Languages of the Philippines

See also: Philippine languages

the population in the early 20th century as a rst, second

or third language. Following the American occupation of
the Philippines and the imposition of English, the use of
There are some 120 to 175 languages in the Philippines,
[4]
depending on the method of classication. Four others Spanish declined gradually, especially after the 1940s.
are no longer spoken. Almost all are Malayo-Polynesian Under the U.S. occupation and civil regime, English belanguages, whereas one, Chavacano, is a creole derived gan to be taught in schools. By 1901, public education
from a Romance language. Two are ocial (English used English as the medium of instruction. Around 600
and Filipino), while (as of 2015) nineteen are o- educators (called "Thomasites") who arrived in that year
cial auxiliary languages.[5][6] Including second-language aboard the USAT Thomas replaced the soldiers who also
speakers, there are more speakers of Filipino than En- functioned as teachers. The 1935 Constitution added English in the Philippines .
glish as an ocial language alongside Spanish. A proviThe Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino enumerated 135 sion in this constitution also called for Congress to take
Philippine languages present in the country through its steps toward the development and adoption of a common
national language based on one of the existing native lanAtlas Filipinas map published in 2014.
guages. On November 12, 1937, the First National AsThe indigenous scripts of the Philippines (Kulitan, sembly created the National Language Institute. PresiBaybayin, Tagbanwa and others) are rarely used; instead, dent Manuel L. Quezn appointed native Waray speaker
Filipino languages are today written in the Latin script be- Jaime C. De Veyra to chair a committee of speakers of
cause of the Spanish and American colonial experience. other regional languages. Their aim was to select a naThe Arabic script is also used in Muslim areas in some tional language among the other regional languages. Ulareas in southern Philippines. There is a current move- timately, Tagalog was chosen as the base language Dement in the country to pass the Baybayin Bill, which o- cember 30, 1937.[10]
cially declares Baybayin as the national writing script of
In 1939, President Manuel L. Quezn renamed the
the country along with the Latin script.
Tagalog language as Wikang Pambansa (national language in English translation).[11] The language was further renamed in 1959 as Pilipino by Secretary of Educa1 National and ocial languages
tion Jose Romero. The 1973 constitution declared the
Pilipino language to be co-ocial, along with English,
The 1987 Constitution declares Filipino as the national and mandated the development of a national language,
language of the country. Filipino and English are the to be known as Filipino. In addition, Spanish regained its
Marcos signed Presidential
ocial languages, with the recognition of the regional ocial status when President
[12]
Decree
No.
155,
s.
1973.
languages as auxiliary ocial in their respective regions, including Aklanon, Bikol, Cebuano, Chavacano,
Hiligaynon, Ibanag, Ilocano, Ivatan, Kapampangan,
Kinaray-a, Maguindanao, Maranao, Pangasinan, Sambal,
Surigaonon, Tagalog, Tausug, Waray, and Yakan.
Spanish and Arabic are to be promoted on an optional
and voluntary basis.[7]

The present constitution, ratied in 1987, designates Filipino and English as joint ocial languages. Filipino also
had the distinction of being a national language that was
to be developed and enriched on the basis of existing
Philippine and other languages. Although not explicitly
stated in the constitution, Filipino is in practice almost
completely composed of the Tagalog language as spoken in the capital, Manila; however, organizations such
as the University of the Philippines began publishing dictionaries such as the UP Diksyonaryong Filipino in which
words from various Philippine languages were also included. The constitution also made mention of Spanish
and Arabic, both of which are to be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis.

Spanish was the national and ocial language of the

country for more than three centuries under Spanish colonial rule, and became the lingua franca of the Philippines
in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1863 a Spanish
decree introduced universal education, creating free public schooling in Spanish.[8] It was also the language of the
Philippine Revolution, and the 1899 Malolos Constitution eectively proclaimed it as the ocial language of
the First Philippine Republic.[9] National hero Jos Rizal Filipino is an ocial language of education and also the
wrote most of his works in Spanish. Luciano de la Rosa major language of the broadcast media and cinema, but
established that Spanish was spoken by a total of 60% of
1

2 INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES
ident in major urban areas outside Metro Manila like
Camarines Norte in the Bikol-speaking area, and Davao
in the Cebuano-speaking area. Although the case of Ilocano and Cebuano are becoming more of bilingualism
than diglossia due to the publication of materials written
in these languages.
The diglossia is more evident in the case of other languages such as Pangasinan, Kapampangan, Bikol, Waray,
Hiligaynon, Sambal, and Maranao, where the written
variant of the language is becoming less and less popular to give way to the use of Filipino. Although Philippine laws consider some of these languages as major languages there is little, if any, support coming from the
government to preserve these languages. This may be
bound to change, however, given current policy trends.[13]

