(pronunciation: ) is one of the major Language s of the Republic of the Philippines . It is the most spoken Philippine Language in terms of the number of speakers.
Tagalog, as its ''de facto'' standardized counterpart, Filipino , is the principal language of the national Media in the Philippines. It is the primary language of Public Education . As Filipino, it is, along with English , a co- Official Language and the sole National Language . Tagalog is widely used as a Lingua Franca throughout the country, and in Overseas Filipino communities. However, while Tagalog may be prevalent in those fields, English , to varying degrees of fluency, is more prevalent in the fields of government and business.
The word ''Tagalog'' derived from ''tagá-ílog'', from ''tagá-'' meaning "native of" and ''ílog'' meaning "river", thus, it means "river dweller." There are no surviving written samples of Tagalog before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th Century . Very little is known about the history of the language. However, according to linguists such as Dr. David Zorc and Dr. Robert Blust, the Tagalogs originated, along with their Central Philippine cousins, from northeastern Mindanao or eastern Visayas Zorc, David. 1977. The Bisayan Dialects of the Philippines: Subgrouping and Reconstruction. Pacific Linguisitics C.44. Canberra: The Australian National University Bob, Blust. 1991. The Greater Central Philippines hypothesis. Oceanic Linguistics 30:73 – 129
The first known book to be written in Tagalog is the '' Doctrina Cristiana '' (Christian Doctrine) of 1593 . It was written in Spanish and two versions of Tagalog; one written in Baybayin and the other in the Latin Alphabet .
Throughout the 333 years of Spanish occupation, there have been grammars and dictionaries written by Spanish clergymen such as ''Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala'' by Pedro de San Buenaventura ( Pila, Laguna , 1613), ''Vocabulario de la lengua tagala'' ( 1835 ) and ''Arte de la lengua tagala y manual tagalog para la adminstración de los Santos Sacramentos'' ( 1850 ).
Poet Francisco "Balagtas" Baltazar ( 1788 - 1862 ) is regarded as the foremost Tagalog writer. His most famous work is the early 19th-century Florante At Laura .
In 1937 , Tagalog was selected as the basis of the National Language by the National Language Institute. In 1959 , Tagalog, which had been renamed Wikang Pambansa ("''National Language''") by President Manuel L. Quezon in 1939 , was renamed by the Secretary of Education, Jose Romero, as '' Pilipino '' to give it a Nation al rather than Ethnic ity label and connotation. The changing of the name did not, however, result in better acceptance at the conscious level among non- Tagalogs , especially Cebuano s who had not accepted the selection.
In 1971 , the language issue was revived once more,and a compromise solution was worked out — a ‘universalist’ approach to the national language, to be called ''Filipino'' rather than ''Pilipino''. When a new constitution was drawn up in 1987 , it named Filipino as the national language.[(p.488) The constitution specified that as that Filipino language evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages.]
Tagalog is a Central Philippine language within the Austronesian language family. Being Malayo-Polynesian , it is related to other Austronesian languages such as Indonesian , Malay , Fijian , Maori (of New Zealand ), Hawaiian , Malagasy (of Madagascar ), Samoan , Tahitian , Chamorro (of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands ), Tetum (of East Timor ), and Paiwan (of Taiwan ).
It is closely related to the languages spoken in the Bicol and Visayas regions such as Bikol , Hiligaynon , Waray-Waray , and Cebuano .
Languages that have made significant contributions to Tagalog are Tamil Language , Arabic , Sanskrit , Chinese , Japanese , English , and Spanish .
The Tagalog homeland, or '' Katagalugan '', covers roughly much of the central to southern parts of the island of Luzon - particularly in Aurora , Bataan , Batangas , Bulacan , Cavite , Laguna , Metro Manila , Nueva Ecija , Quezon , and Rizal . Tagalog is also spoken natively by inhabitants living on the islands of Lubang , Marinduque , and the northern and eastern parts of Mindoro . According to the Philippine Census of 2000 , 21,485,927 out of 76,332,470 Filipinos claimed Tagalog as their first language. An estimated 50 million Filipinos speak it in varying degrees of proficiency.
