Exploring The Benguet Kankana-Ey Mathematical Terminologies
Exploring The Benguet Kankana-Ey Mathematical Terminologies
IV. Background of The Study which involves the use of both (Yiakoumetti, 2007). As a
resolution, the Department of Education implemented the
We do live in exciting times that, at the same time, Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) in all
confusing, in a world that is changing, as it always has of public schools, specifically in Kindergarten, Grades 1, 2, and 3
course, but now under the influences of globalization. And yet, (DepEd Order No.16).
there are some things that do not change in the majority of our
classrooms. We still have a teacher and students Why primary education? According to the study
communicating with each other, mainly verbally, in a learning conducted by Fakeye (2011), primary education is the most
environment (Clarkson, 2009). important level of education because the quality of other levels
of education, secondary and tertiary, is determined by its
At present, globalization is impacting on education, quality. In addition, pre-school years are important for
even in the much localized site of the classroom. One aspect socialization and the development of the child’s character and
of this process is on what language is to be used in teaching. personality (Yazici, Itler, Glover, 2010). Lastly, kindergarten
Although there are classrooms that have mostly children from education is vital to the academic and technical development
a dominant culture, still, most classrooms have students from of the Filipino child for it is the period when the young mind's
a mixture of culture and linguistic backgrounds (Vandeyar, absorptive capacity for learning is at its sharpest (Republic Act
2008; Clarkson, 2009). Because of this, most teaching No. 10157).
methods, since the end of the nineteenth century and
throughout the twentieth century, banned the use of mother Language is one of the most important variables
tongue; therefore, ignoring the necessity to use L1 (Halasa, At- affecting education in which mother tongue (first language,
Manaseer, n.d.). native language, or L1) plays a key role in children’s
education. According to Kavaliauskiene, Mazeikiene, &
In the Philippine setting, it enjoys significant language Valunaite-Oleskeviciene (2010), the use of native language in
diversity and a high degree of multilingualism for a long period classroom settings, both by the teachers, students, or parents,
of time. Yet, one of the disadvantages is the pressure and can be an aid to language learning and at the same time, it
stress placed on teachers, since they need to decide on what may also help to activate language usage and serve as a tool
language to incorporate due to the varied languages found in to improve language skills. Furthermore, the use of the mother
the classroom. It has always been a controversy on how much tongue or home language is the key to increasing access to
of L1 should be used in which the issue of language and school and facilitating learning, including learning of second
education comes into picture, particularly, the issue of which language. This is because the use of a child’s home language
code to use as the medium of instruction has generated much is one of the most important factors in helping the child learn to
heated debate in bidialectal societies. This debate is reflected read and to write, learning academic content (such as
in the literature on language policy in education which is mathematics and history), and also learning other languages.
divided into three main areas: (i) the use of the standard Lastly, usage of mother tongue provides learners a sense of
variety as medium of instruction; (ii) the use of a non-standard security in the experience of learning a foreign language
dialect as medium of instruction; and (iii) bidialectal education, (Yazici, Ilter, Glover, 2010). Therefore, higher level of mother
tongue competence should be developed in children as early mother tongue; (b) when the teacher does not speak the
as possible for them to have a rich vocabulary which help mother tongue of the learners; (c) when resources, in line with
them learn the school language and learn to read and to write the use of the mother tongue, are not yet available; and (d)
easily. Hence, when parents spend time with their children and when teachers are not yet trained how to use the MTB-MLE
tell stories or discuss issues with them in a way that develops program.
their mother tongues’ vocabularies and concepts, children
come to school well prepared to learn and succeed With the following exceptions mentioned in the act, the
educationally (Noormohamadi, 2008). researchers decided to address one of the problems - the lack
in learning resources. The lack of research on teaching
In order to strengthen the foundation of mother tongue multilingual classrooms also applies to mathematics (Clarkson,
in primary school education, the Department of Education 2009). Since MTB-MLE has its main purposes: to acquaint
(DepEd Order No.16), ordered all public schools, specifically students with the cognitive and academic development, to
Kindergarten, Grades 1, 2, and 3 should incorporate the use of develop language which establishes a strong education for
Mother Tongue Based-Multilinggual Education (MTB-MLE) success in school and lifelong learning, to develop cognitive
starting this school year, 2012-2013. The aims of MTB-MLE which focuses on Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) and to
includes the following: (1) language development which develop socio-cultural awareness which enhances the pride of
establishes a strong education for success in school and the learner’s heritage, language and culture, then, it is but
lifelong learning; (2) cognitive development which focuses on proper to produce a literary material which includes the
Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS); (3) academic terminologies of the mother tongue. The written form of the
development which prepare the learners to acquire mastery of terminologies is the technique of creating written versions of
competencies in each learning competencies; (4) socio- spoken languages.
