Do all Filipinos understand and speak Tagalog?
I know that there are many dialects spoken in the Philippines but I was wondering if most the people there speak Tagalog. I would like to know this because I will be living there for the next two years and I would like to know what language to spend most my time studying. I heard that Ilacano is the dialect that most of the people will speak in the area that I will live in on the northern end of Luzon. Is this right? So should I try to study Ilacano as well?
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Tagged with: dialect • dialects • luzon • philippines
Filed under: Philippines Tagalog - Written and Spoken
1. Not all Filipinos do understand and speak Tagalog. I’ve been in Antique and some OLD people do not understand and speak Tagalog. So, wherever I go my cousin always accompany me and act as an interpreter.
2. You were right, in the northern part of Luzon almost all people speak Ilocano. At least MOST Ilocanos understand and speak Tagalog dialect but sometimes you will surely encounter old folks who never understand Tagalog.
3. Learn Tagalog first, for it was the Filipino language. Then, learn some important Ilocano words.
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Yeah, you should study Ilocano because the will probably be the dialect that people are speaking over their. My uncle’s family speaks that and they are from Luzon;)
Don’t know much about northern end. But yeah. They can understand it, but I don’t think all of them can speak it.
Unfortunately, there are some(very small) number of Filipinos that doesn’t speak tagalog well or not even know how to speak tagalog. Yes, ilocano is the major dialect of Filipinos in Northern Luzon. It is the third largest spoken dialect in the Philippines after Tagalog ang Bisaya.
Will you be studying in Baguio?
If you want to study ilocano, its better but not compulsory.
Hope this will help.
don’t waste your time, if you are only going to be there two years, just speak english, it is one of the national languages of phils. and everyone there speaks english, so just have some fun and don’t worry about it. by the time you learn filipino, it will be time to go home.
You can get by with English in most situations. It is always helpful to learn a few words like thank you, excuse me, hello, etc. You don’t have to overdo it!
Millions and millions of tourists visit the Philippines and get by with English only year after year!
That’s right, but if after that time you have not learned a single Ilocano word or term, you never went there.
Study both Ilocano and the National Language which is Filipino.
some of them. philippines has differrent languages and people who didn’t grew in manila or in luzon can’t really speak that good compared to people to grew and live for a long time at manila. there are also hard words in the tagalog language that some can’t understand.
Tagalog is the lingua franca for all Filipinos, much like Mandarin is the lingua franca for all Chinese. Filipinos speak a plethora of dialects, but many understand and speak the Tagalog dialect (the dialect the Filipino language is based) in addition to the dialects of their native provinces.
Yes, you are right that Ilokano/Ilocano is commonly spoken in Northern Luzon. But I’m sure many people there also can speak and understand Tagalog. My father and most of my cousins are Ilocanos themselves, but they’re also fluent in Tagalog.
Ilocano is only spoken in Luzon so only if you’re really interested then I say go for it, but if you only have time to learn one, then Tagalog would be preferable since you can use it to speak to people all over the country. As long as they have a TV in their household, they more or less speak or understand Tagalog since most of the news and soap opera programs in the major TV networks are in Tagalog. If not, English is also spoken, though not as well in rural and mountainous regions away from the cities. I say learn Tagalog, when you go home, you can always watch Filipino shows on cable TV abroad so you can refresh your Filipino anytime for your next visit here.
As they say, "do what the Romans do". If Ilocano seems to be the preferred language upon your arrival, then study Ilocano. Learn Tagalog otherwise.
All filipino natives somehow understand and speaks tagalog. Since, it is part of the curriculum from primary to tertiary level. If your planning to live in the ilocos region, then it is a must for you to learn ilocano.
No, you would have better luck speaking English.
Learn the local dialect of where you are going if you like though, at least you can converse with them there.
♥not all of em are! because some of em came from defferent places and they have defferent languages!♥