Tagalog differs from its Central Philippine counterparts with its treatment of theProto-Philippineschwa vowel*ə. In mostBikol andVisayan languages, this sound merged with/u/ and[o]. In Tagalog, it has merged with/i/. For example, Proto-Philippine*dəkət (adhere, stick) is Tagalogdikít and Visayan and Bikoldukót.
Proto-Philippine*r,*j, and*z merged with/d/ but is/l/ between vowels. Proto-Philippine*ŋajan (name) and*hajək (kiss) became Tagalogngalan andhalík. Adjacent to an affix, however, it becomes/r/ instead:bayád (paid) →bayaran (to pay).
Proto-Philippine*R merged with/ɡ/.*tubiR (water) and*zuRuʔ (blood) became Tagalogtubig anddugô.
The base consonants and vowels of theBaybayin script, the original writing system of Tagalog
The wordTagalog is possibly derived from theendonymtaga-ilog ("river dweller"), composed oftagá- ("native of" or "from") andilog ("river"), or alternatively,taga-alog deriving fromalog ("pool of water in the lowlands"; "rice or vegetable plantation"). Linguists such asDavid Zorc andRobert Blust speculate that the Tagalogs and other Central Philippine ethno-linguistic groups originated in NortheasternMindanao or theEastern Visayas.[7][8]
Possible words of Old Tagalog origin are attested in theLaguna Copperplate Inscription from the tenth century, which is largely written inOld Malay.[9] The first known complete book to be written in Tagalog is theDoctrina Christiana (Christian Doctrine), printed in 1593. TheDoctrina was written in Spanish and two transcriptions of Tagalog; one in the ancient, then-currentBaybayin script and the other in an early Spanish attempt at aLatin orthography for the language.
Vocabulario de la lengua tagala, 1794.
Throughout the 333 years of Spanish rule, various grammars and dictionaries were written by Spanish clergymen. In 1610, the Dominican priest Francisco Blancas de San José published theArte y reglas de la lengua tagala (which was subsequently revised with two editions in 1752 and 1832) in Bataan. In 1613, the Franciscan priest Pedro de San Buenaventura published the first Tagalog dictionary, hisVocabulario de la lengua tagala inPila, Laguna.
The first substantial dictionary of the Tagalog language was written by theCzechJesuit missionaryPablo Clain in the beginning of the 18th century. Clain spoke Tagalog and used it actively in several of his books. He prepared the dictionary, which he later passed over to Francisco Jansens and José Hernandez.[10] Further compilation of his substantial work was prepared by P. Juan de Noceda and P. Pedro de Sanlucar and published asVocabulario de la lengua tagala in Manila in 1754 and then repeatedly[11] reedited, with the last edition being in 2013 in Manila.[12]
Among others,Arte de la lengua tagala y manual tagalog para la administración de los Santos Sacramentos (1850) in addition to early studies[13] of the language.
Diariong Tagalog (Tagalog Newspaper), the first bilingual newspaper in the Philippines founded in 1882 written in both Tagalog andSpanish.
Tagalog was declared the official language by the first revolutionary constitution in the Philippines, theConstitution of Biak-na-Bato in 1897.[15] On the basis of the 1987 Constitution, Filipino, the national language of the Philippines, is designated as the official language. As the foundation of the national language, Tagalog symbolizes equality, unity, and national pride, reflecting the Filipino people’s shared commitment to social justice and inclusive nation-building.[16][17]
In 1935, the Philippine constitution designated English and Spanish as official languages, but mandated the development and adoption of a common national language based on one of the existing native languages.[18] After study and deliberation, the National Language Institute, a committee composed of seven members who represented various regions in the Philippines, chose Tagalog as the basis for the evolution and adoption of the national language of the Philippines.[19][20] PresidentManuel L. Quezon then, on December 30, 1937, proclaimed the selection of the Tagalog language to be used as the basis for the evolution and adoption of the national language of the Philippines.[19] In 1939, President Quezon renamed the proposed Tagalog-based national language asWikang Pambansâ (national language).[20] Quezon himself was born and raised inBaler, Aurora, which is a native Tagalog-speaking area. Under the Japanese puppet government duringWorld War II, Tagalog as a national language was strongly promoted; the 1943 Constitution specifying: "The government shall take steps toward the development and propagation of Tagalog as the national language."
In 1959, the language was further renamed as "Pilipino".[20] Along with English, the national language has had official status under the 1973 constitution (as "Pilipino")[21] and the present 1987 constitution (as Filipino).
