What is Tagalog?

What is Tagalog?

It is the basis of Philippines national language - Filipino.

Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 22 million people. It is related to Austronesian languages such as Chamorro (of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands), Indonesian, Malay, Javanese and Paiwan (of Taiwan), Fijian, Cham (of Vietnam and Cambodia), and Tetum (of East Timor).

The word Tagalog derived from tagailog, from tagá- meaning "native of" and ílog meaning "river." Thus, it means "river dweller."

Tagalog was declared the official language by the first constitution in the Philippines, the Constitution of Biak-na-Bato in 1897. In 1935, the Philippine constitution designated English and Spanish as official languages, but mandated the development and adoption of a common national language based on one of the existing native languages. After study and deliberation, the National Language Institute, a
committee composed of seven members who represented various regions in the Philippines, chose Tagalog as the basis for the evolution and adoption of the national language of the Philippines.[7][14] President Manuel L. Quezon then, on December 30, 1937, proclaimed the selection of the Tagalog language to be used as the basis for the evolution and adoption of the national language of the Philippines. In 1939 President Quezon renamed the proposed Tagalog-based national language as wikang pambansâ (national language).] In 1939, the language was further
renamed as "Pilipino".

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