PHILIPPINES
Language

Cities in PHILIPPINES

Manila

Language

Philippines Language Map_{Photo: Public domain}

Tagalog was declared the national language in 1946. In order not to offend the other population groups too much, the name of the official language was changed to "Pilipino" in 1959 and the vocabulary of some regions was added. From 1973, the Tagalog-based national language was renamed again: "Filipino". Since 1978, Filipino has been compulsory in schools and more than half of the population speaks this language.

English is used as an official second language, especially by the government, in education and as a trade language.

Spanish is only used by a small elite group. A local dialect, Chavacano, laced with Spanish expressions, is only spoken by the inhabitants of Zamboanga on the island of Mindanao.

There are also about 80 indigenous languages and dialects in the Philippines. The original Tagalog and Cebuano are spoken by about a quarter of the population. Other indigenous languages are: Ilocano, Ilongo or Hiligaynon, Bicol and Waray-waray.

Glossary Filipino (Tagalog) and Cebuano and Spanish variant commonly used:

English	Filipino	Cebuano	Spaanse variant
one	isá	usa	uno
two	dalawá	duha	dos
three	tatló	tulo	tres
ten	sampú	napulo	diyes
hundred	isáng daán	usa kagatos	siyento
sunday	linggo	dominggo
wednesday	miyerkoles	miyerkoles
friday	biyernes	biyernes	viernes
yesterday	kahápon	gahapon
tomorrow	búkas	ugma
sun	araw	adlaw
rain	ulan	ulan
yes	oó	oo
no	hindí	dili
please	paki	palihug
hello	magandáng tanghali	maayong adlaw
good evening	magandáng gabi	maayong gabii
airplane	eroplano	ayroplano
how much does this cost?	Magkano ito?	Pila man ni?
I'm from...	ako ay taga...	ako taga...

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Sources

Filippijnen
Het Spectrum

Philippines
Lonely Planet

Poppe, D. / Reishandboek Filippijnen
Elmar

Rodell, P.A. / Culture and customs of the Philippines
Greenwood Press

Wee, J. / Philippines
Chelsea House

CIA - World Factbook

BBC - Country Profiles

Last updated March 2024
Copyright: Team The World of Info