ABSTRACT
Code-switching is the perception of language mixture of two or more languages during a discussion or conversation. These concepts inspired the development of the study, which focused on the existence of bilingual code-switching between Dumaget (an indigenous language) and Tagalog as DumaLog, a mixed language practiced as a means of communication and linguistic vitality by the indigenous people of General Tinio, Nueva Ecija.
The study's conclusions showed that the Dumagat people have been using DumaLog, a bilingual code-switching system, as a natural language practice. This was largely seen in the context of three domains: the household, the school, and the community. It was discovered that the code-switching occurs frequently and is influenced by the way that indigenous people live in society and how their language helps them fit in with the speaking population to which they are exposed. Both at home and at school, code-switches between Dumaget and Tagalog are common, although at school, a higher proportion of mean distribution was seen than at home. The community's mix of two identifiable languages was linguistically mapped to the classification of code-switching as to inter-sentential, intra-sentential, and emblematic switching.
In accordance to the participants' subjective assessments, the study revealed that the members of an observed speaking community had a positive attitude about combining their native language (Dumaget) with Tagalog. The Dumagat tribe in General Tinio, for example, is an indigenous tribe that still manages to interact in a natural system despite the numerous significant vulnerabilities faced by indigenous peoples, whereby place dislocation due to land dispossession, resettlement, and landscape fragmentation has challenged the persistence of their language knowledge systems.
The identification of the Dumagat tribe's language has been confirmed by a number of statements made by members of the tribe. In order to restore indigenous languages and preserve and revitalize indigenous cultures, the study put forth the idea that reintegrating indigenous languages into indigenous social life and an indigenous mode of learning is one strategy. The awareness it raised in all three areas contributed to the indigenous language's survival and spread in spite of environmental changes.
Keywords: DUMALOG, code-switching, language vitality