Language map of the 12 recognized auxiliary languages based

on Ethnologue maps.

less important than English as a language of publication

(except in some domains, like comic books) and less important for academic-scientic-technological discourse.
Filipino is used as a lingua franca in all regions of the
Philippines as well as within overseas Filipino communities, and is the dominant language of the armed forces
(except perhaps for the small part of the commissioned
ocer corps from wealthy or upper-middle-class families) and of a large part of the civil service, most of whom
are non-Tagalogs.
There are dierent forms of diglossia that exist in the
case of regional languages. Locals may use their mother
tongue or the regional lingua franca to communicate
amongst themselves, but sometimes switch to foreign languages when addressing outsiders. Another is the prevalence of code-switching to English when speaking in both
their rst language and Tagalog.

There still exists another type of diglossia, which is between the regional languages and the minority languages.
Here, we label the regional languages as acrolects while
the minority languages as the basilect. In this case, the
minority language is spoken only in very intimate circles, like the family or the tribe one belongs to. Outside
this circle, one would speak in the prevalent regional language, while maintaining an adequate command of Filipino for formal situations. Unlike the case of the regional languages, these minority languages are always in
danger of becoming extinct because of speakers favoring
the more prevalent regional language. Moreover, most of
the users of these languages are illiterate and as expected,
there is a chance that these languages will no longer be revived due to lack of written records.

2 Indigenous languages
According to Ethnologue, a total of 182 native languages
are spoken in the country and four languages have been
classied as extinct: Dicamay Agta, Katabaga, Tayabas
Ayta and Villaviciosa Agta.[14] Except for English,
Spanish, the varieties of Chinese (Philippine Hokkien,
Cantonese, and Mandarin), and Chavacano, all of the languages belong to the Malayo-Polynesian language family.
There are 13 indigenous languages with at least one
million native speakers: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano,
Hiligaynon, Waray, Kapampangan, Coastal Bikol,
Pangasinan, Maranao, Maguindanao, Kinaray-a, and
Tausug. One or more of these is spoken natively by more
than 90% of the population.

A Philippine language family identied by Robert Blust

The Constitution of the Philippines provides for the use includes languages of north Sulawesi and the Yami lanof the vernacular languages as ocial auxiliary languages guage of Taiwan, but excludes the SamaBajaw lanin provinces where Filipino is not the lingua franca. This guages of the Sulu Archipelago as well as a couple of
is however not implemented as Filipinos at large are North Bornean languages spoken in southern Palawan.
polyglots. In the case where the vernacular language is Eskayan is an articial auxiliary language created as the
a regional language, Filipinos would speak in Filipino embodiment of a Bohol nation in the aftermath of the
when speaking in formal situations while the regional lan- PhilippineAmerican War. It is used by about 500 peoguages are spoken in non-formal settings. This is ev- ple.

2.2

List of speakers per language

3
corresponding language, and a city/town in Bicol where
they are spoken. The nal translation is in Tagalog.
Haloy ka duman sa saodan? (Standard Coastal
Bikol, a dialect of Central Bikol; Canaman, Camarines Sur)
Aloy ka duman sa saodan? (Magarao, a variety of
Coastal Bikol; Magarao, Camarines Sur)
Huray ka doon sa saodan? (Northern Catanduanes
Bicolano or Pandan Bikol; Pandan, Catanduanes)
Naban ik sadt sran? (Rinconada Bikol; Iriga
City)
Nauban ik sadt sran? (Rinconada Bikol; Nabua,
Camarines Sur)
Uban ika adto sa saod? (Libon, Albay Bikol; Libon,
Albay)
Nagy ika adto sa saran? (Buhinon, Albay Bikol;
Buhi, Camarines Sur)
Eley ka idto sa sed? (West Miraya Bikol, Albay
Bikol; Oas, Albay)
Na-aly ika idto sa sran/mercado?(West Miraya
Bikol, Albay Bikol; Polangui, Albay)
Naulay ka didto sa saran? (East Miraya Bikol, Albay
Bikol; Daraga, Albay)

Major languages by region. Regions marked with diamonds denote the language comprises only a minority of the populace.

2.1

Mutual intelligibility

Philippine languages are often referred to by Filipinos

as dialects, partly as a relic of the inaccurate vocabulary used in literature during the American period (1898
1946).[11] While there are indeed many hundreds of dialects in the Philippines, they represent variations of no
fewer than 120 distinct languages, and many of these languages maintain greater dierences than those between
established European languages like French and Spanish.

