Tagalog language

Tagalog
Spoken in
Region Central and South Luzon
Total speakers First language (in the Philippines): 49 million[1][2]
Ranking 23
Language family Austronesian
Writing system Latin (Tagalog or Filipino variant);
Historically written in Baybayin
Official status
Official language in  Philippines (in the form of Filipino)
 Alaska (minority language)
 California (minority language)
Regulated by Commission on the Filipino Language
Language codes
ISO 639-1 tl
ISO 639-2 tgl
ISO 639-3 tgl
Linguasphere
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

Tagalog (pronounced /təˈɡɑːlɒɡ/ in English)[4] is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language in the Philippines by about 22 million people. Its standardized form, Filipino, is spoken as a second language by 60 million people.[1] It is related to Austronesian languages such as Indonesian, Malay, Javanese and Tao language (of Taiwan), Cham (of Vietnam and Cambodia), and Tetum (of East Timor). It is the first language of the Philippines' Region IV (CALABARZON and MIMAROPA), first language of Metro Manila, and is the basis[5] for the national and the official language of the Philippines, Filipino.[6]

Contents

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.[7][8]

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 versions of Tagalog; one written in the Baybayin script and the other in the Latin alphabet. 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").[9][10] 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.[11]

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.[11] 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.

Classification

Tagalog is a Central Philippine language within the Austronesian language family. Being Malayo-Polynesian, it is related to other Austronesian languages such as Javanese, Indonesian, Malay, Cham (of Vietnam and Cambodia), Tetum (of East 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, Waray-Waray, and Cebuano.

Languages that have made significant contributions to Tagalog 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 appears 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:

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.

Manileño Tagalog Marinduqueño Tagalog English
Susulat sina Maria at Fulgencia kay Juan. Másúlat da Maria at Fulgencia kay Juan. "Maria and Fulgencia will write to Juan."
Mag-aaral siya sa Maynila. Gaaral siya sa Maynila. "He will study in Manila."
Magluto ka! Pagluto! "Cook!"
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 (pl.)?"

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.[12] 21.5 million, or 28.15% of the total Philippine population,[13] 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 it was the fourth most-spoken language in the United States, with almost 1.5 million speakers.[3]

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.[14]

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.[15] 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.[9][11] 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.[9] In 1939 President Quezon renamed the proposed Tagalog-based national language as wikang pambansâ (national language).[11] In 1939, the language was further renamed as "Pilipino".[11]

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.[16] 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.[6]

As Filipino, Tagalog has been taught in schools throughout the Philippines. It is the only one out of over 170 Philippine languages that is officially used in schools and businesses, (info from culturegrams) though Article XIV, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines does specify, 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.
—[6]
The regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the regions and shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein.
—[6]

Other Philippine languages have influenced Filipino, primarily through migration from the provinces to Metro Manila of speakers of those other languages.

Besides the Philippines, the language enjoys relative minority status in Canada, the United Kingdom, and also Hong Kong. In the United States, the language is used in censuses and elections.[17]

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 shoppingan?
"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.

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

Phonology

Tagalog has 26 phonemes: 21 of them are consonants and 5 are vowels.[18] Syllable structure is relatively simple. Each syllable contains at least a consonant and a vowel,[19] 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 coastal region of Manila, Tagalog had three vowel phonemes: /a/, /i/, and /u/. This was later expanded to five vowels with the introduction of Kapampangan and Spanish words.

