New Era University

HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

ACSCU AAI Level III Re-Accredited

Baybayin: Essence to our Past,

Relevance to our Present

A Research Paper Presented

to:

Center for Research, Evaluation, and Development

By:
Banga, Via
Cabanela, Lara Melissa B.
Claveria, Shiela Mae T.
Co, Ivy Darah B.
De Mesa, Hannah Dane P.
Gianan, Aivilou Joy A.
Sabate, Andrea G.
Santos, Altair Alain R.
Soriano, Jezzrel Ailigh R.
Tamallana, Nicko D.
Velasco Jihan R.

August 2016
 Chapter I

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

A. Introduction

Baybayin. What is it? It is a Filipino word that simply means

SPELLING in English. Words may have different meanings, pronunciations,
different usages from different places all over the world. And here in the
Philippines , it is more complicated for we have various dialects from all
over the country and one word has various meanings depending on how ,
where and who uses it .

Baybayin is an ancient Philippine system of writing composed of a set

of 17 cursive characters or letters that represent either a single consonant
or vowel or a complete syllable . Baybayin or alibata is the term being used
in the academe. Many Filipinos are familiar with this term. There is no such
thing as Tagalog alphabet. Baybayin was used not only by the Tagalog
but other ethnic group as well. Although, the appearance and style differ
from one group to another.

The modern Philippine alphabet that is being used by all languages in

the country is called Filipino alphabet, which uses the Latin letters. Lot of
researches now about baybayin is focused to the question, is baybayin
known as alphabet or syllabary . A syllabary is a set of written symbols that
represent the syllables or (more frequently) moras which make up words. A
symbol in a syllabary, called a syllabogram. But in this generation the main
problem that is related to baybayin was, is still baybayin recognize as one
of the mirror from our past. They said that our past build our future
moreover the past will guide as future to know what are the possible
chances or how we can consider a thing is improved.

B. Statement of the problem

The main problems of this study question how people or Filipino

acknowledges the baybayin during our past and present time. As a Filipino
Loren Legarda proposed to make Baybayin the country’s national writing
system in year 2014. Senate Bill 2440 requires the National Commission
for Culture and the Arts to hold an information drive to instill awareness on
Baybayin.

With this problem, there are also correlated question/s like:

1. What was the Filipinos’ view or idea about Baybayin?

2. How did baybayin shape our alphabets?
3. Is baybayin a syllabary or categories as alphabet too?
4. What are the contributions of baybayin to our alphabet?
5. How did the first Filipinos discovered or got knowledge about
Baybayin?
6. Is Baybayin still acknowledged as a national writing system?
C. Significance of the Study

The findings of this study will rebound to the importance of using an

indigenous pre-Filipino writing system from the islands known as the
Philippines which is Baybayin. Baybayin was extensively documented by
the Spanish. Some have attributed it the name Alibata. As the time goes
by, the writing system of filipinos become different. Let us just look at it this
way: the alphabet that we use today, even to write our very own alpabetong
Pilipino, is a borrowed set of writing symbols. It is only right that we
understand what is truly our own, so we may learn to treasure what was
given to us, as said by experts. This study will not only help the young
filipino to know more about our own way of writing, but will also give them
the reason on why they should help to preserve it.

D. Scope and Limitation

The scope of area of this study is in New Era University, Quezon City.
The study was conducted by using books, related literature and books. The
scope of study is all about the introduction of Baybayin to the Modern
Generation and to illustrate its effects on our society in the present and how
big the impact it has made to our modern day alphabet in the Philippines.
This research also elaborates the beginnings of this type of manuscript and
style of writing which led to the use of our modern alphabet which helped a
lot in our self expression, communication and arts.
E. Review of Related Literature and Studies

The level of literacy, rather than the use of tools or anything else,
determines that a civilized people existed. (Miele, 2010)

The Philippines, like any other nation, has a rich history that dates
back thousands of years. Long before the Spanish conquest of these
islands, people lived here, thrived, and developed their own civilization,
different and distinct from that of their Spanish conquerors.

Baybayin was noted by the Spanish priest Pedro Chirino in 1604 and
Antonio de Morga in 1609, to be known by most Filipinos, and was
generally used for personal writings, poetry, etc. According to William
Henry Scott, there were some datus from the 1590s who could not sign
affidavits or oaths, and witnesses who could not sign land deeds in the
1620s. There is no data on when this level of literacy was first achieved,
and no history of the writing system itself. There are at least six theories
about the origins of Baybayin.

