"Ninguna fuerza humana podrá arrancar el castellano de las Islas Filipinas”: language and anticolonial struggle in the Philippines, 1920-1930

Abstract

Esta tesis busca mostrar los matices en torno a la defensa del idioma español en las Filipinas durante la década de 1920. Al estudiar a la prensa en lengua española, inglesa y tagala, emergen las múltiples valencias que la defensa del español tuvo frente a la creciente hegemonía de la lengua inglesa. Lejos de ser un bloque monolítico, aquellos que escogieron el bando del español lo hicieron desde perspectivas muy diferentes—incluso opuestas. Para parte de esta élite hispanohablante, el español era una lengua que los conectaba con el pasado, algo que evocaba una nostalgia colonial por el periodo en que estuvieron en la cima de la pirámide social—aparte de los españoles mismos, claro está. Como una forma de resistencia contra el colonialismo estadounidense, el prestigio de la cultura española fue contrastada con la vulgaridad de los “invasores anglosajones”. Sin embargo, este tipo de pensamiento coexistió con una actitud más progresista que caracterizó a otra parte de la élite letrada, una alineada con valores republicanos. Para ellos, la preservación de la lengua española no giraba en torno a conservar vínculos con el pasado colonial, sino buscaba construir vínculos con las repúblicas hispanohablantes de América Latina, con cuya solidaridad se contaría para alcanzar un futuro independiente y libre del colonialismo estadounidense. Asimismo, la relación entre hispanohablantes y angloparlantes siguió siendo complicada durante este periodo, en el cual los filipinos hispanohablantes usaron esta lengua como una marca de distinción no solo entre ellos y las autoridades coloniales estadounidenses, sino también con las masas crecientes de filipinos con movilidad social ascendente, quienes habían recibido una educación pública en inglés y que crecientemente tomaban puestos de clase media en las ciudades. En general, esta tesis encuentra las complejidades que rodean al idioma español durante este periodo y muestra cómo su uso podía ser multivalente.This thesis seeks to bring out the nuances surrounding the defense of the Spanish language in the Philippines in the 1920s. By studying the Spanish-, English-, and Tagalog-language press, the multiple valences that the defense of the use of Spanish in the face of growing English language hegemony emerge. Far from being a monolithic bloc, those who chose the side of Spanish did so from very different—even opposing—viewpoints. For part of this literate, Spanish-speaking élite, the Spanish language was a bridge connecting them to the past, evoking a colonial nostalgia for the period in which they stood atop the social pyramid—barring the Spaniards themselves, of course. As a means of resistance to American empire, the prestige of Spanish culture was contrasted with the crassness of the “Anglo-Saxon invaders.” However, this kind of thinking coexisted with a forward-looking attitude among another part of the literate élite, one that was aligned with republican values. For them, the preservation of the Spanish language was thus not a matter of preserving links to a colonial past, but rather of building links with the Spanish-speaking republics of Latin America, to count on their solidarity to achieve an independent future free from American empire. Furthermore, the relationship between Spanish-speakers and English-speakers continued to be complicated during this period, with élite Spanish-speaking Filipinos using this language as a mark of distinction not only between themselves and the American colonial authorities, but also the growing masses of upwardly mobile Filipinos who had obtained an English-language public education and were increasingly occupying middle-class jobs in the cities. In general, this thesis finds the complexities surrounding the Spanish language during this period and shows how its deployment could be multivalent. This thesis seeks to bring out the nuances surrounding the defense of the Spanish language in the Philippines in the 1920s. By studying the Spanish-, English-, and Tagalog-language press, the multiple valences that the defense of the use of Spanish in the face of growing English language hegemony emerge. Far from being a monolithic bloc, those who chose the side of Spanish did so from very different—even opposing—viewpoints. For part of this literate, Spanish-speaking élite, the Spanish language was a bridge connecting them to the past, evoking a colonial nostalgia for the period in which they stood atop the social pyramid—barring the Spaniards themselves, of course. As a means of resistance to American empire, the prestige of Spanish culture was contrasted with the crassness of the “Anglo-Saxon invaders.” However, this kind of thinking coexisted with a forward-looking attitude among another part of the literate élite, one that was aligned with republican values. For them, the preservation of the Spanish language was thus not a matter of preserving links to a colonial past, but rather of building links with the Spanish-speaking republics of Latin America, to count on their solidarity to achieve an independent future free from American empire. Furthermore, the relationship between Spanish-speakers and English-speakers continued to be complicated during this period, with élite Spanish-speaking Filipinos using this language as a mark of distinction not only between themselves and the American colonial authorities, but also the growing masses of upwardly mobile Filipinos who had obtained an English-language public education and were increasingly occupying middle-class jobs in the cities. In general, this thesis finds the complexities surrounding the Spanish language during this period and shows how its deployment could be multivalent.