cultural awareness which enhances the pride of the learner’s
heritage, language and culture. In the DepEd Order No. 16, The 1974 Bilingual Education Policy in the
eight major languages were offered as a medium of Philippines mandated the use of English as the medium of
instruction. A medium of instruction is the language used in instruction in Mathematics. Therefore, Mathematics textbooks
imparting knowledge and inculcating values and norms of the and materials are written in English for all grade levels. Thus,
society in the young ones in the formal school system Filipino children are expected to solve math problems in
(Fakeye, 2011). The proposed languages were Tagalog, English even from their first year of schooling (Gonzales,
Kampampangan, Pangasinense, Iloko, Bikol, Cebuano, 1989; National Statistical Coordination Board [NSCB], 2007;
Hiligaynon, Waray, Tausug, Maguindanaoan, Maranao, and Young, 2002 as cited by Bautista, Mulligan, Mitchelmore,
Chabacano. However, as stated in the Republic Act No. 10157 2009). However, children find difficulty in solving and decoding
An Act Institutionalizing The Kindergarten Education Into The math problems since they only encounter English language in
Basic Education System And Appropriating Funds Therefor, school. Hence, the role and impact of language in teaching
Section 5, MTB-MLE shall be made exempted by the following mathematics becomes a feature for mathematics education
cases: (a) when the pupils in the kindergarten classroom have research over the last three decades, in which conceptual
different mother tongues or when some of them speak another development in mathematics is dependent on an appropriate
understanding and use of the academic language of the valuable to teach and to learn mother tongue languages in
subject (Clarkson 2009). Because of the implementation of the today societies (Shieh, 2011).
new curriculum, K to 12, then mathematics should be taught in
the native tongue. Kankana-ey language is a language used by Kankanay
people which constitutes 36% of the total population of the
Mathematics is inseparably tied to notation and Benguet Province. Benguet is a landlocked province of the
symbolism. As a result, children are generally given little credit Philippine Islands in the Cordillera Administrative Region. Most
for mathematical understanding before they begin school, of the tribes have their own languages. The Ibaloi speak
although the process of constructing mathematical knowledge Ibaloy, while the Kankana-eys speak Kankana-ey. According
begins well before this time (Pepper & Hunting, 1998). We to the study conducted by Allen (2006), Kankana-ey is a
should be reminded that mathematics itself is influenced by language spoken by 150,000 people in communities in
culture, language, the social milieu of the classroom, the Northern Luzon, mostly in Benguet Province. The SIL
school and wider society, in which Mathematics should be Ethnologue database classifies the language under Central
rooted in culture. With this, culturally relevant instruction can Cordilleran branch.
offer opportunities for students to learn Mathematics in ways
that are deeply meaningful and influential to the development V. Problem, objectives, research questions and/or
of a positive Mathematics identity (Leonard, Brooks, Barnes- hypothesis
Johnson & Berry III, 2010). However, in order to be effective,
teachers need to attend to nuances and complexities inherent This research aims to explore Benguet Kankana-ey
in a culture and they may address this through the help of the mathematical terminologies to aid teachers in using it as a
written terminologies. medium of instruction in teaching mathematical concepts.
Many classrooms in which Mathematics is taught are strategy in early language learning and an important aspect of
indeed micro sites of multiculturalism because the subject early phonological acquisition. Moreover, it is consonant with
itself and more clearly how Mathematics is taught is influenced behavioristic principles of language acquisition. Behaviorists
by culture, language, social milieu of the classroom, the school assume one type of imitation - the surface-structure imitation,
and wider society and the aspects are inseparable (Vandeyar, where a person repeats or mimics the surface strings,
2008). Language is a fundamental part of total human attending to a phonological code rather than a semantic code.
behavior. According to behaviorists, those whose emphasis is It is this level of imitation that enables an adult to repeat
on empirical observation and scientific method, children learn random numbers or nonsense syllables, or even to mimic
to comprehend an utterance by reacting. For instance, if a unknown languages. The earliest stages of child language
particular response is reinforced, then it becomes habitual, or acquisition may manifest a good deal of surface imitation since
conditioned. Under this approach (Behaviorist Approach), it babies may not possess the necessary semantic categories to
embodies B.F. Skinner’s operant conditioning. Operant assign “meaning” to utterances. However, as children perceive
conditioning refers to the habituation of human being who the importance of the semantic level of language, they attend
emits response without necessary stimuli, in which, response to the deep structure of language, and may engage in the
is maintained by reinforcement. Moreover, verbal behavior is a deep-structure imitation. Research has also shown that
result of operant behavioral processes rather than children, when explicitly asked to repeat a sentence in a test
representational or logical processes that are explicitly held to situation, will often repeat the correct underlying deep
be nonbehavioral. Knowledge claims such as scientific structure with a change in the surface rendition.
