Tagalog language

"Tagalog" redirects here. For other uses, see Tagalog (disambiguation).

Tagalog
Wikang Tagalog
Native to	Philippines
Region	Central and South Luzon
Native speakers	23.9 million (2000) 96% of the Philippines can speak Tagalog (2000)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Philippine Central Philippine Tagalog
Standard forms	Filipino
Writing system	Latin (Tagalog/Filipino); Historically Baybayin
Official status
Official language in	Philippines (in the form of Filipino) Alaska (minority language) California (minority language) Nevada (minority language) New Jersey (minority language)
Regulated by	Commission on the Filipino Language
Language codes
ISO 639-1	tl
ISO 639-2	tgl
ISO 639-3	tgl
Linguasphere	31-CKA
The map shows the areas where the language is spoken by a significant population. Overseas Filipinos use the languages as a lingua franca. There are over a million speakers in Saudi Arabia and in the United States, plus 90 million in the Philippines itself.

Tagalog (pronounced /təˈɡɑːlɒɡ/ in English) is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV (CALABARZON and MIMAROPA) and of Metro Manila. Its standardized form, commonly called Filipino, is the national language and one of two official languages of the Philippines. It is related to—though not readily intelligible with—other Austronesian languages such as Malay, Javanese, and Hawaiian.

History

The Tagalog Baybayin script.

The word Tagalog derived from tagailog, from tagá- meaning "native of" and ílog meaning "river". Thus, it means "river dweller". Very little is known about the history of the language. However, according to linguists such as Dr. David Zorc and Dr. Robert Blust, the Tagalogs originated, along with their Central Philippine cousins, from Northeastern Mindanao or Eastern Visayas.

The first written record of Tagalog is in the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, written in the year 900 and uses fragments of the language along with Sanskrit, Malay, and Javanese. Meanwhile, the first known book to be written in Tagalog is the Doctrina Cristiana (Christian Doctrine) of 1593. It was written in Spanish and two transcriptions of Tagalog; one in the Baybayin script and the other in Latin script. Throughout the 333 years of Spanish occupation, there were grammar and dictionaries written by Spanish clergymen such as Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala by Pedro de San Buenaventura (Pila, Laguna, 1613), Vocabulario de la lengua tagala (1835) and Arte de la lengua tagala y manual tagalog para la administración de los Santos Sacramentos (1850). Poet Francisco Baltazar (1788–1862) is regarded as the foremost Tagalog writer. His most notable work is the early 19th-century Florante at Laura.

Tagalog and Filipino

In 1937, Tagalog was selected as the basis of the national language of the Philippines by the National Language Institute. In 1939, Manuel L. Quezon named the national language "Wikang Pambansâ" ("National Language"). Twenty years later, in 1959, it was renamed by then Secretary of Education, José Romero, as Pilipino to give it a national rather than ethnic label and connotation. The changing of the name did not, however, result in acceptance among non-Tagalogs, especially Cebuanos who had not accepted the selection.

In 1971, the language issue was revived once more, and a compromise solution was worked out—a "universalist" approach to the national language, to be called Filipino rather than Pilipino. When a new constitution was drawn up in 1987, it named Filipino as the national language. 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.

Classification

Tagalog is a Central Philippine language within the Austronesian language family. Being Malayo-Polynesian, it is related to other Austronesian languages such as Malagasy, Javanese, Indonesian, Malay, Tetum (of Timor), and Tao language (of Taiwan). It is closely related to the languages spoken in the Bicol and Visayas regions such as Bikol and the Visayan group including Hiligaynon and Cebuano.

Languages that have made significant contributions to Tagalog vocabulary are especially Spanish and English.

Dialects

At present, no comprehensive dialectology has been done in the Tagalog-speaking regions, though there have been descriptions in the form of dictionaries and grammars on various Tagalog dialects. Ethnologue lists Lubang, Manila, Marinduque, Bataan, Batangas, Bulacan, Tanay-Paete, and Tayabas as dialects of Tagalog. However, there appear to be four main dialects of which the aforementioned are a part; Northern (exemplified by the Bulacan 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. For example standard Tagalog ngayon (now, today), sinigang (broth stew), gabi (night), matamis (sweet), are pronounced and written ngay-on, sinig-ang, gab-i, and matam-is in other dialects.
• In Teresian-Morong Tagalog, [ɾ] is usually preferred over [d]. For example, bundók, dagat, dingdíng, and isdâ become bunrók, ragat, ringríng, and isrâ, as well as their expression seen in some signages like "sandok sa dingdíng" was changed to "sanrok sa ringríng".
• In many southern dialects, the progressive aspect infix of -um- verbs is na-. For example, standard Tagalog kumakain (eating) is nákáin in Quezon and Batangas Tagalog. This is the butt of some jokes by other Tagalog speakers since a phrase such as nakain ka ba ng pating is interpreted as "did a shark eat you?" by those from Manila but in reality means "do you eat shark?" to those in the south.
• Some dialects have interjections which are considered a trademark of their region. For example, the interjection ala e! usually identifies someone from Batangas as does hane?! in Rizal and Quezon provinces.

Perhaps the most divergent Tagalog dialects are those spoken in Marinduque. 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 dialects by the early 20th century; they have since merged with the infinitive.