Dugay ka didto sa mercado? (Ticao, Masbateo;

Monreal, Masbate)
Awat ka didto sa plasa? (Gubat, Southern Sorsogon;
Gubat, Sorsogon)
Matagal ka ba roon sa pamilihan? (Tagalog)
2.1.2 Philippine-language comparison chart

Below is a chart of Philippine languages. While there has

been misunderstandings on which ones should be classied as language and which ones should be classied as
dialect, the chart conrms that most have similarities, yet
The vast dierences between the languages can be seen are not mutually comprehensible. These languages are arin the following translations of the Philippine national ranged according to the regions they are natively spoken
proverb:
(from north to south, then east to west).
There is a language spoken by the Tao people (also known
as Yami) of Orchid Island of Taiwan which is not in2.1.1 Dialectal variation
cluded in the language of the Philippines. Their language,
The amount of dialectal variation varies from language Tao (or Yami) is part of the Batanic languages which into language. Languages like Tagalog, Kapampangan and cludes Ivatan, Babuyan, and Itbayat of the Batanes.
Pangasinense are known to have very moderate dialectal
variation.

2.2 List of speakers per language

In the languages of the Bicol Region, however, there is

great dialectal variation. There are towns which have
their own dialects. Below is the sentence Were you there
at the market for a long time?" translated into certain varieties of Bikol. The translation is followed by dialect and

Below are population estimates from the 2000 Philippine

census by the Philippine Statistics Authority on the number of Filipinos who speak the following 18 languages as
a native language.

4 135 LIVING PHILIPPINE LANGUAGES LISTED BY KOMISYON SA WIKANG FILIPINO IN 2014

Endangered and extinct languages in the Philippines

3.1

3.2.1 Vulnerable languages

3.2.2 Denitely endangered

2014 separate studies of Philippine en- 3.2.3 Severely endangered

dangered languages
3.2.4 Critically endangered

In a separate study by Thomas N. Headland, the Summer 3.2.5 Extinct

Institute of Linguistics in Dallas, and the University of
Dakota called Thirty Endangered Languages in the Philip4 135 Living Philippine Languages
pines, the Philippines has 32 endangered languages, but
Listed by Komisyon sa Wikang
2 of the listed languages in the study are written with 0
speakers, noting that they are extinct or probably extinct.
Filipino in 2014
All of the listed languages are Negrito languages, the oldest languages in the Philippines.[17]
Abellan
Agta Casiguran Dumagat

3.2

2010 UNESCO endangered and extinct

Philippine languages

Agta Dumagat Umiray

Agutaynen
Aklanon

Endangered and extinct languages in the Philippines are

based on the 3rd world volume released by UNESCO in
2010.

Alangan Mangyan

Degree of endangerment (UNESCO standard)

Alta Kabulowan

Alta

Arta
Safe: language is spoken by all generations; intergenerational transmission is uninterrupted

Asi
Atta
Ayta Ambala

Vulnerable: most children speak the language, but it

may be restricted to certain domains (e.g., home)

Ayta Kadi
Ayta Mag-antsi

Denitely endangered: children no longer learn the

language as mother tongue in the home

Ayta Magbeken
Ayta Mag-indi
Bahasa Sug

Severely endangered: language is spoken by grandparents and older generations; while the parent generation may understand it, they do not speak it to
children or among themselves

