Languages In The Philippines

The Philippines has many languages. The Philippines has a total of 171 native languages that are still spoken and used in the country. Such a small country but has so many dialects/languages.

Filipinos, refer to languages as dialects.

Believe it or not, Spanish was the original official language of the Philippines. Because for such a long time the Philippines was invaded by the Spaniards. And learning Spanish is mandatory at schools and universities during that time.

But after the independence of the Philippines, the national language of the Philippines has become Filipino or popularly known as Tagalog.

English, is also widely used in the Philippines. Since it’s a mandatory subject at schools and universities, up to now.

There are 13 indigenous languages in the Philippines with at least 1 million native speakers. They are:

1. Tagalog which is mainly spoken and used nationwide.
2. Cebuano, used in the Visayas area particularly in Cebu.
3. Ilokano, used in the Ilocos region (Ilocos Norte, Ilocus Sur, Abra etc.)
4. Hilgaynon, used and spoken in the western part of Visayas.
5. Waray-Waray, used and spoken in the provinces of Samar.
6. Kapampangan (Pampango), used and spoken in Pampanga located in Luzon.
7. Bikol (Bicolano), used and spoken in the provinces of Bicol.
8. Albay Bikol (Albay Bicolano), used and spoken in Albay, a province in Bicol.
9. Pangasinan, used and spoken in the Pangasinan area. It’s also known as “Pangalatok” to it’s native people.
10. Maranao, used and spoken in the provinces of Lanao (Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, etc.)
11. Maguindano, used and spoken in different parts of Mindanao.
12. Kinaray-a, used and spoken in Antique.
13. Tausug, used and spoken in Sulu.

There’s evidently a huge amount of dialectal variation among the languages of the Philippines. A good example of this variation are between Tagalog and Kapampangan. Because they are known to have very moderate dialectal variation.

But if you’re a tourist or someone who wants to settle and live in the Philippines, the best dialect to study and learn is Tagalog. Because it’s mainly spoken nationwide and is the national language of the Philippines. It’s easy to learn too, which is a plus.