Filipino language

Filipino is the national language of the Philippines. It is one of the two official languages of the country, along with English. It is based on the Tagalog language, as spoken in Metro Manila and other big cities of the archipelago. The 1987 Constitution says that Filipino should be enriched by the many other languages spoken in the Philippines.

Filipino is part of the Austronesian language family and is used widely across the country. Sentences in Filipino usually follow a verb-subject-object order but can also use subject-verb-object order. Filipino is an agglutinative language, meaning words are formed by adding parts together. It is not a tonal language but has pitch accents and is spoken in a steady rhythm. The language has nine basic parts of speech, making it rich and expressive for speakers.

Background

The Philippines has many languages spoken by different groups of people. These languages come from a common root due to ancient migrations from Taiwan. Over time, they mixed with words from other languages such as Japanese, Hokkien, Sanskrit, and Arabic. The Malay language was often used for trade and talking between different groups.

When Spain arrived in the Philippines in 1565, they made Manila the capital. This city is in a place where people speak Tagalog. The Spanish used their own language for government work. Later, during the time when America controlled the Philippines, English became another official language. However, fewer people began to speak Spanish, and it was no longer used as much in schools or government. Today, Spanish is a choice for learning, along with Arabic, under the rules set in 1987.

Designation as the national language

During American rule, Spanish and English were the official languages, but there was no national language. In 1935, the constitution said a national language should be created from one of the native languages. In 1936, the government started the Institute of National Language to study all the languages and pick one.

In 1937, the Institute chose Tagalog as the basis for the national language. President Manuel L. Quezon approved this choice. He chose Tagalog because it was widely spoken, had a rich literary tradition, and was the language of Manila, the country's political center. The national language was called Wikang Pambansâ. In 1940, it was decided that this language would become official when the Philippines became independent in 1946. That year, a new alphabet called the Abakada was introduced.

Further history

In 1959, the language was renamed Pilipino to make it less tied to the Tagalog ethnic group. Not everyone liked this change, especially some Cebuanos.

During the 1960s, there was a movement to create new words to replace borrowed ones. This caused debates. In 1963, a congressman questioned if using Tagalog as the base for the national language was fair. Another congressman led a movement to make the language more inclusive. This movement stopped after he passed away.

The topic came up again during the 1971 Constitutional Convention. Some delegates wanted to keep the Tagalog-based language, while others wanted to drop the idea of a national language completely. They reached a compromise. The 1973 Constitution made English and Pilipino official languages and planned to create a new common national language called Filipino. It did not say Tagalog or Pilipino should be the base.

In 1987, a new constitution named Filipino the national language, alongside English. It said Filipino should grow by using words from existing Philippine languages. The government was asked to help use Filipino in official work and schools. Regional languages were also recognized to help in teaching in their areas.

In 1992, it was decided that Filipino is the main language used in Metro Manila and other city areas of the Philippines. Filipino was officially added to a global list of languages in 2004.

In 2007, some courts in Malolos City started using Filipino instead of English to promote the national language.

Commemoration

Since 1997, every August is a special month to celebrate the national language of the Philippines, called Buwan ng Wika (Language Month). Before this, it was only a week-long event called Linggo ng Wika (Language Week). This celebration happens in August because it is the birth month of President Manuel L. Quezon, who is called the "Ama ng Wikang Pambansa" (Father of the national language).

Earlier, in 1946, there was a week-long celebration from March 27 to April 2 to honor the national language. This was changed several times over the years. In 1954, the week was moved to March 29 to April 4, then later shifted to August 13–19 by President Ramon Magsaysay. Finally, in 1997, the celebration was extended to cover the entire month of August.

Comparison of Filipino and Tagalog

Some people think that Filipino and Tagalog are different languages, but they are actually the same. Filipino is just another name for Tagalog, especially when we talk about it as the main language of the Philippines.

Experts say that Filipino and Tagalog share the same grammar and words. They are like two sides of the same coin. Even though the government wants to add words from other Philippine languages to make Filipino richer, it still looks and sounds very much like Tagalog.

Example

This is a translation of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Usually, the diacritics are not written, and the syntax and grammar are based on that of Tagalog.