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error: ISO 639 code is required (help) Tagalog (pronunciation: ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. It is the largest of the Philippine languages in terms of the number of speakers.

Being an Austronesian language, it is related to 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).

Tagalog, as its standardized counterpart, Filipino, is the principal language of the national media in the Philippines. It is the primary language of public education. 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. However, while Tagalog may be prevalent in those fields, English is more prevalent in fields such as government and business.

History

The word Tagalog was derived from tagá-ílog, from tagá- meaning "native of" and ílog meaning "river", thus, it means "resident beside the river." Since 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 there is speculation among linguists that the ancestors of the Tagalogs originated, along with their Central Philippine cousins, from northeastern Mindanao or eastern Visayas.

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 300 years of Spanish occupation, there have been grammars and dictionaries written by Spanish clergymen such as Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala (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 often regarded as the Tagalog equivalent of William Shakespeare. His most famous work is the early 19th-century Florante at Laura.

Classification

Tagalog is a Central Philippine language within the Austronesian language family.

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 Spanish, Fukien Chinese, English, Malay, Sanskrit (via Malay), Arabic (via Malay/Spanish), and Northern Philippine languages such as Kapampangan spoken on the island of Luzon.

Geographic distribution

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 in proficiency.

Tagalog speakers are to be found in other parts of the Philippines as well as throughout the world; it is the sixth most-spoken language in the United States.

Official status

After weeks of study and deliberation, Tagalog was chosen by the National Language Institute, a committee composed of seven members who represented 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 1961 to 1987, Tagalog was also known as Pilipino. In 1987, the name changed to Filipino.

Since 1940, Tagalog has been taught in schools throughout the Philippines. It is the only one out of over 160 Philippine languages that is officially taught in schools.

Dialects

Ethnologue lists Lubang, Manila, Marinduque, Bataan, Batangas, Bulacan, Tanay-Paete, and Tayabas as dialects of Tagalog. However, there appears to be four main dialects of which the aforementioned are a part; Northern, Central (including Manila), Southern, and Marinduque.

While the dialects have their own peculiarities, they are generally mutually intelligible with each other. Perhaps the most divergent Tagalog dialect is the one spoken on Marinduque; it has many features found in Visayan languages such as different verbal affixes.

Some examples of dialectal variations are the interjections ala é, in Batangas Tagalog.

Tagalog dialects:

• Manila. Tagalog spoken in Manila is often admixed with the various regional vernaculars, Manila being the melting-pot of the nation's ethno-linguistic groups. The Tagalog spoken in Manila is rather slow and full of foreign words. Oftentimes, Taglish and Manila Tagalog are becoming more synonymous to each other because of the large borrowing from the English language. This was the basis for both Pilipino and Filipino. Area: Metro Manila, Cavite, and all towns of Laguna west of Pagsanjan.
• Bataan. The Tagalog spoken in Bataan and Zambales closely resembles the Tagalog spoken in Manila, although often admixed with Ilocano and/or Kapampangan. Area: Bataan, southern part of Zambales, Olongapo City, and southwestern towns of Pampanga.
• Bulacan. The variant of Tagalog spoken in Bulacan is rather wordy, as compared to that of the Manila dialect. Many words in the Bulacan dialect are not understood in Manila, furthermore, Bulakeños (natives of Bulacan) speak Tagalog fast. Area: Bulacan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija
• Batangas. Batangas is the heartland of the Tagalog language, and so, the Tagalog spoken here closely resembles Old Tagalog better than the other dialects. Words of Sanskrit, Arabic, and Persian origin are still used. Its intonation is quite different from that of Manila, Batangan Tagalog being spoken fast and with a thick accent. Area: Batangas
• Tanay-Paete. Area: All towns east of Pagsanjan, Laguna, Rizal province.
• Tayabas. The Tayabas dialect seems to divided further on the basis of geographical location. Those on the western towns of the province speak the Tayabas variant of Tagalog closer to the Batangas Tagalog, and those on the eastern side speak the Tayabas variant more closer to the Bicolano language. It has many words that can be found only in this dialect. Area: Quezon, Camarines Norte
• Marinduque. The Tagalog dialect spoken in Marinduque have traces of influence from the Visayan languages. Most Tagalog speakers do not understand the variant used in Marinduque, having many cognate words of Visayan origin. Area: Marinduque
• Lubang. A variant of the Batangas dialect of Tagalog. Area: Mindoro Island, Lubang Islands