During the entire period of Spanish rule, education was controlled by

the Catholic Church. In the place of tribal tutors, Spanish friars and
missionaries educated the natives through religion. Upon their arrival, their
main goals were to govern the islands, obtain a foothold in the spice trade,
and to convert indigenous populations to the Catholic faith. The early friars
learned the Baybayin script to allow for better communication with the
islanders, particularly in the religious aspect. Religious education then took
place using this language. By royal decree the friars were required to teach
the Spanish language to the natives, but this was not enforced. This
suppression of literacy in the language of the administration kept the
inhabitants in ignorance and in subservience for more than 300 years.
From 1565 to 1863, there was no specific system of instruction. Worse still,
the Baybayin script was replaced by the Roman alphabet since using this
gave the indigenous people more leverage dealing with the local Spanish
colonial administrators. The Baybayin script was neglected and was not
used by succeeding generations.

Structurally, Baybayin is an ancient abugida writing system that has

been mislabeled as Alibata. Baybayin and Alibata are the same thing
except that Alibata is the wrong term. It’s also been called Sulat Tagalog
and other names but Alibata has stuck. Though derived from comparable
Malay writing systems, Baybayin is a uniquely Pilipino writing system and
was exclusively used by the ancient people of the Philippines. But what
was Baybayin used for? Who did the writing? And how is it written?

Typically in ancient civilizations such as that of the Egyptians, Mayan,

and Indonesian civilizations, reading and writing were reserved for the elite
and high class. This was done as a mark of high status and used as a tool
to control information from the lesser and lower class peoples. But as far
as Baybayin writing was used and as to who used it, the Pilipino people
were more of an equal-education culture, as Hector Diaz explains:

“The culture that the Spaniards found in the Philippines was unique in that
the art of reading and writing was in the hands of everybody.
 Several Spanish accounts corroborate the casual use of Baybayin
writing, specifically pointing out the lack of historical records and scientific
discoveries being documented into Baybayin. This may be due to how
Baybayin was being written. Typically, Baybayin was carved into bamboo
and other wood mediums, as described by Charles Boxer:

“When they write, it is on some tablets made of the bamboos which

they have in those islands, on the bark. In using such a tablet, which is four
fingers wide, they do not write with ink, but with some scribers with which
they cut the surface and bark of the bamboo, and make the letters.”

A Baybayin bill, House Bill no.4395, which is also known as the

National Script Act of 2011, has been in Congress since 2011. It aims to
declare Baybayin, wrongfully known as Alibata, as the national script of the
Philippines. The bill mandates to put a Baybayin translation under all
business and government logos. It also mandates all primary and
secondary schools to teach Baybayin to their students, a move that would
save the ancient script from pure extinction and revitalize the indigenous
writing roots of Filipinos.

Baybayin script is generally not understood in the Philippines, but the

characters are still used artistically and as a symbol of Filipino heritage.
Some cultural and activist groups use Baybayin versions of their acronyms
alongside the use of Latin script, which is also sometimes given a
baybayin-esque style. Baybayin tattoos and brush calligraphy are also
popular.

It is also used in the Philippine Banknotes issued in the last quarter of

2010.
 It is now possible to type Baybayin directly from the keyboard, without
the need to use online typepads. The Philippines National Keyboard Layout
includes different sets of Baybayin layout for different keyboard users.
QWERTY, Capewell-Dvorak, Capewell-QWERF 2006, Colemak, and
Dvorak, all available in Microsoft Windows and GNU/Linux 32-bit and 64-bit
installations.

As of now, many language enthusiasts conduct workshops regarding

Baybayin writing.

F. Hypothesis

Hypothetically, we assume that most Filipinos have no idea what

Baybayin is. They even think that Alibata is the country’s national script.

Based on its significance during our present time, Baybayin is

considered one of the ancient Filipino gems that became forgotten and has
no constant place in minds of most millenials because of neglect and lack
of information.
 Chapter III: METHODOLOGY

Research Design:

This study about Baybayin is a research for its contributions to the

country’s innovation of literacy in the past and its significance and impact to
the minds of Filipinos in the next generations. This study is a qualitative
research and is classified by general methodology as a cross between
descriptive, historical, content analysis and ethnographic. The findings
were mainly based on books, related articles and forums from the internet.

Research Locale:

This study was conducted at New Era University, Central Ave.,

Diliman, Quezon City.

Instrumentation:

All of our collected data are based on facts, information and recent
studies that also covers the topic ‘Baybayin’.