The adoption of Tagalog in 1937 as basis for a national language is not without its own controversies. Instead of specifying Tagalog, the national language was designated asWikang Pambansâ ("National Language") in 1939.[19][22][better source needed] Twenty years later, in 1959, it was renamed by then Secretary of Education,José E. Romero, asPilipino to give it anational rather thanethnic label and connotation. The changing of the name did not, however, result in acceptance among non-Tagalogs, especiallyCebuanos who had not accepted the selection.[20]
The national language issue was revived once more during the1971 Constitutional Convention. The majority of the delegates were in favor of scrapping the idea of a "national language" altogether.[23] A compromise solution was worked out—a "universalist" approach to the national language, to be calledFilipino rather thanPilipino. The 1973 constitution makes no mention of Tagalog. When a new constitution was drawn up in 1987, it named Filipino as the national language.[20] The constitution specified that as the Filipino language evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages. However, more than two decades after the institution of the "universalist" approach, there seems to be little if any difference between Tagalog and Filipino.[citation needed]
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Upon the issuance ofExecutive Order No. 134, Tagalog was declared as basis of the National Language. On April 12, 1940,Executive No. 263 was issued ordering the teaching of the national language in all public and private schools in the country.[24]
Subject to provisions of law and as the Congress may deem appropriate, the Government shall take steps to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as a medium of official communication and as language of instruction in the educational system.[25]
Under Section 7, however:
The regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the regions and shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein.[25]
In 2009, theDepartment of Education promulgated an order institutionalizing a system of mother-tongue based multilingual education ("MLE"), wherein instruction is conducted primarily in a student's mother tongue (one of the various regional Philippine languages) until at least grade three, with additional languages such as Filipino and English being introduced as separate subjects no earlier than grade two. In secondary school, Filipino and English become the primary languages of instruction, with the learner's first language taking on an auxiliary role.[26] After pilot tests in selected schools, the MLE program was implemented nationwide from School Year (SY) 2012–2013.[27][28]
Tagalog is the first language of a quarter of the population of the Philippines (particularly in Central and Southern Luzon) and the second language for the majority.[29]
Map of the areas where Tagalog is the majority native language.No dumping sign along the highway in theLaguna province, Philippines.A landslide and rockslide-prone area sign atIndang,Cavite.Welcome arch toPalayan,Nueva Ecija.
According to the 2000 Philippine Census, approximately 96% of the household population who were able to attend school could speak Tagalog or Filipino;[31] and about 28% of the total population spoke it natively.[32]
The following regions and provinces of the Philippines are majority Tagalog-speaking, or also overlapping with being more accurately and specifically Filipino-speaking (from north to south):
Baguio (While the regional languageIlocano and indigenous languagesIbaloi andKankanaey are the native languages of Baguio, Tagalog, or especially or more accurately and specifically as, through or in the form of a provincial variety of Filipino, is used as a majority language.)
Romblon (While Romblomanon, Onhan, and Asi are the native languages of the province, Tagalog, or especially or more accurately and specifically as, through or in the form of a provincial variety of Filipino, is used as thelingua franca between the various language groups.)
Palawan (Historically a non-Tagalog-speaking province, waves of cross-migration from various other regions, especially Calabarzon, has resulted in Tagalog, or especially or more accurately and specifically as, through or in the form of a provincial variety of Filipino, now being the main spoken language in Palawan.)
Bicol Region (While theBikol languages have traditionally been the majority languages in the following provinces, heavy Tagalog influence and migration has resulted in its significant presence in these provinces and in many communities, Tagalog is now the majority language.)
Maguindanao del Norte andMaguindanao del Sur (WhileMaguindanao has traditionally been the majority language of these provinces, Tagalog, or especially or more accurately and specifically as, through or in the form of a regional variety of Filipino, is now the main language of "mother tongue" primary education (but here as the local and regional auxiliary official Tagalog language, rather than or instead of the national and official Filipino language) in the province, the majority language in the regional center ofCotabato City (either or both Tagalog or Filipino), and thelingua franca of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or BARMM (mostly, mainly, majority or predominantly Filipino).)[33]
Metro Davao (WhileCebuano is the majority language of the region, a linguistic phenomenon has developed whereby local residents have either shifted to Tagalog or Filipino, or significantly mix Tagalog terms and grammar into their Cebuano speech, or especially or more accurately and specifically in the form of a regional metropolitan variety of Filipino, because older generations speak Tagalog or Filipino to their children in home settings, and Cebuano is spoken in everyday settings, making Tagalog or Filipino the secondary lingua franca. Additionally, migrations from Tagalog-speaking provinces to the area are also a contributing factor.)
North Cotabato,South Cotabato andSultan Kudarat (DespiteHiligaynon being the regional main lingua franca, migrations fromLuzon andVisayas (including influx of migrants from Tagalog-speaking regions) to North Cotabato, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat has made Tagalog, or especially or more accurately and specifically, as, through or in the form of a regional variety of Filipino, the secondary lingua franca between various ethnolinguistic groups on everyday basis, especially those who cannot speak and understand Hiligaynon. Signages in the region are often written in Filipino or Tagalog. Additionally, the language is also used in administrative functions by the local government, in education and in local media, but especially or more accurately and specifically as, through or in the form of a regional variety of Filipino, and not and not as, through nor in the form of Tagalog nor its traditional Tagalog varieties.)