theories and explanations are verbal phenomena and may be
analyzed as such, rather than as constructions having a Closely related to the notion of imitation is the nature of
representational or logical status that is explicitly practice in child language. It is common to observe children
nonbehavioral (Moore, 2011). In order to broaden the and conclude that they “practice” language constantly,
behaviorist framework, some psychologists proposed especially in the early stages of single-word and two-word
mediation theory, meaning, a “mediating” response that is self- utterances. According to Ruth Weir (1962 as cited by Brown,
stimulating. It says here that deep structures are intricately 1994), one unique form of practice used by children is through
bound up in a person’s total cognitive and affective monologue which usually occurs at night before going to
experience; therefore, it is an invisible process acting within sleep. Furthermore, Brown and Hanlon (1970 as cited by
the learner (Osgood 1957as cited by Brown, 1994). Another Brown, 1994) found that the frequency of occurrence of a
account was made by Jenkins and Palermo (1994, as cited by linguistic item is the speech of mothers was an overwhelmingly
Brown, 1994) who claimed that children may acquire frames of strong predictor of the order of emergence of those items in
a phrase-structure grammar and learn the stimulus-response the children’s speech.
equivalence through imitation.
On one hand, behavioristic views of child language
Children are excellent imitators. It is simply a matter of caused researchers to ask more ultimate questions that
understanding exactly what it is that they are imitating. Indeed, probed beneath and beyond scientific investigation. Another
research has shown that echoing is a particularly salient framework came into the picture, the nativist approach. The
term nativist is derived from the fundamental assertion that comes to help his or her intellectual formation
language acquisition is innately determined, that humans are (Noormohamadi, 2008). The same claim holds the Social
born with a built-in device of some kind that predisposes them Interactionist Theory. Followers of the aforementioned idea
to language acquisition. Using the nativist theory, the focus of believe that language originates in social exchange and
learning is on grammatical sentence construction (Poll, 2011). communication (as cited by in Beckner et al., 2009). It also
Erin Lenneberg (1967 as cited by Brown, 1994) proposed that asserts that joint attention is one of the several general
language-related mechanisms are biologically determined. learning abilities that contribute to language learning. With the
Similarly, Noam Chomsky (1965) claimed that child’s mastery programs held by the social interactionists, there is evidence
of his native language acquisition in a short time is embodied that the programs help children to start combining words and
in a “little black box”, a language acquisition device (LAD). To to acquire early developing morphemes (Poll, 2011). Likewise,
strengthen Chomsky’s view, McNeill (1996 as cited by Brown, Vygotsky’s paradigm reveals that culture contributes to the
1994) described the four innate linguistic properties of LAD: (1) intellectual development of children by first, they acquire much
the ability to distinguish speech sounds from other sounds in of their thinking (knowledge) from it; and second, they acquire
the environment, (2) the ability to organize linguistic events the means of their thinking (tools of intellectual adaptation in
into various classes which can later be refined, (3) knowledge language) from the surrounding culture (Noormohamadi,
that only a certain kind of linguistic system is possible and that 2008).
other kinds are not, (4) the ability to engage in constant
evaluation of the developing linguistic system so as to Lastly, the Emergentist Theory view language as a
construct the simplest possible system out of the linguistic product of the interaction of the inside learning capabilities of
data that are encountered. He also noted that children all over the child and the outside language environment. With this, the
the world start to speak at roughly the same age and proceed child may not be born with specific biases for grammatical
through roughly the same stages without being explicitly structures, but the ways that neurons are organized and is
taught or rewarded (Kassin, 2008). Furthermore, nativist functioning in the brain results in the ability to learn language
researchers focus on what to be known as Universal Grammar associations like in verb sound structures and past tense
(UG). It is a set of mental modules that are largely dedicated to forms. The child is endowed from a very early age with this
language and it provides the child with a reduced set of pattern extraction capability, which is the ability related to
possibilities for how language is structured (Poll, 2011). UG language but different from the universal grammar proposed
research is attempting to discover what it is that all children, by Nativist Theory. Like the social interactionist perspective,
regardless of their environment stimuli bring to the language emergentist theory suggests that language acquisition is very
acquisition process. dependent on language input and the context of that input to
the child (Poll, 2011).
In addition, the Sociocultural Theory of Vygotsky
emphasizes how children’s interaction with adults contributes For years, psychologists and educators have been
to the development of skills (Thompson, 2008) thus; adults embroiled in the “nature-nurture” controversy. An interesting
transmit to children the rich body of culture through their line of research on innateness was pursued by Derek
speech. Then the child’s own language, as learning process, Bickerton (1981 as cited by Brown, 1994), who found
evidence, across a number of languages, of common patterns These are the following theories in which this study is
of linguistic and cognitive development. He proposed that based on.
human beings are “bio-programmed” to proceed from stage to
stage. Like flowering plants, people are innately programmed
to “release” certain properties of language at certain Research Paradigm. The process that shall be
developmental ages. Just as you cannot make a geranium followed in the conduct of the study is shown in Figure 1.
bloom before it’s “time’, so human beings will “bloom” in
predetermined, pre-programmed steps. Input
Mathematical terminologies and grade 1 mathematics
In all this theories, the role of input in the child’s concepts as stated on the approved curriculum
acquisition of language is undeniably crucial. The speech that Results of surveyed Kankana-ey Mathematical
young children hear is primarily the speech heard in the home, orthography through interview
and much of that speech is parental speech or the speech of
Documents using Kankana-ey as a medium of conveying
older siblings, in which, most adult speech is basically semi
contents
grammatical which causes children to be exposed to a chaotic
sample of language that can account for their successful
acquisition of language.
