Filipino Tapestry: Tagalog Language through Culture

Introduction

3 ALPHABET AND PHONOLOGY The original Tagalog alphabet was composed of twenty-two letters. Most of these are the same letters used in modern Filipino. a, b, k, d, e, g, h, i, l, m, n, ng, o, p, r, s, t, u, w, y The vowels are the same as English, but they are pronounced differently. a, e, i, o, u The vowels are pronounced in a perfect phonological manner without variations. Learner’s Tip Practice saying the vowel sounds. This will help you pronounce Filipino words correctly. Filipino Vowels Height of the Tongue Front Central Back High i u Mid e o Low a Filipino Vowels and Their Corresponding Sounds in English Vowel Corresponding Sound Examples a far and father aklat (book), apat (four), tatay (father) e end and elephant ewan (don’t know), kape (coffee) i beet and meat ikaw (you), kanina (some time ago) o obey and ocean oo (yes), bunso (youngest child) u school and boots tubig (water), sampu (ten), pula (red) Introduction 4 Filipino Tapestry Learner’s Tip Practice! Practice! Record yourself and listen to the way you pronounced the sounds. Exercise opening and closing your mouth every day. This will make your mouth flexible in pronouncing new sounds. The Filipino consonants are b, k, d, g, h, l, m, n, ng, p, r, s, t, w, y Filipino Consonants Labial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Voiceless stops p t k Voiced stops b d g Nasals m n ng Voiceless fricative s h Voiced lateral 1 Voiced tap or trill r Voiced glide y w Filipino consonant sounds are somewhat similar to the English sounds. The following are some of the differences that may pose a challenge to foreign language learners. 1. Initially, ng offers great difficulty to foreign language learners. It is a nasal sound originating in the throat. The closest English sound is the ng at the end of “song” or “prong” without the defining ga associated with the English g. Here are some Filipino examples. ngipin – teeth ngayon – now 2. The dental sounds, t, d, n, and s are all produced by placing the tip of the tongue behind the back of the upper teeth. This is slightly different in English where the sounds are produced by placing the tongue tip behind the upper gum ridge. 3. The labial sounds p and b and dental sounds d and t are not aspirated in Filipino. These unaspirated initial sounds are similar to English p, b, d, and t in noninitial positions. In 2001, the Commission of the Philippine Language added the following letters to the Philippine alphabet. c, f, j, ñ, q, v, x, z These additional letters are used to spell borrowed foreign words. When foreign words are used in Filipino, these letters are written according to their corresponding alphabet sounds in Filipino. 5 Introduction Common Foreign Sounds and Letters ch (in English) becomes ts China Tsina hard C (in English) becomes k computer kompyuter soft C (in English) becomes s cement semento ll (in Spanish) becomes ly calle kalye j (in English) becomes dy juice dyus x (in English) becomes ks taxi taksi z (in English or Spanish) becomes s lapiz lapis Some Important Facts about Filipino Stress and Accents 1. A Filipino word is spelled just as it is pronounced. ma-gan-da = maganda – beautiful ta-ma = tama – correct 2. In some cases, a difference in stress can cause a difference in the meaning of a word. Here is an example. ga'bi – yam gabi' – evening 3. Stress in Filipino is usually indicated by lengthening the vowel in a syllable. ba' hay – house magli'linis – will clean 4. Monosyllabic words often take the stress of the preceding word. hindî – no hindi pô – no, ma’am/sir ganito' – this ganito ba'? – (is it) like this? 5. Final glottal stops in words are lost when adding a suffix. punô – full punuin – to fill (an object with something) 6. The stress in words with more than two syllables is usually on the last two syllables. luma'kad – to walk lutu'in – to cook Learner’s Tip For additional information about stress, intonation, and accent, use the following references : T. Ramos, Tagalog Structures (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1971); P. Schacter and F. Otanes, Tagalog Reference Grammar (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1972). 6 Filipino Tapestry FORMING SOME SIMPLE FILIPINO SENTENCES The order of words...