Tagalog language

Coordinates	38°26′48″N105°13′42″N
Name	Tagalog
Nativename	Wikang Tagalog
States	Philippines
Region	Central and South Luzon
Speakers	First language (in the Philippines): 25 million and the Philippines itself.]]|script=Latin (Tagalog or Filipino variant);Historically written in Baybayin
Iso1	tl|iso2=tgl|iso3=tgl
Lingua	31-CKA

Tagalog (pronounced in English) 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, 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:

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, is usually preferred over . 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 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 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 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.

{|class="wikitable" ! style="background:#efefef;" | Manileño Tagalog ! style="background:#efefef;" | Marinduqueño Tagalog ! style="background:#efefef;" | 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. 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.

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. 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

is raised slightly to in unstressed positions and also occasionally in stressed positions (inang bayan ) Unstressed is usually pronounced as in English "bit" At the final syllable, can be pronounced , as is an allophone of in final syllables. Unstressed and can sometimes be pronounced and , except in final syllables. and were also former allophones. Open-mid front unrounded vowel can be pronounced as a close-mid front unrounded vowel . Unstressed is usually pronounced as in English "book" The diphthong and the sequence have a tendency to become . The diphthong and the sequence have a tendency to become . or before s-consonant clusters have a tendency to become silent. tends to become in stressed positions.

Consonants

/k/ between vowels has a tendency to become as in Spanish "José", whereas in the initial position it has a tendency to become [kx], especially in the Manila dialect. Intervocalic and tend to become (see preceding), as in Arabic "ghair", especially in the Manila dialect. and are sometimes interchangeable as and 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.

may be pronounced , especially in but not limited to rural areas. can be pronounced . can be pronounced .

Historical changes

Tagalog differs from its Central Philippine counterparts with its treatment of the Proto-Philippine schwa vowel . In Bikol & Visayan, this sound merged with and . In Tagalog, it has merged with . For example, Proto-Philippine (adhere, stick) is Tagalog dikít and Visayan & Bikol dukot.

Proto-Philippine , , and merged with but is between vowels. Proto-Philippine (name) and (kiss) became Tagalog ngalan and halík.

Proto-Philippine merged with . (water) and (blood) became Tagalog tubig and dugô.

Grammar

Writing system

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".

{| |----- | valign="top" |

vowels

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b

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k

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d/r

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g

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h

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l

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m

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n

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ng

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p

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s

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t

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w

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y

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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' :

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 :

Revised 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.:

ng and mga

The genitive marker ng and the plural marker mga are abbreviations that are pronounced nang and mangá . 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)).

Nang si Hudas ay madulas. (then what???) - When Judas slipped. (then what???)

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.

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

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.

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 , meaning barrio), the abacá, cogon, palay, dalaga etc.

Tagalog words of foreign origin

{|class="wikitable" ! style="background:#efefef;" | Tagalog ! style="background:#efefef;" | meaning ! style="background:#efefef;" | language of origin ! style="background:#efefef;" | original spelling |- |kamustakumusta (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 |- |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 |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 |- |pulo |island |Malay |pulau |- |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 |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.