Tagalog speakers are found throughout the Philippines, but the standardized and official form called Filipino is used as the national language and lingua franca across the country, especially in education, government, and media.
The Tagalog caption (bottom-left) aboutvenom at theCalifornia Academy of Sciences inSan Francisco includes words that are uncommonly used in Metro Manila such as "hungkag" (hollow), "sinisila" (prey), "mapanila" (predator), "tibò" (stinger), and "kabatiran" (clue/knowledge/discernment).
Tagalog serves as the common language amongOverseas Filipinos, though its use overseas is usually limited to communication betweenFilipino ethnic groups. The largest concentration of Tagalog speakers outside the Philippines is found in theUnited States, wherein 2020, theUnited States Census Bureau reported (based on data collected in 2018) that it was the fourth most-spoken non-English language at home with over 1.7 million speakers, behindSpanish,French, andChinese (with figures forCantonese andMandarin combined).[34]
A study based on data from the United States Census Bureau's 2015 American Consumer Survey shows that Tagalog is the most commonly spoken non-English language after Spanish inCalifornia,Nevada, andWashington states.[35]
Tagalog is one of three recognized languages inSan Francisco, California, along with Spanish and Chinese, making all essential city services be communicated using these languages along with English.[36] Meanwhile, Tagalog andIlocano (which is primarily spoken in northern Philippines) are among the non-official languages ofHawaii that its state offices and state-funded entities are required to provide oral and written translations to its residents.[37][38] Election ballots in Nevada include instructions written in Tagalog, which was first introduced in the2020 United States presidential elections.[39]
Other countries with significant concentrations of overseas Filipinos and Tagalog speakers includeSaudi Arabia with 938,490,Canada with 676,775,Japan with 313,588,United Arab Emirates with 541,593,Kuwait with 187,067, andMalaysia with 620,043.[40]
Distribution of Tagalog dialects in the Philippines. The color-schemes represent the four dialect zones of the language: Northern, Central, Southern andMarinduque. While the majority of residents inCamarines Norte andCamarines Sur traditionally speakBikol as their first language, these provinces nonetheless have significant Tagalog minorities. In addition, Tagalog is used as asecond language throughout the country.
Northern Tagalog dialects: Bataan (Bataan and Zambales) and Bulacan (Bulacan and Nueva Ecija)
Central Tagalog dialects: Manila/Standard Tagalog or Filipino (Metro Manila), and Tanay-Paete (Rizal and Laguna).
Southern Tagalog dialects: Batangas (Batangas, Cavite, and Oriental Mindoro), Lubang (Occidental Mindoro), Tayabas (Quezon), and Aurora.
At present, no comprehensivedialectology has been done in the Tagalog-speaking regions, though there have been descriptions in the form of dictionaries and grammars of various Tagalog dialects.Ethnologue lists Manila, Lubang,Marinduque, Bataan (Western Central Luzon),Batangas, Bulacan (Eastern Central Luzon), Tanay-Paete (Rizal-Laguna), andTayabas (Quezon)[2] as dialects of Tagalog; however, there appear to be four main dialects, of which the aforementioned are a part: Northern (exemplified by theBulacan dialect), Central (including Manila), Southern (exemplified by Batangas), 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, probably influenced by Spanish, where the glottal stop doesn't exist. For example, standard Tagalogngayón (now, today),sinigáng (broth stew),gabí (night),matamís (sweet), are pronounced and writtenngay-on,sinig-ang,gab-i, andmatam-is in other dialects.
InTeresian-Morong Tagalog,[ɾ] alternates with[d]. For example,bundók (mountain),dagat (sea),dingdíng (wall),isdâ (fish), andlitid (joints) becomebunrók,ragat,ringríng,isrâ, andlitir, e.g. "sandók sa dingdíng" ("ladle on a wall" or "ladle on the wall", depending on the sentence) becoming "sanrók sa ringríng". However, exceptions are recent loanwords, and if the next consonant after a[d] is an[ɾ] (durog) or an[l] (dilà).
In manysouthern dialects, the progressive aspect infix of-um- verbs isna-. For example, standard Tagalogkumakain (eating) isnákáin in Aurora, Quezon, and Batangas Tagalog. This is the butt of some jokes by other Tagalog speakers, for should a Southern Tagalog asknákáin ka ba ng patíng? ("Do you eat shark?"), he would be understood as saying "Has a shark eaten you?" by speakers of the Manila Dialect.
Some dialects have interjections which are considered a regional trademark. For example, the interjectionala e! usually identifies someone from Batangas as doeshane?! in Rizal and Quezon provinces andakkaw in Aurora.
Perhaps the most divergent Tagalog dialects are those spoken in Marinduque.[41][42] 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 is 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 early 20th century; they have since merged with the infinitive.[43]
The Manila Dialect is the basis for the national language.