They are:

There are six main diphthongs; /ai/, /ei/, /oi/, /ui/, /au/, and /iu/.[18][19]

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

Consonants

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 *nɡajan (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

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:

Ba Be Bo B (in Baybayin)

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

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' [20][21]:

Majuscule Minuscule Name Majuscule Minuscule Name
A a /ʔɑ/ Ng ng /ŋɑ/
B b /beh/ Ñ ñ /e'-ɲe/
C c /θɛ/ N͠g/ Ñg n~g/ñg ŋɑ
Ch ch /tʃɛ/ or /θɛ-ʔɑ-tʃɛ/ O o /o/
D d /dɛ/ P p /pɛ/
E e /ɛ/ Q q /kʊ/
F f /ɛf'-fe/ R r /ɛ'-re/
G g /xɛ/ Rr rr /do-blɛ-ɛ'-re/
H h /ʔɑ-tʃɛ/ S s /ɛ'-se/
I i /i:? T t /tɛ/
J j /xo'-tɑ/ U u /ʊ/
K k /ki:/ V v /ʊ'-bɛ/
L l /ɛl'-le/ W w /do-blɛ-ʊ'-bɛ/
Ll ll /ɛ'-ʎe/ X x /ɛ'-kis/
M m /ɛm'-me/ Y y /i:'-grɪ-jɛ-ɣɑ/
N n /ɛn'-ne/ Z z /θɛ-ðɑ/

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' [22][23][24]:

Majuscule Minuscule Name Majuscule Minuscule Name
A a /ʔah/ N n /nah/
B b /bah/ Ng nga /ɲah/
K k /kah/ O o /ʔoh/
D d /dah/ P p /pah/
E e /ʔɛh/ R r /rah/
G g /gah/ S s /sah/
H h /hah/ T t /tah/
I i /ʔi:/ U u /ʔʊ/
L l /lah/ W w /ʊɑh/
M m /mah/ Y y /jah/

Bagong Alfabetong Filipino

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 [25][26] to make room for loans, especially family names from Spanish and English.[27]:

Majuscule Minuscule Name Majuscule Minuscule Name
A a /ɛɪ/ Ñ ñ /ɛ'-ŋɛ/
B b /bi:/ Ng ng /ɛn'dʒi:/
C c /ci:/ O o /oʊ/
D d /di:/ P p /pi:/
E e /i:/ Q q /kju:/
F f /ɛf/ R r /ɑr/
G g /dʒi:/ S s /ɛs/
H h /ɛɪtʃ/ T t /ti:/
I i /ɑj/ U u /ju:/
J j /dʒɛj/ V v /vi:/
K k /kɛj/ W w /do'-bəl-ju:/
L l /ɛl/ X x /ɛks/
M m /ɛm/ Y y /ʊɑj/
N n /ɛn/ Z z /zi:/

ng and mga

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, 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)).

In the first example, nang is used in lieu of the word noóng (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:

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.

Used in the affirmative:

Po/Ho may also be used in negation.

Vocabulary and borrowed words

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 vocabulary is composed mostly of words of Austronesian origin with borrowings from Japanese, Sanskrit, Min Nan Chinese (also known as Hokkien), Javanese, Malay, Arabic, languages spoken in Luzon, and others, especially other Austronesian languages.

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.

Yo-yo is reportedly a Tagalog word; however, no such word exists in Tagalog. In fact it is a word that came to the Occidental culture through Philippines in the Spanish period, but its origin is Chinese.

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
kamusta/kumusta (old fashioned) how are you? (general greeting) Spanish cómo estás
kabayo horse Spanish caballo
Diyos God Spanish Dios
silya chair Spanish silla
kotse car Spanish coche
reló wristwatch Spanish reloj
litrato picture Spanish retrato
tsismis (chis-mis) gossip Spanish chismes
Ingglés 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 English / Nahuatl chilli
tsokolate (cho-co-la-te) chocolate Nahuatl chocolatl
tianggê market Nahuatl tianquiztli
sapote/tsiko chico (fruit) Nahuatl tzapotl
awtomobil car English automobile
nars nurse English nurse
bolpen ballpoint pen English ballpen
pulis police English police
suspek suspect English suspect
traysikel / trisiklo tricycle English tricycle
bwisit annoyance, expletive Min Nan Chinese 無衣食 (lit. "No clothes or food")
lumpia (/lum·pya/) spring roll Min Nan Chinese 潤餅
siopao (/syo·paw/) steamed buns Min Nan Chinese 燒包
pancit (/pan·set/) / pansit noodles Min Nan Chinese 扁食
susi (su-se) key Min Nan Chinese 鎖匙
bangka sailboat Min Nan Chinese 艋舺
kuya older brother Min Nan Chinese 哥亞
ate (/ah·te/) older sister Min Nan Chinese 亞姐
bakya wooden shoes Min Nan Chinese 木履
hikaw earrings Min Nan Chinese 耳鈎
kanan right Malay kanan
tulong help Malay tolong
sakit sick, pain Malay sakit
pulô island Malay pulau
anák child,son & daughter Malay anak
pintô 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 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 seven are spoken in Indonesia, East Timor, New Zealand, Hawaii, and Madagascar.

