How This Spanish Grammarian Shaped the Filipino Language
Tagalog's grammar was documented and published ahead of several European languages. Instrumental to this linguistic achievement was Spanish grammarian Elio Antonio de Nebrija.
Born in 1444, Nebrija was widely regarded as an esteemed scholar during the Renaissance period in Europe. His pioneering work, "Gramática de la lengua castellana" (Grammar of the Castilian Language), published in 1492, was recognized as the first grammar of modern European languages and served as a model for Spanish friars studying languages in the Americas and the Philippines.
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His methodologies and theories provided a model for the missionaries who embarked on the task of analyzing and documenting the grammars of the Philippines' vernacular languages. This resulted in the publication of the first Tagalog grammar book, Arte y reglas de la lengua tagala, by Dominican friar Francisco Blancas de San José in 1610, an achievement that predates the establishment of grammar for many European languages.
Similar initiatives were undertaken for other Philippine languages, marking a significant chapter in the country's linguistic heritage. Among them are the Arte de la Lengua Iloca (Art of the Ilocano Language), written by the Agustinian Francisco López in 1627, and the Arte de la Lengua Bisaya de la Provincia de Leyte (Art of the Bisaya Language of the Province of Leyte), written by the Jesuit Domingo Ezguerra in 1663.
The exhibit Nebrija en Filipinas runs until 12 June, 2024 at Instituto Cervantes in Intramuros, Manila.
Nebrija's cultural contributions are celebrated in an ongoing exhibit dubbed "Nebrija en Filipinas" at the Instituto Cervantes' Intramuros branch. Tailored for Filipino audiences, the exhibition is an adaptation of the original Nebrija exhibition organized by the National Library of Spain in 2022, commemorating the 500th anniversary of Nebrija's death.
The exhibit, which runs until June 12, 2024, was curated by Dr. Teresa Jiménez Calvente. Additional panels focused on the Philippines, composed by Marlon James Sales of UP Diliman, seek to contextualize Nebrija's impact within the framework of Philippine linguistic history. It is organized by Instituto Cervantes in collaboration with Fundación Antonio Nebrija (Madrid), the Embassy of Spain and AECID, Biblioteca Nacional de España, and the University of Sto. Tomas (Manila).
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