Isang Pagsusuri sa Korpus Ukol sa Pagbabago ng Wikang Filipino, 1923-2013

Abstract

A detailed diachronic analysis is imperative in characterizing changes in a language. By means of a corpus analysis on issues of Liwayway Magazine published in 1923, 1951, 1969, 1995, and 2013, this study presents several indications of change in Filipino, such as in orthography and spelling, as well as in the lexical and structural aspects of the language. Since 1923, it can be observed that quite a number of lexical items have been lost or added to the language, not only in categories such as nouns and verbs, but also in conjunctions and other particles. Structural changes can also be observed, in which there is a decline in the usage of certain affixes and other constructions. Using the programs AntConc and Voyant Tools, patterns regarding the changes and development of forms in Filipino are discerned. Such changes presented in this study may be brought about by natural processes such as sound change, as well as by the interaction of Filipino with other languages, particularly with English. Despite the limited corpus utilized in this study, it can be said Filipino undergoes rapid change, especially at present. What was regarded as “rough” or “coarse” language before can possibly be regarded as standard in time. Despite policies regarding the standardization of Filipino, language change cannot be stopped as mutability is an intrinsic property of any language.