Process
In relation to input is the conversational or discourse. Analysis of the survey results and documents matching
While parental input is a significant part of the child’s them with the needed mathematical terminologies to deliver
development of conversational rules, it is only one aspect, as
mathematical concepts
the child also interacts with peers and, of course, with other
adults. Thus, in order for successful first language acquisition
to take place, interaction, rather than exposure, is required;
children do not learn language from overhearing the Output
conversations of others or from listening to the radio, and Kankana-ey Mathematical Terminologies for Grade 1
must, instead, acquire it in the context of being spoken to
(Berko-Gleason 1982 as cited by Brown, 1994). Moreover,
teachers should facilitate in order for the children to act upon Figure 1. Paradigm of the Study
the world with objects and tasks that serve to foster their
understanding of invariance. While adhering to this point, they VII. Design and Method
shouldn’t enforce correct answers. Instead, children must be
free to construct their own understanding (Noormohamadi, The research paradigm was a qualitative method which
2008). investigated the why and how of the occurrence of a
phenomena (Laxman, 2012). More specifically, descriptive
method was employed to conduct this qualitative research. As
defined by Manuel and Medel (as cited by Calderon & seek for some help from her in developing the mathematical
Gonzales, 1993), descriptive method describes what is. It terminologies and for the confirmation of the concepts. Mrs.
involves the description, recording, analysis, and interpretation Osting is currently piloting a study on the MTB-MLE in Bangao
of the present nature, composition or process of phenomena. Moreno Elementary School in Buguias, Benguet where she is
The focus is on prevailing conditions, or how a person, group, designing books for pupils with the text written in the mother
or thing behaves or functions in the present. It often involves tongue. She is the principal of the said school and she teaches
some type of comparison and contrast. grade 1 pupils for almost eight (8) years. Some of the terms
she mentioned during the interview in Bangao, Buguias were
To reduce the likelihood of misinterpretation, the placed in the final output since it conform to the standards of
researchers utilized the use of interview, document review, Kankana-ey mathematical terms.
and aide-memoire. These procedures, called triangulation, are
considered a process of using multiple perceptions to clarify Instrumentation and Data Collection Procedure
meaning, keeping in mind that the use of multiple methods of
data collection to achieve triangulation is important to obtain To capture the essence of the phenomenon under
an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon under study. investigation, an in-depth interview was employed as the main
Using these multiple methods corroborates the evidence that tool in data gathering. Preliminarily, basic mathematical
the researchers have obtained via different means. (Calderon concepts for grade 1 were itemized according to the approved
& Gonzales, 1993). K to 12 curriculum. This served as the researcher’s framework
of the items or the aide-memoire. The aide-memoire was
Participants and Setting made simple and direct for easier comprehension. A draft was
presented to Mr. Bryan A. Hidalgo, one of the instructors of
The study was conducted in the province of Benguet, Saint Louis University – School of Teacher Education, and
Philippines, specifically in the barangays of Bakun namely who also teaches grade 1 pupils in an extension program and
Ampusongan and Dalipey. The selection of participants was the draft was also presented to Mr. Isikias T. Picpican, Archival
based on the following criteria: (1) elders who were born and Curator of Saint Louis University Museum, for content
raised in the said places; (2) native speaker of the Kankana-ey validation. Their suggestions were incorporated in the final
language; and (3) grade 1 math teacher of the locale who aide-memoire.
knows how to speak or is knowledgeable of the language.
In the initial phase, letters of request were handed to
Generally, there were 21 respondents who actively the respondents. With the permission and the willingness of
participated in the study; 3 teachers and 18 elders. At the time the participants involved, interviews were done based on their
of the study, the teachers were teaching grade 1 pupils who availability and in the place identified by them. Such practice
were speaking in mother tongue, Kankana-ey. These teachers was observed to ensure that a more natural and open
did not undergo any formal extensive training on how to atmosphere is created; thus, establishing better rapport and
educate students with the use of Kankana-ey language, understanding between the participants and the researchers
except for one, Mrs. Herminia M. Osting. The researchers then (de Guzman & Tan, 2007).
