What's the Philippines' national language? Pilipino? Filipino? Tagalog? And what's the difference?

Show all answers

Mike's Girl

All those saying that "FILIPINO" is the official national language of the Philippines, they are correct!

However, since there is no "F" in our alphabet, we can also say - "Ang Pilipino (the P version) ang ating pambansang wika." - and that would be correct too.

Tagalog is but a dialect (used mainly in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces) and it is closely akin to Filipino (the language) hence it's easy to mistakenly use the terms interchangeably.

Finally, the term "Filipino" also refers to the people of the Philippines and again in our native tongue - that would be "Pilipino" - formal or "Pinoy" - informal.

_____
added:

I don't need to cite references. This should be common knowledge for true Pinoys as this is what we have learned in school.

shirley g

Filipino -- the term used in both the 1973 and 1987 Philippine constitutions to designate as the "national language" of the Philippines, whether de jure or de facto, it matters not -- has come full-circle to prick the national consciousness and lay its vexing burden at the feet of our national planners, as well as of the academe. For indeed, the past six decades (since 1935) has seen "Pilipino" (or "Filipino," its more acceptable twin ) tossed in the waves of controversies between the pros and and the antis as each camp fires off volleys of linguistic cognoscente or even garbage, as the case may be, while the vast majority watched with glee or boredom.

The evolution of the Wikang Pambansa, now known as Filipino, has not remained uneventful, as one finds out from its historical perspective. From 1935 onwards, to the present 1990s we have seen this language develop, first as Tagalog-based that barely ill-disguised itself as the "national language"--a clear victory of Manuel L. Quezon and the espousal of the tagalistas over the Bisayan hopes of Sotto and his Ang Suga advocates-- then, in 1959 acquiring the term "Pilipino"given to it by executive fiat to remove the last vestiges of "tagalogism" and imprint its national character. In 1965, when the "puristas" (purists) attempted to enhance the vocabulary through artificial wordsmithing and thereby intensifying the 'word war" with their critics. Then, beginning in the 1970s which saw Pilipino finally being used as medium of instruction at the primary and secondary levels of public and private schools. And, lastly, from its 1987 constitutional enshrinement as "Filipino" to the present --an amalgamation of Pilipino/Tagalog, Spanish, and a preponderance for English in respelled forms.

Is the Tagalog-based Pilipino really Filipino? Dr. Constantino cites the differences between Pilipino and Filipino, to wit: Filipino (1) has more phonemes; (2) has a different system of ortography; (3) manifests a heavy borrowing from English; (4) has a different grammatical construction. Based on the trend of development of Filipino as manifested in the data presented in this study, as well as the actual usage by the linguistic trendsetters in Philippine society --newscasters (both in radio and television), Filipino writers and some academicians, showbiz personalities--it would appear that his theory is closest to reality.

There is a consensus, however, among the academicians above that Filipino is the lingua franca in MetroManila which is inexorably pervading the regional centers through the print and broadcast media, through the songs that the local bands sing, through intellectual discussions among academicians, etc. It is the language through which a prominent Filipino linguistcommunicates, as well as the medium of expression among academicians, and of the "caretakers" or "authority" of national language development in the University of the Philippines System, namely, the writers and editors in the Sentro ng Wikang Filipino.

kugay

Tagalog is what we call to our language and that serves a s national language. If you say Pilipino/Filipino it's call with the local or the people as for nationality. Therefore Tagalog is the dialect and Filipino/Pilipino is the person.

Chris

Thanks Isha. Boy and I thought I was smart until I read your answer and had to look it up. Isha is 100% right, but I will elaborate and explain. I didn't know this, so I am posting from a source:

"Tagalog is the native language in the Katagalogan region. True Tagalog uses only 21 letters (16 consonants, 5 vowels), and became the national language of the Philippines in 1937. This was made official upon the Philippines' restoration of independence from the United States on July 4, 1946. And was called such until till 1961. The 1935 Philippine Constitution provided for a National Language though not directly naming Tagalog, it served as a foundation for a common language. Then on December 31, 1937
President Manuel L. Quezon proclaimed Tagalog the Official National Language of the Philippines which was then made official on the July 4, 1946 upon restoration of independence from the United States.

Pilipino was the next national language 1961-87. Pilipino is based on Tagalog, but included "pilipinized" (spelled & made to sound Tagalog) Spanish & English words. Pilipino only had 21 letters (16 consonants, 5 vowels). President Ferdinand Marcos and the Bureau (Board) of Education under the 1973 Philippine Constitution developed Pilipino (based on Tagalog) as a official national language (1961 to 1987). Pilipino aimed to replace all words of foreign origins with local sounding words. Influx and the widespread use of foreign derived words & technological terminology in the 1980s made "Pilipinizing" new words impractical and lead to the demise of this method. The basis for the Pilipino National Language is Tagalog, which had primarily been spoken only in Manila. The constitution provided for a national language, but did not specifically designate it as Tagalog because of objections raised by representatives from other parts of the country where Tagalog was not spoken. It merely stated that an official national language acceptable to the entire populace (and ideally incorporating elements from the diverse languages spoken throughout the islands) would be a future goal. Tagalog, of course, by virtue of being the lingua franca of those who lived in or near the government capital, was the predominant candidate. By the time work on a new constitution began in the early 1970s, more than half the Philippine citizenry
was communicating in Tagalog on a regular basis. (Forty years earlier, it was barely 25 percent.)