Quezon (Tayabas) Tagalog

The Tagalog language spoken in Quezon province, about 100 kilometers southeast of Manila has been totally changed from the rest of the Tagalog dialects. Large amounts of Spanish, Min-Nan Chinese, and Bicolano words have been assimilated, and some words have totally no intelligiblity factor with the rest of the Tagalog dialects. Aside from the usual 'ya', which is the equivalent of Batangan Tagalog 'ala e', there are about 200 words that are used solely in Quezon province, specifically the eastern portions of the province. Examples would be: abyad (to care for, Standard Tagalog: asikasuhin), balam (slow motion, Standard Tagalog: mabagal), dasig (to move, Standard tagalog: usog), dayag (to wash the dishes, Standard Tagalog: maghugas ng mga pinggan), hambo (to take a bath, Standard Tagalog: maligo), lagumba (horseplay, Standard Tagalog, magluku-lukuhan), pulandit (squirt, Standard Tagalog: talsik), tibulbok (vibration, Standard Tagalog: bibrasiyon), yano (extensive, Standard Tagalog: sobra), among others.

Derived languages

Frequent contact between Tagalog speakers and Spanish speakers have given way to Philippine Creole Spanish or Chabacano. There are three known varieties of Chabacano which have Tagalog as their substrate language: Caviteño, Ternateño, and Ermitaño, spoken in Cavite City, Ternate, and Ermita, Manila, respectively. Ermitaño is extinct.

Code-switching

Code-switching is prevalent in the Philippines. The most common form of code-switching is between Tagalog and English called Taglish.

The intensity of code-switching varies. It can be as simple as one-word borrowings.

Nasirà ang computer ko kahapon!
"My computer was broken yesterday!"

The language can be change in mid-sentence.

Huwág kang maninigarilyo, because it is harmful to your health.
"Never smoke cigarettes, ..."

Although it's generally looked down upon, code-switching is prevalent in all levels of society, though urban-dwellers, those with high education, and those born around World War II are more likely to do it. Politicians, like 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, and Western Union have had Taglish on them.

The Chinese and the non-Tagalog communities also frequently code-switch their language, be it Cebuano or Min Nan Chinese, with Taglish.

Filipino Spanish speakers (very few) also frequently code switch with Tagalog and Spanish.

Binaliktad

The phenomena of binaliktad (reversed), which some consider as slang, can be heard in urban areas, some more common than others. Equivalents in other languages are vesre and verlan. The following are some examples:

• Erpat from pater (father)
• Ermat from mater (mother)
• Sanpits from pinsan (cousin)
• Yosi from sigarilyo (cigarettes)
• Todits from dito (here)
• Wetpaks from pwet (buttocks)
• Dehins from hindi/hinde (No, not) (Hindî is commonly, though by no means always, pronounced /hin·dê/.)
• Jeproks (well-dressed casually) from the Projects (The name of a middle class residential area in Quezon City)
• Japorms from Jacket ang pangporma (Jacket is used for fashionable look)
• Oblo from loób (inside)
• Senglot from lasing (drunk) (Lasíng is mostly pronounced /la·séng/.)
• Ngetpa from pangit/panget (ugly)(Pangit is mostly pronounced /pa·nget/.)
• Astíg from tigás (hard, strong)
• Atík from kita (income)
• Lóngkatuts from katulong (maid, helper)
• Tsekot from kotse (car)
• Erap from pare (male friend)
• Topaks from impacto (acting very strangely, illogically, demonically from impacto-devil)
• Bogchi from chibog (slang for food)
• Olats from talo (lose)
• Alaws repapips from walang pera, pare (have no money, friends)

Sounds

Tagalog has 21 phonemes; 16 consonants and five vowels. Syllable structure is relatively simple. Each syllable contains at least a consonant and a vowel.

Vowels

Before the arrival of the Spanish, Tagalog had three vowel phonemes: /a/, /i/, and /u/. This was later expanded to five vowels with the introduction of Spanish words.

They are:

• /a/ an open front unrounded vowel similar to English "father"
• /ɛ/ an open-mid front unrounded vowel similar to English "bed"
• /i/ a close front unrounded vowel similar to English "machine"
• /o/ a close-mid back rounded vowel similar to English "forty"
• /u/ a close back unrounded vowel similar to English "flute"

There are four main diphthongs; /aɪ/, /oɪ/, /aʊ/, and /iʊ/.

Consonants

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

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.

