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ABOUT
Corruptionary©
CORRUPTIONARY©:
People's Collective Experience and People as Lexicographer
Among linguists, there is what is called lexicology and lexicography.
Lexicology is an area of linguistics that deals with rendering meaning
to, and the usage of, words; lexicography, on the other hand, refers
to the making of a dictionary.
Corruptionary© is is a concept that came from Evi-ta Jimenez,
Executive Director of CenPEG. It was started in 2006 with the Volunteers
Integration Program (VIP) for the Dapat Tapat Anti-Corruption Advocacy
of CenPEG. Research was started in 2006 by the students of the Political
Science Program of the University of the Philippines-Manila, and
concluded by the succeeding batch of volunteers in 2007. Fidel dela
Torre, Graphic Artist of CenPEG, completed the process by doing
the visuals that further illustrated what the collected words mean.
With Corruptionary©, citizen authorship assumes a form. It
went through the process of interaction among the intellectuals
and students of the academe and the citizens who experience the
manifold forms and intensity of corruption and theft of the nation's
treasury.
This project realizes the developmental goal of CenPEG to address
and expose the graft/ corruption/ thievery that occurs in the innermost
recesses of government institutions or bureaucracy. Be it in the
Senate hearings, police detachments, the tiniest cubicle of the
line agencies of government and other public entities, the articulation
of corruption is widespread among the ordinary employees, clients
and victims alike. This initial collection that started with a hundred
words quickly grew to more than four hundred – and the people
are still at it, doing work as lexicographer.
Corruptionary© reflects how the Filipino people lend meaning
to their experiences. The very culture of word play and the penchant
to coin new words attest to the fact of a continuing sufferance
with a systemic malady that the people have to live through. This
is an indication, on one hand, of the worsening corruption in society;
and, on the other hand, of the Filipinos’ restraint, exuberance
and adeptness as they confront social issues.
In Corruptionary© could be found old terms that were previously
known only to lawyers and experts, as well as new words that are
borne out of the pestering corruption, and which have become buzzwords
among the citizenry. It may be seen as a process of enlightenment
of the people on account of their increasing ability to speak out,
albeit not directly or candidly.
In sum, the continuing addition to the collection of words in Corruptionary©
is a clear expression of disgust and rise of political awareness
of the citizens regarding issues of ethics and/ or morality, precisely
because of endemic graft and corruption. Here is hoping that soon
enough, this collection of words could be translated to a collective
articulation of the untrammeled struggle against corruption and
for genuine public service and social justice.
MELANIA LAGAHIT ABAD
Education-Training (EDTRA) Program
CenPEG
31 March 2008 |
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