Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika, mahigit pa sa hayop at malansang isda.

So goes the popular line taken from the poem Sa Aking mga Kababata. A poem which is often invoked every August during the State-sanctioned celebration of Buwan ng Wika. It serves as a reminder to all Filipinos to show love to their national language, Filipino, and by extension to the country itself, The Philippines.

The patriotic tone of the poem vibrates more loudly when one is told that this was written by an 8 year old Jose Rizal, a testament to his burning love for his country even at a very young age. But the thing is, most likely he did not write it. Many prominent scholars now believe that Rizal is not the author of the poem and evidence suggest that it was probably written during the time of the American Occupation, years after his death. But who listens to historians nowadays anyway.

-Ioannis Sicuya