There are more documents in the state of California that have been force-translated into a very awkward version of what purports to be “Tagalog” than there are documents in the Republic of the Philippines that are in Tagalog / the Filipino language. Most government documents in the Philippines, particularly forms that citizens have to fill out, are in English anyway. Because Tagalog is a phonetic language, as long as you get the basic sounds, you can spell words the way you hear them. Most ordinary Filipinos don’t worry about it all. It can get very confusing as to what is currently considered standard.

Usually, it relates as to whether to follow more closely the original Spanish spelling or to transliterate foreign words into a nativization that follows Tagalog orthography. Notice the spelling of “revisyon,” “alfabeto” and “ispeling.”Įvery few years or so, the government issues a new set of spelling guidelines for the Filipino language. In 2001, the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (Commission on the Filipino Language) issued Revisyon ng Alfabeto at Patnubay sa Ispeling ng Wikang Filipino - revised guidelines on the use of c, f, j, ñ, q, v, x, and z.

8 letters from the Spanish alphabet (c, f, j, ñ, q, v, x, z)Ī, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, ng, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, zĪ, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, Ñ, Ng, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z Modern Filipino Alphabet Aa

Abakada abcd