Outside of Luzon, a variety of Tagalog called Soccsksargen Tagalog (Sox-Tagalog, also called Kabacan Tagalog) is spoken inSoccsksargen, a southwestern region inMindanao, as well as Cotabato City. This "hybrid" Tagalog dialect is a blend of Tagalog (including its dialects) with other languages where they are widely spoken and varyingly heard such asHiligaynon (a regional lingua franca),Ilocano,Cebuano as well asMaguindanaon and other indigenous languages native to region, as a result of migration fromPanay,Negros,Cebu,Bohol,Siquijor,Ilocandia,Cagayan Valley,Cordillera Administrative Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mindoro and Marinduque since the turn of 20th century, therefore making the region a melting pot of cultures and languages.[44][45][46][47]
Tagalog has five vowels and four diphthongs.[48][49][50][51][52] Tagalog originally had three vowel phonemes,/a/,/i/, and/u/. Tagalog is now considered to have five vowel phonemes following the introduction of two marginal phonemes from Spanish, /o/ and /e/.
Nevertheless, simplification of pairs[o~u] and[ɛ~i] is likely to take place, especially in some Tagalog as second language, remote location and working class registers.
The fourdiphthongs are/aj/,/uj/,/aw/, and/iw/. Long vowels are not written apart from pedagogical texts, where an acute accent is used:á é í ó ú.[54]
Table of all possible realizations of Tagalog vowels
The table above shows all the possible realizations for each of the five vowel sounds depending on the speaker's origin or proficiency. The five general vowels are inbold.
Below is a chart of Tagalog consonants. All the stops are unaspirated. Thevelar nasal occurs in all positions including at the beginning of a word. Loanword variants using these phonemes are italicized inside the angle brackets.
/k/ between vowels has a tendency to become[x] as inloch, GermanBach, whereas in the initial position it has a tendency to become[kx], especially in the Manila dialect.
Intervocalic/ɡ/ and/k/ tend to become[ɰ], as in Spanishagua, especially in the Manila dialect.
/ɾ/ and/d/ were once allophones, and they still vary grammatically, with initial/d/ becoming intervocalic/ɾ/ in many words.[54]
A glottal stop that occurs inpausa (before a pause) is omitted when it is in the middle of a phrase,[54] especially in the Metro Manila area. The vowel it follows is then lengthened. However, it is preserved in many other dialects.
The/ɾ/ phoneme is an alveolar rhotic that has a free variation between a trill, a flap and an approximant ([r~ɾ~ɹ]).
The/dʒ/ phoneme may become a consonant cluster[dd͡ʒ] in between vowels such assadyâ[sɐdˈd͡ʒäʔ].
Glottal stop is not indicated.[54] Glottal stops are most likely to occur when:
the word starts with a vowel, likeaso (dog)
the word includes a dash followed by a vowel, likemag-aral (study)
the word has two vowels next to each other, likepaano (how)
the word starts with a prefix followed by a verb that starts with a vowel, likemag-aayos ([will] fix)
Stress is adistinctive feature in Tagalog. Primary stress occurs on either the final or the penultimate syllable of a word. Vowel lengthening accompanies primary or secondary stress except when stress occurs at the end of a word.
Tagalog words are often distinguished from one another by the position of the stress or the presence of a final glottal stop. In formal or academic settings, stress placement and the glottal stop are indicated by adiacritic (tuldík) above the final vowel.[56] The penultimate primary stress position (malumay) is the default stress type and so is left unwritten except in dictionaries.
Phonetic comparison of Tagalog homographs based on stress and final glottal stop
Common spelling
Stressed non-ultimate syllable no diacritic
Stressed ultimate syllable acute accent (´)
Unstressed ultimate syllable with glottal stop grave accent (`)
Stressed ultimate syllable with glottal stop circumflex accent (^)
Tagalog, like other Philippines languages today, is written using the Latin alphabet. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in 1521 and the beginning of their colonization in 1565, Tagalog was written in anabugida—oralphasyllabary—calledBaybayin. This system of writing gradually gave way to the use and propagation of the Latin alphabet as introduced by the Spanish. As the Spanish began to record and create grammars and dictionaries for the various languages of the Philippine archipelago, they adopted systems of writing closely following the orthographic customs of the Spanish language and were refined over the years. Until the first half of the 20th century, most Philippine languages were widely written in a variety of ways based on Spanish orthography.
In the late 19th century, a number of educated Filipinos began proposing for revising the spelling system used for Tagalog at the time. In 1884, Filipino doctor and student of languagesTrinidad Pardo de Tavera published his study on the ancient Tagalog scriptContribucion para el Estudio de los Antiguos Alfabetos Filipinos and in 1887, published his essayEl Sanscrito en la lengua Tagalog which made use of a new writing system developed by him. Meanwhile, Jose Rizal, inspired by Pardo de Tavera's 1884 work, also began developing a new system of orthography (unaware at first of Pardo de Tavera's own orthography).[57] A major noticeable change in these proposed orthographies was the use of the letter ⟨k⟩ rather than ⟨c⟩ and ⟨q⟩ to represent the phoneme/k/.
