The word Tagalog is derived from the endonymᜆᜄ ᜁᜎᜓᜄ᜔ (taga-ilog, "river dweller"), composed of ᜆᜄ (tagá-, "native of" or "from") and ᜁᜎᜓᜄ᜔ (ílog, "river"). Very little is known about the ancient history of the language; linguists such as David Zorc and Robert Blust speculate that the Tagalogs and other Central Philippine ethno-linguistic groups had originated in Northeastern Mindanao or the Eastern Visayas.[1][2]
History
The Baybayin script, used to write in Tagalog prior to the arrival of the Spanish in 16th century.
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 as Robert Blust suggest that the Tagalogs originated in northeastern Mindanao or the eastern Visayas.[4] Possible words of Old Tagalog origin are attested in the Laguna Copperplate Inscription from the 10th century, which is largely written in Old Malay.[5] The first known complete book to be written in Tagalog is the Doctrina Christiana (Christian Doctrine), printed in 1593. The book also used Baybayin script.[6]
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 by Sanskrit, Malay, Tamil and Chinese.[7][8]
^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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