Below is an article by Jon Cardozo I recently found that discussess the Tagalog Language and adds some information to what I have previously provided especially as it applies to the discussion of the syllabic alphabet and various dialects. I hope you enjoy.

The Tagalog Language

Tagalog is the language of the Republic of the Philippines. It is one of the most spoken languages of the Filipino culture. It is also referred to as Filipino. While the Tagalog language has existed for several years the country adopted the more common name to help with the acceptance of the actual language among other Filipino individuals. According to statistics Tagalog is spoken as a first language by over 24 million individuals and as a second language by more than 65 million.

The Tagalog language has its origins from before the 16th century Spanish conquest of the islands. It seems that the Tagalog tribes originated about the same time as the Northeastern Mindanao and Eastern Visayas. The first book to be written in the historical Tagalog language was written in 1593. With the coming of the Spanish many of the grammar and dictionaries changed to include more Spanish words or changes in the language.

Today the language that is spoken as Tagalog has been modified by the inclusion of words from other existing Philippine languages to give it a broader use. The Baybayin Alphabet depicts the actual written words of the Tagalog. While it has changed over the course of history to have a Latin alphabet as well there are still some notable features to consider. First the syllabic alphabet is the type of writing system. It means that each consonant has an inherent vowel. In other words, the alphabet is like this a, ba, ka, da, ga, and on through the entire alphabet. The vowels can also be muted if a plus sign is added to the written language. Unlike most languages of Asia the writing style is left to right in horizontal lines.

There are also many dialects within the Tagalog language. The dialects pronounce or write the language a little differently than the most common form of Tagalog. For instance in the south the glottal stop found after consonants and before vowels are different than standard Tagalog. With the origins having its place with Spanish influence for the main Tagalog dialect it is no different that other languages in respect to the changes in dialect. Since some of the population is more remote they often retain a Tagalog dialect purer that the standard Tagalog dialect.

When you learn Tagalog you are most likely going to learn the standard language. While Tagalog is not always offered in schools you can find language resources in books or online to help you.

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Jon Cardozo is an enthusiast for foreign languages and culture. He has studied several languages using the Pimsleur method. He currently writes articles on history and foreign languages, as well as product reviews for www.ultimatelanguagestore.com

In the article above, Jon Cardozo mentions that he studied Tagalog using the Pimsleur method. While the Pimsleur method is an excellent method for learning how to speak any language, its weakness is that it is only audio, thus you do not learn to read and write Tagalog as well. In a follow up posting, I will discuss the pros and cons of the Pimsleur method vs the Rosetta Stone method. Both excellent programs but which is right for you will depend upon what you are looking to get out of the program as well as the environment in which you will be using it. Also see Learn the Tagalog Language the Easy Way for more information about the Rosetta Stone method of learning foreign languages.

Would you love to be able to teach yourself Tagalog without all the time and effort associated with traditional language learning programs?

Have you had it with traditional Tagalog language learning programs. You know the ones. They provide vocabulary lists in a seemingly random order and expect you to somehow memorize all the words and be able to spit them back out in meaningful sentences. Or those programs that bog you down in layers of grammar until you are overwhelmed by the shear magnitude of the amount of detailed information you have to memorize.

Doesn’t it always seem as if learning Tagalog is just out of reach unless you travel back to the Philippines to the Tagalog speaking regions on the island of Luzon where you can learn it first hand from native speakers?

And why can’t anyone just learn Tagalog like the native speakers initially do, without having to memorize all those grammar rules and the endless tedium of translation and vocabulary lists?

Well now you can forget all about those old ineffective language learning methods and get the language you want, the skills you need and the success you deserve by learning Tagalog naturally, that is, by associating words to objects and events around you. You did not learn your first language by studying its grammar did you? No of course not, all those rules did not show up until you entered school, well after you had a good basic command of the language.

The Rosetta Stone language-learning program come to the rescue. The Rosetta Stone program uses native Tagalog speakers and thousands of real-life images to help you think in Tagalog right from the beginning with their award winning Dynamic Immersion technology that reinforces your own natural language learning skills.

Now you can teach yourself Tagalog quickly and easily with the Rosetta Stone language-learning software, pick up copy of the Rosetta Stone Tagalog Level 1 today and get started learning your new language.

Have you ever wanted to learn Tagalog? Perhaps you were born of Philippine parents outside of the Philippines and want to learn the language of your heritage. Or perhaps you are a parent who wants to teach their children the Tagalog language but find it difficult to do. Perhaps your children do not want to learn Tagalog because the don’t see it as fun or useful, but rather hard work.

If so, you are probably asking why can’t someone come up with a easy and fun program to teach yourself Tagalog. Perhaps you’ve already tried some books, or tried to memorize card decks of Tagalog words or phrases. Maybe you even bought some audio tapes that simply seemed to read off list of Tagalog words along with their English translation in seemingly random order. But you have found that you still haven’t the slightest idea of how to really speak or read Tagalog in any meaningful way. If so, forget about all those old ineffective methods or approaches to language learning and get ready to discover the fastest and easiest way to learn Tagalog, also known as Filipino in it’s formal form.

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Start learning Tagalog today with the award winning Rosetta Stone Tagalog language-learning program. Learn to speak Tagalog at a rate that will astonish your friends and family. Conversational Tagalog can be yours by starting with Rosetta Stone Tagalog Level 1

The Tagalog language is one of the major languages of the Republic of the
Philippines and is the most spoken Philippine language in terms of the number of speakers. Tagalog is widely used as a lingua franca throughout the country, and in overseas Filipino communities. It is the sixth most-spoken language in the United States with over a million speakers. However, outside the Philippines, the Tagalog language is usually limited to communication within ethnic Filipino groups. The Tagalog language is the first language of 24 million people and the second language of more than 65 million.

Filipino, the national language of the Philippines, sometimes written as Pilipino, Philipino, or even Phillippino, is the de facto standardized variant of the Tagalog language. Taglish and Englog are names given to a mix of English and Tagalog. The amount of English vs.Tagalog varies from the occasional use of English loan words to outright code-switching where the language changes in mid-sentence. Such code-switching is prevalent throughout the Philippines and in various of the languages of the Philippines other than Tagalog.

Although it is generally looked down upon, code-switching is prevalent in all levels of society, though urban-dwellers, those with high education, and those born around and after World War II are more likely to do it. It is common in television, radio, and print media as well. In the US, advertisements from companies such as Wells Fargo, Wal-Mart, Albertsons, McDonald’s, and Western Union have contained Taglish.

[source: Tagalog Language at Wilipedia

Many Philipinos living outside of the Philippines desire to learn Tagalog or teach their children how to speak Tagalog. Learning Tagalog can be fun for children and adults alike if they use a good language learning program. The Rosetta Stone Tagalog language learning program offers an excellent teach yourself Tagalog method by which you can learn to speak, read, write, and understand the Tagalog language fairly quickly and easily. While complete fluency cannot be obtained by this program alone, it provides an solld foundation upon which to build with further study for the serious student.