Learn Tagalog Lessons for Beginners   by Carlo Padilla

in Relationships / Friendship    (submitted 2011-03-08)

Some people from different parts of the world who just wanted to explore the country or would rather spend the rest of their lives living here would want to eagerly know how to speak the Filipino language. Tagalog is not really the country's official language although it is the most widely used language all over the nation. A native Filipino would differentiate the Filipino language from Tagalog based on its origin and usage. The official Filipino language is formulated from both English and Spanish languages which some of these words are now lost in time and are barely used. On the other hand, the Tagalog dialect may have great resemblance from the Filipino language, but it uses borrowed words from English and Spanish, appearing it to be more westernized. The true essence of the language had lost its value because of this adaptation, despite of these changes communication is still important in connecting with one another.

Since you are just starting, it is better if you stick in familiarizing yourself with some words and its meaning. Basically for beginners, it is very common to focus first on the basics and start the lesson from greeting others and how to correctly respond to the greeting in Filipino. Some examples are:

good day – magandang araw
good morning – magandang umaga
good afternoon – magandang hapon
good evening – magandang gabi
how are you? – kumusta po kayo?
I am fine – mabuti
thank you – salamat po

These are just some of the common words you will learn during the process. Once you have learned how to greet properly with the correct emphasis on the syllables you can start learning the correct pronunciation as to what syllable you need to be stressed out when you speak. It is also best if you take into consideration learning the Filipino alphabet especially the vowels because this is the foundation of the word's correct pronunciation. It is crucial that you can pronounce the word correctly because some Filipino words do sound alike, but has different meaning. To know some common expressions is also useful as this will make your listener understand clearly what you are trying to say.

For beginners, it is better to stick with what is standard and work your way up to avoid confusions and for you to be able to get a good grasp on the Filipino language.

About the Author

Go to http://www.FilipinotoEnglish.com if you want to learn more about the Tagalog language, how to speak it, and how to translate from filipino to english.