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Originally Posted by Marbel
Hello Yves,
I think the main issue is that early misspellings of the name Blaan created mispronunciations which were always considered to be derogatory by the Blaans. As a minority indigenous group, their voices and concerns about such things were never considered. Over the last few years, this has begun to change and the Blaan have made it clear that without recognition of their proper name and pronunciation as a start, nothing will change for them.
I am not Blaan, but I do know them and have a deep respect for their culture and history. Here are a few links, written by Blaans that can explain things much better than I can. Thank You.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...228162712&_rdr
https://www.moniquetheunique.com.au/...he-philippines
https://www.change.org/p/komisyon-sa...rophe-anywhere |
Craig,
Thanks for these wonderful links that explain the
Blaan name. I had always seen it written by anthropologists as
B'laan and thought that was indeed the correct spelling. Nice to know how the natives speak of themselves.
Part of the problem with names is trying to transliterate what outside people hear locally. The apostrophe implies a missed vowel or other sound, while
Bilaan again inserts a short "i" into the word. This is no doubt what those from outside the indigenous group thought they heard when told their name. Anthropoloigy is rife with similar examples. The greatest offenders appear to have been British colonials who butchered so many names and other words on the Asian sub-continent.
Ian.