English one two three four person house dog coconut day new we what fire
Tagalog isá dalawá tatló apat tao bahay aso niyog araw bago tayo anó apóy
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 lubi adlaw bag-o kita ano 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
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

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 three circulating Tagalog translations of the Holy Bible—the Magandang Balita Biblia (a parallel translation of the Good News Bible), which is the ecumenical version; the Ang Biblia, which is a more Protestant version published in 1909; and the Bagong Sanlibutang Salin ng Banal na Kasulatan, one of about sixty 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 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[28] and The Watchtower (the primary magazine of Jehovah's Witnesses) has been published in Tagalog since at least the 1960s. 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, para lang sa langit.

Bigyan Mo kami ngayón ng aming pagkain sa araw-araw.

At patawarin Mo kami sa aming mga sala,

Para nang pagpapatawad namin

Sa mga nagkakasala sa amin.

At huwag Mo kaming ipahintulot sa tukso,

At iadya Mo kami sa lahát ng masamâ.

Sapagkat sa Iyo ang kaharián, at kapangyarihan,

At ang kapurihan, ngayon, at magpakailanman.

Amen.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Isinilang na malaya at pantáy-pantáy sa karangalan at mga karapatán ang lahát ng tao. Pinagkalooban silá ng katwiran at budhi at dapat magpalagayan ang isá't isá 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

Tagalog into Spanish Cardinal Ordinal
1 isá uno una
2 dalawá dos pangalawá / ikalawa (or ika-dalawa in some informal compositions)
3 tatló tres pangatló / ikatlo
4 apat kwatro pang-apat / ika-apat (ika and the number should always be separated by a dash, 1,2 and 3 are exceptions)
5 limá singko panlimá / ika-lima
6 anim sais pang-anim / ika-anim
7 pitó syete pampitó / ika-pito
8 waló otso pangwaló / ika-walo
9 siyám nwebe pansiyám / ika-siyam
10 sampû dyes pansampû / ika-sampu (or ika-pu in some literary compositions)
11 labíng isá onse panlabíng isá / pang-onse / ika-labing isa
12 labing dalawá dose panlabing dalawá / pandose / ika-labing dalawa
13 labing tatlo trese panlabing tatlo / pantrese / ika-labing tatlo
14 labing apat katorse panlabing apat / pankatorse / ika-labing apat
15 labing lima kinse panlabing lima / pankinse / ika-labing lima
16 labing anim dyes-sais panlabing anim / pandyes-sais / ika-labing anim
17 labing pito dyes-syete panlabing pito / pandyes-syete / ika-labing pito
18 labing walo dyes-otso panlabing walo / pandyes-otso / ika-labing walo
19 labing siyam dyes-nwebe panlabing siyam / pandyes-nwebe / ika-labing siyam
20 dalawampu benta pandalawampu / ika-dalawampu (or ikalawampu in some literary compositions both formal and informal (rarely used))
30 tatlumpu trenta pantatlumpu / ika-tatlumpu (or ikatlumpu in some literary compositions both formal and informal (rarely used))
40 apat na pu kwarenta pang-apat na pu / ika-apat na pu
50 limampu singkwenta panlimampu / ika-limampu
60 anim na pu sesenta pang-anim na pu / ika-anim na pu
70 pitumpu setenta pampitumpu / ika-pitumpu
80 walumpu otsenta panwalumpu / ika-walumpu
90 siyam na pu nobenta pansiyam na pu / ika-siyam na pu
100 (i)sándaán syento pan(g)-(i)sándaán / ika-sandaán (or ika-isandaan in some formal or informal literary compositions (rarely used))
200 dalawándaán dos syentos pandalawandaán / ika-dalawandaán (or ikalawandaan in some formal or informal literary compositions (rarely used))
300 tatlondaán tres syentos pantatlondaán / ika-tatlondaán (or ikatlondaan in some formal or informal literary compositions (rarely used))
400 apat na raán kwatro syentos pang-apat na raán / ika-apat na raán
500 limandaán singko syentos panlimandaán / ika-limandaán
600 anim na raán sais syentos pang-anim na raán / ika-anim na raán
700 pitondaán syete syentos pampitondaán / ika-pitondaán (or ika-pitong raan (more commonly used))
800 walondaán otso syentos pangwalondaán / ika-walondaán (or ika-walong raan (more commonly used))
900 siyam na raán nwebe syentos pansiyam na raán / ika-siyam na raán
1,000 (i)sánlibo mil  
2,000 dalawánlibo dos mil  
10,000 (i)san(g) laksa / sampung libo dyes mil  
100,000 (i)san(g) yuta / (i)sándaáng libo syento mil  
1,000,000 isáng milyón milyon  
2,000,000 dalawáng milyón dos milyon  
10,000,000 sampung milyón dyes milyon  
100,000,000 (i)sándaáng milyon syento milyon  
1,000,000,000 isáng bilyón bilyon  
1,000,000,000,000 isáng kuwantilyón kuwantilyon  

