The Language of the River Dwellers
Behind the beautiful country of the Philippines and the charming Tagalog language, there are centuries of rich and amazing history guaranteed to make you even more motivated to learn Tagalog. For example, the initial likely words of old Tagalog origin are confirmed in the Laguna Copperplate Inscription from nine-hundred AD, a legal document which is largely written in Old Malay.
Prior to the Spanish colonization of the country, the Tagalog language was written using the Baybayin system, a script which start to decline in the 17th century and become obsolete by the 18th century.
Naturally, as you will see for yourself while learning Tagalog as a second language, that Spanish together with English, had significant influence on the Filipino Language that is today. Which is of course, the official language of the Philippines and standardized version of the Tagalog language.
Filipino vs Tagalog: why should you learn Tagalog?
What should you learn? Filipino or Tagalog? While Tagalog is largely spoken not only in the Philippines but also in the America, UAE, and Canada, Saudi Arabia, and UK, Filipino is the national language of the Philippines.
Filipino is just used as a tertiary language in the Philippine public sphere. So, it is way more likely to spark talks in Tagalog than in Filipino while in Manila.
At the same time, it is also a reality that Filipino was born from Tagalog and they do very strongly resemble each other. The Filipino language vocabulary is composed of around eighty percent Tagalog and the remaining twenty percent is a mixture of Spanish, English, and other Philippine languages such as Cebuano.
So, your language of choice should be Tagalog. Or Filipino. Either way, it will be super helpful to know, when you visit the Philippines. If you want a broader language base, you can also complement your Tagalog lessons with Online group Filipino lessons, that way you will have a full spectrum of language basis. But truth be known, Filipinos typically prefer referring to the language as Tagalog, even if it really s Filipino. And there’s a very good chance that a Tagalog teacher will be teaching you more Filipino than Tagalog.
How to speak Tagalog fast
There are 9 basis parts of speech in Tagalog. Tagalog uses the verb-subject order and has quite complex verb conjugation rules. But your online Tagalog tutorcan help you with all these details.
While it is said that Tagalog is somewhat difficult for native English speakers to learn, you will soon realize that the Tagalog vocabulary mimics a number Spanish and English words. These are the outcome of the Spanish colonization and a half of a century of American control of the country.
With most tutors you will learn Tagalog online using Zoom. Or they will teach their online Tagalog lessons using Skype. Both platforms are excellent, and with a good teacher, you will be amazed how quickly you learn Tagalog online. Whether you take online group Tagalog lessons, or work one on one with a private online Tagalog tutor, if you find a good teacher and stick with it, you will be able to speak Tagalog in no time.
