Filipino

Filipino has been the national language of the Philippines since 1957. It is based on Tagalog but also includes elements from the other languages of the Philippines, such as Bisaya, Ilongo, Cebuano and Ilokano, and from Spanish, English and Chinese. Since 1978 Filipino has been used as the language of instruction in schools and universities throughout the Philippines, though English is also widely used.

The Filipino alphabet has under gone a number of changes over the years. The last major one was in 1987, when the letters ch, ll and rr were removed. The version of the alphabet shown below is the 1987 one.

Filipino alphabet (Alpabetong Filipino)

Filipino alphabet (Alpabetong Filipino)

Sample text in Filipino

Ang lahat ng tao'y isinilang na malaya at pantay-pantay sa karangalan at mga karapatan. Sila'y pinagkalooban ng katwiran at budhi at dapat magpalagayan ang isa't isa sa diwa ng pagkakapatiran.

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Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Other languages written with the Latin alphabet

Link

Commission on the Filipino language
http://www.komfil.gov.ph

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