In 1889, the new bilingual Spanish-TagalogLa España Oriental newspaper, of whichIsabelo de los Reyes was an editor, began publishing using the new orthography stating in a footnote that it would "use the orthography recently introduced by ... learned Orientalis". This new orthography, while having its supporters, was also not initially accepted by several writers. Soon after the first issue ofLa España,Pascual H. Poblete'sRevista Católica de Filipina began a series of articles attacking the new orthography and its proponents. A fellow writer, Pablo Tecson was also critical. Among the attacks was the use of the letters "k" and "w" as they were deemed to be of German origin and thus its proponents were deemed as "unpatriotic". The publishers of these two papers would eventually merge asLa Lectura Popular in January 1890 and would eventually make use of both spelling systems in its articles.[58][57] Pedro Laktaw, a schoolteacher, published the first Spanish-Tagalog dictionary using the new orthography in 1890.[58]
In April 1890, Jose Rizal authored an articleSobre la Nueva Ortografia de la Lengua Tagalog in the Madrid-based periodicalLa Solidaridad. In it, he addressed the criticisms of the new writing system by writers like Pobrete and Tecson and the simplicity, in his opinion, of the new orthography. Rizal described the orthography promoted by Pardo de Tavera as "more perfect" than what he himself had developed.[58] The new orthography was, however, not broadly adopted initially and was used inconsistently in the bilingual periodicals of Manila until the early 20th century.[58] The revolutionary society Kataás-taasan, Kagalang-galang Katipunan ng̃ mg̃á Anak ng̃ Bayan orKatipunan made use of the k-orthography and the letter k featured prominently on many of its flags and insignias.[58]
In 1937, Tagalog was selected to serve as basis for the country'snational language. In 1940, theBalarilâ ng Wikang Pambansâ (English:Grammar of the National Language) of grammarianLope K. Santos introduced theAbakada alphabet. This alphabet consists of 20 letters and became the standard alphabet of the national language.[59][better source needed] The orthography as used by Tagalog would eventually influence and spread to the systems of writing used by other Philippine languages (which had been using variants of the Spanish-based system of writing). In 1987, the Abakada was dropped and replaced by the expanded Filipino alphabet.
Tagalog was written in anabugida (alphasyllabary) calledBaybayin prior to the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines, in the 16th century. This particularwriting system was composed of symbols representing threevowels and 14consonants. Belonging to theBrahmic family of scripts, it shares similarities with theOld Kawi script ofJava and is believed to be descended from the script used by theBugis inSulawesi.
Although it enjoyed a relatively high level of literacy, Baybayin gradually fell into disuse in favor of theLatin alphabet taught by the Spaniards during their rule.
There has been confusion of how to use Baybayin, which is actually anabugida, or analphasyllabary, rather than analphabet. Not every letter in the Latin alphabet is represented with one of those in the Baybayin alphasyllabary. Rather than letters being put together to make sounds as in Western languages, Baybayin uses symbols to represent syllables.
A "kudlít" 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 consonant without a following vowel was simply left out (for example,bundók being rendered asbudo), forcing the reader to use context when reading such words.
Until the first half of the 20th century, Tagalog was widely written in a variety of ways based on Spanish orthography consisting of 32 letters called 'ABECEDARIO' (Spanish for "alphabet").[60][61] The additional letters beyond the 26-letterEnglish alphabet are: ch, ll, ng, ñ, n͠g / ñg, and rr.
When the national language was based on Tagalog, grammarian Lope K. Santos introduced a new alphabet consisting of 20 letters calledAbakada in school grammar books calledbalarilâ.[62][63][full citation needed][64] The only letter not in theEnglish alphabet is ng.
In 1987, theDepartment of Education, Culture and Sports issued a memo stating that the Philippine alphabet had changed from the Pilipino-Tagalog Abakada version to a new 28-letter alphabet[65][66] to make room for loans, especially family names from Spanish and English.[67] The additional letters beyond the 26-letterEnglish alphabet are: ñ, ng.
Thegenitive markerng and the plural markermga (e.g.Iyan angmga damít ko. (Those are my clothes)) are abbreviations that are pronouncednang[naŋ] andmangá[mɐˈŋa].Ng, in most cases, roughly translates to "of" (ex.Siyá ay kapatídng nanay ko. She is the siblingof my mother) whilenang usually means "when" or can describe how something is done or to what extent (equivalent to the suffix-ly in English adverbs), among other uses.
Gumalíngnangtodo si Juan dahil nag-ensayo siyá.—Juangreatly improved because he practiced.
In the first example,nang is used in lieu of the wordnoong (when;Noong si Hudas ay madulás). In the second,nang describes that the person woke up (gumising) early (maaga);gumising nang maaga. In the third,nang described up to what extent that Juan improved (gumalíng), which is "greatly" (nang todo). In the latter two examples, the ligaturena and its variants-ng and-g may also be used (Gumisingna maaga/Maagang gumising;Gumalíngna todo/Todong gumalíng).
