Tagalog language

Tagalog (pronunciation: [tɐˈgaːlog]) 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.

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, and in overseas Filipino communities. However, while Tagalog may be prevalent in those fields, English, to varying degrees of fluency, is more prevalent in the fields of government and business.

History

The word Tagalog was derived from tagá-ílog, from tagá- meaning "native of" and ílog meaning "river", thus, it means "river dweller." 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 333 years of Spanish occupation, there have been grammars 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 adminstración de los Santos Sacramentos (1850).

Poet Francisco "Balagtas" Baltazar (1788-1862) is regarded as the foremost Tagalog writer. His most famous work is the early 19th-century Florante at Laura.

Tagalog in the world.

Outside the Philippines, the Tagalog language is usually limited to communication within ethnic Filipino groups. Light blue boxes indicate significant Filipino communities where Tagalog is spoken.

Classification

Tagalog is a Central Philippine language within the Austronesian language family. Being a Malayo-Polynesian it is related to other Austronesian languages such as 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).

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, Min Nan 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 of proficiency.

Tagalog language spread in the United States.

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. Since 1987, the name Filipino has been used to refer to a Tagalog-based national language that borrows from other languages.

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 used in schools.

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, Central (including Manila), Southern, 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 (stew), gabi (night), matamis (sweet), are pronounced and written ngay-on, sinig-ang, gab-i, and matam-is in other dialects.
• In Morong Tagalog, [r] is usually preferred over [d]. For example, bundók, dagat, dingdíng, and isdâ become bunrok, ragat, ringring, and isra.
• In many southern dialects, the progressive aspect prefix 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 a considered a trademark of their region. For example, the interjection ala eh usually identifies someone from Batangas while as does hani in Morong.

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 are 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.

Standard Tagalog: Susulat sina Maria at Fulgencia kay Juan.
Marinduque Tagalog: Másúlat da Maria at Fulgencia kay Juan.
"Maria and Fulgencia will write to Juan."

ST: Mag-aaral siya sa Ateneo.
EM: Gaaral siya sa Ateneo.
"He will study at Ateneo."

ST: Magluto ka!
EM: Pagluto ka!
"Cook!"

ST: Kainin mo iyan.
EM: Kaina mo yaan.
"Eat that."

ST: Tinatawag ngâ tayo ni Tatay.
EM: Inatawag nganì kitá ni Tatay.
"Father is calling us indeed."

ST: Tutulungan ba kayó ni Hilarion?
EM: Atulungan ga kamo ni Hilarion?
"Will Hilarion help you (pl.)?"

Derived languages

Filipino, the national language of the Philippines, is the standardized variant of this language. It has heavy borrowings from English. Other Philippine languages have also influenced Filipino, which is caused primarily by the migration to Metro Manila by people from the provinces.

Taglish and code-switching

Taglish is the name given to a mix of English and Tagalog. The amount of English in Tagalog ranges from simple loan words to outright code-switching where the language changes in midsentence; this is prevalent throughout the Philippines and various Philippine languages.

Nasirà ang computer ko kahapon!
"My computer broke down yesterday!"

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

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

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

Binaliktad

A kind of slang called binaliktád (reversed) is where the word is modified by changing around the syllables. Equivalents in other languages are vesre, verlan, and Pig Latin. For example, tigás (hard, strong), dito (here), hindî (no), and sigarilyó (cigarettes) respectively become astíg, todits, dehins, and yosi.

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 to [ɐ] in unstressed positions
• Unstressed /i/ is usually pronounced [ɪ] as in English "bit"
• At the end of a word, /i/ can be pronounced as [ɪ ~ i ~ e ~ ɛ].
• /ɛ/ and /o/ can sometimes be pronounced as [i ~ ɪ ~ e] and [u ~ ʊ ~ ɔ].
• 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].
• /k/ between vowels has a tendency to become [x] as in German "bach", whereas in the initial position it has a tendency to become [kx].
• Intervocalic /g/ and /k/ tend to become [ɰ] (see preceding).
• /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.
• /o/ tends to become [ɔ] in stressed positions.
• /niy/ tends to become [ɲ].
• /siy/, /tiy/, and /diy/ may be pronounced as [sj]/[sij], [tj]/[tij] and [dj]/[dij], respectively, especially in but not limited to rural areas.
• /ts/ may be pronounced as [ts], especially but not limited to rural areas.

