tagalog_text

The official dialect and often the assumed official language (by name) of the Philippines. While it <b>is</b> the lingua franca of the Philippines, it is formally known as the Filipino language. Both terms (Tagalog and Filipino) are used interchangeably.

The name comes from the word "Taga-ilog" (river-dwellers) whose spoken language became the basis for modern Filipino. The language has plenty of loanwords and is often code-switched with English.

While it is historically written in Baybayin script, Tagalog is written using Latin characters.