Manileño Tagalog	Marinduqueño Tagalog	English
Susulat sina Maria at Esperanza kay Juan.	Másúlat da Maria at Esperanza kay Juan.	"Maria and Esperanza will write to Juan."
Mag-aaral siya sa Maynila.	Gaaral siya sa Maynila.	"He will study in Manila."
Magluto ka na!	Pagluto!	"Cook now!"
Kainin mo iyan.	Kaina yaan.	"Eat that."
Tinatawag tayo ni Tatay.	Inatawag nganì kitá ni Tatay.	"Father is calling us."
Tinulungan ba kayó ni Hilario?	Atulungan ga kamo ni Hilario?	"Did Hilario help you?"

Northern dialects and the central dialects are the basis for the national language.

Features

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, Camarines Norte, Cavite, Laguna, Metro Manila, Nueva Ecija, Quezon, Rizal, and large parts of Zambales. Tagalog is also spoken natively by inhabitants living on the islands, Marinduque, Mindoro, and large areas of Palawan. It is spoken by approximately 64.3 million Filipinos, 96.4% of the household population. 21.5 million, or 28.15% of the total Philippine population, speak it as a native language.

Tagalog speakers are found in other parts of the Philippines as well as throughout the world, though its use is usually limited to communication between Filipino ethnic groups. In 2010, the US Census bureau reported (based on data collected in 2007) that in the United States it was the fourth most-spoken language at home with almost 1.5 million speakers, behind Spanish or Spanish Creole, French (including Patois, Cajun, Creole), and Chinese. Tagalog ranked as the third most spoken language in metropolitan statistical areas, behind Spanish and Chinese but ahead of French.

Official status

Predominantly Tagalog-speaking regions in the Philippines. The color-schemes represent the 4 dialect zones of the language: Northern, Central, Southern, and Marinduque.

Main article: Filipino language

Tagalog was declared the official language by the first constitution in the Philippines, the Constitution of Biak-na-Bato in 1897.

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. 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. President Manuel 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. In 1939 President Quezon renamed the proposed Tagalog-based national language as wikang pambansâ (national language). In 1959, the language was further renamed as "Pilipino".

The 1973 constitution designated the Tagalog-based "Pilipino", along with English, as an official language and mandated the development and formal adoption of a common national language to be known as Filipino. The 1987 constitution designated Filipino as the national language, mandating that as it evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages. However, in practice, Filipino is simply Tagalog.

Article XIV, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines specifies, in part:

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.

— 

The regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the regions and shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein.

— 

In 2009, the Department 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 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.

Accents

The Tagalog language also boasts accentations unique to some parts of Tagalog-speaking regions. For example, in some parts of Manila: a strong pronunciation of i exists and vowel-switching of o and u exists so words like "gising" (to wake) is pronounced as "giseng" with a strong 'e' and the word "tagu-taguan" (hide-and-go-seek) is pronounced as "tago-tagoan" with a mild 'o'.

Batangas Tagalog boasts the most distinctive accent in Tagalog compared to the more Hispanized northern accents of the language. The Batangas accent has been featured in film and television and Filipino actor Leo Martinez speaks this accent.

Code-switching

Taglish and Englog are portmanteaus given to a mix of English and Tagalog. The amount of English vs. Tagalog varies from the occasional use of English loan words to outright code-switching where the language changes in mid-sentence. Such code-switching is prevalent throughout the Philippines and in various of the languages of the Philippines other than Tagalog.

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 kami sa mall. Sino ba ang magdadrive sa shopping center?

"We will go shopping at the mall. Who will drive to the shopping center?"

Although it is generally looked down upon, code-switching is prevalent in all levels of society; however, city-dwellers, the highly educated, and people born around and after World War II are more likely to do it. Politicians as highly placed as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have code-switched in interviews.

The practice is common in television, radio, and print media as well. Advertisements from companies like Wells Fargo, Wal-Mart, Albertsons, McDonald's, and Western Union have contained Taglish.

Phonology

Main article: Tagalog phonology

Tagalog has 26 phonemes: 21 of them are consonants and 5 are vowels. Syllable structure is relatively simple. Each syllable contains at least a consonant and a vowel, and begins in at most one consonant, except for borrowed words such as trak which means "truck", or tsokolate meaning "chocolate".

Vowels

Before appearing in the area north of Pasig river, Tagalog had three vowel phonemes: /a/, /i/, and /u/. This was later expanded to five vowels with the introduction of words from Northern Philippine languages like Kapampangan and Ilocano and Spanish words.

They are:

• /a/ an open central unrounded vowel similar to English "father"; in the middle of a word, a near-open central vowel similar to English "cup"
• /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"

Nevertheless pairs 'o' and 'u and 'e' and 'i' are likely to be interchanged by the people without a very high command of the language.

There are six main diphthongs; /ai/, /ei/, /oi/, /ui/, /au/, and /iu/.

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.

Table of consonant phonemes of Tagalog

	Labial		Dental/ Alveolar		Postalveolar		Palatal		Velar		Glottal
Nasal	m		n				ɲ		ŋ
Plosive	p	b	t	d					k	ɡ	ʔ
Fricative			s		(ɕ)						h
Affricate			(ts)		(tʃ)	(dʒ)
Tap			ɾ
Approximant			l				j		w

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. Stress on words is highly important, since it differentiates words with the same spellings, but with different meanings, e.g. tayô (to stand) and tayo (us; we).