The longernang may also have other uses, such as aligature that joins a repeated word:
Naghintáy silanang naghintáy.—They kept on waiting" (a closer calque: "They were waiting and waiting.")
The wordspô/hô originated from the word "Panginoon." and "Poon." ("Lord."). When combined with the basic affirmativeOo "yes" (fromProto-Malayo-Polynesian *heqe), the resulting forms areopò andohò.
"Pô" and "opò" are specifically used to denote a high level of respect when addressing older persons of close affinity like parents, relatives, teachers and family friends. "Hô" and "ohò" are generally used to politely address older neighbours, strangers, public officials, bosses and nannies, and may suggest a distance in societal relationship and respect determined by the addressee's social rank and not their age. However, "pô" and "opò" can be used in any case in order to express an elevation of respect.
Example: "Pakitapon namánpô/hô yung basura." ("Please throw away the trash.")
Used in the affirmative:
Ex: "Gutóm ka na ba?" "Opò/Ohò". ("Are you hungry yet?" "Yes.")
Tagalog vocabulary is mostly of native Austronesian or Tagalog origin, such as most of the words that end with thediphthong -iw, (e.g. giliw) and words that exhibitreduplication (e.g. halo-halo, patpat, etc.). Besides inherited cognates, this also accounts for innovations in Tagalog vocabulary, especially traditional ones within its dialects. Tagalog has also incorporated many Spanish and English loanwords; the necessity of which increases in more technical parlance.
In precolonial times,Trade Malay was widely known and spoken throughoutMaritime Southeast Asia, contributing a significant number of Malay vocabulary into the Tagalog language. Malay loanwords, identifiable or not, may often already be considered native as these have existed in the language before colonisation.
English has borrowed some words from Tagalog, such as abaca, barong,balisong,boondocks,jeepney, Manila hemp,pancit, ylang-ylang, and yaya. Some of these loanwords are more often used inPhilippine English.[68]
meaning "rural" or "back country", borrowed through American soldiers stationed in the Philippines in the Philippine–American War as a corruption of the Tagalog wordbundok, which means "mountain"
Taglish andEnglog 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 changing language in mid-sentence. Such code-switching is prevalent throughout the Philippines and in various languages of the Philippines other than Tagalog.[69]
Code-mixing also entails the use of foreign words that are "Filipinized" by reforming them using Filipino rules, such as verb conjugations. Users typically use Filipino or English words, whichever comes to mind first or whichever is easier to use.
Magshoshopping kamí sa mall. Sino ba ang magdadrive sa shopping center?
Translation:
We will go shopping at the mall. Who will drive to the shopping center?
Religious literature remains one of the most dynamic components toTagalog literature. The first Bible in Tagalog, then calledAng Biblia[70] ("the Bible") and now calledAng Dating Biblia[71] ("the Old Bible"), was published in 1905. In 1970, the Philippine Bible Society translated theBible into modern Tagalog. Even before theSecond Vatican Council, devotional materials in Tagalog had been in circulation. There are at least four circulating Tagalog translations of the Bible
Jehovah's Witnesses were printing Tagalog literature at least as early as 1941[75] andThe Watchtower (the primary magazine of Jehovah's Witnesses) has been published in Tagalog since at least the 1950s. New releases are now regularly released simultaneously in a number of languages, including Tagalog. The official website of Jehovah's Witnesses also has some publications available online in Tagalog.[76] The revisedbible edition, theNew World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, was released in Tagalog on 2019[77] and it is distributed without charge both printed andonline versions.
Tagalog is quite a stable language, and very few revisions have been made to CatholicBible translations. Also, as Protestantism in the Philippines is relatively young,liturgical prayers tend to be moreecumenical.
In Tagalog, theLord's Prayer is known by itsincipit,Amá Namin (literally, "Our Father").
Amá namin, sumasalangit Ka, Sambahín ang ngalan Mo. Mapasaamin ang kaharián Mo. Sundín ang loób Mo, Dito sa lupà, gaya nang sa langit. Bigyán Mo kamí ngayón ng aming kakanin sa araw-araw, At patawarin Mo kamí sa aming mga salà, Para nang pagpápatawad namin, Sa nagkakasalà sa amin; At huwág Mo kamíng ipahintulot sa tuksô, At iadyâ Mo kamí sa lahát ng masamâ. [Sapagkát sa Inyó ang kaharián, at ang kapangyarihan, At ang kaluwálhatian, ngayón, at magpakailanman.] Amen.
