Spanish language in the Philippines
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Spanish language in the Philippines

NameSpanish in the Philippines
Nativename  de Filipinas.
FamilycolorIndo-European
ScriptLatin (Spanish variant)
RegionPhilippines
Speakers2,500
Rank2-4 (native speakers)
Fam2Italic
Fam3Romance
Fam4Italo-Western
Fam5Gallo-Iberian
Fam6Ibero-Romance
Fam7West Iberian
Fam8Spanish
ScriptLatin (Spanish variant)
ScriptLatin (Spanish variant)
Iso1es
Iso2spa
Iso3spa

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Spanish was an official language of government in the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish rule with Miguel López de Legazpi in the late 16th century, until the change of Constitution in 1973. After having been redesignated an official language by Presidential proclamation, Spanish remained official until a subsequent change in constitution in 1987 The First Philippine Republic of 1899 chose Spanish as its official language but during the US occupation and administration of the islands English was imposed and Spanish became gradually marginalized. At its peak in the 19th century, Spanish was spoken by a majority of the population, either as a first or second language .

Spanish was language of government, education and trade throughout the Spanish colonial period and became the lingua franca of the country in the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially that of educated Filipinos and Ilustrados. National hero José Rizal and other intellectuals wrote most of their works in Spanish, which was the language of the Philippine Revolution. Spanish was also the official language of the independent Philippines, according to the Constitución de Malolos of 1899.

Following the Philippine-American War, the U.S. administration gradually imposed English as the official language and medium of instruction in schools and universities. Although the Taft Commission allowed their guests to use the language of their choice, Spanish became increasingly marginalized at an official level. As English and American influenced pop culture increased, the use of Spanish in all aspects gradually declined. Spanish remained an official language of government until a new constitution ratified on January 17, 1973 designated English and Pilipino as official languages. Shortly thereafter, Presidential Proclamation No. 155 dated March 15, 1973 ordered that the Spanish language shall continue to be recognized as an official language so long as government documents in that language remained untranslated. A later constitution ratified in 1987 designated Filipino and English as official languages.

There are thousands of Spanish loan words in 170 native Philippine languages, and Spanish orthography has influenced the spelling system used for writing Philippine languages. According to the 1990 Philippine census, there were 2,660 native Spanish speakers in the Philippines. An additional 607,200 speak Chabacano, a Spanish-based creole. However, the Instituto Cervantes in Manila puts the number of Spanish-speakers in the Philippines in the area of two to three million. which includes non-native speakers as well, meaning Filipinos who speak Spanish as second, or third language.

Latest News : Spanish language in the Philippines : Tweet this RSS

Market Leaders In Business Services Outsourcing Expand Into Niche Markets ... - The Wall Street Transcript (blog) Tweet this news
The Wall Street Transcript (blog)--TWST: South America and the -Philippines- seem to be making a move toward having more call centers in English and in -Spanish-. Mr. Foresi: Call centers are a ... - Date : Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:24:33 GMT+00:00
Forging stronger RP-Spain relations - Business Mirror Tweet this news
Business Mirror--We have achieved huge strides in the areas of legislation, culture, education, -language- and sports. For instance, -Spanish---language- teaching has been ... - Date : Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:21:29 GMT+00:00
Offshoring creates good jobs in poor countries - study - Malaysia Star Tweet this news
Malaysia Star--The industry is highly influenced by -language- skills, with India and the -Philippines- serving English-speaking countries, Argentina serving Spain and Mexico ... - Date : Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:12:36 GMT+00:00
Like many Utah Catholics, new priests are immigrants - Salt Lake Tribune Tweet this news
Salt Lake Tribune--Neither hails from a -Spanish--speaking country. In fact, both will spend the month of July in Guadalajara, Mexico, learning the first -language- of many of the ... - Date : Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:01:56 GMT+00:00
Instituto Cervantes brings back 'El Día E' - Philippine Star Tweet this news
Philippine Star--MANILA, -Philippines- - Instituto Cervantes de Manila is bringing back “El Día del Español (Day of the -Spanish language-)” on June 19. ... - Date : Sun, 13 Jun 2010 16:01:48 GMT+00:00
The teachers we need - BusinessWorld Online Tweet this news
BusinessWorld Online--Many teach -Spanish- grammar, but not the -language-. Grammar stunts the mind, but -language- ennobles it. How many can speak or read -Spanish- after studying the ... - Date : Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:39:46 GMT+00:00
Public Lives On our nation's birthday - Inquirer.net Tweet this news
Inquirer.net--We were an integral part of the patrimony of the -Spanish- monarch. Then, almost by impulse, we began to rebel against the excesses of -Spanish- rule. ... - Date : Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:18:14 GMT+00:00
Chino not always Chinese - Manila Times Tweet this news
Manila Times--Slack's article provides valuable information not only about Chinese in Mexico but also on the Chinese in the -Philippines-, as well as the role they played ... - Date : Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:11:06 GMT+00:00
Shanghai unveils its global side at 2010 Expo - Fox 59 Tweet this news
Fox 59--The -Spanish- Pavilion is covered in rattan squares like fish scales. The British pavilion, with its layers of acrylic rods, looks like a futuristic sea ... - Date : Tue, 08 Jun 2010 21:20:37 GMT+00:00
Commentary: Insights on P-Noy and VP Binay proclamation - Philippine Information Agency Tweet this news
Philippine Information Agency--The winning combination itself, Noy-bi, is a contraption of the -Spanish- term "nueve", or nine. It was said that Aquino III's destiny began in Tarmac in 1983 ... - Date : Sun, 13 Jun 2010 11:17:48 GMT+00:00

