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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2015
The Spanish colonizers found a writing system in place when they established a permanent settlement in Manila in 1571. They took advantage of the widespread literacy in this indigenous script, which had spread by then from Manila to most of Luzon and parts of the Visayas, to help convert the inhabitants to Christianity by publishing a catechism printed in the script. Yet within a century, the use of the script had almost vanished. This paper explores the factors that led to the loss of literacy in the indigenous writing system.