Filipino language
Encyclopedia
This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.
In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.
Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:
And also states in the article:
and:
Republic Act No. 7104, approved on August 14, 1991, created the Commission on the Filipino Language, reporting directly to the President and tasked to undertake, coordinate and promote researches for the development, propagation and preservation of Filipino and other Philippine languages. On May 13, 1992, the commission issued Resolution 92-1, specifying that Filipino is the
However, as with the 1973 and 1987 Constitutions, 92-1 neither went so far as to categorically identify nor dis-identify this language as Tagalog. Definite, absolute, and unambiguous interpretation of 92-1 is the prerogative of the Supreme Court
in the absence of directives from the KWF, otherwise the sole legal arbiter of the Filipino language.
Filipino was presented and registered with the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO), by then Ateneo de Manila University student Martin Gomez, and was added to the ISO registry of languages on September 21, 2004 with it receiving the ISO 639-2 code fil. In June 2007, Ricardo Maria Nolasco, then Chair of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (Commission on the Filipino Language), acknowledged that Filipino was simply Tagalog in syntax and grammar, with as yet no grammatical element or lexicon coming from Ilocano
, Cebuano
, Hiligaynon
, or any of the other Philippine languages
. This is contrary to the intention of Republic Act No. 7104 that requires that the national language
be developed and enriched by the lexicon of the country's other languages, something that the commission is working towards. Furthermore, on August 24, 2007, Dr. Nolasco elaborated further on the relationship between Tagalog and Filipino:
On August 22, 2007, three Malolos City
regional trial courts in Bulacan
decided to use Filipino, instead of English
, in order to promote the national language. Twelve stenographers from Branches 6, 80 and 81, as model courts, had undergone training at Marcelo H. del Pilar College of Law of Bulacan State University
following a directive from the Supreme Court of the Philippines
. De la Rama said it was the dream of Chief Justice Reynato Puno
to implement the program in other areas such as Laguna, Cavite
, Quezon
, Nueva Ecija
, Batangas
, Rizal
, and Metro Manila
.
, where Spanish is a general national term, but Castilian refers to a regional variant of Spanish.
One famous event which illustrates the relationship between Filipino and Tagalog happened during the impeachment trial of the former President
Joseph Estrada
. When the presiding justice Hilario Davide, a Cebuano
, asked which language the witness Emma Lim preferred to testify in, Lim promptly answered "Tagalog", to which Davide did not agree. According to Davide, nobody could testify in Tagalog because it is not the official language of the Philippines and there is no available interpreter from Tagalog to Filipino. However, Senator Franklin Drilon
, an Ilonggo
, defended the oneness of the two by saying that an interpreter will not be needed because everybody would understand the testimony in Tagalog.
In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.
Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:
And also states in the article:
and:
Republic Act No. 7104, approved on August 14, 1991, created the Commission on the Filipino Language, reporting directly to the President and tasked to undertake, coordinate and promote researches for the development, propagation and preservation of Filipino and other Philippine languages. On May 13, 1992, the commission issued Resolution 92-1, specifying that Filipino is the
However, as with the 1973 and 1987 Constitutions, 92-1 neither went so far as to categorically identify nor dis-identify this language as Tagalog. Definite, absolute, and unambiguous interpretation of 92-1 is the prerogative of the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the Philippines
The Supreme Court of the Philippines is the Philippines' highest judicial court, as well as the court of last resort. The court consists of 14 Associate Justices and 1 Chief Justice...
in the absence of directives from the KWF, otherwise the sole legal arbiter of the Filipino language.
Filipino was presented and registered with the International Organization for Standardization
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
(ISO), by then Ateneo de Manila University student Martin Gomez, and was added to the ISO registry of languages on September 21, 2004 with it receiving the ISO 639-2 code fil. In June 2007, Ricardo Maria Nolasco, then Chair of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (Commission on the Filipino Language), acknowledged that Filipino was simply Tagalog in syntax and grammar, with as yet no grammatical element or lexicon coming from Ilocano
Ilokano language
Ilokano or Ilocano is the third most-spoken language of the Republic of the Philippines....
, Cebuano
Cebuano language
Cebuano, referred to by most of its speakers as Bisaya , is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 20 million people mostly in the Central Visayas. It is the most widely spoken of the languages within the so-named Bisayan subgroup and is closely related to other Filipino...
