Status of Kankana-ey in San Gabriel, Santol, and Sudipen, La Union: An ethnographic study

• Main Author: Pinay-an, Maria Elaine D.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2021
• Subjects: Kankanay language > Philippines; Kankanay (Philippine people) > Languages; Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdd_deal/4; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=etdd_deal
• Institution: De La Salle University

This dissertation attempted to investigate the language contact phenomena of a five-generational group of Kankana-ey migrants in the three municipalities in the first district of La Union namely: San Gabriel, Santol and Sudipen where Ilocano is the lingua franca of the province. It explored the language attitudes, language beliefs and language proficiency based on language use of these communities to derive a language status continuum model in which Kankana-ey is situated. Additionally, it also looked at the sociolinguistic factors which affected the current status of the language. This study is a descriptive and ethnographic study which utilized both quantitative and qualitative methodology. A total of 352 informants participated in a survey consisting of the Language Attitude Questionnaire, Beliefs in Ethnolinguistic Vitality Questionnaire (BEVQ), Self-reported Language Use, Actual Language Proficiency Test and Sociolinguistic Questionnaire. Interviews and participant observation method as well as field notetaking were likewise used as elicitation tools in the present study to triangulate this qualitative data with the quantitative data part of the study. Results reveal that Kankana-ey as spoken in San Gabriel, Santol and Sudipen, La Union is at level 6b (threatened): vulnerable. Keywords: Kankana-ey language, language status, language attitude, language beliefs, language proficiency