Bawat tao'y isinilang na may layà at magkakapantáy ang tagláy na dangál at karapatán. Silá'y pinagkalooban ng pangangatwiran at budhî, at dapat magpálagayan ang isá't-isá sa diwà ng pagkákapatiran.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.[78]
Numbers (mga bilang/mga numero) in Tagalog follow two systems. The first consists of native Tagalog words and the other are Spanish-derived. (This may be compared to other East Asian languages, except with the second set of numbers borrowed from Spanish instead of Chinese.) For example, when a person refers to the number "seven", it can be translated into Tagalog as "pitó" or "siyete" (Spanish:siete).
Months and days in Tagalog are also localised forms of Spanish months and days. "Month" in Tagalog isbuwán (also the word formoon) and "day" isaraw (the word also meanssun). Unlike Spanish, however, months and days in Tagalog are always capitalised.
Anó ang pangálan ninyó/nilá*? (plural or polite)[ʔɐˈno:ʔaŋpɐˈŋalannɪnˈjo],Anó ang pangálan mo? (singular)[ʔɐˈno:ʔaŋpɐˈŋalanmo]
How are you?
Kumustá[kʊmʊsˈta] (modern),Anó pô ang lagáy ninyó/nilá? (old use)[ʔɐˈnopoːʔɐŋlɐˈgaɪ̯nɪnˈjo]
Knock knock
Tao pô[ˈtɐʔopoʔ]
Good day!
Magandáng araw![mɐɡɐnˈdaŋˈʔɐɾaʊ̯]
Good morning!
Magandáng umaga![mɐɡɐnˈdaŋʔʊˈmaɡɐ]
Good noontime! (from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.)
Magandáng tanghalì![mɐɡɐnˈdaŋtɐŋˈhalɛʔ]
Good afternoon! (from 1 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.)
Magandáng hapon![mɐɡɐnˈdaŋˈhɐpon]
Good evening!
Magandáng gabí![mɐɡɐnˈdaŋɡɐˈbɛ]
Good-bye
Paálam[pɐˈʔalɐm]
Please
Depending on the nature of the verb, eitherpakí-[pɐˈki] ormakí-[mɐˈki] is attached as a prefix to a verb.Ngâ[ŋaʔ] is optionally added after the verb to increase politeness. (e.g.Pakipasa ngâ ang tinapay. ("Can you pass the bread, please?"))
Thank you
Salamat[sɐˈlamɐt]
This one
Itó[ʔɪˈto], sometimes pronounced[ʔɛˈto] (literally—"it", "this")
That one (close to addressee)
Iyán[ʔɪˈjan]
That one (far from speaker and addressee)
Iyón[ʔɪˈjon]
Here
Dito['dito],heto['hɛto], simplified toeto[ˈʔɛto] ("Here it is")
Right there
Diyán[dʒan],(h)ayán[(h)ɐˈjan],diyaán[dʒɐʔˈan] ("There it is")
Over there
Doón[doˈʔon],ayón[ɐˈjon] ("There it is")
How much?
Magkano?[mɐɡˈkano]
How many?
Ilán?[ʔɪˈlan]
Yes
Oo[ˈʔoʔo]
Opò[ˈʔopoʔ] orohò[ˈʔohoʔ] (formal/polite form)
No
Hindî[hɪnˈdɛʔ] (at the end of a pause or sentence), often shortened todî[dɛʔ]
Hindî pô[hɪnˈdiːpoʔ] (formal/polite form)
I don't know
Hindî ko alám[hɪnˈdiːkoʔɐˈlam]
Very informal:Ewan[ˈʔɛwɐn], archaicaywan[ʔaɪ̯ˈwan] (closest English equivalent: colloquial dismissive 'Whatever' or 'Dunno')
Sorry
Pasénsiya pô[pɐˈsɛnʃɐpoʔ] (literally from the word "patience") orpaumanhín pô[pɐʔʊmɐnˈhinpoʔ],patawad pô[pɐˈtawɐdpoʔ] (literally—"asking your forgiveness")
Because
Kasí[kɐˈsɛ] ordahil['dahɛl]
Hurry!
Dalî![dɐˈliʔ],Bilís![bɪˈlis]
Again
Mulî[mʊˈˈliʔ],ulít[ʔʊˈlɛt]
I don't understand
Hindî ko naíintindihán[hɪnˈdiːkonɐˌʔiʔɪntɪndɪˈhan] or
Marunong ka bang magsalitâ ng Inglés?[mɐˈɾunoŋkɐbaŋmɐɡsɐlɪˈtaːnɐŋʔɪŋˈɡlɛs]
Marunong pô ba kayóng magsalitâ ng Inglés?[mɐˈɾunoŋpoːbakɐˈjoŋmɐɡsɐlɪˈtaːnɐŋʔɪŋˈɡlɛs] (polite version for elders and strangers) Marunong ka bang mag-Inglés?[mɐˈɾunoŋkɐbaŋmɐɡʔɪŋˈɡlɛs] (short form) Marunong pô ba kayóng mag-Inglés?[mɐˈɾunoŋpoːbakɐˈjoŋmɐɡʔɪŋˈɡlɛs] (short form, polite version for elders and strangers)
It is fun to live.