Sounds

Vowels

• /a/ is raised slightly to [ɐ] in unstressed positions and also occasionally in stressed positions (inang bayan [inˈɐŋ ˈbɐjən])
• Unstressed /i/ is usually pronounced [ɪ] as in English "bit"
• At the final syllable, /i/ can be pronounced [i ~ e ~ ɛ], as [e ~ ɛ] is an allophone of [ɪ ~ i] in final syllables.
• Unstressed /ɛ/ and /o/ can sometimes be pronounced [i ~ ɪ ~ e] and [u ~ ʊ ~ ɔ], except in final syllables. [o~ ʊ ~ ɔ] and [u ~ ʊ] were also former allophones.
• /ɛ/ can be pronounced as a close-mid front unrounded vowel [e].
• Unstressed /u/ is usually pronounced [ʊ] as in English "book"
• The diphthong /aɪ/ and the sequence /aʔi/ have a tendency to become [eɪ ~ ɛː].
• The diphthong /aʊ/ and the sequence /aʔu/ have a tendency to become [oʊ ~ ɔː].
• /e/ or /i/ before s-consonant clusters have a tendency to become silent.
• /o/ tends to become [ɔ] in stressed positions.

Consonants

• /k/ between vowels has a tendency to become [x] as in Spanish "José", 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] (see preceding), as in Arabic "ghair", especially in the Manila dialect.
• /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 is in the middle of a sentence, especially in the Metro Manila area. The vowel it follows is then usually lengthened. However, it is preserved in many other dialects.
• /ts/ may be pronounced [tʃ], as in English "chimney."
• /ɾ/ can be pronounced [r].
• /b/ can be pronounced [ɓ] .

Historical 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 [o]. 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 *ŋɡajan (name) and *hajək (kiss) became Tagalog ngalan and halík.

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

Grammar

Further information: [[:Tagalog grammar]]

Writing system

Baybayin

Main article: Baybayin

Tagalog was written in an abugida, or alphasyllabary, called Baybayin prior to the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines, 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 Kawi 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, Baybayin gradually fell into disuse in favor of the Latin alphabet taught by the Spaniards during their rule.

There has been confusion of how to use Baybayin, which is actually an abugida, or an alphasyllabary, rather than an alphabet. 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 "kudlit" 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 final vowel was just left out, leaving the reader to use context to determine the final vowels.

Example:

Baybayin is encoded in Unicode version 3.2 in the range 1700-171F under the name "Tagalog".

ᜀ a

ᜁ e/i

ᜂ o/u

ᜃ ka	ᜄ ga	ᜅ nga
ᜆ ta	ᜇ da/ra	ᜈ na
ᜉ pa	ᜊ ba	ᜋ ma

ᜌ ya

ᜎ la

ᜏ wa

ᜐ sa

ᜑ ha

vowels ᜔ a ᜀ i e ᜁ u o ᜂ

b b ᜊ᜔ ba ᜊ bi be ᜊᜒ bu bo ᜊᜓ

k k ᜃ᜔ ka ᜃ ki ke ᜃᜒ ku ko ᜃᜓᜓ

d/r d/r ᜇ᜔ da/ra ᜇ di/ri de/re ᜇᜒ du/ru do/ro ᜇᜓ

g g ᜄ᜔ ga ᜄ gi ge ᜄᜒ gu go ᜄᜓ

h h ᜑ᜔ ha ᜑ hi he ᜑᜒ hu ho ᜑᜓ

l l ᜎ᜔ la ᜎ li le ᜎᜒ lu lo ᜎᜓ

m m ᜋ᜔ ma ᜋ mi me ᜋᜒ mu mo ᜋᜓ

n n ᜈ᜔ na ᜈ ni ne ᜈᜒ nu no ᜈᜓ

ng ng ᜅ᜔ nga ᜅ ngi nge ᜅᜒ ngu ngo ᜅᜓ

p p ᜉ᜔ pa ᜉ pi pe ᜉᜒ pu po ᜉᜓ

s s ᜐ᜔ sa ᜐ si se ᜐᜒ su so ᜐᜓ

t t ᜆ᜔ ta ᜆ ti te ᜆᜒ tu to ᜆᜓ

w w ᜏ᜔ wa ᜏ wi we ᜏᜒ wu wo ᜏᜓ

y y ᜌ᜔ ya ᜌ yi ye ᜌᜒ yu yo ᜌᜓ

Latin alphabet

Abecedario

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':

Majuscule	Minuscule	Majuscule	Minuscule
A	a	Ng	ng
B	b	Ñ	ñ
C	c	N͠g / Ñg	n͠g / ñg
Ch	ch	O	o
D	d	P	p
E	e	Q	q
F	f	R	r
G	g	Rr	rr
H	h	S	s
I	i	T	t
J	j	U	u
K	k	V	v
L	l	W	w
Ll	ll	X	x
M	m	Y	y
N	n	Z	z

Abakada

Main article: Abakada

When the national language was based on Tagalog, grammarian Lope K. Santos introduced a new alphabet consisting of 20 letters called ABAKADA in school grammar books called balarilà:

Majuscule	Minuscule	Majuscule	Minuscule
A	a	N	n
B	b	Ng	ng
K	k	O	o
D	d	P	p
E	e	R	r
G	g	S	s
H	h	T	t
I	i	U	u
L	l	W	w
M	m	Y	y

Revised alphabet

Main article: Filipino alphabet

In 1987 the department 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 to make room for loans, especially family names from Spanish and English.:

Majuscule	Minuscule	Majuscule	Minuscule
A	a	Ñ	ñ
B	b	Ng	ng
C	c	O	o
D	d	P	p
E	e	Q	q
F	f	R	r
G	g	S	s
H	h	T	t
I	i	U	u
J	j	V	v
K	k	W	w
L	l	X	x
M	m	Y	y
N	n	Z	z

ng and mga

See also: ng (digraph)

The genitive marker ng and the plural marker mga are abbreviations that are pronounced nang [naŋ] and mangá [mɐˈŋa]. Ng, in most cases, roughly translates to "of" (ex. Siya ay kapatid ng nanay ko. She is the sibling of my mother) while nang 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. Mga (pronounced as "muh-NGA") denotes plurality as adding an s, es, or ies does in English (ex. Iyan ang mga damit ko. (Those are my clothes)).

