Comments on: I can’t speak tagalog……………..weird O_o?

By: eamon d

eamon d — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:41:56 +0000

yeah!!! thats normal…. all you must do is be friendly and be cooperative to the people surrounds you… because they will become your assets to improve your speaking skills……(-_-j

By: Marketeer

Marketeer — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:41:56 +0000

It’s normal for the second generation language speakers to understand the native language perfectly but have some difficulty speaking it. My Filipina friend would always make fun of my accent when I tried to learn some for the fun of it, and she suggested that I need to speak like my tongue was numb. Supposedly it helped, I guess. If you want some help learning the language as a whole, I enjoyed this site http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Grammar%20Activities/Grammar%20Default%20Files/DefaultTagalogGrammar.htm

By: xapao

xapao — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:41:56 +0000

i can relate to you hehe. i can understand cebuano (another dialect in the phil) but cant construct a sentence…

maybe thats because when i was a kid i listen to my relatives when they talk in cebuano but never participate on their discussion

By: systemofup

systemofup — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:41:56 +0000

your not weird really uhmm the accent? most of the words are spoken in syllables like for example tagalog it’s ta-ga-log.

By: amino

amino — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:41:55 +0000

practice, practice, and yeah…practice a lot.
speak Tagalog in every chance you get.
you can start by substituting some english words (the verbs or nouns) with tagalog words while speaking. it’s a way of improving your vocabulary. then advance to using verb phrases and getting used with sentence patterns.
for example, if you use this sentence pattern, you can go a long way:
Gusto kong (Verb) ng (Noun). / I want to (verb) (noun). Gusto kong "kumain" ng "saging" (i want to eat banana); Gusto kong "magluto" ng "adobo" ( i want to cook adobo).

kaya mo yan!

By: dn`t me$s w/ a princesS

dn`t me$s w/ a princesS — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:41:55 +0000

hello,
i think it`s just normal that you can`t speak tagalog fluently because your not born in the philippines,.
you can buy some books that will help you or
ask your parents to help you learn more tagalog words or watch filipino movies..

By: beth

beth — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:41:55 +0000

It’s Okay! Practice makes perfect. At least you don’t forget your native language. Always remember the sayings "Ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika ay higit pa sa malansang isda", unless you prepare to smell fishy.

By: justmemimi

justmemimi — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:41:55 +0000

My husband just came from Australia today… and yes, we both speak Tagalog. We live in Hawaii. You need to spend some time in Manila. You must have relatives there. I guarantee you,… after only a few weeks, you will be speaking… enough to actually have a conversation in Tagalog. You won’t be able to write an essay or anything complicated like that, but for small talk it will be enough.
I grew up in Germany, but in the 10 years that I lived in our native country, I heard people on TV and on the radio speaking Tagalog on a daily basis. I also read comics in Tagalog. We had to stay in Manila for a few weeks on our way to Germany, because something was missing in our paper works. In no time I spoke Tagalog. Much later I married someone who was born in Hawaii, but who spent a few years in Manila while growing up, so we speak in Tagalog to each other now and then. It still boggles my mind how fast I picked up on the language in such a short time way back then.

By: theforgottenbanana

theforgottenbanana — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:41:55 +0000

Hello
My relatives on my mother’s side are all from Cebu, but I can’t speak Bisaya (a dialect), I do, however understand it.
Same as you, I can’t seem to get the accent right!

A good way to improve is to hang around people who speak in Tagalog, if possible.
If not, watching shows in Tagalog could also help.