Philippine Scripts - Extinction and Disappearance

Extinction and Disappearance

The use of the Tagalog script was widespread during the 15th century. By the end of 17th century, its use was almost non-existent. By the 18th century, it was extinct. The inability of the ancient script to record the new sounds introduced by the Spaniards, the rapid acquisition of literacy in the Latin script with its concomitant social and material benefits, and the disruption of traditional family activities were the main culprits for the loss of the Tagalog script. Buhid, Hanunóo, and Tagbanwa are the only surviving Philippine scripts, however its use are confined to writing poems and other literary pursuits among its native speakers. Computer fonts for these three living scripts are available for IBM and Macintosh platforms, and come into two styles based on actual historical and stylistic samples. PostScript and TrueType fonts as well a concise manual that gives a background of these ancient scripts and a short tutorial on how to write with them are included in each package.

The University of Santo Tomas Archives in Manila, one of the largest archives in Philippines, currently possesses the biggest collection of extant ancient baybayin scripts in the world.