Cultural identity representations in selected Hiligaynon short stories

Abstract

Reading is a skill that has been used for thousands of years and will be used for thousands more for as long as communication is a need. On the other hand, culture has been present since the ancient times and will remain present until human beings cease to exist. Due to the relevance, timelessness and usefulness of the two, the researchers decided to conduct a study which answers the questions: (1) Could Hiligaynon short stories indirectly portray the cultural identity of the Visayan community? If so, how? and (2) What are the categorizations of the identified cultural identities? Norman Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis Theory (CDA) was used to analyze the three Hiligaynon short stories, and find out if these stories could indirectly unravel some information about the culture of people living in Panay Island. Using this method, the researchers have proved that reading short stories while learning about the culture of the story's setting is indeed possible. Results of the analysis revealed that literature, particularly short stories, contains some elements of the culture of the place or community involved in the story, specifically beliefs of the supernatural, traits and behavior, tradition and family life.