Welcome

Our website is intended for those who have a need or interest in learning Filipino and other languages and dialects used by Filipinos.

Filipino is one of two official languages of the Philippines. It was previously known as Pilipino and before that was called Tagalog.

English is the second official language of the Philippines. It was the Americans who brought the language to the country and the reason why Filipinos speak their English with the Yankee accent. English is primarily used in business and education. The locals in major parts of the country still prefer to converse in Filipino and/or the local dialect. And for sure, they get excited to hear foreigners speak in Filipino.

You will need a basic understanding of English to appreciate learning Filipino using this website. The basic construct of the language and the details about the nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, etc. are described in full with plenty of examples. The inflection of the verbs is one of the highlights and possibly the component that you will spend a bit more time.

Enjoy!

History of the Filipino Language

After weeks of study and deliberation by the National Language Institute, a committee of seven members representing various regions in the Philippines, Tagalog was unanimously chosen as the national language (wikang pambansa) of the country. It was proclaimed by then President Manuel L. Quezon on December 31, 1937. This was made official upon the Philippines' restoration of independence from the United States on July 4, 1946.

From 1961 to 1987, Tagalog, as the national language, became known as Pilipino. While Tagalog remained as the dialect of the Tagalog region.

The letters of the alphabet, ABAKADA, were A, B, K, D, E, G, H, I, L, M, N, Ng, O, P, R, S, T, U, W, Y up until 1976. That year, the alphabet was expanded to include the letters C, CH, F, J, Q, RR, V, X, and Z in order to accommodate words of Spanish and English origin.

In 1987, as part of the reformation of the alphabet, the name of the language was changed to Filipino. The letters of the alphabet became A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, Ñ, Ng, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z.

Words from different languages in the Filipino language

The Filipino language of today is made up of native words (from Tagalog and other dialects), borrowed and modified Spanish words, borrowed and modified English words, and other foreign words.