tagalog text

The official dialect and often the assumed official language (by name) of the Philippines. While it is 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.