Balangaw
Bangon Mangyan
Bikol
Bikol Buhinon

Critically endangered: the youngest speakers are

grandparents and older, and they speak the language
partially and infrequently

Bikol Catanduanes
Bikol Miraya
Bikol Ronconada

Extinct: there are no speakers left >> included in the

Atlas if presumably extinct since the 1950s

Bikol Sorsogon
Binatak

5
Binukid

Ivatan

Blaan

Jama Mapun

Bolinaw

Kabalianon

Bugkalut

Kagayanen

Buhid Mangyan

Kalagan

Butuanon

Kalamyanen

Chanakano

Kalanguya

Filipino

Kaluyanon

Finallig

Kamayo

Finontok

Kananaey

Ga'dang

Kapampangan

Gaddang

Karaw

Gubatnon Mangyan

Karol-an

Hamtikanon

Kasiguranin

Hanunuo Mangyan

Kinalinga

Higaonon

Kinaray-a

Hiligaynon

Klata

Ibaloy

Kolibugan

Ibanag

Kuyunon

Ifugaw

Ligbuk

Iguwak

Magindanawon

Ilokano

Malaweg

Inabaknon

Malaynon

Inagta Mt. Iraya

Mamanwa

Inagta Mt. Iriga

Mandaya

Inagta Mt. Isarog

Manide

Inata

Manobo Agusan

Inete

Manobo Aromanen

Ini

Manobo Ata

Iranun

Manobo Dibabawon

Iraya Mangyan

Manobo Dulangan

Irungdungan

Manobo Ilyanen

Isanay

Manobo Kalamansig

Isnag

Manobo Kinamigin

Itawit

Manobo Matigsalug

Itneg

Manobo Sarangani

5
Manobo Tigwahanon
Mansaka
Masbatenyo
Menuvu Ubo
Meranaw
Minagahat
Minenuvu
Mlobog
Onhan
Palaw-an
Pangasinan
Pannon
Paranan
Porohanon
Ratagnon Mangyan
Sama
Sambal
Sangire
Sebwano

MAJOR IMMIGRANT LANGUAGES

5 Major immigrant languages

5.1 Hokkien Chinese
Main article: Philippine Hokkien
Diplomatic ties with the Ming dynasty among some established states or kingdoms in Luzon and direct interactions and trade overall within the archipelago as a whole
may go as far back as the early 10th century. Mandarin
Chinese is the medium of instruction in Chinese schools
and the lingua franca of mainland and overseas Chinese.
The Lan-nang variant of Hokkien Chinese is the language
of the majority the Chinese in the Philippines, who immigrated from the Fujian (pronounced locally as Fukien
or Hokkien) province in China. Other varieties of Chinese such as Hakka and Cantonese, are spoken among the
Chinese in the Philippines who are descendants of people
from Guangdong province in China.
As with Spanish, many native languages have co-opted
numerous loanwords from Chinese, in particular words
that refer to cuisine, household objects, and Philippine
kinship terminology.

5.2 English
Main articles: Philippine English, Taglish, Bislish, and
Englog

Sinadanga
Subanen
Surigawnon
Tadyawan Mangyan
Tagabawa

The rst signicant exposure of Filipinos to the English

language occurred in 1762 when the British invaded
Manila, but this was a brief episode that had no lasting inuence. English later became more important
and widespread during American rule between 1898 and
1946, and remains an ocial language of the Philippines.

Yakan

English is used in ocial documents of business, government, the legal system, medicine, the sciences and as
a medium of instruction. Filipinos prefer textbooks for
subjects like calculus, physics, chemistry, biology, etc.,
written in English rather than Filipino. However, the topics are usually taught, even in colleges, in Tagalog or the
local language. By way of contrast, native languages are
often heard in colloquial and domestic settings, spoken
mostly with family and friends. The use of English attempts to give an air of formality, given its use in school,
government and various ceremonies. A percentage of the
media such as cable television and newspapers are also
in English; major television networks such as ABS-CBN
and GMA and all AM radio stations broadcast primarily
in Filipino. However, a 2009 article by a UNICEF worker
reported that the level of spoken English language in the
Philippines was poor. The article reported that aspiring
Filipino teachers score the lowest in English out of all of
the subjects on their licensing exams.[18]

Yogad

A large inux of English words has been assimilated into

Tagabulos
Tagakaulo
Tagalog
Tagbanwa
Tawbuwid Mangyan
Tboli
Teduray
Tenap
Tinalaandig
Umayamnon
Waray

5.5

Malay / Indonesian

Tagalog and the other native languages called Taglish or

Bislish. There is a debate, however, on whether there is
diglossia or bilingualism, between Filipino and English.
Filipino is also used both in formal and informal situations. Though the masses would prefer to speak in Filipino, government ocials tend to speak in English when
performing government functions. There is still resistance to the use of Filipino in courts and the drafting of
national statutes.
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 former Chief Justice Reynato Puno to implement the
program in other areas such as Laguna, Cavite, Quezn,
Nueva cija, Batangas, Rizal, and Metro Manila.[19]

5.3

Arabic

Arabic is used by some Filipino Muslims in both a

liturgical and instructional capacity since the arrival of
Islam and establishment of several Sultanates in the 14th
century. Along with Malay, Arabic was the lingua franca
of the Malay Archipelago among Muslim traders and the
Malay aristocracy.
The 1987 Constitution mandates that Arabic (along with
Spanish) is to be promoted on an optional and voluntary basis. As of 2015 Arabic is taught for free and is
promoted in some Islamic centres predominantly in the
southern most parts of Philippines. It is used primarily in
religious activities and education (such as in a madrasa or
Islamic school) and rarely for ocial events or daily conversation. In this respect, its function and use is somewhat
like the traditional roles of Latin and Spanish in Filipino
Catholicism vis--vis other currently spoken languages.