Meaning changes : Decline of the Spanish language
Word Language Meaning in the Philippines Original Spanish word Spanish meaning
asar Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan to annoy asar roast
asta Tagalog, Kapampangan rude movements hasta until
bale Tagalog, Kapampangan well and worth, wages, pay vale ok and voucher or promissory note
balón Tagalog, Kapampangan, Visayan well/balloon balón ball
banda Tagalog, Kapampangan within proximity of and band banda band, side
barat Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan cheap barato cheap, low prices
barkada Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Kapampangan group of friends barcada boatload
basta Tagalog, Chabacano, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Kapampangan as long as/secret basta enough, stop
bida Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan lead actor/actress vida life
bomba Cebuano, Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan erotica/nudity and bomb bomba bomb, and impressive or surprising (slang) used as an exclamation ("la bomba")
chika Cebuano, Tagalog, Kapampangan gossip and girl chica girl
entonses Tagalog elite class entonces then, afterwards
impakto Tagalog, Kapampangan spirit causing temporary madness (originally elemental spirit from the earth) impacto impact, shock
kasilyas Tagalog, Cebuano, Chabacano, Ilocano bathroom, toilet casilla square, cube, hut
kerida Tagalog, Kapampangan mistress (only) querida dear (used for female loved ones including mothers, sisters, aunts, and friends) and mistress (when used as "la querida")
kolehiyala Tagalog a high school girl attending a well-known Catholic exclusive girls' school in the Philippines. colegiala schoolgirl
kontrabida Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Kapampangan villain contra vida against life
konyo Tagalog rich or vain coño Exclamation and curse word (coño)
kubeta Tagalog, Kapampangan toilet, outhouse cubeta bucket
kumusta Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan hello or How are you? / How is ___? ¿Cómo está? How are you? / How is ___? (only)
kwarta Tagalog money cuarta fourth, quarter (coin)
letse Cebuano, Tagalog Used as a curse word, but less often, as milk. The expression: tener mala leche. to be nasty, but literally, to have bad milk.
lola Tagalog and other languages grandmother Lola native nickname of Dolores
madre Cebuano, Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan nun (only) madre mother (parent) and nun
maldito/a Cebuano, Tagalog, Kapampangan bad maldito/a bad, damned
mamón Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Kapampangan fluffy bread mamón (de "mamar"), mamón (de "mamas") suckle (from mamar "to suckle") mammary glands (as in the English word "mammaries") Also papaya in the Caribbean
maske, maski Tagalog, Chabacano (spelled masquen), Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Kapampangan even if por más que/ más que as much as; even if; even then;/more than
mutsatsa Tagalog, Kapampangan maid (only) muchacha maid (Mexico and Spain) and girl
onse Tagalog, Ilocano eleven and hustle once eleven
padre Cebuano, Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan priest (only, inflexible) padre father (parent) and priest
palengke Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan market palenque palisade
pare Tagalog, Kapampangan friend (slang) Corruption of compadre, and not to be confused with pare, the polite imperative of stop. godfather of one's child, friend
parì Cebuano, Tagalog, Ilocano (spelled padi), Kapampangan priest padre father, priest
pera Tagalog, Kapampangan money perra coin, penny
peras Tagalog, Kapampangan pear pera pear
pirmi Hiligaynon, Cebuano, Chabacano, Kapampangan steady, always firme firm, steady
pitso Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan chicken breast (only) pecho breast (in general including humans and other animals)
pwerta Tagalog, Kapampangan door (also, in some instances, used to describe the orifice of the vaginal canal) puerta door
regla Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan menstruation regla rule/ruler/menstruation
siguro Tagalog, Chabacano, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Kapampangan maybe seguro secure, stable, sure
silbí Tagalog, Cebuano, Kapampangan to serve sirve He/she/it serves
sugal Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Kapampangan gambling jugar to play, to gamble
sugaról Tagalog, Cebuano, Kapampangan gambler jugador gambler and player
suplado Tagalog, Cebuano, Kapampangan snobbish, snooty, stubborn (child), brat soplado blown, one who is "inflated"
syempre Tagalog, Ilocano, Chabacano, Cebuano, Hiligaynon of course siempre always

False cognates :
Word Language Meaning in the Philippines Similar Spanish word Spanish meaning
alamín Tagalog to know alamín village judge who decided on irrigation distribution or official who measured weights
amá Tagalog, Ilocano father ama housewife, to love
anó Tagalog, Ilonggo what ano anus/ring/circle
chico Cebuano, Tagalog, Ilonggo, Kapampangan sapodilla chico boy
laud Ilocano west laúd lute
lupâ Tagalog ground, earth lupa magnifying glass
lupa Kapampangan face lupa magnifying glass
lutò Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Ilonggo cook luto mourn
puto Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Ilonggo a type of rice cake puto male prostitute/homosexual (note that the original meaning of the feminine variant, "puta", is retained in Tagalog)
baho Tagalog, Cebuano (spelled as bahô), Ilonggo pungent, smelly bajo low, short
sabi Tagalog, Kapampangan to say saber to know
kasí, kasé Tagalog, Kapampangan because casi almost
sarita Ilocano word, to speak Sarita young Sarah



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