Filipino is the revised Official National Language since 1987.
BASED ON TAGALOG, uses foreign, modern, & technical words "as-is", using 28 letters from Spanish and English alphabets. After the 1986 People's Power (original) revolution, under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Pilipino was revised to Filipino, which recognized the assimilation of foreign words and adopted letters of foreign origins (e.g. the Ã‘ from Spanish and c, x, and v from English) as well as from other native languages in the Philippines. This was finally confirmed in the constitution composed during the Aquino presidency in the latter half of the 1980s. The Official National Language was Re-labeled "Filipino" to acknowledge and embrace the existence of and preference for many English- and Spanish-derived words. "Western" letters such as f, j, c, x and z -- sounds of which were not indigenous to the islands before the arrival of the Spaniards and the Americans -- were included in the official Filipino.
The Language remains based on Tagalog with some English and Spanish words thrown in. Sometimes referred to as "Urban Tagalog or Tagalog Plus". Tagalog is still the language in most all Literary works and Scientific research to this day. When you compare the above, you see the language is an evolving language based on TAGLOG.

In a way Tagalog is to the Filipino language as English is to the American Language...You need to learn it..... to speak Filipino (Tagalog). However Tagalog, and Filipino are not the only languages spoken in the Philippines." The nation has more than 153 dialects, 99 distinct ethnicities, and some of the largest collections of rare animal, brith and coral species in the world. It is a diverse archipeligo unfied by the presence of the Spanish and American Colonial presence of about 400 years.

Isha

The official languages of Philippines are English and Filipino (formerly spelled Pilipino), which is based on the indigenous Tagalog language.

Joeyboy

Tagalog, since in Pilipino alphabet there's no letter "F".

Example:

Ang "Tagalog" ay ang pambansang wika ng "Pilipinas". Ang "Pilipinas" ay binubuo ng mga "Pilipino" na kung tawagin ng mga banyaga ay "Filipino". Amen

eezy_jex Â®

1. Filipino is the National Language.
2. Tagalog a widely used dialect.
3. Filipino also refer to the people of the whole Philippines.
4. Tagalog (people) refers only to Tagalog speaking people.
5. Thus, Filipino language is taught in the whole Philippines eventhough it came from the tagalog dialect.
______________________________________...

Filipino is considered by Ethnologue to be a variant of Tagalog, a Central Philippine language within the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family.[12] In practical terms, however, Filipino is a synonym for the Tagalog language, especially as used by non-Tagalogs, who may sometimes refuse to refer to their language as Tagalog.[13]

Filipino was presented and registered with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and was added to the ISO registry of languages on September 21, 2004 with it receiving the ISO 639-2 code fil.[8] In June 2007, Ricardo Maria Nolasco, Chair of the Commission on the Filipino Language, acknowledged that Filipino was simply Tagalog in syntax and grammar, with yet no grammatical element or lexicon coming from Ilocano, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, or any of the other Philippine languages.[9]
______________________________________...

add: No TD guys .... we must respect each other.
add: 100% Filipino, from Tagalog region Bataan, living in the Philippines my whole life.

sweetie29

Tagalog is language for the Filipino

Filipino are the people in Philippines

Pilipino is tagalog word for Filipino

slice_n_hook@yahoo.com

tagalog, Filipino isn't a language, it's a people and Pilipino is another name for tagalog

purple & pink

Our language is "Filipino"... not "Tagalog".. ;-)

Giboy Baldesco

the Official name for the national language of the philippines is Filipino. it was made official in 1935 during the commonwealth presidency of Manuel Quezon, the 2nd president of philippines. do not confuse it with Filipino referring to the native inhabitants of the Philippines.

lady elle

I am from the Philippines.

Our language is Filipino.

Tagalog is only a dialect.

We are also called Filipinos/Filipinas.

Pilipino is a subject taught in school, which is equivalent to our Mother Tongue.

Ray H

Marcelino is correct.

Juan C

it's officially called 'Filipino' language...

Pilipino / Pilipina = people from the Philippines...
Filipino = the national language... de facto based on Tagalog...
Tagalog = a dialect spoken pre-dominantly in Manila, Marinduque, Bataan, Batangas, Bulacan, Tanay-Paete, and Tayabas...

marcelino angelo

The national language of the Philippines is FILIPINO.

Tagalog is just widely spoken here so it makes a confusion with Filipino. Tagalog is just a dialect. Along with Ilocano, Bikolano, Cebuano, Ilonggo, Kapampangan, etc.

However, Filipino has been recognized as a standardized version of Tagalog.

From Wikipedia:
"Filipino is considered by Ethnologue to be a variant of Tagalog, a Central Philippine language within the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. In practical terms, however, Filipino is a synonym for the Tagalog language, especially as used by non-Tagalogs, who may sometimes refuse to refer to their language as Tagalog."

sweetdivine

Pilipino is a subject in school about Philippines. Tagalog is the language in the Philippines. Filipino is the nationality or it's referring to people in the Philippines.

Just.Dako.

Pilipino and Filipino are not the name of the national language in the Philippines. They are used as substitute names because most of the people in the u.s. can't pronounce Tagalog the way its suppose to.

so yeah, the national language in the Philippines is called Tagalog, not pilipino or filipino.

Pilipino is the name used by the people of the Philippines to describe themselves. Filipino is the same as Pilipino and its the spelling used in other countries.

Carl_the_Truth

Tagalog. The others are just another name for the same thing

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: