The Onslaught of Modern Civilization

Introduction

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The Philippines is a conglomeration of 7,000 or so emerald green islands. One can find in them free pleasures under the tropical sun-white beaches in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, fisherman’s caves in Bataan, Cavite and Sulu, natural wonders in Palawan, serenity in Lake Lanao Kissed by the early morning mist, the marvel that is the Banawe Rice Terraces, the amazing Hundred Islands in Pangasinan, the awesome Chocolate Hills in Bohol- all, these make the Philippines a glittering set of islands in the sun. Rizal called his country Pearl of the Orient Seas and rightly so.

The Filipinos are a hardy race, generally gentle and mery. Sometimes they can hardly keep body and soul together but they can manage a brave smile. Our women have given our homes and society many refinements we can be proud of. Our brothers, and sisters who live up in the mountains and have kept their age-old ways have enriched our culture. Proud as they have always been, they have refused to bow to foreign invaders, even to the low landers who call them brothers but no longer look and live like them. Back

Period of Philippine History

The B.A Period

The A.A Period

Archeological Evidence

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The earliest archaeological remains of human habitation in the Philippines were found in Tabon Cave, on the southwestern coast of Palawan Island. They have been dated to around 22,000 B.C., and consist of a frontal bone and a mandible, the characteristics of which suggest that they belonged to an individual who was phenotypically more similar to the Australoid populations of the region than to the Mongoloid. This individual must be the earliest ancestor yet discovered of today's Australoid population of the Philippines, the Negritos. Today, only about twenty-five distinct Negrito groups exist in the Philippines, but in the distant past, prior to the arrival of the Austronesians, the archipelago must have been home to perhaps hundreds of such groups. Archaeological excavations of what must have been Negrito sites show that these peoples were hunter-gatherers and fishermen and possessed a very simple technology.

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Around 3,500 B.C., the Negritos of Northern Luzon discovered that people unlike any they had seen before had arrived on their shores. They were not black-skinned like themselves but had fair, reddish skin. They had straight hair, their bodies were tattooed with intricate designs, and they spoke a language that was unintelligible to the Negritos. Their arrival had a tremendous impact on the lives of the Negritos, ultimately revolutionizing the way they lived. The Austronesians had arrived and life for the Negritos would never be the same. The lands that had once been their own unrestricted hunting grounds, now had to be shared with the newcomers. But the newcomers were not just hunters and gatherers; they had a way of life that must have fascinated the Negritos.

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Archaeological sites from the Philippines and areas to the south in Indonesia which have been dated prior to around 3,500 B.C. show none of the cultural materials which gradually begin to appear in sites that are dated subsequent to this. Several early sites, such as the caves at Musang in northern Luzon and Tabon in the south of Palawan have two distinct cultural levels (Thiel 1984-85:121, Fox 1970). The lower one gives evidence of occupation by ancestors of today's Negrito population of the areas, with simple flake and blade tools. The higher level contained pottery, ground stone adzes, stone tools for harvesting grain, spinning thread, beating barkcloth, some possible tattooing chisels, and a variety of earrings and other ornaments of personal decoration made from shell, jade, fired clay, and polished stone.

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Adjectives Possessive Adjectives

Demonstrative Adjectives

Interrogative Adjectives

Indefinite Adjectives

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An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing, identifying, or quantifying words. An adjective usually precedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies.

In the following examples, the highlighted words are adjectives:

The truck-shaped balloon floated over the treetops.Mrs. Morrison papered her kitchen walls with hideous wall paper.The small boat foundered on the wine dark sea.The coal mines are dark and dank. Back

A possessive adjective ("my," "your," "his," "her," "its," "our," "their") is similar or identical to a possessive pronoun; however, it is used as an adjective and modifies a noun or a noun phrase, as in the following sentences:

I can't complete my assignment because I don't have the textbook. In this sentence, the possessive adjective "my" modifies "assignment" and

the noun phrase "my assignment" functions as an object. Note that the possessive pronoun form "mine" is not used to modify a noun or noun phrase.

What is your phone number? Here the possessive adjective "your" is used to modify the noun phrase

"phone number"; the entire noun phrase "your phone number" is a subject complement. Note that the possessive pronoun form "yours" is not used to modify a noun or a noun phrase.

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The demonstrative adjectives "this," "these," "that," "those," and "what" are identical to the demonstrative pronouns, but are used as adjectives to modify nouns or noun phrases, as in the following sentences:

When the librarian tripped over that cord, she dropped a pile of books.

In this sentence, the demonstrative adjective "that" modifies the noun "cord" and the noun phrase "that cord" is the object of the preposition "over."

This apartment needs to be fumigated. Here "this" modifies "apartment" and the noun phrase "this

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An interrogative adjective ("which" or "what") is like an interrogative pronoun, except that it modifies a noun or noun phrase rather than standing on its own (see also demonstrative adjectives and possessive adjectives):

Which plants should be watered twice a week? Like other adjectives, "which” can be used to modify a noun or a

noun phrase? In this example, "which” modifies “plants” and the noun phrase “which plants” is the subject of the compound verb “should be watered”?

