Register of Weaving: Basis for the Development of Cultural Glossary of Lopezes

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Language and culture play an important role in one's individual. Language manifest culture in language carrier and culture will manifest language. With this, the researcher believes that among Fan Weavers of Lopez, there are certain words used within the culture of weaving. Weaving is considered as the culture of Lopezes but young Lopezes benighted with their own culture and language register used within this culture. This study sought to identify how the culture of weaving exist and to develop cultural glossary based on the culture of the community.

METHODS

A descriptive-qualitative research design was used in this study. Descriptive method was used to identify how the weaving culture of Lopez exists. A qualitative design was used to determine weaving register used in a particular community of weaver, with the belief that culture plays an important role in the language used by the person guided by one culture. The interview was used among weavers of selected barangay in Lopez, Quezon, to gather data about the existence of weaving culture and weaving registers, from raw materials, process, terms or name of the product and other words used in fan weaving.

RESULTS

Lopezes’ culture of weaving was carried by the Japanese to those who lived in the remote barangay of Lopez using young anahaw leaves, which was the most accessible raw materials from the environment. It was passed to various families for generations, where new styles, processes, and materials in weaving were developed. From a simple anahaw fan, lapat or bamboo fan, and the latest raffia fan, which is made from bull leaves using a machine in weaving. There were 65 registers collected from the culture of weaving, which was used for their daily life. "Register of Fan: Cultural Glossary of Lopezes" was then developed. It’s a glossary containing 65 weaving registers arranged alphabetically with meaning, corresponding parts of speech written in italic inside the parenthesis, and appropriate sample sentences for better understanding of the readers.

DISCUSSIONS

The results of the study show that culture must be preserved and valued for it mirrors the language of the persons sharing the same culture and the life of the entire community. Language development also varies from one culture to another and therefore needs to be embraced by the people living in a certain community especially the youth or the new generation to avoid language extinction. For the success of the study, immediate utilization and dissemination of the output will be needed to inculcate culture and the associated language.