Abakada alphabet
Abakada is the alphabet of Tagalog, and was the first alphabet of Wikang Pambansa Batay sa Tagalog (English: Tagalog-Based National Language) or simply Wikang Pambansa (English: National Language).[1] The national language is presently Filipino, the de facto standardized version of Tagalog,[2] though it is de jure distinct from it. The abakada is made up of 20 letters.
History
Before the arrival of the Spanish, Tagalog was written with the Baybayin/Alibata system. Until the first half of the 20th century, Tagalog was widely written in a variety of ways based on Spanish orthography. When the Wikang Pambansa Batay sa Tagalog was introduced, grammarian Lope K. Santos created a new alphabet consisting of 20 letters called ABAKADA in school grammar books called balarilà. This became the alphabet for both Tagalog, and the Tagalog-Based National Language.
Order/Collation of the Alphabet
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Baybayin_alpha.jpg/300px-Baybayin_alpha.jpg)
Abakada is arranged this way. Inside the quotation marks is the name of the letters.
- A - "A"
- B - "Ba"
- K - "Ka"
- D - "Da"
- E - "E"
- G - "Ga"
- H - "Ha"
- I - "I"
- L - "La"
- M - "Ma"
- N - "Na"
- NG - "Nga"
- P - "Pa"
- R - "Ra"
- S - "Sa"
- T - "Ta"
- U - "U"
- W - "Wa"
- Y - "Ya"
Notes
- ^ Mga Probisyong Pangwika sa Saligang-Batas
- ^ Andrew Gonzalez, FSC. "Language planning in multilingual countries: The case of the Philippines". SIL International. Retrieved 2007-07-15.
- Kautusang Pangkagawaran Blg. 7