|
|
|
|
Filipino language
|
| |
|
| |
The Filipino language (Filipino: Wikang Filipino) is the national and an official language of the Philippines as designated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. It is an Austronesian language that is the de facto standardized version of Tagalog. It is the first language of Filipinos living in Metro Manila and the second language of most Filipinos.
Sometimes the language is incorrectly used as the generic name for all the languages of the Philippines which, in turn, would be incorrectly termed as "dialects".
The Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (Commission on the Filipino Language), the regulating body of Filipino, envisions a process of popularizing regional dialect usage derived from regional languages, as the foundation of standardizing and intellectualizing a language, based on a lingua franca.
ovember 13, 1936, the Surian ng Wikang Pambansa (National Language Institute) selected Tagalog as the basis of Wikang Pambansâ (national language) based on the following factors:
- Tagalog is widely spoken and is the language most understood in all the regions of the Philippines.
- It is not divided into smaller, separate languages as Visayan is.
- Its literary tradition is the richest and the most developed and extensive (mirroring that of the Tuscan dialect of Italian).
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Filipino language' Start a new discussion about 'Filipino language' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
The Filipino language (Filipino: Wikang Filipino) is the national and an official language of the Philippines as designated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. It is an Austronesian language that is the de facto standardized version of Tagalog. It is the first language of Filipinos living in Metro Manila and the second language of most Filipinos.
Sometimes the language is incorrectly used as the generic name for all the languages of the Philippines which, in turn, would be incorrectly termed as "dialects".
The Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (Commission on the Filipino Language), the regulating body of Filipino, envisions a process of popularizing regional dialect usage derived from regional languages, as the foundation of standardizing and intellectualizing a language, based on a lingua franca.
History
On November 13, 1936, the Surian ng Wikang Pambansa (National Language Institute) selected Tagalog as the basis of Wikang Pambansâ (national language) based on the following factors:
- Tagalog is widely spoken and is the language most understood in all the regions of the Philippines.
- It is not divided into smaller, separate languages as Visayan is.
- Its literary tradition is the richest and the most developed and extensive (mirroring that of the Tuscan dialect of Italian). More books are written in Tagalog than in any other autochthonous Philippine language.
- Tagalog has always been the language of Manila - the political and economic capital of the Philippines under both Spanish and American rulers.
- Tagalog is the language of the Revolution and the Katipunan—two very important elements in Philippine history.
In 1959, the language became known as Pilipino to dissociate it from the Tagalog ethnic group.
Later, the 1973 Constitution provided for a separate national language to replace Pilipino, a language which it named Filipino. The pertinent article, though, Article XV, Section 3(2), mentions neither Tagalog nor Pilipino as the basis for Filipino, instead calling on the National Assembly to:
In 1987, the 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:
Meanwhile, Article XIV, Section 7 states that:
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 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 dialects and 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 College of Law 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.
Classification
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 or the formal name of the Tagalog language, especially as used by non-Tagalogs, who may sometimes refuse to refer to their national language as Tagalog-based. Tagalog is also a slang for the national language.
One famous event where the definition between Filipino and Tagalog is challenged was during the impeachment trial of the former president, Joseph Estrada. When the presiding justice Hilario Davide, a Cebuano, asked in which language would the witness Emma Lim prefer to testify, Lim promptly answered "Tagalog", to which Davide promptly 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, the then President of the Senate, Franklin Drilon, an Ilonggo, sided on the oneness of the two languages saying that an interpreter will no longer be needed because everybody would understand the testimony in Tagalog.
Phonology
Grammar
Orthography
Learning Resources
Many of the following books are published in the Philippines. Many are available on www.amazon.com.
- By Vito C. Santos
- New Vicassan's English-Pilipino Dictionary, ISBN 971-27-0349-5
- Vicassan's Pilipino-English Dictionary, ISBN 971-08-2900-9
- Vicassan's Pilipino-English Dictionary (Abridged Edition), ISBN 971-27-1707-0
- By others
See also
External links
- , discussion by linguist and educator Andrew Gonzalez
- , by Andrew Gonzalez, FSC
- by C. J. Paz, University of the Philippines
|
| |
|
|