Before the interview commenced, an orientation was memoire were treated fairly according to the purpose of the
given to the respondents to make them aware of the research study. The material was formed, categorized and tabulated.
purpose and design of the study. During the course of the
interview, some teachers and elders gave no response to GRADE 1 MATHEMATICAL CONCEPTS AND KEY TERMS
some of the items. In these cases, the researchers skipped the
item and went back to it if an answer popped into the The success of a mother tongue instruction policy
respondents’ minds. depends on people’s attitudes towards the first language and
to understand how attitudes towards a language develop, it is
Though an aide–memoire was used, follow up necessary to consider the social and political history of the
questions were raised to further probe into the participants’ nation, since such historical forces play a significant role
responses during the interview. The entire interview was tape- (Bambose, 1991; Robinsom, 1996 cited by Ndamba, 2088).
recorded with the consent of the respondents and the The gathering made by the researchers of Kankana-ey words
responses were completely transcribed afterwards. Under about mathematical concepts depicted the asperity of knowing
some circumstances, translations varied from one another and the exact term used by the native speakers from Bakun,
correspondence was observed by the researchers. Benguet. The terms gathered were based on the given results
Furthermore, to ensure trustworthiness and validity in of the interviewed native speakers, grade one teachers of
translating the mathematical concepts, the researchers looked Ampusongan and Dalipey, Bakun, and Mrs. Herminia M.
into documents written in Kankana-ey which include: songs, Osting who is an expert about implementing mother-tongue as
poems, prayers and these were reviewed by professionals a medium of instruction in Buguias Elementary School before
who were expert at mathematics and were fully knowledgeable the new curriculum started. Mrs. Osting had been a guide in
of the English and Kankana-ey languages to the review was coming up with terminologies for she had been designing
done support more accurately the construction of the books (workbooks) written in Kankana-ey for her own students
terminologies. to have more resources of their own language. The
mathematical concepts were clustered by groups such as the
With this construction of the terminologies, the Patterns and Algebra, Number and Number Sense,
researchers were able to explore on the Benguet Kankana-ey Measurements. Most of the interviews were administered
mathematical terminologies to address the problem of non- using the mother-tongue since most of the interviewees were
existing orthography for many ethnic groups particularly here native speakers.
in Benguet.
PATTERNS AND ALGEBRA
VIII. Results and Discussion Patterns and algebra is the first category or theme of
the itemized Grade 1 mathematical concepts.
This chapter presents, analyzes and interprets the
findings of the study regarding the Kankana-ey mathematical
orthography. The data derived from the interview and aide-
Green A color in Kaman gete context; and (e) kaman daya (sky like, excluding the clouds) –
between yellow With this, we too can be very certain that sky is really colored
and blue.
blue,like the color
of grass.
NUMBERS AND NUMBER SENSE
Black Being the color of Natideng
coal or carbon. Number and Number Sense is the second category or
Natuling theme of the itemized Grade 1 mathematical concepts.
Mangetit CARDINAL NUMBERS
Orange A mixture of red Man-abugang-gang ENGLISH WORDS KANKANA-EY
and yellow. (based on the color of CORRESPONDENCE
the chicken) 1 esa
Blue Having or Kaman daya 2 duwa
resembling the 3 tulo
color of
4 upat
the sky on a
5 lima
cloudless day.
6 enem
Table 1.1. Kankana-ey correspondence for colors 7 pito
8 wao
Table 1.1 shows the translated Kankana-ey terms for 9 siyam
colors and shapes however, not all colors have exact 10 sinpo
correspondence in Kankana-ey language. Context sensitivity 11 sinpo ya esa
and understanding allowed for interpretation (Bloomberg & 12 sinpo ya duwa
Volpe, 2008). In fact, red and black are the only ones which 13 sinpo ya tulo
have fixed terms. Again, the use of the term “kaman” or “like” 14 sinpo ya upat
in English language is retained. The following are the 15 sinpo ya lima
translations: (a) kaman-nangu (dried like), e.g. dried leaves; 16 sinpo ya enem
(b) kaman naum (ripe like), e.g. applicable only to fruits and 17 sinpo ya pito
vegetables that become yellow when ripe; (c) kaman pakak 18 sinpo ya wao
(violet like), i.e this is a sweet potato colored violet. At least we 19 sinpo ya siyam
can say that this given term is constant since it is really violet;
20 duwanpo
(d) Man-abugang-gang (orange) – this did not make use of the
21 duwanpo ya esa
word kaman since the term has its basis - the color of the
22 duwanpo ya duwa
chicken which is viewed within historical and/or cultural
23 duwanpo ya tulo
Table 2 presents the Kankana-ey translation for the Table 2.1 Kankana-ey correspondences for place value
cardinal numbers. In this findings, numbers one to one
hundred were given a definite term accompanied by rules in Table 2.1 shows the Kankana-ey translation for place
getting the Kankana-ey form of these mathematical concepts. value. As shown in the collected Kankanaey terms of number
The observed rules in forming the Kankana-ey terms of these and number sense mathematical concepts, the place value
mathematical concepts are adding n+po for multiples of 10 terms are literally based or constructed on their own words
ending with a vowel; adding n+pulo for words ending with a and added to the affix (in/en) to form the corresponding terms.