Common phrases

Pilipino [ˌpiːliˈpiːno]

Proverbs

Ang hindî marunong lumingón sa pinanggalingan ay hindî makaráratíng sa paroroonan. (José Rizal)
He that does not look back to where he came from will never make it to his destination.

Ang hindî magmahál sa kanyang sariling wika ay mahigít pa sa hayop at malansang isdâ. (José Rizal)
One who does not love his 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.)
It was said that even if he comes late and excellent, he still catches 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 got up.

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

Nasa hulí lagi ang pagsisisi.
Regret always comes last.

Pagkáhába-haba man ng prusisyón, sa simbahan pa rin ang tulóy.
Even if the procession is long, its ending is still the church.

Kung dî mádaán sa santong dasalan, daanin sa santong paspasan.
If it cannot be done through holy prayer, do it through holy speeding.

See also


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Philippine Census, 2000. Table 11. Household Population by Ethnicity, Sex and Region: 2000
  2. ↑ Languages of Philippines, ethnologue.com.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Language Use in the United States: 2007" (PDF). United States. http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/acs-12.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-16. 
  4. ↑ According to the OED and Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
  5. ↑ Andrew Gonzalez, FSC. "Language planning in multilingual countries: The case of the Philippines". http://www.sil.org/asia/ldc/plenary_papers/andrew_gonzales.pdf#search=%27andrew%20gonzalez%20fsc%27. Retrieved 2007-07-15. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article XIV, Sections 6-9, Chanrobles Law Library, http://www.chanrobles.com/article14language.htm, retrieved 2007-12-20 
  7. ↑ Zorc, David. 1977. The Bisayan Dialects of the Philippines: Subgrouping and Reconstruction. Pacific Linguistics C.44. Canberra: The Australian National University
  8. ↑ Blust, Robert. 1991. The Greater Central Philippines hypothesis. Oceanic Linguistics 30:73–129
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Manuel L. Quezon III, Quezon’s speech proclaiming Tagalog the basis of the National Language, quezon.ph, http://www.quezon.ph/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/mlq-speech-national-language-1.pdf, retrieved 2010-03-26 
  10. ↑ Mga Probisyong Pangwika sa Saligang-Batas
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Andrew Gonzalez (1998), "The Language Planning Situation in the Philippines" (PDF), Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 19 (5, 6): 487–488, doi:10.1080/01434639808666365, http://www.multilingual-matters.net/jmmd/019/0487/jmmd0190487.pdf, retrieved 2007-03-24. 
  12. ↑ Results from the 2000 Census of Population and Housing: Educational Characteristics of the Filipinos, National Statistics Office, March 18, 2005, http://www.census.gov.ph/data/sectordata/sr05153tx.html, retrieved 2008-01-21 
