Language As [De]Colonizing Tool: A Postcolonial Reading of Dr. Manuel V. Gallego’s The Language Problem of the Filipinos (1932)

Abstract

This study revisits the contributions of Dr. Manuel Viola Gallego (1893–1976) to Philippine language policy and educational thought, with particular focus on his 1932 essay, The Language Problem of the Filipinos. Through a postcolonial historical analysis informed by the works of Frantz Fanon and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, the research situates Gallego’s critique of colonial education and his promotion of vernacular instruction within broader efforts to assert cultural and intellectual autonomy. The study analyzes archival records, legislative proposals, and rare published texts to reconstruct Gallego’s role in the national discourse on language, identity, and education. Five central findings emerge from the analysis. First, the scholarship on Gallego remains limited, despite his substantial influence on lawmaking and public education. Second, the language issue in the Philippines originates in colonial policies that deliberately undermined native linguistic practices. Third, mother tongue education continues to encounter both ideological resistance and structural barriers. Fourth, the intellectual development of local languages requires consistent policy support and institutional commitment. Fifth, the emerging framework for Gallegan Philosophy, including its proposed inclusion in courses such as SSC 111 and SSC 112, lacks theoretical grounding in indigenous and postcolonial thought. The study calls for a more coherent, historically informed, and culturally grounded approach to language planning and curriculum development. It positions Gallego’s work as a critical foundation for building an education system that affirms linguistic diversity, national identity, and intellectual independence.