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 [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 *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

Further information: Tagalog grammar

Writing system

Copperplate

Further information: Laguna Copperplate Inscription

Baybayin

Main article: Baybayin

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 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, the script gradually fell into disuse in favor of the Latin alphabet during Spanish colonial rule.

Latin alphabet

Main article: Tagalog 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.

As Pilipino, the national language, the alphabet was 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.

Filipino is the national language based on Tagalog that borrows vocabulary from other languages. In 1987, the Filipino alphabet 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, or Palatuldikan, 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 [naŋ] and mangá [mɐ'ŋa].

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 fifteen other Austronesian languages comparing twelve words; the first thirteen languages are spoken in the Philippines and the other three 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 as a mispronounced version of 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. Abaca is a type of hemp fiber made from a plant in the banana family, 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. To run amok is to go on a killing rampage. Even the child's slang "kooties" comes from the common Austronesian and Tagalog kuto which literally means "head lice."

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 kami ngayon ng aming kakanin sa araw-araw.

At patawarin Mo kami sa aming mga sala,

para ng pagpapatawad namin sa mga nagsala sa amin.

At huwag Mo kaming ipahintulot sa tukso,

At iadya Mo kami sa lahat ng masama,

Amen.

Common phrases

• English: Ingglés [ʔɪŋˈglɛs] (ing-GLES)
• Filipino: Pilipino [ˌpiːliˈpiːno] (pih-lih-PIH-noh)
• Tagalog: Tagalog [tɐˈgaːlog] (tah-GAH-log)
• What is your name?: (PLURAL)Anó ang pangalan ninyo? (SINGULAR)Anó ang pangalan mo[ɐˈno aŋ pɐˈŋaːlan nɪnˈjo] (uh-NOH ahng puh-NGAH-lan nin-YOH)
• How are you?: kumustá [kʊmʊsˈta] (koo-mus-TAH)
• Good morning!: Magandáng umaga! [mɐgɐnˈdaŋ uˈmaːga] (muh-gun-DAHNG oo-MAH-gah)
• Good afternoon! (from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.): Magandáng tanghali! [mɐgɐnˈdaŋ taŋˈhaːlε] (muh-gun-DAHNG tahng-HAH-leh)
• Good afternoon! (from 1 p.m. to dusk): Magandáng hapon! [mɐgɐnˈdaŋ ˈhaːpon] (muh-gun-DAHNG HAH-pawn)
• Good evening!: Magandáng gabí! [mɐgɐnˈdaŋ gɐ'bε] (muh-gun-DAHNG gah-BEH)
• Good-bye: paalam [pɐˈʔaːlam] (literal - "with your blessing") (pa-AH-lam)
• Please: Depending on the nature of the verb, either pakí- [pɐˈki] (pah-KEE) or makí- [mɐˈki] (mah-KEE) is attached as a prefix to a verb. ngâ [ŋaʔ] (ngah) is optionally added after verb to increase politeness.
• Thank you: salamat [sɐˈlaːmat] (sah-LAH-mat)
• That one: iyan [ʔiˈjan] (ee-YAN)
• How much?: magkano? [mɐgˈkaːno] (mag-KAH-noh?)
• Yes: oo [ˈoːʔo] (OH-oh)
• No: hindî [hɪnˈdɛʔ] (hin-DEH)
• Sorry: pasensya pô or sorry/sori [pɐˈsɛːnʃa poʔ] (pah-SEN-shah PO) , patawad po [pɐtaːwad poʔ] (pah-TAH-wahd PO)
• Because: kasí [kɐˈsɛ] (kah-SEH)
• Hurry!: Dalí! [dɐˈli] (dah-LEE), Bilís! [bɪˈlis] (bih-LEES)
• Again: mulí [mu'li] (moo-LEE), ulít [u'lεt] (oo-LET)
• I don't understand: Hindî ko maintindihan [hɪnˈdiː ko mɐʔɪnˌtɪndiˈhan] (hin-DEE koh ma-in-TIN-dih-HAN)
• Where's the bathroom?: Nasaán ang banyo? [ˌnaːsɐˈʔan ʔaŋ ˈbaːnjo] (NA-sa-AN ang BAN-yoh?)
• Generic toast: Mabuhay! [mɐˈbuːhaɪ] (mah-BOO-high) [literally - "long live"]
• Do you speak English? Marunong ka bang magsalitâ ng Ingglés? [mɐˈruːnʊŋ ka baŋ mɐgsaliˈtaː naŋ ʔɪŋˈglɛs] (mah-ROO-nohng kah bang mag-sah-li-TAH nahng eeng-GLESS?)