• Nang si Hudas ay madulas.—When Judas slipped.
• Gumising siya nang maaga.—He woke up early.
• Gumalíng nang todo si Juan dahil nag-ensayo siya.—Juan greatly improved because he practiced.

In the first example, nang is used in lieu of the word noong (when; Noong si Hudas ay madulas). 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 (gumaling), which is "greatly" (nang todo). In the latter two examples, the ligature na and its variants -ng and -g may also be used (Gumising na maaga/Maagang gumising; Gumaling na todo/Todong gumaling).

The longer nang may also have other uses, such as a ligature that joins a repeated word:

• Naghintay sila nang naghintay.—They kept on waiting.

po/ho and opo/oho

The words po/ho and opo/oho are traditionally used as polite iterations of the affirmative "oo" ("yes"). It is generally used when addressing elders or superiors such as bosses or teachers.

"Po" and "opo" are specifically used to denote a high level of respect when addressing older persons of close affinity like parents, relatives, teachers and family friends. "Ho" and "oho" are generally used to politely address older neighbors, strangers, public officials, bosses and nannies, and may suggest a distance in societal relationship. However, "po" and "opo" can be used in any case in order to express an elevation of respect.

• Example: "Pakitapon naman po/ho yung basura". ("Please throw away the trash.")

Used in the affirmative:

• Ex: "Gutom ka na ba?" "Opo/Oho". ("Are you hungry yet?" "Yes").

Po/Ho may also be used in negation.

• Ex: "Hindi ko po/ho alam 'yan."("I don't know that.")

Vocabulary and borrowed words

Tagalog vocabulary is composed mostly of words of native Austronesian origin. However it has significant Spanish loanwords. Spanish is the language that has bequeathed the most loan words to Tagalog. According to linguists, Spanish (5,000) has even surpassed Malay (3,500) in terms of loan words borrowed. About 40% of everyday (informal) Tagalog conversation is practically made up of Spanish loanwords.

Tagalog also includes loanwords from Indian (Sanskrit), Chinese (Hokkien), Arabic, Mexican (Nahuatl) and English. Tagalog has also been significantly influenced by other Austronesian languages of the Philippines as well as Indonesia and Malaysia. In pre-hispanic times, Trade Malay was widely known and spoken throughout Southeast Asia.

Due to trade with Mexico via the Manila galleon from the 16th to the 19th centuries, many words from Nahuatl, a language spoken by Native Americans in Mexico, were introduced to Tagalog.

English has borrowed some words from Tagalog, such as abaca, barong, balisong, boondocks, jeepney, Manila hemp, pancit, ylang-ylang, and yaya, although the vast majority of these borrowed words are only used in the Philippines as part of the vocabularies of Philippine English.

Other examples of Tagalog words used in English

Example	Definition
boondocks	meaning "rural" or "back country," was imported by American soldiers stationed in the Philippines following the Spanish American War as a mispronounced version of the Tagalog bundok, which means "mountain."
cogon	a type of grass, used for thatching. This word came from the Tagalog word kugon (a species of tall grass).
ylang-ylang	a type of flower known for its fragrance.
Abaca	a type of hemp fiber made from a plant in the banana family, from abaká.
Manila hemp	a light brown cardboard material used for folders and paper usually made from abaca hemp.
Capiz	also known as window oyster, is used to make windows.

