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Article published In: Linguistic Landscape
Vol. 10:3 (2024) ► pp.223–252

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Domain dichotomy and sociolinguistic inequality in Philippine museum spaces

Evidence from the Linguistic Landscape

ORCiD logo with link | University of the Philippines Diliman
Published online: 9 January 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.23055.man
Abstract
The prevailing notion on the scholastic domains of English and Filipino is that the former is used for science, whereas the latter is reserved for the social sciences. Despite its questionable veracity, this domain dichotomy has nevertheless been adopted in Philippine education, particularly in the 1974 Bilingual Education Policy ( (1978). Bilingual education in the Philippines: Strategy and structure. In Ma. L. S. Bautista (Ed.), Readings in Philippine Sociolinguistics (pp.287–307). Manila: De La Salle University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; (1990). Evaluating bilingual education in the Philippines: Towards a multidimensional model of evaluation in language planning. In Ma. L. S. Bautista (Ed.), Readings in Philippine Sociolinguistics (pp.327–340). Manila: De La Salle University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). Using Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. W. (2003). Discourses in place: Language in the material world. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar concept of emplacement and Kress, G. R., & Van Leeuwen, T. (1996). Reading images: The grammar of visual design. London: Psychology Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar information value as theoretical points of departure and Tupas’ (2008, (2015a). All of myself has to change: A story of inclusion and exclusion in an unequal learning space. In Rubdy, R. & Said (Eds.), Conflict, exclusion and dissent in the linguistic landscape, (pp. 170–184). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) ‘Unequal Englishes’ paradigm as an analytical framework, this paper investigates whether this dichotomy has permeated into the Linguistic Landscapes of two national museums in Manila. It finds that there is a strong tendency for the natural history museum to privilege English in bilingual signs and the anthropological museum to privilege Filipino, thereby suggesting that this split has already been reified in language practices outside the realm of education policy making and politics.
Abstrak
Sa larangan o domeyn ng iskolastisismo, ang nakasanayang praktis ay ang pagtatalaga ng wikang Ingles sa subjek na agham at ang wikang Filipino naman sa agham panlipunan. Sa kabila ng kaduda-dudang katotohanan sa likod ng praktis na ito, ang pagtatalaga ng wika sa isang partikular na larangan o ‘domayn dikotomi’ ay gayunpaman ipinagpatibay sa sistemang pang-edukasyon ng Pilipinas, partikular na sa pagtatag ng patakarang bilinggwal o Bilingual Education Policy noong 1974 ( (1978). Bilingual education in the Philippines: Strategy and structure. In Ma. L. S. Bautista (Ed.), Readings in Philippine Sociolinguistics (pp.287–307). Manila: De La Salle University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; (1990). Evaluating bilingual education in the Philippines: Towards a multidimensional model of evaluation in language planning. In Ma. L. S. Bautista (Ed.), Readings in Philippine Sociolinguistics (pp.327–340). Manila: De La Salle University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). Gamit ang konsepto ng emplacement ni Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. W. (2003). Discourses in place: Language in the material world. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar at ang information value ni Kress, G. R., & Van Leeuwen, T. (1996). Reading images: The grammar of visual design. London: Psychology Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar bilang mga teoretikal na balangkas at ang Unequal Englishes paradaym ni Tupas (2008, (2015a). All of myself has to change: A story of inclusion and exclusion in an unequal learning space. In Rubdy, R. & Said (Eds.), Conflict, exclusion and dissent in the linguistic landscape, (pp. 170–184). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) bilang isang analitikal na balangkas, sinisiyasat ng papel na ito kung ang praktis ng domayn dikotomi ay ipinapraktis sa linguistic landscapes ng dalawang pambansang museo sa Maynila. Napag-alaman ng papel na ito na may malakas na tendensi ang Pambansang Museo ng Agham Pangkalikasan na bigyan ng pribilehiyo ang wikang Ingles sa mga bilinggwal na karatula nito at ang wikang Filipino naman sa mga bilinggwal na karatula ng Pambansang Museo ng Antropolohiya. Sa pamamagitan ng pagsisiyasat ng mga linguistic landscape ng dalawang nasabing museo, napatunayan ng papel na ito na ang domayn dikotomi sa pagitan ng Ingles at Filipino ay ipinapraktis na sa labas ng larangan ng paggawa ng patakarang pang-edukasyon at pulitika.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Review of related literature
    • 2.1English and filipino in the Philippines
    • 2.2The bilingual education policy: A history and critique
    • 2.3Linguistic landscape studies
    • 2.4Museum linguistic landscapes
  • 3.Study locale: The national museum complex
  • 4.Research questions
  • 5.Data and methodology
  • 6.Analysis and discussion
    • 6.1The National Museum of Anthropology (NMA)
    • 6.2The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH)
    • 6.3Resisting the ‘monolingual space’ in the National Museum: LL display strategies
      • 6.3.1Co-visibility strategy
      • 6.3.2Inversion strategy
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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