5.4

Japanese

The Japanese rst came to the Philippines around the

11th century CE, the rst country they emigrated to, as
well as in waves from the 15th century, 17th century, late
19th century, 1900s, 1930s, and the 1940s.[20][21][22][23]
There is a small Japanese community and a school for
Japanese in Metro Manila due to the number of Japanese
companies. Also there is a large community of Japanese
and Japanese descendants in Laguna province, Baguio
City, and in the Davao Region. Davao City is a home
to a large population of Japanese descendants. Japanese
laborers were hired by American companies like the National Fiber Company (NAFCO) in the rst decades of
the 20th century to work in abaca plantations. Japanese
were known for their hard work and industry. During

7
World War II, Japanese schools were present in Davao
City.

5.5 Malay / Indonesian

Main article: Malay language in the Philippines
Malay is spoken as a lingua franca in the southernmost
parts of the Philippines, from Zamboanga down to TawiTawi among a minority of the Tausug, Bajau, and Yakan
peoples. It is also spoken as a daily language by Malays
and Indonesians who have settled, or do business in
the Philippines. It is also spoken in southern Palawan
to some extent. It is not spoken among the Maranao
and Maguindanao people. Malaysia, Indonesia, and the
southern Philippines are largely Islamic and the liturgical
language of Islam is Arabic, but the vast majority of Muslims in the Philippines have little practical knowledge of
Arabic beyond limited religious terminology.
Old Malay and Indonesian cultures and civilizations in ancient Sumatra and Java inuenced the history, lifestyles,
and culture of Philippine peoples. The Malay language,
along with Philippine languages belonging to the MalayoPolynesian language family, has also had an immense inuence on many if not most of the languages spoken in
the Philippines. Roughly a third of all commonly used
verbs and nouns used in the Philippines are of Old Malay
origin. This is because Old Malay used to be the lingua
franca throughout the archipelago, a good example of this
is Magellans translator Enrique using Malay to converse
with the native Sugbuanon(Cebuano) during this time period.
An example of Old Malay and Javanese languages spoken
in Philippine history can be seen in the language of the
10th-century Laguna Copperplate Inscription.
When the Spanish had rst arrived in the Philippines
in the 16th century, Old Malay was spoken among the
aristocracy.
It is believed that Ferdinand Magellans Moluccan slave
Enrique could converse with local leaders in Cebu island,
conrming to Magellan his arrival in Southeast Asia.
Today, Indonesian is taught as a foreign language in
the Department of Linguistics and Asian Languages in
the University of the Philippines. Also, the Indonesian
School in Davao City teaches the language to preserve
the culture of Indonesian immigrants there. The Indonesian Embassy in Manila also oers occasional classes for
Filipinos and foreigners.
Since 2013, the Indonesian Embassy in the Philippines
has given basic Indonesian language training to members
of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.[24]
In an interview, Department of Education Secretary
Armin Luistro[25] said that the countrys government
should promote Indonesian or Malay, which are related

MAJOR IMMIGRANT LANGUAGES

to Filipino. Thus, the possibility of oering it as an op- University of San Carlos in Cebu. The 1987 Constitutional subject in public schools is being studied.
tion mandates that Spanish (along with Arabic) is to be
promoted on an optional and voluntary basis.
Many historical documents, land titles, and works of literature are written in Spanish and are still not translated
into Filipino languages, despite the fact that some such
Main article: Spanish language in the Philippines
as land titles have legal value. Spanish, through colonization has contributed the largest number of loanwords and
Spanish was introduced in the islands after 1565, when expressions in Tagalog, Cebuano, and other Philippine
the Spanish conquistador Miguel Lpez de Legazpi set languages.[28]
sail from Mexico and founded the rst Spanish settlement
on Ceb. However, it is rarely spoken today.[18]
5.6.1 Spanish creoles
In 1593, the rst printing press in the Philippine islands
was founded and it released the rst (albeit polyglot) Main article: Chavacano
book, the Doctrina Christiana that same year. In the 17th
century, Spanish religious orders founded the rst universities in the Philippines, some of which are considered There are several Spanish-based creole languages in the
the oldest in Asia. During colonial rule through Mexico, Philippines, collectively called Chavacano. These may be
Spanish was the language of education, trade, politics, split into two major geographical groups:
and religion, and by the 19th century, became the colonys
In Luzon:
lingua franca although it was mainly used by the educated
Filipinos.[26] In 1863, a Spanish decree introduced a sys Caviteo (Chabacano de Cavite), spoken in
tem of public education, creating free public schooling in
Cavite City, Cavite.
Spanish. In the 1890s, the Philippines had a prominent

