PAKA(SARITA)AN: ON ILOKANO LANGUAGE, IDENTITY, AND HERITAGE EDUCATION A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN EDUCATION MAY 2012 By Julius Bajet Soria Dissertation Committee: Patricia Halagao, Chairperson Margaret Maaka Helen Slaughter Doris Christopher Aurelio Agcaoili John Mayer Keywords: Ilokano, heritage language, education, social justice ii © 2012 Julius Soria iii DEDICATION To the heritage learners of Ilokano all over the world, my late grandparents Candido, Tomasa, Emilio, and Macaria, my late uncle Lt. Col. Fernando H. Bajet, my parents Antonio Carpio Soria and Patricia Bajet Soria, and my siblings Carmen and Trixia. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My journey in the doctoral program and the completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the support and guidance of many individuals. Dios ti agngina iti Dios a Namarsua for making all things possible. To my dear parents, Antonio and Patricia Soria, for their unconditional love and planting in me the seed of hardwork, humility, and strong work ethic. They have always served as my inspiration. I am equally indebted to my siblings, Carmen and Trixie, for their constant encouragement and support. Thank you to my aunt Caridad “Caring” Soria Dar and her late husband, Honorio “Canor” Dar for paving the way for my family to come to this great country of the United States. I want to thank my dissertation chair, Dr. Patricia Halagao, for continually pushing me and keeping me on track and organized. I would like to thank each of my committee members for taking the time out of their busy schedule to read and comment on this dissertation: Dr. Helen Slaugther, Dr. Doris Christopher, Dr. Margaret Maaka, Dr. Aurelio Agcaoili, and Dr. John Mayer. I value the relationship and wisdom that you have shared with me. My sincerest gratitude to Dr. Aurelio Agcaoli for making himself available after office hours, offering his freshly brewed coffee, and answering any of my query on my methods and methodology. Thank you for listening to my frustrations at times and being a true “manong.” I would also like to extend my thanks to the Department of Indo Pacific Languages and Literatures and the College of Languages, Linguistics, and Literature for granting me a much needed study leave in Spring 2011 to do my data collection. My appreciation also goes to Dr. John Mayer, my deparment chair and university representative, JoAnn Espinueva, Sandra Takeo, and the student assistants in the department. Thank you to Liane Yoshitsugu, Desi Ray Deluze, Raelyn Batacan, and Tessa Medeiros. During my graduate careers, I have had the opportunities to be involved in two innovative grants that addressed the needs of minority students, which paved the way for the offering of Ilokano language classes at Nakem High School. Thank you to Dr. Kathryn Davis of the Department of Second Language Studies for allowing me to be a part of the SHALL project. Likewise, to my UH Manoa GEAR UP family, especially to Dr. Roderick Labrador, for believing in the work that we do. Thank you for taking interest in me as a scholar and a person. I offer sincere appreciation to a group of friends who listened and provided support as I worked toward this dissertation: Dr. Eva Rose Washburn-Repollo, Dr. Pia Arboleda, and Denise Ah Sue. I extend my appreciation to Dr. Washburn-Repollo for sharing with me her doctoral journey. To my good friends Agnes Malate and Adrianne Guerero for all their initial feedback and proofreading various drafts of my proposal and dissertation. v I am deeply indebted to the students and teachers who participated in this project. Thank you for sharing your stories. Your stories continue to inspire me. I am indebted to the principal of Nakem High School and the Hawai‘i Department of Education for welcoming and supporting this study. To my UH Manoa Timpuyog family for always inspiring and routing for me to finish this dissertation. I am grateful to my faculty co-advisor and colleague, Clemen Montero, for always reminding me to “take a deep breath.” I am very grateful to my former colleagues in the Ilokano Language Program and mentors, Dr. Josie Clausen and Professor Prescila Espiritu, for encouraging me to pursue graduate school while working as an Ilokano lecturer. I am indebted to Manang Precy for introducing me to the Ilokano Language Program which dates back to 1996. To my kagungloan, gagayyem, ken papagayam in Gumil-Hawai‘i and Timpuyog Dagiti Mannurat nga Ilokano Global (TMI-Global) for your prayers and Ilokano wisdom. To my friends, mentors, and co-barangay leaders from Sariling Gawa Youth Council, Inc. for your friendship and giving me the space to empower the Filipino youth in Hawai‘i. To all my family members, relatives, and teachers in the Ilocos for all their love and prayers. To Michael Sana, Lucianne Pukahi, Christopher Mallanao, Almond Jaye Ereno, Calvin Rilveira, Joyce Transfiguracion, and Diana Valencia. And finally to all my Ilokano students, past and present, for sharing your stories with me. You make teaching rewarding and enjoyable! Dios ti agngina kadakayo amin! Agbiag ni Ilokano! vi ABSTRACT This study documented Ilokano as a heritage/community language in Hawai‘i, focusing on Ilokano heritage learners at a public high school in urban Honolulu. The indigenous Ilokano word pakasaritaan (paka + sarita + an) contextualizes and frames this study to produce the body of knowledge on Ilokano heritage learners in Hawai‘i. In putting together the sarita (stories) of the five Ilokano informants in this study, I engaged in saritaan (talk story) with the students to uncover their sarita in the context of their experiences at home, school, community, and with their peers to arrive at their pakasaritaan or their history. The intersection between sarita and pakasaritaan invokes/summons the other, hence, the story in history and history in the story. The findings revealed that the students’ experiences were rich and multi-layered. The immigrant home was the core of the students’ stories that planted the values of hard work and education. The results also showed (dis)connects between home and the school culture in the lives and education of these students. Offering Ilokano language to the heritage learner affirmed the cultural capital of the home, but more importantly, acknowledged the language and heritage rights of a marginalized group in spite of mainstream and hegemonic practices. This study extends the scholarship of heritage language learning from a uniquely Ilokano and youth perspective. It contributes to research methodologies by developing culturally appropriate protocols that respect and celebrate the stories of marginalized groups to work toward linguistic pluralism and social justice. The sarsarita (stories) combined lead us to larger conversations, pakasaritaan about diversity, language education, and minority rights. Finally, implications from this study and recommendations for pedagogy are discussed. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................iv ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................................vi LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES ...............................................................................................................xi CHAPTER 1 ..........................................................................................................................12 PAKAUNA: INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................12 Centering the “I” in Ilokano .......................................................................................12 Context of the Study ..................................................................................................18 Problems to be addressed ...........................................................................................19 Research Questions ....................................................................................................23 Significance of the Study ...........................................................................................24 The “I” in Ilokano: An Insider Researcher ...............................................................26 Memories of the homeland: Santa is the river / The river is Santa ...............29 Immigrant Experiences as Stories ..................................................................32 Undergraduate Years .....................................................................................34 Graduate School .............................................................................................35 As a Language Teacher ..................................................................................36 CHAPTER 2 ..........................................................................................................................39 REPASO TI LITERATURA: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...............................................39 Ilokano: The Language of Diaspora .........................................................................39 Language Policies in the Philippines Affecting Immigration ....................................45 Overview of Language Policies in the U.S. ...............................................................47