In the morning of January 29, 2011, while I was brushing my teeth after eating breakfast, a pleasant idea crossed my mind. I was happy that I had thought of it, and it was this: a proposed provincial ordinance declaring Kinaray-a as one of the official languages of Iloilo Province, along with Hiligaynon and English. If enacted, the proposed provincial ordinance would, among other things, require the translation to Kinaray-a and Hiligaynon of all the ordinances and resolutions of the province. Declaring Kinaray-a as one of the official languages of the province would be fair for the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Iloilo to do because majority of the localities in Iloilo Province have Kinaray-a as their native language. At long last, Kinaray-a would get the governmental recognition and attention that it has long deserved to get in the province, where it has long been pushed back by Hiligaynon, the language in Iloilo City.
Also that morning, I thought of writing a proposed provincial ordinance declaring Kinaray-a and English as the official languages of Antique. If enacted, the proposed ordinance would promote Kinaray-a in a similar way.
Later, I found out from Wikipedia that several of the localities in Capiz are also Kinaray-a-speaking, and so I thought also of writing a proposed provincial ordinance declaring Kinaray-a as one of the official languages of Capiz.
Eventually, after finding out that the Ligbok language of Antique, Iloilo and Capiz is almost extinct; that the Inati language of the four provinces in Panay and of Guimaras is endangered; that the people of Caluya speak a language called Caluyanun; that the people of Malay speak a language called Malaynun; and that most of the people in Capiz speak a language that is sometimes mistaken for Hiligaynon but is actually Capiznon; I decided to write the following:
a proposed provincial ordinance declaring Ligbok, Inati, Capiznon and English as the official languages of Capiz;
a proposed provincial ordinance declaring Ligbok, Inati, Kinaray-a, Hiligaynon and English as the official languages of Iloilo Province;
a proposed provincial ordinance declaring Inati, Hiligaynon and English as the official languages of Guimaras;
a proposed provincial ordinance declaring Ligbok, Inati, Caluyanun, Kinaray-a and English as the official languages of Antique; and
a proposed provincial ordinance declaring Inati, Malaynon, Akeanon and English as the official languages of Aklan.
And it all started with a thought that would have been regarded as ridiculous by many West Visayans a few decades ago: Kinaray-a as one of the official languages of Iloilo Province.