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

Tagalog words of foreign origin

Tagalog	meaning	language of origin	original spelling
departamento	department	Spanish	departamento
kumusta	how are you? (general greeting)	Spanish	cómo estás
kabayo	horse	Spanish	caballo
Diyos	God	Spanish	Dios
silya	chair	Spanish	silla
kotse	car	Spanish	coche
relo	wristwatch	Spanish	reloj
litrato	picture	Spanish	retrato
tsismis (chis-mis)	gossip	Spanish	chismes
Ingles	English	Spanish	inglés
tsinelas/sinelas	slippers	Spanish	chinelas
karne	meat	Spanish	carne
sapatos	shoes	Spanish	zapatos
arina/harina	flour	Spanish	harina
bisikleta	bicycle	Spanish	bicicleta
baryo	village	Spanish	barrio
swerte	luck	Spanish	suerte
piyesta/pista	feast	Spanish	fiesta
garahe	garage	Spanish	garaje
ahente	agent/salesman	Spanish	agente
ensaymada	a kind of pastry	Catalan (Mallorqui dialect)	ensaïmada
kamote	sweet potato	Nahuatl	camotli
sayote (sa-yo-te)	chayote	Nahuatl	chayotli
sili	chili pepper	Nahuatl	chilli
tsokolate (cho-co-la-te)	chocolate	Nahuatl	chocolatl
tiangge/palenque	market	Nahuatl	tianquiztli
sapote/tsiko	chico (fruit)	Nahuatl	tzapotl
awtomobil	car	English/Spanish	automobile/automóvil
nars	nurse	English	nurse
bolpen	ballpoint pen	English	ballpen
pulisia/pulis	police	Spanish	policía
suspecho	suspect	Spanish	sospechar
traysikel / trisiklo	tricycle	English / Spanish	tricycle / triciclo
siopao (/syo·paw/)	steamed buns	Min Nan Chinese	燒包
pancit (/pan·set/) / pansit	noodles	Min Nan Chinese	扁食
bakya	wooden shoes	Min Nan Chinese	木履
kanan	right	Malay	kanan
tulong	help	Malay	tolong
sakit	sick, pain	Malay	sakit
pulo/isla	island	Malay/Spanish	pulau/isla
anak	child,son & daughter	Malay	anak
pinto	door	Malay	pintu
tanghali	afternoon	Malay	tengah hari
dalamhati	grief	Malay	dalam + hati
luwalhati	glory	Malay	luar + hati
duryan	durian	Malay	durian
rambutan	rambutan	Malay	rambutan
batik	spot	Malay	batik
sarap	delicious	Malay	sedap
asa	hope	Sanskrit	आशा (ahshा)
salita	speak	Sanskrit	चरितँ (cerita)
balita	news	Sanskrit	वार्ता (berita)
karma	karma	Sanskrit	कर्म (kárma)
alak	liquor	Persian	عرق (araq)
bagay	thing	Tamil	வகை (vagai)
hukom	judge	Arabic	حكم (ħ-k-m)
salamat	thanks	Arabic	سلامة (slamah)
bakit	why	Kapampangan	obakit
akyat	climb/step up	Kapampangan	ukyát/mukyat
at	and	Kapampangan	at
bundok	mountain	Kapampangan	bunduk
huwag	don't	Pangasinan	ag
aso	dog	South Cordilleran or Ilocano (also Ilokano)	aso
tayo	we (inc.)	South Cordilleran or Ilocano	tayo
ito,nito	it.	South Cordilleran or Ilocano	to

Austronesian comparison chart

Below is a chart of Tagalog and twenty other Austronesian languages comparing thirteen words; the first thirteen languages are spoken in the Philippines and the other nine are spoken in Indonesia, East Timor, New Zealand, Hawaii, Madagascar and Borneo.

English	one	two	three	four	person	house	dog	coconut	day	new	we	what	fire
Tagalog	isa	dalawa	tatlo	apat	tao	bahay	aso	niyog	araw	bago	tayo	ano	apoy
Bikol	saro	duwa	tulo	apat	tawo	harong	ayam	niyog	aldaw	ba-go	kita	ano	kalayo
Cebuano	usa	duha	tulo	upat	tawo	balay	iro	lubi	adlaw	bag-o	kita	unsa	kalayo
Waray	usa	duha	tulo	upat	tawo	balay	ayam/ido	lubi	adlaw	bag-o	kita	anu	kalayo
Tausug	hambuuk	duwa	tu	upat	tau	bay	iru'	niyug	adlaw	ba-gu	kitaniyu	unu	kayu
Kinaray-a	sara	darwa	tatlo	apat	taho	balay	ayam	niyog	adlaw	bag-o	kita, taten	ano	kalayo
Maranao	isa	dowa	t'lo	phat	taw	walay	aso	neyog	gawi'e	bago	tano	tonaa	apoy
Kapampangan	metung	adwa	atlu	apat	tau	bale	asu	ngungut	aldo	bayu	ikatamu	nanu	api
Pangasinan	sakey	dua, duara	talo, talora	apat, apatira	too	abong	aso	niyog	ageo	balo	sikatayo	anto	pool
Ilokano	maysa	dua	tallo	uppat	tao	balay	aso	niog	aldaw	baro	datayo	ania	apoy
Ivatan	asa	dadowa	tatdo	apat	tao	vahay	chito	niyoy	araw	va-yo	yaten	ango	apoy
Ibanag	tadday	dua	tallu	appa'	tolay	balay	kitu	niuk	aggaw	bagu	sittam	anni	afi
Yogad	tata	addu	tallu	appat	tolay	binalay	atu	iyyog	agaw	bagu	sikitam	gani	afuy
Gaddang	antet	addwa	tallo	appat	tolay	balay	atu	ayog	aw	bawu	ikkanetam	sanenay	afuy
Tboli	sotu	lewu	tlu	fat	tau	gunu	ohu	lefo	kdaw	lomi	tekuy	tedu	ofih
Indonesian	satu	dua	tiga	empat	orang	rumah/balai	anjing	kelapa/nyiur	hari	baru	kita	apa/anu	api
Buginese	sedi	dua	tellu	eppa	tau	bola	asu	kaluku	esso	baru	idi	aga	api
Bataknese	sada	dua	tolu	opat	halak	jabu	biang	harambiri	ari	baru	hita	aha	api
Tetum	ida	rua	tolu	haat	ema	uma	asu	nuu	loron	foun	ita	saida	ahi
Maori	tahi	rua	toru	wha	tangata	whare	kuri	kokonati	ra	hou	taua	aha	ahi
Hawaiian	kahi	lua	kolu	hā	kanaka	hale	'īlio	niu	ao	hou	kākou	aha	ahi
Banjarese	asa	duwa	talu	ampat	urang	rūmah	hadupan	kǎlapa	hǎri	hanyar	kami	apa	api
Malagasy	isa	roa	telo	efatra	olona	trano	alika	voanio	andro	vaovao	isika	inona	afo
Dusun	iso	duo	tolu	apat	tulun	walai	tasu	piasau	tadau	wagu	tokou	onu/nu	tapui