Phonology

• /a/ is raised slightly in unstressed positions
• Unstressed /i/ is usually pronounced as in English "bit"
• At the end of a word, /i/ can be pronounced as or .
• /e/ and /o/ can sometimes be pronounced as and
• Unstressed /u/ is usually pronounced as in English "book"
• The diphthong /aɪ/ at the beginning or middle of the word can also be pronounced
• The diphthong /aʊ/ at the beginning or middle of the word can also be pronounced
• /k/ has a tendency to become between vowels as in German "bach"
• /ɾ/ and /d/ are sometimes interchangeable as /ɾ/ and /d/ were once allophones in Tagalog.
• A glottal stop that occurs at the end of a word is often omitted when it's in the middle of a sentence.

Historical sound changes

Tagalog differs from its Central Philippine counterparts with its treatment of the Proto-Philippine schwa vowel *ə. In Bikol & Visayan, this sound merged with /u/ and . In Tagalog, it has merged with /i/. For example, Proto-Philippine *dəkət (adhere, stick) is Tagalog dikít and Visayan & Bikol dukot.

Proto-Philippine *r, *j, and *z merged with /d/ but is /l/ between vowels. Proto-Philippine *ngajan (name) and *hajək (kiss) became Tagalog ngalan and halík.

Proto-Philippine *R merged with /g/. *tubiR (water) and *zuRuʔ (blood) became Tagalog tubig and dugô.

Grammar

Main article: Tagalog grammar

Writing system

Baybayin

Main article: 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 vowels and 14 consonants. Belonging to the Brahmic family of scripts, it shares similarities with the old Kavi 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.

Latin alphabet

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.

The alphabet was again 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.

The most recent reform of the alphabet occurred in 1987. The number of letters 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.

Diacritics

Diacritics are normally not written in everyday usage, be it in publications or personal correspondence. The teaching of diacritics is inconsistent in Filipino schools and many Filipinos do not know how to use them. However, diacritics are normally used in dictionaries and in textbooks aimed at teaching the languages to foreigners.

There are three kinds of diacritics used in Tagalog:

Acute accent or pahilís

Used to indicate primary or secondary stress on a particular syllable. It is usually omitted on words that are stressed on the penultimate syllable; talagá.

Grave accent or paiwà

Placed only on the last syllable. It indicates that there is a glottal stop at the end of the word and that penultimate syllable receives stress; mabutì.

Circumflex accent or pakupyâ

Placed only on the last syllable. It indicates that the final syllable of a word receives stress while there is a glottal stop that follows; sampû.

ng and mga

The genitive marker ng and the plural marker mga are abbreviations that are pronounced nang and mangá .

Vocabulary and borrowed words

Tagalog vocabulary is composed mostly of words of Austronesian origin with borrowings from Spanish, Min Nan Chinese (also known as Hokkien or Fujianese), Malay, Sanskrit, Arabic, Tamil, Persian, Kapampangan, languages spoken on Luzon, and others, especially other Austronesian languages.

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.

Tagalog words of foreign origin chart

See main article: Tagalog loanwords

For the Min Nan Chinese borrowings, the parentheses indicate the equivalent in standard Chinese.

Austronesian comparison chart

Below is a chart of Tagalog and thirteen other Austronesian languages comparing twelve words; the first twelve languages are spoken in the Philippines and the other two are spoken in Indonesia and in Hawai'i.

Contribution to other languages

Tagalog itself has contributed a few words into English. The word boondocks which means 'rural' or 'back country', was imported by American soldiers stationed in the Philippines from the Tagalog bundok, which means "'mountain." Another word is cogon, which is a type of grass, used for thatching. This word came from the Tagalog word kugon. There is also ylang-ylang, which is a type of flower known for its fragrance. Abacá is a type of fiber made from a banana plant, from abaká. Manila is a light brown cardboard material used for folders and paper usually made from abaca. Capiz, also known as window oyster, is used to make windows. A yo-yo is a toy.

Tagalog has contributed several words to Spanish, like barangay (from balañgay meaning barrio), the abacá, cogon, palay, etc.

Examples

The Lord's Prayer (Ama Namin)

Ama namin, sumasalangit ka,

Sambahin ang Ngalan Mo.

Mapasaamin ang kaharian Mo,

Sundin ang Loob Mo

dito sa lupa para ng sa Langit.

Bigyan Mo po kami ng aming kakanin sa araw-araw.

At patawarin Mo po kami sa aming mga sala,

para ng pagpapatawad namin sa mga nagsala sa amin.

At huwag Mo po kaming ipahintulot sa tukso,

At iadya Mo po kami sa lahat ng masama,

[Sapagkat sa Iyo ang kaharian,

ang kapangyarihan,

at ang kapurihan

ngayon at magpakailanman.]