Tagalog speakers are found in other parts of the Philippines as well as throughout the world, though its use is usually limited to communication between Filipino Ethnic Groups . Light blue boxes indicate significant communities where it is spoken. It is the sixth most-spoken language in the United States with over a million speakers. 3
See Also: Filipino language
After weeks of study and deliberation, Tagalog was chosen by the National Language Institute, a committee composed of seven members who represents various regions in the Philippines. President Manuel L. Quezon then proclaimed Tagalog the national language or ''wikang pambansâ'' of the Philippines on December 30 , 1937 . This was made official upon the Philippines' restoration of independence from the United States on July 4 , 1946 .
From 1939 to 1987 , Tagalog was also known as Pilipino.[(p.487) Since 1987 , the name Filipino has been used to refer to a ''de facto'' Tagalog-based national language that borrows from other languages.]
At present, no comprehensive Dialectology has been done in the Tagalog-speaking regions, though there have been descriptions in the form of dictionaries and grammars on various Tagalog dialects. Ethnologue lists Lubang, Manila, Marinduque, Bataan, Batangan , Bulacan, Tanay-Paete, and Tayabas as dialects of Tagalog.
However, there appear to be four main dialects of which the aforementioned are a part; Northern (exemplified by the Bulacan dialect), Central (including Manila), Southern (exemplified by Batangan ), and Marinduque.
Some example of dialectal differences are:
- Many Tagalog dialects, particularly those in the south, preserve the glottal stop found after consonants and before vowels. This has been lost in standard Tagalog. For example standard Tagalog ''ngayon'' (now, today), ''sinigang'' (broth stew), ''gabi'' (night), ''matamis'' (sweet), are pronounced and written ''ngay-on'', ''sinig-ang'', ''gab-i'', and ''matam-is'' in other dialects.
- In Teresian - Morong Tagalog, is usually preferred over [d . For example, ''bundók'', ''dagat'', ''dingdíng'', and ''isdâ'' become ''bunrok'', ''ragat'', ''ringring'', and ''isra''.
- In many southern dialects, the progressive aspect prefix of ''-um-'' verbs is ''na-''. For example, standard Tagalog ''kumakain'' (eating) is ''nákáin'' in Quezon and Batangas Tagalog. This is the butt of some jokes by other Tagalog speakers since a phrase such as ''nakain ka ba ng pating'' is interpreted as "did a shark eat you?" by those from Manila but in reality means "do you eat shark?" to those in the south.
- Some dialects have interjections which are a considered a trademark of their region. For example, the interjection ''ala eh'' usually identifies someone from Batangas while as does ''hani'' in Morong.
Perhaps the most divergent Tagalog dialects are those spoken in Marinduque . Linguist Rosa Soberano identifies two dialects, western and eastern with the former being closer to the Tagalog dialects spoken in the provinces of Batangas and Quezon.
One example are the verb conjugation paradigms. While some of the affixes are different, Marinduque also preserves the imperative affixes, also found in Visayan and Bikol languages, that have mostly disappeared from most Tagalog dialects by the early 20th century; they have since merged with the infinitive.
, the national language of the Philippines, is the ''de facto'' standardized variant of this language. It has heavy borrowings from English. Other Philippine Languages have also influenced Filipino, which is caused primarily by the migration to Metro Manila by people from the Provinces .
Taglish and Englog are names given to a mix of English and Tagalog. The amount of English vs.Tagalog varies from the occasional use of English loan words to outright Code-switching where the language changes in mid-sentence. Such code-switching is prevalent throughout the Philippines and in various of the languages of the Philippines other than Tagalog.
Nasirà ang ''computer'' ko kahapon!
"My computer broke down yesterday!"
Huwág kang maninigarilyo, because it is harmful to your health.
