The Tagalog Language
Tagalog is the language of the Republic of the Philippines. It is one of the most spoken languages of the Filipino culture. It is also referred to as Filipino. While the Tagalog language has existed for several years the country adopted the more common name to help with the acceptance of the actual language among other Filipino individuals. According to statistics Tagalog is spoken as a first language by over 24 million individuals and as a second language by more than 65 million.
The Tagalog language has its origins from before the 16th century Spanish conquest of the islands. It seems that the Tagalog tribes originated about the same time as the Northeastern Mindanao and Eastern Visayas. The first book to be written in the historical Tagalog language was written in 1593. With the coming of the Spanish many of the grammar and dictionaries changed to include more Spanish words or changes in the language.
Today the language that is spoken as Tagalog has been modified by the inclusion of words from other existing Philippine languages to give it a broader use. The Baybayin Alphabet depicts the actual written words of the Tagalog. While it has changed over the course of history to have a Latin alphabet as well there are still some notable features to consider. First the syllabic alphabet is the type of writing system. It means that each consonant has an inherent vowel. In other words, the alphabet is like this a, ba, ka, da, ga, and on through the entire alphabet. The vowels can also be muted if a plus sign is added to the written language. Unlike most languages of Asia the writing style is left to right in horizontal lines.
There are also many dialects within the Tagalog language. The dialects pronounce or write the language a little differently than the most common form of Tagalog. For instance in the south the glottal stop found after consonants and before vowels are different than standard Tagalog. With the origins having its place with Spanish influence for the main Tagalog dialect it is no different that other languages in respect to the changes in dialect. Since some of the population is more remote they often retain a Tagalog dialect purer that the standard Tagalog dialect.
When you learn Tagalog you are most likely going to learn the standard language. While Tagalog is not always offered in schools you can find language resources in books or online to help you.
Jon Cardozo is an enthusiast for foreign languages and culture. He has studied several languages using the Pimsleur method. He currently writes articles on history and foreign languages, as well as product reviews for www.ultimatelanguagestore.com
In the article above, Jon Cardozo mentions that he studied Tagalog using the Pimsleur method. While the Pimsleur method is an excellent method for learning how to speak any language, its weakness is that it is only audio, thus you do not learn to read and write Tagalog as well. In a follow up posting, I will discuss the pros and cons of the Pimsleur method vs the Rosetta Stone method. Both excellent programs but which is right for you will depend upon what you are looking to get out of the program as well as the environment in which you will be using it. Also see Learn the Tagalog Language the Easy Way for more information about the Rosetta Stone method of learning foreign languages.
