MANILA – As part of the National Language Month celebration, the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) held Tuesday its annual awarding ceremony dubbed “Pammadayaw: Araw ng Gawad 2018” at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in Pasay City.
The “Pammadayaw” award ceremony is part of the month-long celebration of the “Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa,” or National Language Month in August of every year, to highlight language awards and winners of language contests from the different programs organized by KWF.
Some of the awards include Kampeon ng Wika (language champion), Dangal ng Wika (language honoree), Gawad KWF sa Sanaysay (essay awardee), and Selyo ng Kahusayan sa Wika at Kultura (language and culture excellence seal).
Dangal ng Wika recipient, Russian anthropologist and Philippine studies advocate Maria Stanyukovich, is set to keynote the awards rite regarding the Filipino Language in Russia.
The KWF disclosed that Philippine linguistics studies in Russia date back to the early Russian scholars and linguists such as Peter Pallas (18th century), Peter Dobell (19th century), and Sergey Bulich, Eugene Palivanov, and Roy Franklin Barton (20th century).
Also, the Moscow State University and Saint Petersburg State University continue with the tradition of teaching and studying the rich languages and cultures of the Philippines.
Stanyukovich, head of the Department of Australia, Oceania and Indonesia of the Kunstkamera Museum in Saint-Petersburg, has conducted rigorous research on the epics of the Philippines. Her most notable research is on the Hudhud of the Ifugaw.
The Dangal ng Wika is also awarded to the Dulaang UP, the official theater group of the University of the Philippines.
Since its establishment in the 1970s, the Dulaang UP has spearheaded Filipino translations and adaptations of theater classics of the world.
Dr. Lucena P. Samson, a scholar of the Kapampangan language, is the Kampeon ng Wika for her numerous contributions for the native languages and dialects of the Philippines.
Some of her projects include the official Kapampangan orthography and Kapampangan literature anthology to ensure the vitality of the Kapampangan language for the use of the next generation.
This year’s recipients of the Selyo sa Kahusayan sa Wika at Kultura are the Bukidnon State University, Ifugao State University, Mariano Marcos State University, Occidental Mindoro State University, and Aurora State College of Technology for their programs on the preservation of the native languages of their region and the promotion of the Filipino language.
The Board of Judges of the Gawad KWF sa Sanaysay 2018 concluded that there will be no winners for the essay contest this year during their deliberations on Aug. 16.
The event also featured Kundiman singer Lara Maigue and composer Ramoncito Carpio who performed a new kundiman song entitled “Minsan Lang,” a finalist in the recently concluded National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Konsiyerto ng Kundiman 2018.
Capping the night’s award ceremony are the rap performances of “Sugod” and “May Pag-asa” by fliptop rapper BLKD.
The cultural performances aim to highlight the versatility of the Filipino language in adapting to different music genre.
The “Pammadayaw: Araw ng Gawad” has been held annually since 2016 by the KWF, a commission established pursuant to Republic Act No. 7104 to promote research, development, and preservation of the Filipino language and other native languages in the Philippines. (Saul Pa-a/PR)