consonant and changing /o/ to /u/ and add n+po for the terms The mathematical term “ones” is stated as “enesa” which
ending in /o/. Relating to cardinal numbers, there was an comes from its root word “esa” (one) and added to the
agreement that the Kankana-ey term of 100 should be “esa’y- kankana-ey prefix “en”. The prefixes /en/ or /in/ are used to
gasot” rather than the used term “sin-gasot”, the former is emphasize meaning. The term tens is stated as “sininpo”
preferred tohave meaning in the definition and differentiation of which derived from its root word “sinpo” (ten) and added to the
the two terms. According to Mrs.Osting, the appropriate term Kankana-ey prefix “in”. The term hundreds iss stated as
for one hundred should be “esay-gasot” rather than the “ginasot” which is derived from its root word “gasot” (hundred)
commonly used term “sin-gasot” because in “sin” means ten and added to its Kankana-ey prefix “sin”. The Kankana-ey
and “esa” means one. If you analyze the given term and use prefix /in/ is use to accompany the root words so that the
“sin-gasot” instead of “esay-gasot”, the meaning of one meaning of each word will be emphasized.
hundred will become one thousand. In this study, the
Kankana-ey terms of these mathematical concepts were COMPARING NUMBERS
based on the common term in everyday use and based also ENGLISH WORDS KANKANA-EY
on the lexical formation of words such as carrying the root CORRESPONDENCE
word and the word ya. For 50 which is “limapulo”, it did not Greater than (>) ad-ad-adu
follow the rule of adding “n+po” when the root word ends with Less than (<) at-at-atik
a vowel. Equal to (=) man-isu
Table 2.2 Kankana-ey correspondence for comparing numbers
Table 2.2 presents the Kankana-ey translation for “nangun-una” from its root word “una” (first) and by the use of
comparing numbers. As shown in the study, gathered terms the Kankana-ey prefix “nangun”. The terms Second (2nd) until
are also basic words from Kankana-ey language that have Tenth (10th) were derived from their root words (duwa, tulo,
something to do with the meaning of the mathematical terms. upat, lima, enem, ito, wao, siyam and sinpo) added to the
The mathematical term greater than (>) is stated as “ad-ad- prefix “ma” and affix “ika” and by putting hyphen between each
adu” which was formed by its root word “adu” (many) and words.
added to the prefix “ad”, which is a linguistic style of repeating
the first syllable of a certain word to emphasize its meaning. REPETITON OF ACTION
Usually, this linguistic style is used for adjectives. The term ENGLISH WORDS KANKANA-EY
less than (<) is stated as “at-at-atik” which is derived from its CORRESPONDENCE
root word “atik” (little) and the repetition of its first syllable “at”. Once ipingsa
The term equal to is stated as “man-isu” which is derived from Twice ipin-duwa
its root word “isu” (same) and is accompanied by the Kankana- Thrice pin-tulo
ey prefix “man” and by the use of hyphen between the words Fourth pin-upat
to emphasize the root word’s meaning as “the same”. Fifth pin-lima
Sixth pin-enem
ORDINAL NUMBERS Seventh pin-pito
ENGLISH WORDS KANKANA-EY Eighth pin-wao
CORRESPONDENCE Ninth pin-siyam
1 nangun-una Tenth pin-sinpo
2 ma-ika-duwa Table 2.4 Kankana-ey correspondence for repetition of action
3 ma-ika-tulo
4 ma-ika-upat Table 2.4 shows the Kankana-ey translation for
5 ma-ika-lima repetition of action. In forming the Kankana-ey mathematical
6 ma-ika-enem terms of these words, it is formed by the use of adding the
7 ma-ika-pito Kankana-ey prefix /pin or /ping/. The term once is stated as
8 ma-ika-wao “ipingsa” from its root word “esa” and the prefix “iping”. The
9 ma-ika-siyam term twice is stated as “ipin-duwa” from its root word “duwa”
10 ma-ika-sinpo and the prefix “ipin”. For the terms thrice to tenth, they are
Figure 2.3 Kankana-ey correspondence for ordinal numbers derived by adding the prefix /pin/ (times) to the root word of
“tulo, upat, lima, enen, pito wao, siyam, and sinpo”. The use of
Figure 2.3 presents the Kankana-ey translation for hyphen was also performed by indicating it between the prefix
ordinal numbers. The gathered Kankana-ey terms for ordinal /pin/ and the root word in forming the Kankana-ey term of the
numbers are the basic words commonly used. The use of words.
hyphen between vowels and consonants gives emphasis to
the relationship of each word. The term first (1st) is stated as
ADDITION OF WHOLE NUMBERS Piga is used earlier in the addition of whole numbers. There
ENGLISH WORDS KANKANA-EY are terms in Kankana-ey term depends on the context.
