Trends in Philippine Linguistics in the 21st Century Alyzza Mae D. Corbillon alycorbillon@gmail 2009-12543 Jazzel Ann G. Lauron jazzelannlauron@yahoo.com 2010-04447 Lyn Liza C. Silva lynliza_17@yahoo.com 2010-01342 University of the Philippines Diliman 1. INTRODUCTION The coming of the 21st century has brought forth a promise of advancement in various fields of studies including most technological science. While computers had been around since the 20th century, the flash flood of technological advancement only came in the early 21st century. Towards the end of the first decade of the century, computer and software companies produced a gazillion updates and probably earned billions and trillions of money. With the fast-paced way of life of the 21st century, advancement did not only come in the technological and natural science field, but also in the playgrounds of social sciences. People had been more curious about how they interact, what causes the interaction and how it affects the community. It is not confined within their communities but rather it expands to the whole world. As technology continues to update itself, linguistics had also continued to grow. Many people have now seen the importance of linguistics in their lives. As such, many devote themselves in the study of the languages of the world, including Philippine languages. This paper aims to see the development of Philippine linguistics in the early 21st century and to figure out the current trends in said field as evidenced by academic researches published and/or presented during the time range. This also aims to give a brief discussion on these trends and their possible motivations. And lastly, this paper intends to hypothesize some projections on the track that Philippine linguistics may take in the future. 2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND According to Rubrico (1998), studies in Philippine languages can be divided into two periods (a) 1565-1898 and (b) 1898-1998. This periodization was adapted by the researchers but a slight modification was made in order to make allowances for the 21 st century. As a consequence of the said modification, studies in Philippines languages are now divided into three periods: (a) 1565-1898 covering the era of the Spanish regime (b) 1898-1999 covering the American occupation and Philippine Independence and (c) 2000-2013 which pertains to the early 21 st century. 2.1 Philippine Linguistics during 1565-1898 During this period of colonization, the Spaniards or more specifically the friars were well aware of the diverse linguistic situation in the Philippines. According to Phelan (1953), there were approximately 124,000 Tagalog speakers, 75,000 Ilocano speakers, 77,000 Bikol speakers,