Masayá ang mabuhay![mɐsɐˈjaʔɐŋmɐˈbuhaɪ̯] orMasaya'ng mabuhay (contracted version)
*Pronouns such asniyó (2nd person plural) andnilá (3rd person plural) are used on a single 2nd person in polite or formal language. SeeTagalog grammar.
One who knows not how to look back to whence he came will never get to where he is going.
Unang kagát, tinapay pa rin. First bite, still bread. All fluff, no substance.
Tao ka nang humaráp, bilang tao kitáng haharapin. You reach me as a human, I will treat you as a human and never act as a traitor. (A proverb in Southern Tagalog that has made people aware of the significance of sincerity in Tagalog communities.)
Hulí man daw (raw) at magalíng, nakáhahábol pa rin. If one is behind but capable, one will still be able to catch up.
Magbirô ka na sa lasíng, huwág lang sa bagong gising. Make fun of someone drunk, if you must, but never one who has just awakened.
Aanhín pa ang damó kung patáy na ang kabayò? What use is the grass if the horse is already dead?
Ang sakít ng kalingkingan, damdám ng buóng katawán. The pain in the pinkie is felt by the whole body. In a group, if one goes down, the rest follow.
Nasa hulí ang pagsisisi. Regret is always in the end.
Pagkáhabà-habà man ng prusisyón, sa simbahan pa rin ang tulóy. Theprocession may stretch on and on, but it still ends up at the church. (In romance: refers to how certain people are destined to be married. In general: refers to how some things are inevitable, no matter how long you try to postpone it.)
Kung 'dî mádaán sa santóng dasalan, daanin sa santóng paspasan. If it cannot be got through holy prayer, get it through blessed force. (In romance and courting:santóng paspasan literally means 'holy speeding' and is a euphemism forsexual intercourse. It refers to the two styles of courting by Filipino boys: one is the traditional, protracted, restrained manner favored by older generations, which often featuredserenades and manual labor for the girl's family; the other is upfront seduction, which may lead to a slap on the face or a pregnancy out of wedlock. The second conclusion is known aspikot or what Western cultures would call a 'shotgun marriage'. This proverb is also applied in terms of diplomacy and negotiation.)
^abLewis, M. P.; Simons, G. F.; Fennig, C. D. (2014)."Tagalog".Ethnologue: Languages of the World.Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. RetrievedJuly 30, 2015.
^Pagsusuri sa Varayti at Varyasyon ng Sox-Tagalog: Isang Komparatibong Pag-aaral.
^Leceña, Hanna A. (2023). "Mga Tula sa Filipino-SOX na Zines: Túngo sa Pagpapakilala ng Multilingguwal at Multikultural na Komunidad sa Timog Mindanao".Philippine High School for the Arts, Makiling los Baños.26 (1): 10.
^abHimmelmann, Nikolaus P. (2011). "Tagalog". In Adelaar, Alexander; Himmelmann, Nikolaus P. (eds.).The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar. Routledge (published 2005). pp. 351–352.ISBN978-0-415-68153-7.
^abRubino, Carl R. Galvez (2002).Tagalog-English, English-Tagalog Dictionary. Hippocrene Books, Inc. pp. 351–352.ISBN0-7818-0961-4.
^abGuzman, Videa (2001). "Tagalog". In Garry, Jane; Rubino, Carl (eds.).Facts about the world's languages : an encyclopedia of the world's major languages, past and present. New England Publishing Associates. p. 704.ISBN0-8242-0970-2.
^abQuilis, Antonio (1985). "A Comparison of the Phonemic Systems of Spanish and Tagalog". In Jankowsky, Kurt R. (ed.).Scientific and Humanistic Dimensions of Language: Festschrift for Robert Lado. Benjamins. pp. 241–243.ISBN90-272-2013-1.
^abSchachter, Paul; Otanes, Fe T. (1972).Tagalog Reference Grammar. University of California Press. p. 6.ISBN0-520-01776-5.
^Zamar, Sheila (October 31, 2022). "Phonology and Spelling".Filipino: An Essential Grammar. Routledge (published 2023). pp. 3–5.ISBN978-1-138-82628-1.
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^abcdeThomas, Megan C. (2007). "K is for De-Kolonization: Anti-Colonial Nationalism and Orthographic Reform".Comparative Studies in Society and History.49 (4):938–967.doi:10.1017/S0010417507000813.S2CID144161531.
^ab"billón".Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish) (23rd electronic ed.). Real Academia Española and ASALE. 2019.Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. RetrievedApril 6, 2020.
^"billón".Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (in Spanish). Real Academia Española. 2005.Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. RetrievedApril 6, 2020.
^"trillón".Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish) (23rd electronic ed.). Real Academia Española and ASALE. 2019.Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. RetrievedApril 6, 2020.
^"coma".Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (in Spanish). Real Academia Española. 2005.Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. RetrievedApril 6, 2020.
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