Ternateo (Chabacano de Barra), spoken in

group of Spanish-speaking scholars called the Ilustrados,
Ternate, Cavite.
such as Jos Rizal. Some of these scholars participated in
the Philippine Revolution and later in the struggle against
Ermitao (Chabacano de Ermita), formerly
American occupation. Both the Malolos Constitution and
spoken in Ermita, Manila but is now extinct.
the Lupang Hinirang (national anthem) were written in
The last reported speakers were a woman and
Spanish.
her grandson during the 1980s and 1990s.
Under U.S. rule, the English language began to be pro In Mindanao:
moted instead of Spanish. The use of Spanish began to
decline some years after Spain was forced to pass the
Zamboangueo Chavacano (Chabacano de
islands to the United States as a result of the introducZamboanga / Zamboangueo Chavacano),
tion of English into the public schools as a language of
spoken in Zamboanga City, Zamboanga
instruction.[8] The 1950 census stated that Filipinos who
Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del
spoke Spanish as a rst or second language made up only
Norte, Basilan Province, Sulu Province,
6% of the population. In 1990, the census reported that
Tawi-Tawi
Province
and
Semporna,
the number had dwindled to just 2,500. Recent estiSabah, Malaysia (360,000 native speakersmates indicate that while around 3 million people can
Zamboanga City alone as per 2000 census,
speak Spanish with varying degrees of competency, only
making it the most spoken form and known
around 439,000 people can speak the language at a native
form of Chavacano)
level.[27]
Cotabateo (Chabacano de Cotabato), spoken

5.6

Spanish

Spanish briey lost its status as an ocial language in the

1973 constitution but regained ocial status two months
later when President Marcos signed Presidential Decree
No. 155.[12] With the promulgation of the 1987 constitution, Spanish lost its ocial status and it was dropped as
a college requirement during Corazn Aquino's administration. Former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a
third-language Spanish speaker, introduced legislation to
re-establish the instruction of Spanish in 2009 in the state
education system. Today, the language is still spoken by
Filipino-Spanish mestizos and Spanish families who are
mainly concentrated in Metro Manila, Iloilo and Cebu. It
remains a required subject in some academic institutions,
such as the University of Santo Toms in Manila and the

in Cotabato
Davaoeo Abakay (Chabacano de Davao),
spoken in Davao City

5.7 South Asian languages

Since pre-Spanish times, there have been small Indian
communities in the Philippines. Indians tend to be
able to speak Tagalog and the other native languages,
and are often uent in English. Among themselves,
Sindhi and Punjabi are used. Urdu is spoken among the
Pakistani community. Only few South Asians, such as
Pakistani, as well as the recent newcomers like speakers

9
of Marathi, Nepali, and Tamil retain their own respective
languages.[20][29][30][31][32][33]

See also
Filipino alphabet
Filipino orthography
Philippine languages

References

Notes

[1] Constitution of the Philippines 1987,[2] Article XIV, Section 7.

[2] The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines GOVPH.
[3] Constitution of the Philippines 1987,[2] Article XIV,
Section 6.</ref>Regional languages
Aklanon
Basian
Bikol
Cebuano
Chavacano
Hiligaynon
Ibanag
Ilocano
Ilonggo
Ivatan
Kapampangan
Kinaray-a
Maguindanao
Maranao
Pangasinan
Sambal
Surigaonon
Tagalog
Tausug
Waray
Yakan<ref name='7 mother tounges>DepEd adds
7 languages to mother tongue-based education for
Kinder to Grade 3. GMA News. July 13, 2013.
[4] McFarland, C. D. (1993). Subgrouping and Number of
Philippine Languages.
[5]