"Never smoke cigarettes, ..."
Although it is generally looked down upon, code-switching is prevalent in all levels of society, though urban-dwellers, those with high education, and those born around and after World War II are more likely to do it. Politicians, such as President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo , have code-switched in interviews.
It is common in television, radio, and print media as well. In the US, advertisements from companies like Wells Fargo , Wal-Mart , Albertsons , McDonald's , and Western Union have contained Taglish.
The Chinese and the non-Tagalog communities also frequently code-switch their language, be it Cebuano or Min Nan Chinese, with Taglish.
A kind of slang called ''binaliktád'' (reversed) is where the word is modified by changing around the syllables. It gained popularity in the 80s up until the early 90s. Equivalents in other languages are Vesre , Verlan , and Pig Latin . For example, ''tigás'' (hard, strong), ''dito'' (here), ''hindî'' (no), ''sigarilyó'' (cigarettes), and ''ligo'' (take a bath) respectively become ''astíg'', ''todits'', ''dehins'', ''yosi'', ''goli''.
Tagalog has 21 Phoneme s; 16 Consonant s and five Vowel s. Syllable structure is relatively simple. Each syllable contains at least a consonant and a vowel.
Before the arrival of the Spanish, Tagalog had three vowel phonemes: , , and . This was later expanded to five vowels with the introduction of Spanish words.
They are:
There are four main Diphthong s; , , , and .
Below is a chart of Tagalog consonants. All the stops are unaspirated. The Velar Nasal occurs in all positions including at the beginning of a word.
Stress is phonemic in Tagalog. Primary stress occurs on either the last or the next-to-the-last (penultimate) syllable of a word. Vowel lengthening accompanies primary or secondary stress except when stress occurs at the end of a word. Stress on words is very important, they differentiate words with the same spellings, but with different meanings, e.g. ''ta''(to stand) and '''''ta'''yo''(us; we)
- is raised slightly to in unstressed positions and also occasionally in stressed positions (‘inang bayan’ 'bɐjən )
- Unstressed is usually pronounced as in English "bt"
- At the final syallable, can be pronounced as as was an Allophone of [ in final syllables.
- and can sometimes be pronounced as and . and [ were also former allophones.
- Unstressed is usually pronounced as in English "bk"
- The diphthong and the sequence have a tendency to become .
- The diphthong and the sequence have a tendency to become .
- /k/ between vowels has a tendency to become as in Spanish "osé", whereas in the initial position it has a tendency to become {Link without Title} .
- Intervocalic /g/ and /k/ tend to become (see preceding).
- and are sometimes interchangeable as and were once allophones in Tagalog.
- A glottal stop that occurs at the end of a word is often omitted when it is in the middle of a sentence, especially in the Metro Manila area. The vowel it follows is then usually lengthened. However, it is preserved in many other dialects.
- /o/ tends to become in stressed positions.
- /niy/, /siy/, /tiy/, and /diy/ may be pronounced as [sj / [tj / and [dj /[dij], respectively, especially in but not limited to rural areas.
- /ts/ may be pronounced as {Link without Title} , especially in but not limited to rural areas.
- /e/ or /i/ before s-consonant clusters have a tendency to become silent.
Tagalog differs from its Central Philippine counterparts with its treatment of the Proto-Philippine Schwa vowel . In Bikol & Visayan, this sound merged with and . In Tagalog, it has merged with . For example, Proto-Philippine (adhere, stick) is Tagalog ''dikít'' and Visayan & Bikol ''dukot''.
Proto-Philippine , , and merged with but is between vowels. Proto-Philippine (name) and (kiss) became Tagalog ''ngalan'' and ''halík''.
Proto-Philippine merged with . (water) and (blood) became Tagalog ''tubig'' and ''dugô''.
See Also: Baybayin
Tagalog was written in an Abugida called Baybayin prior to the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century. This particular Writing System was composed of symbols representing three Vowel s and 14 Consonant s. Belonging to the Brahmic Family of scripts, it shares similarities with the Old Kawi script of Java and is believed to be descended from the script used by the Bugis in Sulawesi .