, Hiligaynon
Hiligaynon language
Hiligaynon, often referred to as Ilonggo, is an Austronesian language spoken in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines.Hiligaynon is concentrated in the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Capiz but is also spoken in the other provinces of the Panay Island group, including Antique,...
, or any of the other Philippine languages
Philippine languages
The Philippine languages are a 1991 proposal by Robert Blust that all the languages of the Philippines and northern Sulawesi—except Sama–Bajaw and a few languages of Palawan—form a subfamily of Austronesian languages...
. This is contrary to the intention of Republic Act No. 7104 that requires that the national language
National language
A national language is a language which has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a people and perhaps by extension the territory they occupy. The term is used variously. A national language may for instance represent the national identity of a nation or country...
be developed and enriched by the lexicon of the country's other languages, something that the commission is working towards. Furthermore, on August 24, 2007, Dr. Nolasco elaborated further on the relationship between Tagalog and Filipino:
On August 22, 2007, three Malolos City
Malolos City
City of Malolos is a 3rd class urban component city in the Republic of the Philippines. Malolos is considered as the 115th city in the country. It is the capital city of the province of Bulacan as the seat of the provincial government...
regional trial courts in Bulacan
Bulacan
Bulacan , officially called the Province of Bulacan or simply Bulacan Province, is a first class province of the Republic of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Region in the island of Luzon, north of Manila , and part of the Metro...
decided to use Filipino, instead of English
Philippine English
Philippine English is the variety of English used in the Philippines by the media and the vast majority of educated Filipinos. English is taught in schools as one of the two official languages of the country, the other being Filipino, a standardized version of Tagalog.English is used in education,...
, in order to promote the national language. Twelve stenographers from Branches 6, 80 and 81, as model courts, had undergone training at Marcelo H. del Pilar College of Law of Bulacan State University
Bulacan State University
Bulacan State University is a state-funded institution of higher learning established in 1904, by the virtue of ACT 74 of the Philippine Commission in 1901, as an intermediate school established by the American regime, and converted into a chartered state university in 1993 by virtue of Republic...
following a directive from the Supreme Court of the Philippines
Supreme Court of the Philippines
The Supreme Court of the Philippines is the Philippines' highest judicial court, as well as the court of last resort. The court consists of 14 Associate Justices and 1 Chief Justice...
. De la Rama said it was the dream of Chief Justice Reynato Puno
Reynato Puno
Reynato Puno y Serrano was the 22nd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Appointed on December 8, 2006 by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, he was the 22nd person to serve as Chief Justice...
to implement the program in other areas such as Laguna, Cavite
Cavite
Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...
, Quezon
Quezon
-History:Originally, what now forms Quezon was divided among the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, and Nueva Ecija. The area was first explored by Juan de Salcedo in 1571-1572, during his expedition from Laguna to Camarines provinces....
, Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Palayan City...
, Batangas
Batangas
Batangas is a first class province of the Philippines located on the southwestern part of Luzon in the CALABARZON region. Its capital is Batangas City and it is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and Laguna to the north and Quezon to the east. Across the Verde Island Passages to the south is the...
, Rizal
Rizal
Rizal is a province located in the CALABARZON , just 16 kilometers east of Manila. The province was named after the country's national hero, José Rizal. Rizal Governor Casimiro A. Ynares III on June 17, 2008 announced the transfer of the Capitol from Pasig. Its P 270-million capitol building,...
, and Metro Manila
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...
.
Filipino vs. Tagalog
In practical terms, Filipino is the formal name of Tagalog, or even a synonym of it. It is sometimes described as "Tagalog-based", part of a political fiction that the national language is based on an amalgam of Philippine languages rather than on Tagalog alone. It is usually called Tagalog within the Philippines and among Filipinos to differentiate it from other Philippine languages, but it has come to be known as Filipino to differentiate it from the languages of other countries; the former implies a regional origin, the latter a national. This is similar to the concept of the names given to the Spanish languageNames given to the Spanish language
There are two names given to the Spanish language: Spanish and Castilian . Spanish speakers from different countries or backgrounds can show a preference for one term or the other, or use them indiscriminately, but political issues or common usage might lead speakers to prefer one term over the...
, where Spanish is a general national term, but Castilian refers to a regional variant of Spanish.
One famous event which illustrates the relationship between Filipino and Tagalog happened during the impeachment trial of the former President
President of the Philippines
The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...
Joseph Estrada
Joseph Estrada
Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada was the 13th President of the Philippines, serving from 1998 until 2001. Estrada was the first person in the Post-EDSA era to be elected both to the presidency and vice-presidency.Estrada gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role in over 100 films in...
