30 January 2006 – The Philippine Embassy in Moscow reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that specialists in Tagalog and Ifugao in Russia - one of the principal centers of scholarship in Philippine linguistics anywhere in the world - presented academic papers on Philippine language and culture in international conferences held from 17 to 20 January 2006 in Puerto Princesa and Quezon City.

Ambassador Ernesto V. Llamas said the Russian specialists, who included two former Embassy staff members, joined 200 participants from around the world at the 10th International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics (10-ICAL) held from 17 to 20 January 2006 in Puerto Princesa.  The 10-ICAL participants included prominent linguists Mr. Isidore Dyen, Mr. Robert Blust, Mr. John Wolff, Mr. Curtis McFarland, and Mrs. Nicole Revel.

Dr. Maria Stanyukovich, a member of the Academy of Sciences in St Petersburg, presented a paper on the Ifugao epics hudhud. Dr. Stanyukovich, who lived for a time among the Ifugao in the rice terraces years ago, is also a professor of Tagalog philology in-charge of  10 undergraduate Tagalog majors at St Petersburg State University.

Ambassador Llamas said former assistants in the Philippine Embassy in Moscow Ekaterina Baklanova and Natalia Novozhenova, both of the Moscow State University, reported on the peculiarities of Morphological Assimilation of Borrowings in Tagalog and Philippine Linguistics Studies in Russia.

The 10-ICAL was organized by the Summer Institute of Linguistics and Linguistic Society of the Philippines with support from the Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn.

Meanwhile, on 25 – 27 January, more than 200 specialists in Philippine linguistics, Philippine instruction and even Philippine sign language from the Philippines, the US, New Zealand, Russia and Japan participated at the 9th Philippine Linguistic Congress  (9-PLC) held at the Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines.

Ms. Novozhenova delivered the same paper at the 9-PLC while Ms. Baklanova presented a paper on the Classification of Borrowed Words in Tagalog.

Ambassador Llamas informed the Department that Ms. Novozhenova and Ms. Baklanova presented their reports in Filipino.

Ms. Baklanova said: "This Congress was very well organized. Two comfortable venues in the UP Diliman from morning till 5 p.m. every day accommodated parallel sessions. The Organizers had provided the participants with all the necessary equipment."   Ms. Baklanova added that the presentations were simultaneously translated into sign language for the hearing impaired. She noted that the foreign linguists “were greatly impressed with the high scientific level of the papers presented by the deaf linguists.” END