CORRESPONDENCE
Addition tapi-am FRACTIONS
Addend ENGLISH WORDS KANKANA-EY
Sum or Total piga CORRESPONDENCE
Table 2.5 Kankana-ey correspondence of the terms used in Fraction ½ - gedwa
adding 1/3 – inkatlo
¼ - inkap-at
Table 2.5 presents the Kankana-ey translation of the ¾ - tulo ay inkap-at
terms used in adding. Some mathematical terms of addition Numerator
are not present in the Kankana-ey language since almost of all Denominator
math term are foreign and not a common word. The term Table 2.7 Kankana-ey correspondence for terms used in
addition is stated as “tapi-am” from its root word “tapi” (add) fraction
and the Kankana-ey suffix “am” (you). The term addend is
taken as it is for it does not have an equivalent in the Table 2.7 shows the Kankana-ey translation for terms
Kankana-ey language. The term sum or total was stated as used in fraction. The term ½ is stated as “gedwa” (half). The
“piga” which is based on the literal meaning which is “how term 1/3 is stated as “inkatlo” which was derived from the word
many” or sum in the Kankana-ey language. “katlo” (third) and added the prefix “in” (to). The term ¼ stated
as” inkap-at” from the word “kap-at” (fourth) and added the
SUBTRACTION OF WHOLE NUMBERS prefix “in”. For the term ¾, it is stated as “tulo ay inkap-at” from
ENGLISH WORDS KANKANA-EY the word “tulo” (three) and the term “inkap-at”. The word “ay” is
CORRESPONDENCE added to show the relationship of the two other words. The
Subtraction kaan-em mathematical terms which are denominator and numerator are
Minuend not given a Kankana-ey translation because they do not have
Subtrahend the same or equivalent in Kankana-ey language, as a result,
Difference piga the teachers borrow these terms.
Table 2.6 Kankana-ey correspondence for the terms used in
subtracting MEASUREMENT
This is the last category or theme of the concepts
Table 2.6 shows the Kankana-ey correspondence for developed in this orthography. In here, there are also
the terms used in subtracting. For the term subtraction, it is indigenous concepts used.
stated as “kaan-em” from its root word “kaan” (to remove) and
added the Kankana-ey suffix “em” (you). The other terms such
as minuend and subtrahend are taken they as they are. The
term difference is stated as “piga”, (how many or difference).
DAYS IN A WEEK week. This system was no longer introduced to the grade one
ENGLISH DEFINITION KANKANA-EY pupils because it can possibly cause confusion, thus the items
WORDS CORRESPONDENCE in Table 3 were utilized.
Monday First day Lunes
Tuesday Second day Martes MONTHS IN A YEAR
Wednesday Third day Miyerkules ENGLISH DEFINITION KANKANA-EY
Thursday Fourth day Huwebes WORDS CORRESPONDENCE
Friday Fifth day Biyernes January First month Enero
Saturday Sixth day Sabado February Second month Pebrero
Sunday Seventh day Linggo March Third month Marso
Table 3. Kankana-ey correspondence for the days in a week April Fourth month Abril
May Fifth month Mayo
Table 3 shows the translation Kankana-ey terms for the June Sixth month Hunyo
days in a week. The terms used for the days of a week as July Seventh month Hulyo
shown by the figure above are adapted from the Filipino August Eighth month Agosto
language. These are the terms used by the teachers because September Ninth month Setyembre
these are the expressions familiar to the pupils. October Tenth month Oktubre
November Eleventh month Nobyembre
DAYS IN A WEEK WITH NO REFERENCE TO THE December Twelfth month Disyembre
CALENDAR (INDIGENOUS CONCEPT OF Table 3.2 Kankana-ey correspondence for the months in a
MEASUREMENT) year
ENGLISH WORDS KANKANA-EY
CORRESPONDENCE Table 3. 2 show the translation Kankana-ey terms for
Monday Ka-esa the months in a year. The teachers and elders say that these
Tuesday Kadwa na terms are what they use because these are the expressions
Wednesday Katlo na present in the teachers day to day conversations. Considering
Thursday Kap-atna this, the teachers used these terms in introducing the concept
Friday Kalima na about months. The teacher adapted terms in the Filipino
Saturday Ke-enem na language.