Although it enjoyed a relatively high level of literacy, the script gradually fell into disuse in favor of the Latin Alphabet during Spanish colonial rule.
There has been confusion of how to use Baybayin. Each letter in the Latin Alphabet is not represented with one of those in the Baybayin alphabet. Rather than letters being put together to make sounds as in Western languages. Baybayin uses symbols to represent syllables.
A "kudlit" resembling an apostrophe is used above or below a symbol to change the vowel sound after its consonant.
If the kudlit is used above, the vowel is an "E" or "I" sound.
If the Kudlit is used below, the vowel is an "O" or "U" sound.
A special kudlit was later added by Spanish missionaries in which a cross placed below the symbol to get rid of the vowel sound all together, leaving a consonant. Previously, the final consonant was just left out, leaving the reader to use context to determine the final consonants.
Example:
Baybayin is encoded in Unicode version 3.2 in the range 1700-171F under the name "Tagalog".
See Also: Filipino orthography
Until the first half of the 20th century, Tagalog was widely written in a variety of ways based on Spanish orthography. When Tagalog became the national language, grammarian Lope K. Santos introduced a new alphabet consisting of 20 letters called ''ABAKADA'' in school grammar books called ''balarilà''; A B K D E G H I L M N NG O P R S T U W Y.
As Pilipino, the national language, the alphabet was expanded in 1976 to include the letters C, CH, F, J, Q, RR, V, X, and Z in order to accommodate words of Spanish and English origin.
Filipino is the national language ''de facto'' based on Tagalog that borrows vocabulary from other languages. In 1987 , the Filipino alphabet was reduced from 33 to 28; A B C D E F G H I J K L M N Ñ Ng O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.
The genitive marker ''ng'' and the plural marker ''mga'' are abbreviations that are pronounced ''nang'' and ''mangá'' .
Tagalog vocabulary is composed mostly of words of Austronesian origin with borrowings from Spanish , Min Nan Chinese (also known as Hokkien ), Malay , Sanskrit , Arabic , Tamil , Persian , Kapampangan , languages spoken on Luzon , and others, especially other Austronesian languages.
Due to trade with Mexico via the Manila Galleon from the 16th to the 19th centuries, many words from Nahuatl , a language spoken by Native Americans in Mexico, were introduced to Tagalog.
English has borrowed some words from Tagalog, such as abaca, adobo, aggrupation, barong, balisong, boondocks, jeepney, Manila hemp, pancit, and yaya, although the vast majority of these borrowed words are only used in the Philippines as part of the vocabularies of Philippine English .
For the Min Nan Chinese borrowings, the parentheses indicate the equivalent in standard Chinese.
Below is a chart of Tagalog and fifteen other Austronesian languages comparing twelve words; the first thirteen languages are spoken in the Philippines and the other three are spoken in Indonesia and in Hawai'i.
Tagalog itself has contributed a few words into English.
- '' Boondock s'': meaning "rural" or "back country," was imported by American soldiers stationed in the Philippines as a mispronounced version of the Tagalog ''bundok'', which means "mountain."
- '' Cogon '': a type of grass, used for thatching. This word came from the Tagalog word ''kugon'' (a species of tall grass).
- '' Ylang-ylang '': a type of flower known for its fragrance.
- '' Abaca '': a type of hemp fiber made from a plant in the banana family, from ''abaká''.
- ''' Manila Hemp : a light brown cardboard material used for folders and paper usually made from abaca hemp.
- : also known as window oyster, is used to make windows.
'' Yo-yo '' is reportedly a Tagalog word, however no such word exists in Tagalog.
Tagalog has contributed several words to Spanish , like ''barangay'' (from ''balañgay'' meaning ''barrio''), the ''abacá'', ''cogon'', ''palay'', etc.