Religious literature

Religious literature remains to be one of the most dynamic contributors to Tagalog literature. In 1970, the Philippine Bible Society translated the Bible into Tagalog, the first full translation to any of the Philippine languages. Even before the Second Vatican Council, devotional materials in Tagalog had been circulating. At present, there are four circulating Tagalog translations of the Bible—the Magandang Balita Biblia (a parallel translation of the Good News Bible), which is the ecumenical version; the Bibliya ng Sambayanang Pilipino; the Ang Biblia, which is a more Protestant version published in 1909; and the Bagong Sanlibutang Salin ng Banal na Kasulatan, one of about ninety parallel translations of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures published by Jehovah's Witnesses. The latter was released in the year 2000. Jehovah's Witnesses previously published a hybrid translation: Ang Biblia was used for the Old Testament, while the Bagong Sanlibutang Salin ng Griegong Kasulatan was used for the New Testament.

When the Second Vatican Council, (specifically the Sacrosanctum Concilium) permitted the universal prayers to be translated into vernacular languages, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines was one of the first to translate the Roman Missal into Tagalog. In fact, the Roman Missal in Tagalog was published as early as 1982, while not published in English until 1985.

Jehovah's Witnesses were printing Tagalog literature at least as early as 1941 and The 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. [1]

Tagalog is quite a stable language, and very few revisions have been made to Catholic Bible translations. Also, as Protestantism in the Philippines is relatively young, liturgical prayers tend to be more ecumenical.

Examples

Lord's Prayer

The Lord's Prayer is "Ama Namin" in Tagalog.

Ama namin, sumasalangit ka

Sambahin ang ngalan mo.

Mapasaamin ang kaharian mo.

Sundin ang loob mo,

Dito sa lupà, gaya nang sa langit.

Bigyan Mo kami ngayon ng aming kakanin sa araw-araw,

At patawarin Mo kami sa aming mga sala,

Para nang pagpapatawad namin,

Sa nagkakasala sa amin

At huwag mo kaming ipahintulot sa tukso,

At iadya mo kami sa lahat ng masama..

Sapagkat sa Inyo ang kaharián, at ang kapangyarihan,

At ang kaluwalhatian, ngayon, at magpakailanman.

Amen

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

This is the Universal Declaration of Rights (Pangkalahatang Pagpapahayag ng Karapatang Pantao)

Isinilang na malaya at pantay-pantay sa karangalan at mga karapatan ang lahat ng tao. Pinagkalooban sila 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.

Numbers

The numbers (mga bilang) in Tagalog language are of two forms. The first one, was native to Tagalog language and the other is Tagalized version of Spanish numbers. For example, when a person refers to the number "seven", it can be translated to Tagalog language as "pito" or "syete" (Sp. siete).

