Americans and Brits can normally understand each other, but there are slightly different usages based largely on class and other cultural differences. Think of it as similar to the difference between American English and the Queen’s English: Not quite different dialects, but greater differences than merely different accents. The national language, Filipino, was derived from Tagalog, and is colloquially different in many ways, but intelligible, to Tagalog speakers. There was a civilization in the Philippines. In short, the ability to write one’s history and communicate abstract concepts to others defines a people and is what separates the civilized from the uncivilized and the animal kingdom. That definition is not too far off the mark of the official “cultural development” definition given by Webster’s and Oxford. What defines “Civilization”? In my mind, at least, the level of literacy, rather than the use of tools or anything else, determines that a civilized people existed. When he arrived, he found an existing civilization, rather than merely “primitive” tribes. These islands existed long before Magellan stepped on that beach in Cebu. Yet, the older history, the one more truly Filipino, also exists, and has largely been neglected and forgotten over time. The modern history is what is commonly taught in schools, and it is an important part of every Filipino’s cultural identity. They say that “History is written by the victors”, and most modern Filipino history is what the Spanish, the Americans, and later the early Philippine governments, wished it to be. Long before the Spanish conquest of these islands, people lived here, thrived, and developed their own civilization, different and distinct from that of their Spanish conquerors.
The Philippines, like any other nation, has a rich history that dates back thousands of years.
I am a believer that expats have a moral obligation to learn as much about the country in which they live as they possibly can.
0 kommentar(er)