  13. ↑ Results from the 2000 Census of Population and Housing: Population expected to reach 100 million Filipinos in 14 years, National Statistics Office, October 16, 2002, http://www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2002/pr02178tx.html, retrieved 2008-01-21 
  14. ↑ 1897 Constitution of Biak-na-Bato, Article VIII, Filipiniana.net, http://www.filipiniana.net/ArtifactView.do?artifactID=L00000000001&page=1&epage=1, retrieved 2008-01-16 
  15. ↑ 1935 Philippine Constitution, Article XIV, Section 3, Chanrobles Law Library, http://www.chanrobles.com/1935constitutionofthephilippines.htm, retrieved 2007-12-20 
  16. ↑ 1973 Philippine Constitution, Article XV, Sections 2-3, Chanrobles Law Library, http://www.chanrobles.com/1973constitutionofthephilippines.htm, retrieved 2007-12-20 
  17. ↑ EAC Issues Glossaries of Election Terms in Five Asian Languages Translations to Make Voting More Accessible to a Majority of Asian American Citizens. Election Assistance Commission. 06/20/2008.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Omniglot.com Tagalog Retrieved September 30, 2009.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Tagalog: Understanding the Language, lerc.educ.ubc.ca, http://www.lerc.educ.ubc.ca/LERC/courses/489/worldlang/tagalog_ind/Tagalog2/description.htm, retrieved 2008-09-26 
  20. ↑ Gómez Rivera, Guillermo (April 10, 2001). "The evolution of the native Tagalog alphabet". Philippines: Emanila™ Community (emanila.com). Views & Reviews. Archived from the original on August 3, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5rhjRPCO9. Retrieved August 3, 2010. 
  21. ↑ Signey, Richard, Philippine Journal of Linguistics, Manila, Philippines: Linguistic Society of the Philippines, The Evoluton and Disappearance of the "Ğ" in Tagalog orthography since the 1593 Doctrina Cristiana, ISSN 0048-3796, OCLC 1791000, http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18813686, retrieved August 3, 2010. 
  22. ↑ Linda Trinh Võ; Rick Bonus (2002), Contemporary Asian American communities: intersections and divergences, Temple University Press, pp. 96, 100, ISBN 9781566399388, http://books.google.com/?id=7xp4qZta2GYC 
  23. ↑ University of the Philippines College of Education (1971), "Philippine Journal of Education", Philippine Journal of Education (Philippine Journal of Education.) 50: 556, http://books.google.com/?id=k6oqAAAAMAAJ 
  24. ↑ Perfecto T. Martin (1986), Diksiyunaryong adarna: mga salita at larawan para sa bata, Children's Communication Center, ISBN 9789711211189, http://books.google.com/?id=Bv5HAAAAMAAJ .
  25. ↑ Op. cit. Trinh 2002, pp. 96, 100
  26. ↑ Renato Perdon; Periplus Editions (2005), Renato Perdon, ed., Pocket Tagalog Dictionary: Tagalog-English/English-Tagalog, Tuttle Publishing, pp. vi-vii, ISBN 9780794603458, http://books.google.com/?id=4X1Musto3h0C .
  27. ↑ Michael G. Clyne (1997), Undoing and redoing corpus planning, Walter de Gruyter, p. 317, ISBN 9783110155099, http://books.google.com/?id=tM3PrFFSiVgC .
  28. ↑ 2003 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses p.155.

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