Number	Cardinal	Spanish loanword (Original Spanish)	Ordinal
0	zero	sero (cero)	-
1	isa	uno (uno)	una
2	dalawa [dalaua]	dos (dos)	pangalawa / ikalawa (or ikadalawa in some informal compositions)
3	tatlo	tres (tres)	pangatlo / ikatlo
4	apat	kwatro (cuatro)	pang-apat / ikaapat ("ika" and the number-word are never hyphenated. For numbers, however, they always are.)
5	lima	singko (cinco)	panlima / ikalima
6	anim	sais (seis)	pang-anim / ikaanim
7	pito	syete (siete)	pampito / ikapito
8	walo	otso (ocho)	pangwalo / ikawalo
9	siyam	nwebe (nueve)	pansiyam / ikasiyam
10	sampu [sang puo]	dyes (diez)	pansampu / ikasampu (or ikapu in some literary compositions)
11	labing-isa	onse (once)	panlabing isa / pang-onse / ikalabing-isa
12	labindalawa	dose (doce)	panlabindalawa / pandose / ikalabindalawa
13	labintatlo	trese (trece)	panlabintatlo / pantrese / ikalabintatlo
14	labing-apat	katorse (catorce)	panlabing-apat / pangkatorse / ikalabing-apat
15	labinlima	kinse (quince)	panlabinlima / pangkinse / ikalabinlima
16	labing-anim	disisais (diez y séis)	panlabing-anim / pandyes-sais / ikalabing-anim
17	labimpito	disisyete (diez y siete)	panlabimpito / pandyes-syete / ikalabimpito
18	labingwalo	disiotso (diez y ocho)	panlabingwalo / pandyes-otso / ikalabingwalo
19	labinsiyam	disinwebe (diez y nueve)	panlabinsiyam / pandyes-nwebe / ikalabinsiyam
20	dalawampu	bente / beinte (veinte)	pandalawampu / ikadalawampu (or ikalawampu in some literary compositions both formal and informal (rarely used))
30	tatlumpu	trenta / treinta (treinta)	pantatlumpu / ikatatlumpu (or ikatlumpu in some literary compositions both formal and informal (rarely used))
40	apatnapu	kwarenta (cuarenta)	pang-apatnapu / ikaapatnapu
41	apatnapu't isa	kwarentayuno (cuarenta y uno)	pang-apatnapu't isa / ikaapatnapu't isa
50	limampu	singkwenta (cincuenta)	panlimampu / ikalimampu
60	animnapu	sisenta (sesenta)	pang-animnapu / ikaanimnapu
70	pitumpu	sitenta (setenta)	pampitumpu / ikapitumpu
80	walumpu	otsenta / utsenta (ochenta)	pangwalumpu / ikawalumpu
90	siyamnapu	nobenta (noventa)	pansiyamnapu / ikasiyamnapu
100	sandaan	syento (ciento)	pan(g)-(i)sandaan / ikasandaan (or ika-isandaan in some formal or informal literary compositions (rarely used))
200	dalawandaan	dos syentos (doscientos)	pandalawandaan / ikadalawandaan (or ikalawandaan in some formal or informal literary compositions (rarely used))
300	tatlondaan	tres syentos (trescientos)	pantatlong daan / ikatatlondaan (or ikatlondaan in some formal or informal literary compositions (rarely used))
400	apat na raan	kwatro syentos (cuatrocientos)	pang-apat na raan / ikaapat na raan
500	limandaan	singko syentos (quinientos)	panlimandaán / ikalimandaán
600	anim na raan	sais syentos (siescientos)	pang-anim na raan / ikaanim na raan
700	pitongdaan	syete syentos (sietecientos)	pampitondaan / ikapitondaan (or ikapitong raan)
800	walongdaan	otso syentos (ochocientos)	pangwalondaan / ikawalondaan (or ikawalong raan)
900	siyam na raan	nwebe syentos (novecientos)	pansiyam na raan / ikasiyam na raan
1,000	sanlibo	mil (mil)	panlibo / ikasanlibo
2,000	dalawanlibo	dos mil (dos mil)	pangalawang libo / ikalawanlibo
10,000	sanlaksa / sampung libo	dyes mil (diez mil)	pansampung libo / ikapung libo
20,000	dalawanlaksa / dalawampung libo	bente mil (veinte mil)	pangalawampung libo / ikalawampung libo
100,000	sangyuta / sandaang libo	syento mil (ciento mil)
200,000	dalawangyuta / dalawandaang libo	dos syento mil (dos ciento mil)
1,000,000	sang-angaw / sangmilyon	milyon (un millón)
2,000,000	dalawang-angaw / dalawangmilyon	dos milyon (dos millones)
10,000,000	sangkati / sampung milyon	dyes milyon (diez millones)
100,000,000	sandaangkati / sandaang milyon	syento milyon (ciento millones)
1,000,000,000	sang-atos / sambilyon	bilyon (un billón)
1,000,000,000,000	sang-ipaw / santrilyon	trilyon (un trillón)

Months and days

Months and days in Tagalog language are also Tagalized form of Spanish months and days. "Month" in Tagalog is buwan (the word moon is also buwan in Tagalog) and "day" is araw (the word sun is also araw in Tagalog). Unlike Spanish, months and days in Tagalog are capitalized whenever they appear in a sentence.

Month	Original Spanish	Tagalog (abbreviation)
January	Enero	Enero (Ene.)
February	Febrero	Pebrero (Peb.)
March	Marzo	Marso (Mar.)
April	Abril	Abril (Abr.)
May	Mayo	Mayo (Mayo)
June	Junio	Hunyo (Hun.)
July	Julio	Hulyo (Hul.)
August	Agosto	Agosto (Ago.)
September	Septiembre	Setyembre (Set.)
October	Octubre	Oktubre (Okt.)
November	Noviembre	Nobyembre (Nob.)
December	Diciembre	Disyembre (Dis.)

Day	Original Spanish	Tagalog
Monday	Lunes	Lunes
Tuesday	Martes	Martes
Wednesday	Miércoles	Miyerkules / Myerkules
Thursday	Jueves	Huwebes / Hwebes
Friday	Viernes	Biyernes / Byernes
Saturday	Sábado	Sabado
Sunday	Domingo	Linggo