Sunday Kapito na
Table 3.1. Indigenous concept of measurement for the days in MONTHS IN REFERENCE TO TYPHOONS (INDIGENOUS
a week CONCEPT OF MEASUREMENT)
ENGLISH WORDS KANKANA-EY
Table 3.1 presents the naming of days in a week with CORRESPONDENCE
no specific reference to the calendar. These terms are used by January tiagew
the elders of Bakun, Benguet. Monday is the first day of the February tiagew
was the recurrence of the first syllable of the word like in the measurement you are pertaining to, these terms will and
word short which is “aptik” in Kankana-ey, the native speakers always use the term “lukod”.
duplicate the first syllable in the word “aptik” to be in its
comparative degree to become “ap-aptik”. The noticeable MEASUREMENT IN RELATION WITH THE FINGERS
word pattern that the respondents use when they translated (INDIGENOUS CONCEPT OF MEASUREMENT)
the words in their superlative degree is the use of the word ENGLISH WORDS KANKANA-EY TRANSLATION
“ka-“. The prefix “ka-” denotes superiority in the Kankana-ey Span from the thumb and Dangan
language. the index finger or from
the thumb to the little
LINEAR MEASURE finger
ENGLISH DEFINITION KANKANA-EY Thumb Palpal-ama
WORDS CORRESPONDENCE Index finger Tedtedekan
Ruler A straight Lukod Middle finger Gawgawa-an
plastic, wood, Ring finger Papa-unus
etc. for drawing Little finger Palpal-iking
straight lines or Table 3.10 Indigenous concept of measurement in relation to
measuring fingers
distances.
Centimeter Unit of length to Table 3.10 presents the indigenous concept of
measure smaller measurement in relation to fingers. In the table, translated
lengths. Kankana-ey terms for the parts of the fingers are given. The
Meter Unit of length to terms are based on the role of each finger.
measure longer
lengths. MEASUREMENT IN RELATION WITH THE ARMS
Meter stick Used to (INDIGENOUS CONCEPT OF MEASUREMENT)
measure longer DEFINITION KANKANA-EY
lengths. There CORRESPONDENCE
are 100 Measurement from the Depa
centimeters in 1 middle fingers of both
meter. hands when arms are
Table 3.9 Kankana-ey Correspondence for linear measure stretched out.
Table 3.9 shows the Kankana-ey translation for linear Table 3.11 Indigenous concept of measurement in relation to
measure. As observed from the table, ruler is the only term the arm
which has a translation. This is so, because in terms of linear
measure, may it be centimeter, meter, or any kind of
Table 3.11 shows an indigenous concept of bundles. For example, they call ten bundles of rice as “esa’y
measurement in relation to the arm. A “depa” is measured betek” or “sin betek”.
from the middle finger of the right hand until the middle finger
of the left hand. This is approximately 2 meters. SHARING IN RELATION TO THE DOMESTICATION OF
ANIMALS (INDIGENOUS CONCEPT OF MEASUREMENT)
Most of the time, bua (sharing) is on half-half (gel-ang) basis
MEASUREMENT IN RELATION WITH THEFEET/LEGS or depending on the agreement.
(INDIGENOUS CONCEPT OF MEASUREMENT) Table 3.14 Indigenous concept of measurement in the sharing
ENGLISH WORD KANKANA-EY of the domestication of animals
CORRESPONDENCE
One stride Esa’y kiyang Figure 3.14 shows the indigenous concept of
One foot singkadapan measurement in the sharing of the domestication of animals.
Table 3.12 Indigenous concept of measurement in relation to In this concept, there is called “bua” or sharing in English
the feet/legs language, in which each party has the equal share or “gel-
ang”, or at times it depends on the agreement between the
Table 3.12 shows the indigenous concept of owner and the person who raised the animal.
measurement in relation to the feet/legs. Two terms are
identified: esa’y kiyang or one stride and singkadapan or one SHARING IN RELATION TO PLANTING AND HARVESTING
foot. OF RICE (INDIGENOUS CONCEPT OF MEASUREMENT)
All of the expenses will be deducted from the gross. The banol
MEASURE OF HARVEST (INDIGENOUS CONCEPT OF (net) will be shared equally; same through with the harvest.
MEASUREMENT)
ENGLISH WORDS/ KANKANA-EY 70% - owner
DEFINITION CORRESPONDENCE
Ten bundles of rice (size Esa’ybetek/ Sin-betek 30% - worker
of wrist) Table 3.15 Indigenous concept of measurement in the sharing
Fifty bundles of rice Lima’ybetek of harvest
One bundle of rice Esa’y baud
One hundred bundles of Sin ba-a Table 3.15 shows the indigenous concept of
rice measurement in the sharing of harvest. In the sharing of
Five bundles of rice Esa’y tan-ay harvest, there are two choices, it is either on half-half basis or
Table 3.13 Indigenous concept of measuring harvest 70/30 basis or it depends on the choice of the land owner and
the farmer.
Table 3.13 shows the indigenous concept of measuring
harvest. Stated by the elders, each bundle is measured with
the size of a wrist. The measurements are in accordance to
IX. Conclusion Bautista, D., Mulligan, J., & Mitchelmore, Michael (2009).
Young Filipino Students Making Sense of Arithmetic
Finding appropriate example of culturally relevant Word Problems in English. Journal of Science and
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Teachers are likely to exit credentialing programs without this
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multiple subcultures (as cited by Leonard, et al., 2010). W., Ellis, N. C., Holland, J., Ke, J., Larsen –
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