Filipino vs Tagalog

[Paz B. Naylor]

Here is a short quotation from a paper that Ernesto Constantino gave to me in person when I met with him in 1995. It is a copy of a typescript dated 10/4/94 - I don't know if it was published at all.

To quote:

     The present constitution of the Philippines, the 1987   
     Constitution, states in Article XIV, Sec. 6 that "The    
     national language of the Philippines is Filipino."   
     Conceptually, this Filipino language is not based  
     on one language but on various languages of the nation.  
     In usage, this language is based on the national lingua
     franca which is at present being used especially for   
     interethnic communication by about 90% or more of the  
     members of the more than one hundred indigenous   
     ethnolinguistic groups that comprise the Filipino nation.
      (emphasis mine, italics original)

This is the crux of the matter: "Filipino is based on the national lingua franca..."  There is no question but that this lingua franca was in fact Tagalog in its various varieties as influenced by the native language of the nonnative-Tagalog speakers. 

I will be preparing arguments (historical, psycholinguistic, media tapes, and experience in translating/interpreting involving nonnative speakers of Tagalog) in support of Tagalog as being the lingua franca that Filipino is supposed to be based on, and that Filipino is precisely what Tagalog has evolved into.  Even from the above and in the context of non-Tagalog speaking communities' reservations - even outright objections -  re Tagalog as the national language, it is pretty obvious that Filipino is a political concept.  

If Filipino is based on the "national lingua franca" which is Tagalog and its regional varieties, then indeed Filipino is the alter ego of Tagalog.

More later - if anyone else is further interested, that is.

 Regards, Paz


Paz Buenaventura Naylor, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor, Asian Languages and Cultures
Faculty Associate, Center for Southeast Asian Studies
Program Associate, Linguistics
The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI  48109
Home Address:  2032 Winsted Blvd., Ann Arbor MI  48103
          Tel/Fax:  (734) 995-2371 

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