Is Philippine Literature Dying?
Pages from the history vanished. The past was meant to be unknown by the future generations. Etheria -- the lost kingdom. The Philippine literature seems dying. Its pages are becoming unknown, forgotten. As a kid in school, I learned about legends (alamat), fables (pabula), parables (parabula), epics (epiko), riddles (bugtong), etc. I know at least two novels: "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo" by Jose Rizal; and one epic, "Florante at Laura" by Francisco Baltazar. When I asked my nephews and nieces about Philippine "alamat", they knew not a story. Thanks to the TV program "Mahiwagang Baul". They've had, at least, a glimpse of "alamat" stories. Together with the dying Philippine literature is the Tagalog language (and other Pilipino languages). Colonial mentality is killing the Pilipino languages. If a Filipino does not speak good English, he or she is considered uneducated or unintellectual. Fellow Filipinos measur...