I. Title of the Article: Buwan Ng Wika Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer Date: August 26, 2011 Page: Na (by Armida Siguion-Reyna)

II. Give a summary of the problem or issue in the article The author started off with the statement”Now we’re told that Dr. Soledad Borromeo-Buehler’s book “The Cry of Balintawak” proves it did not happen the way it has always been written” another was “In this day and age of fakes, it is a tender mercy that we continue to celebrate what is real for us Filipinos: Our National Language, now honored..”. Clearly, one can infer that there were a lot of criticisms in our National Language, also known as our Pambansang Wika due to the development of language infused with contributions from all over the country. She also said that our language is continuously evolving and will forever be a work-in-progress. Criticisms such as knowing the tagalog language but not using it in the right way, context or even in our way of speaking; like for example the use of “nang” in different meanings. Our Pambansang Wika should be preserved and be used correctly without immaturity, idiocy and lack of willingness to learn.

III. Insights Gained from the article (links, connections to course, help understand/clarify) In the case of this article, a lot has to do with both formal and informal education that we Filipinos have. In the informal education setting: to further explain is one example from the article “First held March 27 to April 2, in 1946 following President Sergio Osmea‘s orders the “Linggo ng Wika” was moved to Aug. 13-19 by president Ramon Magsaysay to honour Manuel L. Quezon’s birth month, as it was Quezon’s birth month, as it was Quezon’s Commonwealth Act 184 that establshied the institute of of National Language in 1936.” Second would be “..Tagalog-based wika was not so quickly the medium of instruction...”
Then if we put this into the Formal Education as stated in the article “..Quezon went full steam ahead with his plans, dissolved the INL and replaced it with the National Language Institute to enable the teaching the pambansang wika nationwide, beginning the school year of 1940-41”. Second example here is “..Its widespread use came during WW II, for it was the Japanese preference…encouraged its usage not only in schools...” From the given account, we can already infer the differences between the two; Informal education taught us about spontaneous assimilation where in doubts and attitudes are present as well rituals or ceremonies that contribute to the society. Another is Formal Education, a set body of knowledge and structures followed. The author here is also seeking for truth in this article, one attitude of being a real philosopher. Her statements proved that there is a search for universal truths in such areas as society and education. She had some views on the dialectical approach of the Filipinos and the changes of today’s society. A dialectical approach or critical discussion of her opinions on our Pambansang Wika to make us realize what her point was when it comes to using “Nang” and how to use consonant-vowel hyphen. She gave me a broad understanding on the context of knowing the National Language and being aware of the criticisms, helped me in developing a full moral excellence in order to better see society; just like how Plato believed things should be explained. Plato believed that we can develop our ideas in ways that we achieve synthesis and universal concepts.