Common phrases

English	Tagalog (with Pronunciation)
Filipino	Pilipino [ˌpiːliˈpiːno]
English	Inglés [ʔɪŋˈɡlɛs]
Tagalog	Tagalog [tɐˈɡaːloɡ]
What is your name?	Anó ang pangalan ninyo? (plural) [ɐˈno aŋ pɐˈŋaːlan nɪnˈjo], Anó ang pangalan mo? (singular) [ɐˈno aŋ pɐˈŋaːlan mo]
How are you?	kumustá [kʊmʊsˈta]
Good morning!	Magandáng umaga! [mɐɡɐnˈdaŋ uˈmaːɡa]
Good noontime! (from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.)	Magandáng tanghali! [mɐɡɐnˈdaŋ taŋˈhaːlɛ]
Good afternoon! (from 1 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.)	Magandáng hapon! [mɐɡɐnˈdaŋ ˈhaːpon]
Good evening!	Magandáng gabí! [mɐɡɐnˈdaŋ ɡɐˈbɛ]
Good-bye	paálam [pɐˈʔaːlam]
Please	Depending on the nature of the verb, either pakí- [pɐˈki] or makí- [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 [sɐˈlaːmat]
This one	ito [ʔiˈtoh], sometimes pronounced [ʔɛˈtoh] (literally—"it", "this")
That one	iyan [ʔiˈjan], When pointing to something at greater distances: iyun [ʔiˈjʊn] or iyon [ʔiˈjon]
Here	dito [dɪˈtoh], heto [hɛˈtoh] ("Here it is")
There	doon [dʒan], hayan [hɑˈjan] ("There it is")
How much?	Magkano? [mɐɡˈkaːno]
Yes	oo [ˈoːʔo] opô [ˈʔopoʔ] or ohô [ˈʔohoʔ] (formal/polite form)
No	hindî [hɪnˈdɛʔ], often shortened to dî [dɛʔ] hindî pô (formal/polite form)
I don't know	hindî ko álam [hɪnˈdɛʔ ko aːlam] Very informal: ewan [ʔɛˈʊɑn], archaic aywan [ɑjˈʊɑn] (closest English equivalent: colloquial dismissive 'Whatever')
Sorry	pasensya pô (literally from the word "patience") or paumanhin po [pɐˈsɛːnʃa poʔ] patawad po [pɐtaːwad poʔ] (literally—"asking your forgiveness")
Because	kasí [kɐˈsɛ] or dahil [dɑˈhɪl]
Hurry!	dalí! [dɐˈli], bilís! [bɪˈlis]
Again	mulí [muˈli] , ulít [ʊˈlɛt]
I don't understand	Hindî ko naiintindihan [hɪnˈdiː ko nɐʔɪɪnˌtɪndiˈhan] or Hindi ko nauunawaan [hɪnˈdiː ko nɐʔʊʊnawaʔˌʔan]
What?	Anó? [ɐˈno]
Where?	Saán? [sɐˈʔan], Nasaán? [ˌnaːsɐˈʔan] (literally - "Where at?")
Why?	Bakít? [bɑˈkɛt]
When?	Kailan? [kɑjˈlɑn], [kɑˈɪˈlɑn], or [kɛˈlɑn] (literally—"In what order?/"At what count?"")
How?	Paánó? [pɑˌɐˈno] (literally—"By what?")
Where's the bathroom?	Nasaán ang banyo? [ˌnaːsɐˈʔan ʔaŋ ˈbaːnjo]
Generic toast	Mabuhay! [mɐˈbuːhaɪ] [literally—"long live"]
Do you speak English?	Marunong ka bang magsalitâ ng Ingglés? [mɐˈɾuːnoŋ ka baŋ mɐɡsaliˈtaː naŋ ʔɪŋˈɡlɛs], "Marunong po ba kayong magsailitâ ng Ingglés?" (polite version for elders and strangers) Marunong ka bang mag-Ingglés? (short form), "Marunong po ba kayong mag-Ingglés? (short form, polite version for elders and strangers)
It is fun to live.	Masaya ang mabuhay! [mɐˈsaˈja ʔaŋ mɐˈbuːhaɪ] or Masaya'ng mabuhay (contracted version)

Proverbs

Ang hindî marunong lumingón sa pinanggalingan ay hindî makaráratíng sa paroroonan. (José Rizal)
One who does not learn to look back to where he came from, will never get to where he is going.

Ang hindî magmahál sa kanyang sariling wika ay mahigít pa sa hayop at malansang isdâ. (José Rizal)
One who does not love one's own language is worse than an animal and a putrid fish.

Hulí man daw at magalíng, nakákahábol pa rin. (Hulí man raw at magalíng, nakákahábol 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 make fun of someone who just woke up.

Ang sakít ng kalingkingan, ramdám ng buong katawán.
The pain of the pinkie is felt by the whole body. (In a group: if one goes down, the rest comes down with it.)

Nasa hulí ang pagsisisi.
Regret always comes last.

Pagkáhába-haba man ng prusisyón, sa simbahan pa rin ang tulóy.
The (wedding) procession 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 and postpone it.)

Kung dî mádaán sa santong dasalan, daanin sa santong paspasan.
If you can't get it through holy prayer, get it through blessed force. (In romance and courting: santong paspasan literally means 'Holy speeding' and is a euphemism for sex. It refers to the two styles of courting by Filipino men. One is the traditional restrained courting favored by the older generations, which often featured serenades and doing chores for the girl's parents. It is notorious for taking ages before getting the girl to say yes. While the other is the riskier seduction which does away with the courting traditions. It can either lead to getting a slap on the face or a pregnancy out of wedlock. The conclusion is what western cultures would call a 'shotgun marriage', therefore the suitor gets the girl one way or the other. The proverb is also applied in terms of diplomacy and negotiation.)

See also

• Filipino orthography
• Filipino alphabet
• Abakada alphabet
• Commission on the Filipino Language

External links

• Tagalog (Filipino) Phrasebook at Wikitravel.org
• Calderon's English-Spanish-Tagalog dictionary for cell phone and PDA
• A Handbook and Grammar of the Tagalog Language by W.E.W. MacKinlay, 1905.
• Online E-book of Spanish-Tagalog Manual of Conversation published in Manila in 1874 by V.M. de Abella
• Online E-book of Doctrina Christiana in Old Tagalog and Old Spanish, the first book published in the Philippines. Manila. 1593
• Online E-book of Buhay na Nasapit ni Anselmo at ni Elisa: Sa Ciudad nang Ulma sacop nang Reinong Alemania, published in 1905
• Online E-book of Arte de la Lengua Tagala y Manual Tagalog by Sebastián de Totanes published in Binondo, Manila in 1865.
• USA Foreign Service Institute Tagalog basic course