[6] The regional languages are the auxiliary ocial languages

in the regions and shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein... Article XIV Section 7.
[7] Article XIV, Sec 7: For purposes of communication and
instruction, the ocial languages of the Philippines are
Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English.
The regional languages are the auxiliary ocial languages
in the regions and shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein. Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a
voluntary and optional basis.
[8] Philippines - EDUCATION. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
[9] Article 93 of the Malolos Constitution reads, Art. 93.
The use of languages spoken in the Philippines shall be
optional. This use cannot be regulated except by virtue
of law, and solely for acts of public authority and in the
courts. For these acts the Spanish language will be used
in the meantime.
[10] Manuel L. Quezon (December 1937). Speech of His Excellency, Manuel L. Quezn, President of the Philippines
on Filipino national language. (PDF). p. 4. Retrieved
2009-01-14.
[11] Andrew Gonzalez (1998). The Language Planning Situation in the Philippines (PDF). Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. 19 (5, 6): 487525.
doi:10.1080/01434639808666365. Retrieved 2007-0324.
[12] Presidential Decree No. 155 : Philippine Laws, Statutes
and Codes. Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. Retrieved
15 March 2015.
[13] Ricardo Ma. Nolasco. Maraming Wika, Matatag na
Bansa - Chairman Nolasco (in Filipino). Commission
on the Filipino Language. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
[14] Lewis, M. Paul; Simons, Gary F., eds.
(2015).
Ethnologue: Languages of the World (18 ed.). Dallas,
Texas: SIL International.
[15] Philippine Census, 2000. Table 11. Household Population by Ethnicity, Sex and Region: 2000
[16] Lobel, Jason. An Satuyang Tataramon - Ethnologue.
Central Bicolano (Dialects: Naga, Legazpi, Daet, Partido,
and Virac)
[17] Headland, Thomas N. (1 January 2003). Thirty endangered languages in the Philippines.
[18] Adriano, Joel. The Philippines: still grappling with English. Safe-democracy.org. Forum for a safer democracy.
Retrieved 15 February 2015.
[19] Inquirer.net, 3 Bulacan courts to use Filipino in judicial
proceedings
[20] Philippinealmanac.com. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
[21] Paul Kekai Manansala. Quests of the Dragon and Bird
Clan. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
[22] Ancient Japanese pottery in Boljoon town. Retrieved 15
March 2015.

10

[23] Philippines History, Culture, Civilization and Technology, Filipino. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
[24] Indonesian Language Club - Embassy of Indonesia Washington D.C..
[25] Rainier Alain, Ronda (22 March 2013). Bahasa in
schools? DepEd eyes 2nd foreign language. The Philippine Star. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
[26] Estadisticas: El idioma espaol en Filipinas. Retrieved
15 March 2015.
[27] El espaol, una lengua viva: Informe 2012 (PDF) (in
Spanish). pp. 6 and 10. Retrieved 2015-03-15. (439,000
native speakers + 2,557,773 limited competency + 20,492
students.)
[28] Spanish language in Philippines. Retrieved 1 March
2015.
[29] Going Banana. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
[30] KINDING SINDAW.
[31] The Indian in the Filipino - INQUIRER.net, Philippine
News for Filipinos. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
[32] Rising India and Indian Communities in East Asia. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
[33] Indian Communities in Southeast Asia (First Reprint 2006).
Retrieved 15 March 2015.

General references
Bellwood, Peter; Fox, James; & Tryon, Darrell
(1995). The Austronesians: Historical and comparative perspectives. Department of Anthropology, Australian National University. ISBN 0-73152132-3.
Ethnologue report for Philippines.
Lobel, Jason William; Wilmer Joseph S. Tria
(2000). An Satuyang Tataramon: A Study of the
Bikol language. Lobel & Tria Partnership Co. ISBN
971-92226-0-3.
Malcolm Warren Mintz (2001). Bikol. Facts
About the Worlds Languages: an Encyclopedia of
the Worlds Major Languages, Past and Present.
ISBN 0-8242-0970-2.
Reid, Lawrence A. (1971). Philippine minor Languages: Word lists and phonologies. University of
Hawai'i Press. ISBN 0-87022-691-6.
Rubino, Carl Ralph Galvez (1998). Tagalog-English
English-Tagalog Dictionary. Hippocrene Books.
ISBN 0-7818-0961-4.
Rubino, Carl Ralph Galvez (2000). Ilocano Dictionary and Grammar. University of Hawai'i Press.
ISBN 0-8248-2088-6.

EXTERNAL LINKS

Carl Ralph Galvez Rubino. The Philippine National Proverb. Translated into various Philippine
languages. Retrieved July 28, 2005.
Sundita, Christopher Allen (2002). In Bahasa Sug:
An Introduction to Tausug. Lobel & Tria Partnership, Co. ISBN 971-92226-6-2.
Christopher Sundita. Languages or Dialects?".
Understanding the Native Tongues of the Philippines.
Archived from the original on 2006-06-16. Retrieved July 28, 2005.
Yap, Fe Aldave (1977). A Comparative Study of
Philippine Lexicons. Institute of Philippine languages, Department of Education, Culture, and
Sports. ISBN 971-8705-05-8.
R. David Zorc (1977). The Bisayan dialects of the
Philippines: Subgrouping and reconstruction. Pacic Linguistics. C (44).
R. David Zorc (2001). Hiligaynon. Facts About
the Worlds Languages: an Encyclopedia of the
Worlds Major Languages, Past and Present.
Joseph Reylan B. Viray (2006). Dagang Simbahan. Makata International Journal of Poetry. 7
(12).
Luciano de la Rosa (1960). El Filipino: Origen y
Connotacin. El renacimiento lipino.