. When the presiding justice Hilario Davide, a Cebuano
Cebuano people
The Cebuano people , are a Visayan ethnic group in Cebu and form the second largest cultural-linguistic group in the Philippines.-History:...
, asked which language the witness Emma Lim preferred to testify in, Lim promptly answered "Tagalog", to which Davide did not agree. According to Davide, nobody could testify in Tagalog because it is not the official language of the Philippines and there is no available interpreter from Tagalog to Filipino. However, Senator Franklin Drilon
Franklin Drilon
Franklin Magtunao Drilon is a Filipino politician who served as President of the Senate of the Philippines in 2000 and from 2001 to 2006. Drilon currently serves his third term in the Senate...
, an Ilonggo
Hiligaynon people
The Hiligaynon are the indigenous inhabitants of the large coastal plain of East Panay island. Over the years, intermigrations and intramigrations have contributed to the diaspora of the Hiligaynon to different parts of the country. Now, the Hiligaynon form the majority in Iloilo province, Capiz...
, defended the oneness of the two by saying that an interpreter will not be needed because everybody would understand the testimony in Tagalog.
Official status
Filipino is constitutionally designated as the national language of the Philippines and, along with English, as one of two official languages.See also
- Tagalog phonologyTagalog phonologyThis article deals with current phonology and phonetics as well as with historical developments of the phonology of the Tagalog language, including variants....
- Tagalog grammarTagalog grammarThis article describes the grammar of Tagalog and Filipino .-Nouns :...
- Filipino orthography
- Filipino alphabetFilipino alphabetThe Modern Filipino alphabet , otherwise known as the Filipino alphabet , is the alphabet of the Filipino language, the official national language and one of the two official languages of the Philippines...
- Abakada alphabet
- Commission on the Filipino Language
Further reading
- New Vicassan's English–Pilipino Dictionary by Vito C. Santos, ISBN 971-27-0349-5
- Learn Filipino: Book One by Victor Eclar Romero ISBN 1-932956-41-7
- Lonely Planet Filipino/Tagalog (TravelTalk) ISBN 1-59125-364-0
- Lonely Planet Pilipino Phrasebook ISBN 0-86442-432-9
- UP Diksyonaryong FilipinoUP Diksyonaryong FilipinoThe UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino is a monolingual Filipino dictionary. The dictionary is maintained by the University of the Philippines Center for Filipino Language , with Virgilio S...
by Virgilio S. AlmarioVirgilio S. AlmarioVirgilio Senadren Almario, better known by his pen name, Rio Alma, is a Filipino artist, poet, critic, translator, editor, teacher, and cultural manager. He is a National Artist of the Philippines....
(ed.) ISBN 971-8781-98-6, and ISBN 971-8781-99-4 - English–Pilipino Dictionary, Consuelo T. Panganiban, ISBN 971-08-5569-7
- Diksyunaryong Filipino–English, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, ISBN 971-8705-20-1
- New English–Filipino Filipino–English Dictionary, by Maria Odulio de GuzmanMaria Odulio de GuzmanMaria Odulio de Guzman was a teacher, educator, principal, writer, and author. She was the first Filipino female principal of a secondary school in the Philippines. She worked as a teacher at the Nueva Ecija High School in Nueva Ecija, Philippines from 1918 to 1928. She received her education...
ISBN 971-08-1776-0 - Lim English–Filipino Filipino–English Dictionary, by Ed Lim (2008), Lulu.com ISBN 978-0-557-03800-8
- "When I was a child I spoke as a child": Reflecting on the Limits of a Nationalist Language Policy by Danilo Manarpaac. In: The politics of English as a world language: new horizons in postcolonial cultural studies by Christian Mair. Rodopi; 2003 ISBN 9789042008762. p. 479–492.
- Free Filipino Flashcards by CoboCards
External links
- Commission on the Filipino Language
- Language planning in multilingual countries: The case of the Philippines, discussion by linguist and educator Andrew Gonzalez
- The Language Planning Situation in the Philippines, by Andrew Gonzalez, FSC
- Tagalog: A Brief Look at the National Language
- Tagalog dominance must be balanced by support for all languages – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
- Kalyespeak.com – Learn Filipino Free Language Learning with Audio Lessons and Podcasts
- The Nationalization of a Language: Filipino by C. J. Paz, University of the Philippines
- The Filipino language that might have been