Philippines that consists of over 7,000 islands is also a host of around 170 languages + dialects. Isn’t it amazing? At present, Filipino and English are the official language of the country. However, for many centuries and until the early half of the 20th century, Spanish was the official language of the country. Due to colonial influence, English made a way into the schools and curriculum of the country, but in 1937 steps were taken to develop national language based on the existing native languages.
The widely spoken Tagalog was made the base language, and in 1973, Filipino became the combined official language of the country along with English. Want to know more about the languages of Philippines? Here, we tell you about top widely spoken languages of the country.
Tagalog
Tagalog is the only Filipino language that can generally be spoken and understood around almost every part of the country. Mainly spoken in Manila area and neighboring provinces like Batangas, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, Cavite, etc. this language is spoken by around 28 million people in the country.
Cebuano
Cebuano is the second most spoken native language of Philippines. Majorly articulated in Cebu City and other areas like Butuan, Mindanao, Davao, General Santos City and Cagayan de Oro, around 21 million people are presently using it for discourse.
Ilocano
Ilocano or Ilokano is a blend of several other languages from different countries like Indonesia, Hawaiian, Malay, Tahitian, Samoan and Chamorro of Guam. Mostly used in the Northern part of the country, Ilocano is crowned to be the third most spoken language here with 9.1 million native speakers.
Waray-Waray
Waray is the fifth most spoken regional language of the Philippines. The name waray-waray comes from ‘waray’ means ‘none’ or ‘nothing.’ It is broadly oral in provinces like Biliran, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Eastern Visayas. The language is also used in local government, television and, radio broadcast.
Hiligaynon
Also known as Ilonggo, Hiligaynon is articulated in Iloilo, Panay Islands, Antique, Bacolod, North & South Cotabato in Mindanao and Aklan. This language is marked by its sweet intonation, and around 9.1 million people speak in all over the country.
Kapampangan
Pampangan or Kapampangan is spoken in the province of Pampanga, Southern Tarlac, Bataan, Central Luzon. Kapampangan is one of the major languages of the Philippines that is taught formally in schools and universities. The name of the language has been derived from the root word pampang which means ‘river bank.’
Although Philippines is rich with hundreds of languages and dialects, at present, the main language used is Taglish that is a combination of English and Tagalog. We have many more such interesting facts about translation and language as our experts are adept in Filipino language translation. Need any help in translating a document? Please contact us at 888-670-3369.