What book are you reading? In this sentence, "what" modifies "book" and the noun phrase "what

book" is the direct object of the compound verb "are reading."

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An indefinite adjective is similar to an indefinite pronoun, except that it modifies a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase, as in the following sentences:

Many people believe that corporations are under-taxed. The indefinite adjective "many" modifies the noun "people" and

the noun phrase "many people" is the subject of the sentence. I will send you any mail that arrives after you have moved to

Sudbury. The indefinite adjective "any" modifies the noun "mail" and the

noun phrase "any mail" is the direct object of the compound verb "will send."

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Degrees of AdjectivesPositive Forms

Comparative Forms

Superlative Forms

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The positive of an adjective is the form in which the word appears in the dictionary or vocabulary lesson or that which can be described as its standard form. Adjectives in the positive degree don't compare the nouns they modify to others. They don't use the suffixes "-er," or "-est" or take the comparative "more" or the superlative "most."

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Adjectives in the comparative degree often take the inflected suffix "-er" without any spelling changes. However, whenever a two-syllable adjective ends in "-y," the "-y" is dropped and "-ier" is added instead of "-er." An example would be the augmentation of "lovely" to "lovelier." However, some adjectives, such as "beautiful," don't take any suffixes, and instead take the word "more" in front of them. Therefore, "beautiful" becomes "more beautiful."

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The superlative degree is used to express the most extreme degrees of comparison. For adjectives that take suffixes, "-est" or "-iest" is added. "Rich" becomes "richest" and "lovely" becomes "loveliest." And while comparative adjectives can take the word "more" in front of them, superlative adjectives take the word "most." When comparing three beauties, the superlative example would be "most beautiful."

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Some Examples

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Positive Comparative SuperlativeBig Bigger Biggest

Great Greater GreatestShort Shorter ShortestOld Older Oldest

Large Larger LargestHappy Happier HappiestLucky Luckier LuckiestHeavy Heavier Heaviest

Beautiful More beautiful Most beautifulHorrible More horrible Most horrible

Good Better BestBad Worse WorstLittle Less LeastMany More Most Back

Speech Improvement

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Sounds in Focus: /f/ and /v/ The following words are from the listening text. They are arranged in two colums to show

examples of words with the /f/ and /v/ sounds. Listen as your teacher pronounces each one, the first column and the second column next. Repeat after her.

/f/ /v/ forest vine leaves fragrant visit leave flowers value have often never however beautiful covered proved life received Listen to your teacher read the following phrases, too. Then repeart after her. beautiful fragrant flowers beautifully shaped leaves of other trees proved od attraction to travellers travellers would visit the vine grew fairly close to the ground travellers never visit to leave him would not leave,however

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Practice Excersises

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The sounds in focus are /f/ in Column 1 and /v/ in Column 2 Listen and repeat.

/f/ /v/ fan file van vile fine offer vine over fail leaf veil leave fast proof vast prove few helf view shelve feel safe veal save

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Reading Selection

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A Strong and Beatiful PeopleThe country is inhabited by people largely of Malay stock butsub-classified into hundreds of tribes, ethnic groupings, and distinct languages. The colonizers, much to their disgust, could not penetrate the mountain tribes living in the remotest fastness of the Cordilleras nor subdue the “Moros” in the Muslim south, in Sulu,a nd other parts of Mindanao. It is just as well. They havre remained today as our brothers and sisiters who have lived lives, untouched by foreign influences and thus, have retained thier cultural traditions just as they were before the first white man came. One sees in the Filipino a strong and beautiful people. Legend has it that once upon a time, long, long, , ago, there lived a maid and a man who loved each other dearly.. it is said that Malakas and Maganda were born on the same night, at the same hour just the new moon was rising. And thier people, whose loves were ruled by the movements of the sun and the stars and the moon, knew that this strange coincidence had a wondrous meaning. And even as they worshipped the newly-born babaies, thier diviners decreed that Bathala, in his mysterious wisdom, must have meant them for each other. And so it cameto pass that the two kingdoms which were ruled by the parents of Malakas and Maganda held a joint festival to celebrate the double birth. And at this festival, Malakas and Maganda were promised to each other. They would be married after fifteen years. Back

Comprehension Check

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Answer the following questions.1. To what racial stock did most of the people of the Phillipines belong?

2. Are there groupings? What are they?

3. Were the colonizers able to subdue these ethnic tribes or cultural communities? Why not?

4. Can you mention some of these communities and the places where they can still be found today?

5. What legend is retold here to account for the first Filipino? Do you know of any other? Share it with the class?

6. Relate the legend to the title of the reading text.

7. What appealed to you most in the story of Malakas and Maganda? Why did it apppeal to you most?

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Poem: “Like the Molave”

The End.