Kapampangan is a language spoken on my father’s side of the family. In the Philippines, the prominence of Tagalog and English has discouraged children from learning Kapampangan. I never learned - in fact, growing up in Southern California, I know Spanish better than Tagalog.
Last summer I initially set out to learn basic Kapampangan. To my surprise, there were very few affordable resources on Kapampangan language and culture! Most books were incredibly expensive or out-of-print (and sometimes both).
A trip to Disneyland is cheaper.
In lieu of learning the language, I became curious about how to recover and revive endangered languages.
Through a massive online open course (MOOC) called Language Revival: Securing the Future of Endangered Languages, I learned about reclamation efforts which may save Kapampangan from its predicted extinction in the next twenty years.
The course covered casework from the reclamation process of Kaurna, an indigenous language in Adelaide, Australia. Dr. Rob Amery, a linguistic professor at Adelaide, has been studying Kaurna language for 25 years. His efforts and collaboration with the Kaurna committee (Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi) have revived the language from its hibernation in 1929, when the “last” speaker, Ivarityi, passed away.
Amazingly, revival efforts beginning in the 1980s have brought Kaurna language into schools. Multimedia efforts for language-learning, such as Youtube videos, podcasts, and songs, secure Kaurna revival for future generations. Much in the same way Dora the Explorer introduced Spanish to thousands of kids, shows like Pirltawardli engage young children in language-learning. Think of Sesame Street meets Dora - in this web-series a magpie, koala, and possum sing and speak in English and Kaurna. Using context and the power of cute animals, the show teaches children conversational language.
Here’s the first episode: who doesn’t like little birds and Jack Johnson-esque sing-alongs?
In contrast, Kapampangan has yet to establish an internet presence - very few videos and no podcasts exist at all.
Perhaps Kapampangan reclamation efforts can build on the success of the Kaurna by using media to its advantage, creating entertaining and affordable content for young learners. I’d welcome a Kapampangan kids show in the near future. I think the internet needs more little birds.
