The wordTagalog is derived from theendonymᜆᜄ ᜁᜎᜓᜄ᜔ orᜆᜄ ᜁᜎᜓ (taga-ilog, "river dweller"), composed ofᜆᜄ (tagá-, "native of" or "from") andᜁᜎᜓᜄ᜔ orᜁᜎᜓ (ilog, "river"). Very little is known about the ancient history of the language;linguists such asDavid Zorc andRobert Blust speculate that the Tagalogs and other Central Philippine ethno-linguistic groups had originated in NortheasternMindanao or theEastern Visayas.[2][3]
The early history of the Tagalog language remains relatively obscure, and a number of theories exist as to the exact origins of the Tagalog peoples and their language. Scholars such asRobert Blust suggest that the Tagalogs originated in northeastern Mindanao or the eastern Visayas.[5] Possible words of Old Tagalog origin are attested in theLaguna Copperplate Inscription from the 10th century, which is largely written inOld Malay.[6] The first known complete book to be written in Tagalog is theDoctrina Christiana (Christian Doctrine), printed in 1593. The book also used Baybayin script.[7]
The question has been raised about the origin of some words in the various languages of the Philippines and their possible connection to ancient Buddhist and Hindu culture in the region, as the language is influenced bySanskrit,Malay,Tamil andChinese.[8][9]
^Zorc, David. 1977.The Bisayan Dialects of the Philippines: Subgrouping and Reconstruction.Pacific Linguistics C.44. Canberra: The Australian National University
^Blust, Robert. 1991.The Greater Central Philippines hypothesis.Oceanic Linguistics 30:73–129
^Postma, Antoon. (1992). The Laguna Copper-Plate Inscription: Text and Commentary.Philippine Studies vol. 40, no. 2:183–203
^Zorc, David. 1977.The Bisayan Dialects of the Philippines: Subgrouping and Reconstruction.Pacific Linguistics C.44. Canberra: The Australian National University
^Zorc, David (1993). "The Prehistory and Origin of the Tagalog People". In Øyvind Dahl (ed.).Language - a doorway between human cultures : tributes to Dr. Otto Chr. Dahl on his ninetieth birthday. Oslo: Novus. pp. 201–211.
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