Learning TAGALOG

Oftentimes I wonder, which language should we introduced first to Zidane. Shall it be English? well... that should be a no brainer since we are living outside of our "inang bayan". BUT I want my son to learn our native language and most of all our National Language - TAGALOG.

TAGALOG is one of the major languages spoken in the Philippines, mostly by people from the Tagalog regions in the main island of Luzon. It is the lingua franca in Metro Manila, the national capital region of the country. It also serves as a base for Filipino, one of the two official languages of the Philippines (along with English). Read this interesting essay on the metamorphosis of Filipino as national language.

The TAGALOG language has very strong affinity with Malay languages (Bahasa Indonesia/Malay). However, due to more than 300 years of Spanish colonial rule over the Philippines, the language has incorporated a significant number of Spanish words and expressions. The language also includes words and phrases that are rooted in English and Chinese.

According to the 1990 and 2000 United States Census, TAGALOG is the second most commonly-spoken Asian language (after Chinese) in the United States, and the sixth non-English language spoken in America. TAGALOG is the lingua franca of Filipinos anywhere in the world. Most Southeast Asian scholars use TAGALOG as the tool for research in the Philippines. It is also the language of major works in literature and that of Philippine films and songs.

Here are some links I had compiled in quest of learning TAGALOG:

• TAGALOG for Kids