaboration.

/// The education ministry plans to launch a model project in fiscal 2027 to provide basic Japanese-language instruction for school life and classes to children of foreign nationals living in Japan.
In response to an increase in the number of such children, the ministry aims to establish guidelines for effective language lessons through the project.

The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction, including those who are unable to communicate adequately in daily Japanese conversation, reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025, which ended in March this year. The number doubled over the past nine years, according to the ministry.

Of those students, about 10% were not given sufficient instruction at their schools due to staff shortages and other reasons.

In urban areas with large numbers of foreign children, some local governments are already offering special Japanese-language programs. However, the content and duration of the programs vary.

Through the model project, the ministry aims to gather know-how about how such lessons should be provided. Based on the findings, it will come up with guidelines for use by local governments and develop teaching materials.

The ministry will select multiple local governments for the project. In municipalities with many children requiring instruction, students at several schools will be brought together at base schools or public facilities for language lessons. In rural areas, instruction may be given online. ///

Japan to launch language support project for foreign children The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025.