Amen.

Common phrases

• English: Ingglés (ing-GLES)
• Filipino: Pilipino (pih-lih-PIH-noh)
• Tagalog: Tagalog (tah-GAH-log)
• What is your name?: Anó ang pangalan ninyó? (uh-NOH ahng puh-NGAH-lan nin-YOH)
• How are you?: kumustá (koo-mus-TAH)
• Good morning!: Magandáng umaga! (muh-gun-DAHNG oo-MAH-gah)
• Good afternoon! (from 11 am to 1 pm): Magandáng tanghali! (muh-gun-DAHNG tahng-HAH-leh)
• Good afternoon! (from 1 pm to dusk): Magandáng hapon! (muh-gun-DAHNG HAH-pawn)
• Good evening!: Magandáng gabí! (muh-gun-DAHNG gah-BEH)
• Good-bye: paalam (literal - "with your blessing") (pa-AH-lam)
• Please: Depending on the nature of the verb, either pakí- (pah-KEE) or makí- (mah-KEE) is attached as a prefix to a verb. ngâ (ngah) is optionally added after verb to increase politeness.
• Thank you: salamat (sah-LAH-mat)
• That one: iyan (ee-YAN)
• How much?: magkano? (mag-KAH-noh?)
• Yes: oo (OH-oh)
• No: hindî (hin-DEH)
• Sorry: pasensya pô or sorry/sori (pah-SEN-shah PO) , patawad po (pah-TAH-wahd PO)
• Because: kasí (kah-SEH)
• Hurry!: Dalí! (dah-LEE), Bilís! (bih-LEES)
• Again: mulí (moo-LEE), ulít (oo-LET)
• I don't understand: Hindî ko maintindihan (hin-DEE koh ma-in-TIN-dih-HAN)
• Where's the bathroom?: Nasaán ang banyo? (NA-sa-AN ang BAN-yoh?)
• Generic toast: Mabuhay! (mah-BOO-high)
• Do you speak English? Marunong ka bang magsalitâ ng Ingglés? (mah-ROO-nohng kah bang mag-sah-li-TAH nahng eeng-GLESS?)

Proverbs

Here are some proverbs in Tagalog.

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."

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 or a rotten fish."

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 newly awoken.

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 when the horse is already dead."

Habang may buhay, may pag-asa.
"While there is life, there is hope."

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1 in Tagalog

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.)

Resources for learning Tagalog

• Conversational Tagalog by Teresita V. Ramos ISBN 0824809440
• Intermediate Tagalog by Teresita V. Ramos ISBN 0824807766
• Learn Filipino: Book One by Victor Eclar Romero ISBN 1932956417
• Lonely Planet Filipino Tagalog (TravelTalk) ISBN 1591253640
• Lonely Planet Pilipino Phrasebook ISBN 0864424329
• Tagalog/English English/Tagalog Standard Dictionary by Carl R. Galvez Rubino ISBN 0781809614
• Tagalog Reference Grammar by Paul Schachter and Fe T. Otanes ISBN 0520017765
• Tagalog Slang Dictionary by R. David Zorc and Rachel San Miguel ISBN 9711181320
• Teach Yourself Tagalog by Corazon Salvacion Castle ISBN 0071434178
• UP Diksyonaryong Filipino by Virgilio Armario (ed.) ISBN 9718781986, and ISBN 9718781994
• English-Tagalog and Tagalog-English Dictionary by Maria Odulio De Guzman ISBN 9710807137
• New Vicassan's English-Pilipino Dictionary ISBN 9712704241

See also

• Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (Official regulating body of the Tagalog language)
• UP Filipino Dictionary
• Languages of the Philippines
• Filipino
• Cebuano
• Chabacano
• Pangasinan
• Visayan languages
• Bikol
• Ilokano
• Hiligaynon
• Filipino-American

External links

• Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, official regulating body of the Filipino language
• Northern Illinois University Tagalog page
• Free Tagalog Tutoring - powered by College professors and students
• Bansa.org Tagalog Dictionary
• Tagalog dictionary
• Filipino (Tagalog) Learner's Home
• Tagalog: A Brief Look at the National Language
• Ethnologue entry for Tagalog
• A Tagalog tutorial site
• Another Tagalog-English online dictionary
• Free eBooks in Tagalog at Project Gutenberg

• Austronesian languages
• Malayo-Polynesian languages
• Languages of the Philippines
• Languages of the United States
• Tagalog