Ama namin, sumasalangit Ka,
Mapasaamin ang kaharian Mo,
Dito sa lupa para nang sa langit.
Bigyan Mo kami ngayon ng aming kakanin sa araw-araw.
At patawarin Mo kami sa aming mga sala,
Para nang pagpapatawad namin sa mga nagsala sa amin.
At huwag Mo kaming ipahintulot sa tukso,
At iadya Mo kami sa lahat ng masama,
''Ang lahat ng tao'y isinilang na malaya at pantay-pantay sa karangalan at mga karapatan. Sila'y pinagkalooban ng katwiran at budhi at dapat magpalagayan ang isa't isa sa diwa ng pagkakapatiran.''
(Every person is born free and equal with honor and rights. They are given reason and conscience and they must always trust each other for the spirit of brotherhood.)
- English: ''Ingglés''
- Filipino: ''Pilipino''
- Tagalog: ''Tagalog''
- What is your name?: ''Anó ang pangalan ninyo?'' (plural) ''Anó ang pangalan mo''(plural)
- How are you?: ''kumustá''
- Good morning!: ''Magandáng umaga!''
- Good afternoon! (from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.): ''Magandáng tanghali!''
- Good afternoon! (from 1 p.m. to dusk): ''Magandáng hapon!''
- Good evening!: ''Magandáng gabí!''
- Good-bye: ''paalam'' (literal - "with your blessing")
- Please: Depending on the nature of the verb, either ''pakí-'' or ''makí-'' is attached as a prefix to a verb. ''ngâ'' is optionally added after the verb to increase politeness.
- Thank you: ''salamat''
- That one: ''iyan''
- How much?: ''magkano?''
- Yes: ''oo''
- No: ''hindî''
- Sorry: ''pasensya pô'' or ''sorry/sori'' ''patawad po''
- Because: ''kasí''
- Hurry!: ''Dalí!'' , ''Bilís!''
- Again: ''mulí'' , ''ulít''
- I don't understand: ''Hindî ko maintindihan''
- Where's the bathroom?: ''Nasaán ang banyo?''
- Generic toast: '' Mabuhay !'' - "long live"
- Do you speak English? ''Marunong ka bang magsalitâ ng Ingglés?''
- Life is hard. ''Mahirap ang buhay!''
Here are some proverbs in Tagalog.
''Ang hindî magmahál sa kaniyáng wikà ay mahigít pa sa hayop at malansáng isdâ.'' ( José Rizal )
"He who doesn't love his language is worse than an animal and a rotten fish."
''Ang hindî marunong lumingón sa pinanggalingan ay hindî makararatíng sa paroroonan.''
"He who does not look back from where he came will never reach his destination."
''Ang isdâ ay hinuhuli sa bibig. Ang tao, sa salitâ.''
"Fish are caught by the mouth. People, by their word."
''Nasa Diyos ang awà, nasa tao ang gawâ.''
"God has compassion, man has action."
''Magbirô lamang sa lasíng, huwág lang sa bagong gising.''
"Joke around with someone who is drunk, but not with someone who just woke up."
''Matakot ka sa buhay huwag sa patay.''
"Fear the living not the dead."
''Magsama-sama at malakás, magwaták-waták at babagsák.''
"United we stand, divided we fall."
''Aanhín pa ang damó kung patáy na ang kabayo?''
"What's the use of grass if the horse is already dead?"
''Habang may buhay, may pag-asa.''
"While there is life, there is hope."
''Ang magnanakaw ay galit sa kapwa magnanakaw.''
"A thief is angry at his fellow thief."
''Ang nag-amoy, siya rin ang gumawa.''
"He who smelt it, dealt it."
''Ang masamang damo, matagal mamatay.''
"Weeds die slowly."
''Kung ano ang puno, siya ang bunga.''