{|class="wikitable" ! style="background:#efefef;" | English ! style="background:#efefef;" | one ! style="background:#efefef;" | two ! style="background:#efefef;" | three ! style="background:#efefef;" | four ! style="background:#efefef;" | person ! style="background:#efefef;" | house ! style="background:#efefef;" | dog ! style="background:#efefef;" | coconut ! style="background:#efefef;" | day ! style="background:#efefef;" | new ! style="background:#efefef;" | we ! style="background:#efefef;" | what ! style="background:#efefef;" | fire |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Tagalog |isa |dalawa |tatlo |apat |tao |bahay |aso |niyog |araw |bago |tayo |ano |apoy |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Bikol |saro |duwa |tulo |apat |tawo |harong |ayam |niyog |aldaw |ba-go |kita |ano |kalayo |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Cebuano |usa |duha |tulo |upat |tawo |balay |iro |lubi |adlaw |bag-o |kita |unsa |kalayo |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Waray |usa |duha |tulo |upat |tawo |balay |ayam |lubi |adlaw |bag-o |kita |ano |kalayo |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Tausug |hambuuk |duwa |tu |upat |tau |bay |iru' |niyug |adlaw |ba-gu |kitaniyu |unu |kayu |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Kinaray-a |sara |darwa |tatlo |apat |taho |balay |ayam |niyog |adlaw |bag-o |kita, taten |ano |kalayo |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Maranao |isa |dowa |t'lo |phat |taw |walay |aso |neyog |gawi'e |bago |tano |tonaa |apoy |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Kapampangan |metung |adwa |atlu |apat |tau |bale |asu |ngungut |aldo |bayu |ikatamu |nanu |api |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Pangasinan |sakey |dua, duara |talo, talora |apat, apatira |too |abong |aso |niyog |ageo |balo |sikatayo |anto |pool |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Ilokano |maysa |dua |tallo |uppat |tao |balay |aso |niog |aldaw |baro |datayo |ania |apoy |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Ivatan |asa |dadowa |tatdo |apat |tao |vahay |chito |niyoy |araw |va-yo |yaten |ango |apoy |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Ibanag |tadday |dua |tallu |appa' |tolay |balay |kitu |niuk |aggaw |bagu |sittam |anni |afi |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Gaddang |antet |addwa |tallo |appat |tolay |balay |atu |ayog |aw |bawu |ikkanetam |sanenay |afuy |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Tboli |sotu |lewu |tlu |fat |tau |gunu |ohu |lefo |kdaw |lomi |tekuy |tedu |ofih |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Indonesian |satu |dua |tiga |empat |orang |rumah/balai |anjing |kelapa/nyiur |hari |baru |kita |apa/anu |api |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Buginese |sedi |dua |tellu |eppa |tau |bola |asu |kaluku |esso |baru |idi |aga |api |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Bataknese |sada |dua |tolu |opat |halak |jabu |biang |harambiri |ari |baru |hita |aha |api |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Tetum |ida |rua |tolu |haat |ema |uma |asu |nuu |loron |foun |ita |saida |ahi |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Maori |tahi |rua |toru |wha |tangata |whare |kuri |kokonati |ra |hou |taua |aha |ahi |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Hawaiian |kahi |lua |kolu |hā |kanaka |hale |'īlio |niu |ao |hou |kākou |aha |ahi |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | Banjarese | asa | duwa | talu | ampat | urang | rūmah | hadupan | kǎlapa | hǎri | hanyar | kami | apa | api |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | 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 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 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 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 1950. 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.

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.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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

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).

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. {|class="wikitable" !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.) |- |} {|class="wikitable" !Day !Original Spanish !Tagalog |- | Sunday | Domingo | Linggo |- | Monday | Lunes | Lunes |- | Tuesday | Martes | Martes |- | Wednesday | Miércoles | Miyerkules / Myerkules |- | Thursday | Jueves | Huwebes / Hwebes |- | Friday | Viernes | Biyernes / Byernes |- | Saturday | Sábado | Sabado |- |}

Common phrases

: Pilipino English: Ingglés Tagalog: Tagalog What is your name?: Anó ang pangalan mo? (plural) , Anó ang pangalan mo?(singular) How are you?: kumustá Good morning!: Magandáng umaga! Good noontime! (from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.): Magandáng tanghali! Good afternoon! (from 1 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.): Magandáng hapon! Good evening!: Magandáng gabí! Good-bye: paálam Please: Depending on the nature of the verb, either pakí- or makí- is attached as a prefix to a verb. ngâ is optionally added after the verb to increase politeness. (e.g. Pakipasa ngâ ang tinapay. ("Can you pass the bread, please?")) Thank you: salamat This one: ito , sometimes pronounced (literally - "it", "this") That one: iyan , When pointing to something at greater distances: iyun or iyon Here: dito , heto ("Here it is") There: doon , hayan ("There it is") How much?: Magkano? Yes: oo , Formal/polite form when addressing elders or superiors (discussed above): opô or ohô No: hindî , often shortened to dî , Formal/polite form: hindî pô I don't know: hindî ko álam , Very informal: ewan , archaic aywan (closest English equivalent: colloquial dismissive 'Whatever') Sorry: pasensya pô (literally from the word "patience") or paumanhin po patawad po (literally - "asking your forgiveness") Because: kasí or dahil Hurry!: dalí! , bilís! Again: mulí , ulít I don't understand: Hindî ko maintindihan or Hindi ko maunawaan What?: Anó? Where?: Saán? , Nasaán? (literally - "Where at?") Why?: Bakít? When?: Kailan? , , or (literally - "In what order?/"At what count?"") How?: Paánó? (literally - "By what?") Where's the bathroom?: Nasaán ang banyo? Generic toast: Mabuhay! [literally - "long live"] Do you speak English? Marunong ka bang magsalitâ ng Ingglés? , short form: Marunong ka bang mag-Ingglés? It is fun to live. Masaya ang mabuhay! or Masaya'ng mabuhay

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's 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 language

Filipino orthography

Filipino alphabet

Abakada script

Commission on the Filipino Language

References

External links

Tagalog (Filipino) Phrasebook at Wikitravel.org

Tagalog dictionary

Calderon's English-Spanish-Tagalog dictionary for cell phone and PDA

L-Lingo Tagalog Free 40 lesson online Tagalog Web Application

A Handbook and Grammar of the Tagalog Language by W.E.W. MacKinlay, 1905.

Tagalog Translator Online Online dictionary for translating Tagalog from/to English, including expressions and latest headlines regarding the Philippines.

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.

Category:VOS languages