This website is about learning Tagalog/Filipino but many foreigners are not aware that Tagalog is not spoken exactly the same way in all ares of the Philippines.
Not only is Tagalog not spoken day to day in all areas of the Philippines, but even where it is, it is not spoken in exactly the same way.
First, I will mention that many Filipinos will use the word “dialect” to refer to the other languages spoken in the Philippines. That is not the correct term to use.
Dialects are sub-groups of a language that are understandable by others speaking a different dialect in the same language.
Let’s look at the “dialects” of the Tagalog language for a moment.
Tagalog Dialects
There appear to be four main dialects of Tagalog
- Northern (exemplified by the Bulacan dialect)
- Central (including Manila)
- Southern (exemplified by Batangas)
- Marinduque
The following are some examples of how these dialects of Tagalog differ:
- Many Tagalog dialects, particularly those in the south, preserve the glottal stop found after consonants and before vowels. This has been lost in Standard Tagalog. For example, standard Tagalog ngayón (now, today), sinigáng (broth stew), gabí (night), matamís(sweet), are pronounced and written ngay-on, sinig-ang, gab-i, and matam-is in other dialects.
- In Teresian–Morong Tagalog, [ɾ] is usually preferred over [d]. For example, bundók, dagat, dingdíng, and isdâ become bunrók, ragat, ringríng, and isrâ, e.g. “sandók sa dingdíng” becoming “sanrók sa ringríng”.
- In many southern dialects, the progressive aspect infix of -um- verbs is na-. For example, standard Tagalog kumakain(eating) is nákáin in Quezon and Batangas Tagalog. This is the butt of some jokes by other Tagalog speakers, for should a Southern Tagalog ask nákáin ka ba ng patíng? (“Do you eat shark?”), he would be understood as saying “Has a shark eaten you?” by speakers of the Manila Dialect.
- Some dialects have interjections which are considered a regional trademark. For example, the interjection ala e! usually identifies someone from Batangas as does hane?! in Rizal and Quezon provinces.
- Bulacan has distinct and deep Tagalog words.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagalog_language
Ok, now that we have a better idea of the difference between a dialect and a language.
I currently live in Cebu province in the Philippines. The Cebuano language is spoken here, not Tagalog. Most of the people can speak Tagalog because they learn in elementary and high school. But at home and in the market and at church, etc, it is Cebuano.
Cebuano is a separate language, just like Tagalog is a separate language. It is NOT understood by Tagalog speakers. Tagalog is only understood by Cebuano speakers because it is a requirement in school.
For an example of a Cebuano speaking Tagalog you can check out my post about a Pinay (Filipino woman) that shares her interesting life on YouTube as the wife of an Iranian-American truck driver traveling throughout the USA. Her Tagalog is fine but someone familiar with the two languages can discern a Cebuano accent in her Tagalog.
National and Official Languages
Filipino is the NATIONAL language of the Philippines and is heavily based on Tagalog.
There are two OFFICIAL languages in the Philippines, Filipino and English.
Where I live I almost never here Filipino (Tagalog) spoken. The folks here in Cebu province prefer to speak Cebuano. They will use English before they use Filipino (Tagalog).
Also, just like Tagalog has different “dialects” within it as I pointed out above, Cebuano also has different dialects. In other words, Cebuano is spoken a bit differently in different areas BUT it is still UNDERSTOOD.
Top 10 Languages in the Philippines
Now, let’s look at a nice video from YouTube that discusses and provides examples of the top 10 languages spoken in the Philippines. Keep in mind there are more languages then these, but these are the top 10 by population.
Enjoy!