8 Further reading
Dedai, Mirjana N.; Nelson, Daniel N. (2003). At
War With Words. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 3-11017649-1. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
Hamers, Josiane F. (2000). Bilinguality and Bilingualism. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-52164843-2. Retrieved 2007-10-04.

9 External links
Ricardo Maria Nolasco on the diversity of languages
in the Philippines
Lawrence R. Reid webpage of Dr. Lawrence A.
Reid. Researcher Emeritus of linguistics at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Has researched Philippine languages for decades.
The Metamorphosis of Filipino as a National Language
Carl Rubino webpage of Dr. Carl Rubino. A Filipino linguist who has studied Philippine languages.

11
Literatura hispanolipina: siglos XVII al XX by Edmundo Farolan Romero, with a brief Philippine poetry anthology in Spanish.
Salita Blog by Christopher Sundita. A blog about
a variety of issues concerning the languages of the
Philippines.
Espaniero An Online Spanish conversation group for
Pinoys
Philippine Language Tree
The Language Planning Situation in the Philippines,
by Andrew Gonzlez, FSC
kaibigankastila webpage of the Spanish culture in
the Philippines.
Linguistic map of the Philippines at Muturzikin.com
On linguistic mutual intolerance in the Philippines
Filipino Translator
Tagalog Translator Online Online dictionary for
translating Tagalog from/to English, including expressions and latest headlines regarding the Philippines.
Linguistic map of the Philippines
Linguistic map of the Philippines

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10

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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Languages of the Philippines Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_Philippines?oldid=751031719 Contributors:

Seav, Mcarling, Ahoerstemeier, Ronaldo Guevara, Vanished user 5zariu3jisj0j4irj, Dysprosia, WhisperToMe, Maximus Rex, Furrykef,
Christopher Sundita, Warofdreams, AnonMoos, Robbot, Jaredwf, RedWolf, Jondel, Tarong, Senor fjord, Graeme Bartlett, Netoholic,
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Hintha, A2Kar, Carbon Caryatid, Jtalledo, Paleorthid, Dowcet, Wtmitchell, Garzo, Mikenassau, Woohookitty, Sburke, Stevey7788, Liqk,
Dpv, Rjwilmsi, Srs, Amire80, Funnyhat, FlaBot, CalJW, Gurch, Tedder, Chobot, Bgwhite, Check two you, RussBot, DanMS, C777,
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Kontrapunto, Ramirez72, Scanlan, AtticusX, Filipinayzd, Ling.Nut, Nyttend, KConWiki, Fabrictramp, Ekotkie, STBot, Nsaada, Nasugbu
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Prof saxx, ClueBot, PipepBot, Fred122003, Niceguyedc, Marxolang, Taga guinpucan, Leeheonjin, Kanguole, Sun Creator, J.J. Nario,
DeltaQuad, Perkeleperkele, SchreiberBike, Acer Cyle, MelonBot, Aamma58, Numen17, Mr. Gerbear, Rreagan007, BriefError, Badgernet, Addbot, DOI bot, Cuaxdon, Download, WikiEditor50, Bacoleo, Numbo3-bot, Tide rolls, Lightbot, Ben Ben, Yobot, A mancini2,
Rebornkix, Spaceinput120, AnomieBOT, Ecalzona, Yurivich0909, Jim1138, Materialscientist, TheTechieGeek63, Citation bot, Jg 1santos,
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Dinamik-bot, Visite fortuitement prolonge, , Pragmaticsgirl, CalicoCatLover, Siatze 25, EmausBot, Felipe1966, WikitanvirBot,
Agustin pascual, Zollerriia, Dewritech, Racerx11, L235, Dcirovic, RNAlonto, Findingrico, H3llBot, Sinama-Webmaster, L Kensington,
ElockidAlternate, ClueBot NG, Jack Greenmaven, Mhderi, Catlemur, Indrapatra01, Widr, Rurik the Varangian, Sangchaud, Helpful
Pixie Bot, Fcbelmontejr, BG19bot, Itomo14, PhnomPencil, PaintedCarpet, TBrandley, Enciclopediaenlinea, ChrisGualtieri, Lubiesque,
Stumink, Deathlasersonline, Rapidolatigo, Sanglahi86, Rmgomm, Sultan of Gandamatto, SergioP2001, Rajmaan, Kail0210, Chessrat,
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