Proverbs

Here are some proverbs in Tagalog.

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."

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."

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 if the horse is already dead?"

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

Ang magnanakaw ay galit sa kapwa magnanakaw.
"A thief is angry at his co-thief."

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

Many of the following books are published in the Philippines. Many are available on www.amazon.com.

• By Teresita V. Ramos
  • Conversational Tagalog, ISBN 0-8248-0944-0
  • Intermediate Tagalog, ISBN 0-8248-0776-6
  • Tagalog Dictionary, ISBN 0-87022-676-2

• By Vito C. Santos
  • New Vicassan's English-Pilipino Dictionary, ISBN 971-27-0424-1
  • Vicassan's Pilipino-English Dictionary, ISBN 971-08-2900-9
  • Vicassan's Pilipino-English Dictionary (Abridged Edition), ISBN 971-27-1707-0

• By Leo James English
  • English-Tagalog Dictionary, ISBN 971-08-1073-1 (SB)
  • Tagalog-English Dictionary, ISBN 971-08-4357-5

• By others
  • Learn Filipino: Book One by Victor Eclar Romero ISBN 1-932956-41-7
  • Lonely Planet Filipino Tagalog (TravelTalk) ISBN 1-59125-364-0
  • Lonely Planet Pilipino Phrasebook ISBN 0-86442-432-9
  • Tagalog-English/English-Tagalog Standard Dictionary, by Carl R. Galvez Rubino, ISBN 0-7818-0961-4 (hb) / ISBN 0-7818-0960-6 (pb)
  • Tagalog Reference Grammar by Paul Schachter and Fe T. Otanes ISBN 0-520-01776-5
  • Tagalog Slang Dictionary by R. David Zorc and Rachel San Miguel ISBN 971-11-8132-0
  • Teach Yourself Tagalog by Corazon Salvacion Castle ISBN 0-07-143417-8
  • UP Diksyonaryong Filipino by Virgilio Armario (ed.) ISBN 971-8781-98-6, and ISBN 971-8781-99-4
  • English-Tagalog and Tagalog-English Dictionary by Maria Odulio De Guzman ISBN 971-08-0713-7
  • English-Pilipino Dictionary, Conuelo T. Panganiban, ISBN 971-08-5569-7
  • Diksyunaryong Filipino - English, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, ISBN 971-8705-20-1

See also

• Philippines
• Pinoy
• Languages of the Philippines
• Filipino
• Cebuano
• Chabacano
• Pangasinan
• Visayan languages
• Bikol
• Ilokano
• Hiligaynon
• Filipino-American
• Swadesh list of Tagalog words

External links

Tagalog language edition of Wiktionary, the free dictionary/thesaurus

• Northern Illinois University Tagalog page
• Filipino (Tagalog) Learner's Home
• Tagalog Slangs
• Free Tagalog Tutoring - powered by College professors and students
• Bansa.org Tagalog Dictionary
• Tagalog dictionary
• 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
• Yet Another Tagalog-English online dictionary
• Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database

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