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Article published In: Journal of Asian Pacific Communication
Vol. 34:1 (2024) ► pp.1–22

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Local language in the context of political divides

An evaluation of local language use in a voter-information campaign in the Philippines using Facebook split tests

 | School of Government, Ateneo de Manila University
 | Ateneo Policy Center, School of Government, Ateneo de Manila University
 | Ateneo Policy Center, School of Government, Ateneo de Manila University
 | Ateneo Policy Center, School of Government, Ateneo de Manila University
Published online: 25 September 2023
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.00105.men
Abstract
As populist leaders leverage disparities across geographic and language communities, democracies are threatened by an increasingly divisive political climate that compromises public discussions. This study evaluates how the basic communication strategy of utilizing local languages in information campaigns can help overcome divides by encouraging engagement and discussions. We conduct a field experiment to assess whether using the four most prevalent languages in the Philippines (Cebuano-Bisaya, Ilonggo-Hiligaynon, Ilokano, and Waray-Samarnon) can increase engagement in online materials for targeted linguistic groups. Through split-testing on Facebook, we find evidence that local language materials are more likely to catch the attention of the audience and increase engagement. Qualitative validation shows that local language use is an effective tool to build self-efficacy for linguistic groups to join in on national conversations, and serves as an identity marker to evoke a sense of pride and community. These findings open opportunities for evidence-guided social media campaign strategies.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Populism as a political style
  • Methodology
  • Quantitative phase results
  • Qualitative phase results
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (18)
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Cited by one other publication

Chen, Jun-Yi & Ting-Ting Liu
2025. Intertwining social, affective, and digital dynamics: a masspersonal communication model to analyze home language maintenance. Frontiers in Psychology 16 DOI logo

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