The Misleading Filipino-Tagalog Analogy

Remember a certain thread that circulated on the internet which tried to argue that the difference between Filipino language and Tagalog language is that the former borrows foreign words, whereas the latter does not? Let me give a clear sample.

Filipino: Solusyon sa problema

Tagalog: Kalutasan sa suliranin

Perhaps it’s very convenient to say that solusyon sa problema is Filipino because it’s casual, while kalutasan sa suliranin is Tagalog because it’s deep. However, associating one with the other is a very misleading analogy. Here are some reasons why:

1. Take note that Filipino language was just created in 1987.

Tagalog speakers have long been using the words solusyon and problema way before then. In fact, both Spanish and English loanwords have existed in Tagalog vocabulary way before Filipino was created (Ramos, 1971)(Zuraw, 1996). This erroneous idea can easily be debunked by observing your textbooks in Filipino, which are mostly written in “deep” vocabulary, while conversing with your seatmate in Filipino class uses “casual” vocabulary. However, Tagalog language has formal and informal register and this is where the “deep” and “casual” language stems from. It does not pertain to another language, but it pertains to the way these languages are used in formal and informal settings. Almost all languages in the world have this feature.

Example of how formal language is used: literature, journalism, media, speech, academic papers, business and law documents, and more.

Example of how informal language is used: personal emails, text message, diaries, short notes, casual conversations with friends, and more.

2. There is no such thing as “pure” Tagalog.

A pure language is a myth in linguistics due to the fact that all languages evolve and borrow from one another. A language that does not borrow is a dead language. Tagalog has Austronesian roots, and one can suppose that it has heavily borrowed from Malay and other neighboring countries during its development.

Question: Can we suppose that the word “o” (in English “or”) is not used in Tagalog because it’s derived from Spanish?

Answer: No! Because the obsolete Tagalog word kun is no longer used when Tagalog vocabulary adapted the Spanish o as a replacement (Blake, 1925). This is true for thousands of other Spanish loanwords that has entered Tagalog vocabulary, especially in the 16th century when Spanish became the official language of the Philippines.

English and Spanish have influences in Tagalog language and it has undergone huge changes in Tagalog morphosyntax before Filipino was created. Basically, telling me “Suliranin is to Tagalog as Problema is to Filipino” is a questionable analogy given the facts.

3. Tagalog can borrow, just as how other Philippine languages can.

Major languages in the Philippines like Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Sugbuanon, and Bicol have used Spanish and English loanwords in their dictionaries, yet it did not constrict them from being languages of their own. It’s a mindboggling idea to suggest that Tagalog is no longer Tagalog just because it uses Spanish and English loanwords (Baklanova, 2004).

Using the same analogy, let’s break down this another example:

Filipino: Naiintindihan ko ang lenggwaheng ginagamit ng lolo ko.

Tagalog: Nauunawaan ko ang wikang sinasambit ng aking lolo.

Again, this is a wrong analogy due to the same reasons mentioned before. One cannot say that lolo ko is Filipino while aking lolo is Tagalog. These are formal and informal register confused into Filipino and Tagalog. Both of these can appear in both Filipino and Tagalog sentences.

Question: The words intindi (Sp. entender) and lenggwahe (Sp. lenguaje) are loanwords, so are they Filipino? No! Tagalog uses these words too and both of them can be used in both Filipino and Tagalog sentences. At the same time, no one can say that wika is Tagalog just because it’s pure. It’s not pure! It’s also a loanword from Sanskrit जिह्विका​ (jihvikā​, meaning tongue).

Why it should stop?

Try saying lenggwaheng nasyonal instead of pambansang wika if you don’t feel funny about it. It’s okay for the public to acknowledge that Tagalog has loanwords because loaning is not an issue and it does not make a language separate from another language. Many words in Tagalog like makata (Sanskrit कथा kathā), paksa (Sanskrit पक्ष pakṣa), usap (Malay ucap), luwalhati (Malay luwar+hati) and thousands of other “pure” and “deep” words were also borrowed. So why do we keep misleading everyone that Filipino has loanwords while Tagalog does not have, when seemingly majority of its vocabulary are borrowed from Malay, Sanskrit, Hokkien, Spanish, English, etc.? (Baklanova, 2013).

Sources:

Blake, F.R., 𝘈 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. New Haven, Conn., American oriental society. p. 77., 1925

Ramos, T.V., 𝘛𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 1971.

Zuraw, K., 𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴: 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘹𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴. Los Angeles: University of California, 1996.

Baklanova, E., 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘈𝘴 𝘢 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨. Pilipinas: A Journal of Philippine Studies, (42), 95–116, 2004.

Baklanova, E., 𝘛𝘺𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘛𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨/𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰. Ateneo de Manila University. Kritika Kultura 28 (2017): –054, 2013.