The Philippines is an archipelagic country comprising more than seven thousand islands scattered all over the country. During low tide, the number of islands is higher as some of the islets are submerged in seawater during high tide. With this kind of topography, traveling from one island to another requires a boat or any form of seacraft to be able to reach their destination.
Diverse Culture
Aside from being an archipelagic country, the Philippines is also culturally-diverse which is the assimilation of different cultures from the colonizers. Each of the three colonizers brought with them their culture and had been embraced by the Filipinos. Aside from cultural diversity, the country also has thousands of different dialects spread across the country.
The Waray is spoken by Filipinos who live in Samar and parts of Leyte, Cebuano is spoken by people in Bohol, Cebu, and Negros Oriental, Ilonggo spoken by the people of Ilo-Ilo and the island of Panay, and Kapampangan spoken by the people of Pampanga. Hundreds of other lesser-known dialects are spoken by Filipinos.
The aforesaid are just some of the biggest regional dialects spoken by millions of Filipinos in different provinces and regions of the country. Add to these dialects is the Chavacano, a Spanish creole spoken by residents in Zamboanga City and certain towns of Cavite Province in Luzon Philippines.
Expectedly, if you were a foreign visitor in any Philippine province, you would be having a communication gap with the natives in the province visited. Admittedly, the communication gap also takes place even among the Filipinos as dialects are different from one another.
The Filipino Language
To address the communication gap, a foreign visitor should learn the basic Filipino language to be able to understand and converse with the Filipinos. Aside from the English language, the Filipino language is spoken and understood by Filipinos across the country as this language is taught from basic education to higher education.
In the Philippines, there are numerous Filipino language-speaking foreigners who have acquired the language either formally or informally. Foreigners have acquired the Filipino language through conversation with Filipino friends. Others may acquire from their Filipina girlfriends. And some foreigners acquire language from their tutors.
Ironically, some of these Filipino-speaking foreigners speak more fluently than the natives particularly those Filipinos who live far from Filipino-speaking Philippine provinces like in the provinces of Visayas and Mindanao.
But why do some Filipinos do not want to converse in their own language?
It’s quite ironic that some Filipinos do not want to use and converse in their own language. There are many Filipinos who do not want to speak their own language for so many reasons foremost of which is they feel awkward speaking their own language. Another reason is some Filipinos are not used to speaking their national language. Their conversation in the language is limited to a classroom during Filipino subjects.
How to Learn the Filipino Language?
Is it hard to learn the Filipino language? Well, it depends on the Filipino language learner. If the person has an interest to learn the language then it would be easier for him/her to learn.
But in what ways does a Filipino language learner learn? Well, there are so many fun, easy, and effective ways of learning the Filipino language.
How to Learn the Filipino Language?
If you think that learning the Filipino language is difficult and boring, you are absolutely wrong. Learning the Filipino language is fun and easy. Below are the helpful tips to learn the Filipino language:
Conversing with Filipino Friends
When in the Philippines, one of the effective ways to acquire the language is to befriend as many Filipinos as you can. Filipinos are naturally friendly, happy people, so befriending them is not that difficult. Hang with them and listen to the conversation of your Filipino friends and later on, you will slowly understand and acquire the basic Filipino language. After a few months, and without you knowing, you’re already conversing with your Filipino friends in their language.
Watch Game Shows
Another easy, fun way of acquiring the Filipino language is to watch the game, entertaining shows using the Filipino language. In this way, it’s like hitting two birds in one stone. Aside from enjoyment while watching game shows, you will also acquire the Filipino language.
Once you have learned the basic Filipino words, try to sing along with Filipino songs. This is just one of the fun ways of learning the Filipino language. And once you have already mastered the verbal Filipino language, it’s time to level up your knowledge in the language. You can now put your knowledge of the Filipino language into writing. If you were into music, try to compose songs using basic Filipino words.
Peer Tutorial
If you were a foreigner who really wants to learn the Filipino language particularly its grammar, orthography, and morphology, and if you are willing to spend a certain amount of money, you may hire a Filipino language teacher. In the Philippines, there are a lot of dedicated, friendly Filipino language tutors who are more than willing to share their knowledge in the language with other people.
Mixed Language
Contrary to the popular belief, the Filipino language is a mixture of different languages as a result of creolization among different nationalities who had been to the Philippines, particularly the Spaniards. More than three (3) centuries have passed yet their cultural influences are still evident in the lives of Filipinos today. Below are just some of the many words borrowed from the Spaniards:
● Things - pantalon, sapatos,cuarta, cuchara, tinidor
● Days - viernes, martes, miyerkules, lunes
● Saints - San Pedro, San Juan, Sto. Niño
● Names of People - Alberto, Antonio, Marco, Jose, Pedro, Juan
● Family Names - Rodriguez, Fernandez, Velasquez
Aside from the Spanish words which are found in the Filipino language dictionary, there are also words borrowed from other people who were able to set foot on the Philippine soil like the Chinese, Malays, and other people who used to interact with the Filipinos.
Like any other language, learning the Filipino language is fun and easy. It all boils down to the second language learner’s interest and determination in learning the language. In fact, there are a number of foreigners who have acquired the Filipino language informally like listening to the conversation of the Filipinos.
Photo credit to John Tewell/Flickr
Trivia:
How many letters does a Filipino alphabet have? The answer to this question will be answered in the next blog.