Revisiting Philippine Folklore: Ba-diw as Discourse of Ethnicity in the Nonfolklorist Humanistic Lens

Abstract

This ethnographic literary critique of an old Ba-diw of the Ibaloy ethnolinguistic group in Southern Benguet, Philippines, was completed by adopting a humanistic lens of a nonfolklorist with the aid of discourse analysis. Serving as a revisit to Philippine folklore, this ambitious yet novelty ethno-critique focused on the language of Ba-diw as a discourse of ethnicity and taking inspiration from the radical views of the National Artist in Literature, Bienvenido Lumbera, the research proceeded by employing the contextualist theory, setting the Ba-diw in its rightful indigenous literary and cultural background and historicity. The critique probed into the distinct ethnolinguistic heritage of the Ibaloy, after which discourse analysis was conducted to examine the grammar of the Ba-diw as both an ethnic and aesthetic expression. This grammar highlighted in the ethnographic critique is the dynamic system of the basic elements of a language consisting of lexis, syntax, semantics, phonology, and cultural load. Recognizing the Ba-diw as an indigenous oral tradition, the researcher examined its language use as an expression of the identity, ideals, aspirations, worldviews, and lifestyle of the Ibaloy ethnolinguistic group being the dominant theme henceforth, a legitimate and unique contribution to the richness of Philippine folklore.

Prohibitive Expressions as Traditional Cultural Dynamics among Muslim

“…Cultural traditions encompass various knowledge and customary practices passed down through generations, becoming routine habits (Esnara, 2022;Herbowo & Sulastri, 2020;Khan, 2018) Herbowo & Sulastri, 2020;Sandoval, 2020). Meanwhile, oral tradition as all discourse spoken, including oral and written" or can also be called a discourse system that is not written.…”

“…The purpose of creating prohibition myths is to prevent members of society from behaving impolitely, undisciplined, and lacking respect for others. One positive aspect resulting from the formation of prohibition myths is to enhance human character, making it more refined and respectful towards fellow humans and living beings (Esnara, 2022(Esnara, , 2022Suryadi, 2010). Although it may seem like a somewhat negative strategy by instilling fear of something, prohibition expressions are appropriate in changing individual behavior.…”

Translanguaging in the analysis of narrative techniques and discourse styles in selected Philippine short novels

“…There have been aggressive efforts among sociolinguists and psycholinguists to experiment on approaches that could respond more effectively to the communication demands of the 21 st Century, language programs and curricula that do not leave any learner's mother tongue behind another language. However, the linguistic marginalization persists worldwide, seemingly rendering code-based paradigms irrelevant especially to bilinguals and multilinguals who do not think unilingually (Otherguy et al 2015;Li Wei, 2018, 2022.…”

“…Given the problematic backdrop, this research ventured into yet unchartered waters in the realm of ESL teaching in the Philippines to contribute in the thrust of discovering and developing a radical approach that can address linguistic marginalization, language stigma or the lingua-bias, even language death and the increasing communication demands of a globalizing society. The greatest interest in the language-literature interface served as the motivation of his investigation on the latest yet seemingly controversial post-modern theory in applied linguistics and World Englishes (WE) debates, translanguaging which is hailed particularly by Li Wei (2018, 2022 to be the best response there is for a problem-riddled field. And the gateway to a new mindset of language as derived from a pragmatic theory of multilinguals' actual language use and practice.…”

“…An ambitious pioneering study, the investigation explored into the narrative techniques and discourse style of three selected Philippine short novels using the unconventional notions and principles of translanguaging ,a relatively new development as theory of language practice which aims to break the conventional linguistic and cultural divides permeating largely into the humanities, particularly in applied linguistics, literature, and the arts but not limited to these disciplines (Li Wei, 2018, 2022. Translanguaging, as adopted in the investigation, provided both the theoretical framework and the principled process of interpretation to look into the strengths of narrative techniques, language and the styles of discourse used in the chick lit of Tara F. Sering's "Getting Better," the young adult fiction of Sophia N. Lee's "What Things Mean," and Cyan Abad-Jugo's "Salingkit.…”