Fr. Venancio Samson has finished translating the first half of Vocabulario en la Lengua Pampanga en Romance (1732) by Fray Diego Bergaño and is expected to wrap up his work by New Year’s Day.

The translation of what is regarded as the earliest Kapampangan dictionary is a collaboration between the Center for Kapampangan Studies and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). It is the first phase of a larger project to compile a comprehensive Kapampangan-English Dictionary.

“The benefits of making the Bergaño dictionary accessible to Kapampangan researchers and students are immense,” Tantingco said. “It is a treasure trove of original Kapampangan words no longer in existence today; it provides clues on the culture and lifestyle of Kapampangans as the Spaniards found them in their pre-colonial state.”