Tagalog - Filipino

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Language History

Tagalog – Filipino belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. Filipino is officially a standardised form of Tagalog, which originated in the Philippine islands centuries ago. In 1879, Tagalog became the official language of the Philippine islands but it wasn’t until the 1980s when Filipino was declared the country’s (Philippines) national language instead. Filipino was being used in daily conversations and was slowly gaining influence from other languages such as English and Spanish, alongside Tagalog.

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According to DynamicLanguage, over 70 million people speak Tagalog worldwide. It is the first language of most Filipinos and the second language of others.

Where is Tagalog - Filipino Spoken?

More than 50 million Filipinos speak Tagalog in the Philippines; however, it is also spoken in other countries such as Canada, Guam, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, the U.K. and the U.S.

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Fact

About 33% of the Filipino word roots came from Spanish due to the 300-year Spanish occupation of the Philippines in the 19th century.

Did you Know?

There are multiple Filipino words that are borrowings from other languages. For example, ‘kabayo’ comes from the Spanish word ‘caballo’ (horse); ‘nars’ comes from the English word ‘nurse’; and ‘saráp’ comes from the Malay word ‘sedap’ (delicious).

“Tagalog is the third most spoken non-English language in the United States.”

4 Easy Phrases in Tagalog!

Tagalog English
Kamusta, hoy, helo Hello
Paalam Goodbye
Salamat Thank you
Paki Please

Population vs. Internet Penetration

Philippines Population:

109,581,078

Internet Users:

79,000,000

Penetration:

72.1%

As of 2020. Source:
www.internetworldstats.com

Fact!

The direct translation of the word “Tagalog” means “from the river”. The direct translation of the word “Tagalog” means “from the river”.

Tagalog – Filipino Translation Tips

• Nouns are not marked for case or number. There are some nouns, however, that are borrowed from Spanish which are marked for gender. For example, amigo ‘friend’ (masculine) – amiga ‘friend’ (feminine).

• Personal pronouns are only assigned to people – for instance, there is no ‘it’ in Filipino.

• Verbs take on a variety of affixes to signify focus, tense, aspect, and mood.

• Tagalog is a verb-initial language.

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