"Whatever the tree is, so is the fruit. (i.e. The acorn never falls too far from the tree)"
- In the film The Return Of The Jedi , Ewoks are heard to speak certain phrases that may resemble Tagalog. These include ''"Ayon, pinuno daw ito!"''(There, they say that's the leader!) spoken when C-3PO is being worshipped. ''"Maganda!"''(Beautiful!) ''"Patay!"''(Dead!) are also noted to have been spoken.
- In the film Big Fish , when the soldiers are parachuting down to the Korean camp, the ventriloquist on the theatre stage can be heard speaking Tagalog.
- In the film Constantine , the girl being exorcised by Keanu Reeves ' character on the bed is a Filipina. While being exorcised, she spoke ''"Papatayin natin sila"''(We will kill them).
- In the book Starship Troopers , the lead character Johnny Rico's native language is revealed to be Tagalog.
- In one episode of the famous cartoon television series Family Guy , when a Filipino guy was about to get married to Brian Griffin's cousin, he and Stewie talked in Tagalog about what is happening during the ceremony ( Watch video here ).
- In the film The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou , the pirates who capture Team Zissou in uncharted waters are Filipino. "Shitstorm" is translated as "bagyo ng tae" in Tagalog.
- In an episode from the animated series The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy , Billy's father specializes in a dance called the "Mabuhay Shuffle."
Many of the following books are published in the Philippines. Many are available on www.amazon.com.
- By Teresita V. Ramos
- --- ''Conversational Tagalog'', ISBN 0-8248-0944-0
- --- ''Intermediate Tagalog'', ISBN 0-8248-0776-6
- --- ''Tagalog Dictionary'', ISBN 0-87022-676-2
- By Vito C. Santos
- --- ''New Vicassan's English-Pilipino Dictionary'', ISBN 971-27-0349-5
- --- ''Vicassan's Pilipino-English Dictionary'', ISBN 971-08-2900-9
- --- ''Vicassan's Pilipino-English Dictionary (Abridged Edition)'', ISBN 971-27-1707-0
- By Leo James English
- --- ''English-Tagalog Dictionary'', ISBN 971-08-1073-1 (SB)
- --- ''Tagalog-English Dictionary'', ISBN 971-08-4357-5 (SB)
- By others
- --- ''Learn Filipino: Book One'' by Victor Eclar Romero ISBN 1-932956-41-7
- --- ''Learn Filipino: Book Two'' by Victor Eclar Romero ISBN 978-1-932956-42-9
- --- ''Lonely Planet Filipino Tagalog (TravelTalk)'' ISBN 1-59125-364-0
- --- ''Lonely Planet Pilipino Phrasebook'' ISBN 0-86442-432-9
- --- ''Tagalog-English/English-Tagalog Standard Dictionary'', by Carl R. Galvez Rubino, ISBN 0-7818-0961-4 (hb) / ISBN 0-7818-0960-6 (pb)
- --- ''Tagalog Reference Grammar'' by Paul Schachter and Fe T. Otanes ISBN 0-520-01776-5
- --- ''Tagalog Slang Dictionary'' by R. David Zorc and Rachel San Miguel ISBN 971-11-8132-0
- --- ''Teach Yourself Tagalog'' by Corazon Salvacion Castle ISBN 0-07-143417-8
- --- '' UP Diksyonaryong Filipino '' by Virgilio Armario (ed.) ISBN 971-8781-98-6, and ISBN 971-8781-99-4
- --- ''English-Tagalog and Tagalog-English Dictionary'' by Maria Odulio De Guzman ISBN 971-08-0713-7
- --- ''English-Pilipino Dictionary'', Conuelo T. Panganiban, ISBN 971-08-5569-7
- --- ''Diksyunaryong Filipino - English'', Komisyon Sa Wikang Filipino , ISBN 971-8705-20-1
- --- ''Learn Tagalog Now'', ISBN 0-9771586-0-8
- --- ''Tagalog Idioms Audio Course'' by Felicidad Orario ISBN 978-0-9771586-1-4
- --- '' (English: The New Philippine Dictionary)'', by Dominador Limeta ISBN 9710866176
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