LANGUAGES / DIALECTS

As per classification there are almost 180 to 182 languages spoken in the Philippines. Filipino language also known as Pilipino is the national language of Philippines. Official languages of the country are Filipino and English. Some people say Filipino and Tagalog language are the same however, experts say no to it. Experts say Filipino language is a standardized form of Tagalog language, mainly spoken in Manila. Filipino and English are frequently used in Government works, educational field, media and business with all local languages. Tagalog is the main language of one-fourth of the Philippine population while the remaining speaks Tagalog as their second language.

Westerners may say so many languages? Some experts say it is due to the huge number of islands scattered from each other that resulted in various ethno-linguistic groups. Maximum of these languages were derived from a common Malayo-Polynesian language due to the Austronesian migration from Taiwan and nearest Asian countries.

Under Spanish colonial era, Spanish was the official language of the country for almost 300 years. If you see carefully you will notice that, our National hero Jose Rizal wrote most of his work in Spanish. Under the U.S. government, English language came in picture and it was taught in schools. After independence, the 1987 Constitution declared Filipino as the national language of the country.

There are almost 13 original languages in the country. The tongues (dialects) are: Cebuano, Tagalog, Ilocano, Ilonggo, Waray-Waray, Kapampangan, Bicol, Maranao, Maguindanao, Pangasinan, Tausug and Kinaray-a. There are so many language and I am sorry I have not added all of them here is the list. If you visit Philippines you may see many people can speak in English and can hear them talking in a mixture of English and Tagalog.

Cebuano and Bisaya languages are originated in Cebu which is in Visayas. Cebuano language is spread in the neighboring islands, eastern and northern part of Mindanao. Additionally, Ilocano, Tagalog and other dialects are spoken in Mindanao but Cebuano has become the dominant dialect in the area. On the other hand, Ilocano is the main dialect in northern part of Luzon.

These are some examples of the said language:

TRANSLATIONS OF TERMS
English	Tagalog	Ilocano	Cebuano
Good morning	Magandang umaga	Naimbag a bigat mo	Maayong buntag
How are you?	Kamusta ka?	Kumusta?	Komusta ka?
Thank you	Salamat	Agyamanak	Salamat
Thank you very much	Maraming salamat	Agyamanak iti adu unay	Daghang kaayong salamat
What is your name?	Ano ang pangalan mo?	Ania ti nagan mo?	Kinsa’y ngalan mo?
Who are you?	Sino ka?	Sinno ka?	Kinsa ka?
When did you come?	Kailan ka dumating?	Kaano ka nga simmangpet?	Kanus’a ka mianhi?
Where do you live?	Saan ka nakatira?	Sadino ti pagnaedam?	Asa ka magpuyo?