Alibata - the Kapampangan language

Kapampangan is one of the eight major languages of the Philippines.

History of Kapampangan
The word Kapampangan or Capampañgan is derived from the rootword pampang which means river bank.

Very little is known about the language prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century.

In the 18th century, two books were written by Fr. Diego Bergaño. He authored Vocabulario de la lengua Pampanga and Arte de la lengua Pampanga.

Two 19th-century Kapampangan writers are hailed as being the equivalent of William Shakespeare in Kapampangan literature. Father Anselmo Fajardo was noted for his works Gonzalo de Córdova and Comedia Heróica de la Conquista de Granada. Another writer, Juan Crisostomo Soto, was noted for writing many plays. He authored Alang Dios in 1901. The Kapampangan poetical joust "Crissotan" was coined by his fellow literary genius Nobel Prize nominee for peace and literature in the 50's, Amado M. Yuzon to immortalize his contribution to Pampanga's Literature. Currently, the use of Kapampangan, even in areas where the language has traditionally been spoken, is in decline.Stockbridge Consultants