There are more than 100 different languages and dialects spoken in the Philippines. Tagalog is spoken by 15 million Filipinos, and English is understood by 13 million. The ten major tongues are Tagalog, Cebuano, spoken in Cebu, Bohol, Negros Occidental, Eastern Leyte, and parts of Mindanao; Hiligaynon spoken in Negros Occidental and the Panay provinces; Waray spoken in Samar and Western Leyte; Bikolano, spoken in Bicol provinces; Kapampangan, spoken in Pampanga and Tarlac; Ilokano, spoken in Pangasinan, part of Tarlac, La Union and the Ilocos provinces; Maguindanao, spoken in some of the Moslem regions; and Tausog, spoken by the Muslims of Zamboanga and the Sulu archipelago. These languages are mainly of Malayo-Polynesian and Sanskrit origin, but many have assimilated words from the Indian, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, and English languages.

In 1937, President Manuel Quezon of the then Commonwealth of the Philippines proclaimed Tagalog as the basis of the national language. The National Assembly later passed an act making the Filipino national language (now Pilipino) one of the official languages of the Philippines effective July 4, 1946, which date marks the beginning of the third Philippine Republic.

--------Let's Speak Tagalog!--------

Alphabet	On Speaking Tagalog	In the Living Room
Numbers	Greetings	In the Market
Family	Goodbye	In a Party
Parts of the Body	Dressing Up	In the Kitchen
Days of the Week	Months of the Year	Parts of a House
Common Expressions	Happy Birthday	Places in a Community
Words/Phrases of Love

...more to come!