PHILIPPINES LANGUAGE

In Philippines there are over 170 languages; almost all of them belong to the Austronesian language family. Of all of these languages, only 2 are considered official in the country, at least 10 are considered major and at least 8 are considered co-official. The most widely spoken language is Filipino, which is de facto based on Tagalog, although thirteen regional languages are spoken as vernaculars throughout the Philippines.

NATIONAL AND OFFICIAL LANGUAGES
Spanish was the original official language of the country for more than three centuries, and became the lingua franca of the Philippines in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

In 1863 a Spanish decree introduced universal education, creating free public schooling in Spanish.[1] It was also the language of the Philippine Revolution, and the 1899 Malolos Constitution proclaimed it as the official language of the First Philippine Republic. National hero Jose Rizal wrote most of his works in Spanish, which was spoken by a total of 60% of the population in the early 1900s as a first, second or third language. Following the American occupation of the Philippines and the imposition of English, the use of Spanish declined gradually, especially after the 1940s.

Under the U.S. occupation and civil regime, English began to be taught in schools. By 1901, public education used English as the medium of instruction. Around 600 educators (called "Thomasites") who arrived in that year aboard the USS Thomas replaced the soldiers who also functioned as teachers. The 1935 Constitution added English as an official language alongside Spanish. A provision in this constitution also called for Congress to "take steps toward the development and adoption of a common national language based on one of the existing native languages." On November 12, 1937, the First National Assembly created the National Language Institute. President Manuel L. Quezon appointed native Waray-Waray speaker Jaime C. De Veyra to chair a committee of speakers of other regional languages. Their aim was to select a national language among the other regional languages. Ultimately, Tagalog was chosen as the base language December 31, 1937.

In 1939, President Manuel L. Quezon renamed the Tagalog language as Wikang Pambansa ("National language" in English translation). The language was further renamed in 1959 as Pilipino by Secretary of Education Jose Romero. The 1973 constitution declared the Pilipino language to be co-official, along with English, and mandated the development of a National Language, to be known as Filipino spelt Philippino.

Other foreign languages spoken are Chinese (Hokkien) and Cantonese Chinese, among the Chinese and Chinese-mestizo population; Arabic and Malay among some members of the Muslim population; and Spanish preserved and spoken by some families within the Spanish-mestizo minority.

INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES
According to Ethnologue, a total of 171 native languages are spoken in the country. Except for English, Spanish, Hokkien (Lan-nang), Cantonese, Mandarin, and Chavacano, all of the languages belong to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family.
There are 13 native languages with at least one million native speakers: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano, Hiligaynon, Waray-Waray, Kapampangan, Bikol, Albay Bikol [1], Pangasinan, Maranao, Maguindanao, Kinaray-a, and Tausug. One or more of these is spoken natively by more than 90% of the population.

CLASSIFICATION of Philippine languages
Philippine languages are traditionally divided into a handful of subgroups. The first three are closely related geographic groupings: That is, the languages they contain may be no more related to each other than they are to languages in other groups. The smaller, southern groups are more distinct.
Northern Philippine languages such as Ilokano, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, and Sambal languages which are concentrated in northern and central Luzon. Some languages in Mindoro such as Iraya and Tadyawan are included in this group. The Yami language (also known as Tao of Orchid Island in Taiwan is also a member of this group.
Meso Philippine languages are perhaps the group with the most speakers and is the most geographically widespread, covering Central Luzon, the Visayas and many parts of Mindanao. Certain languages spoken in Palawan and Mindoro such as Tagbanwa, Palawano, and Hanunoo constitute their own respective subgroups. The largest subgroup are the Central Philippine languages which are composed of Tagalog; Bicol languages; 80% use Visayan languages such as Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Waray-Waray; and Mansakan languages.
Southern Philippine languages such as Maranao, Maguindanao, Manobo languages, and Subanun languages are concentrated in Mindanao but more than 80% use Visayan or Cebuano language. Many Southern Philippine languages have been influenced by Malaysian, Indonesian, Sanskrit, and Arabic words.
The final three following groups are thought to be more distantly related to the previous three.

MUTUAL INTELLIGIBILTY
Despite not being mutually intelligible, Philippine languages tend to be referred to by Filipinos as dialects.
The vast differences between the languages can be seen in the following translations of the Philippine national proverb "He who does not look back at his past plight will not reach his future."

AKLANON: Ro uwa' gatan-aw sa anang ginhalinan hay indi makaabut sa anang ginapaeangpan.
ASI: Kag tawong waya giruromroma it ida ginghalinan, indi makaabot sa ida apagtuan.
BANGON: No fuktaw hadwa bumontag idwan dasog at bato lawan.
BIKOL: An dai tataong magsalingoy sa saiyang ginikanan, dai makakaabot sa padudumanan.
RINCONADA BIKOL: A diri maglili sa pinaggalinan, diri makaaabot sa pigiyanan.
CEBUANO: Kadtong dili molingi sa gigikanan, dili makaabot sa gipadulongan.
IBANAG: I tolay nga ari mallipay ta naggafuananna, ari makadde ta angayanna.
ITAWIS: Ya tolay nga mari mallipay tsa naggafuananna, mari makakandet tsa angayanna.
ILOKANO: Ti haán a tumaliaw iti naggapuanna, saán a makadánon iti papanánna.
HILIGAYNON: Kon sin-o ang indi makahibalo magbalikid sang iya ginta-uhan, indi makaabot sa iya padulungan
JAMA MAPUN: Soysoy niya' pandoy ngantele' patulakan ne, niya' ta'abut katakkahan ne.
KAPAMPANGAN: Ing e byasang malikid king kayang penibatan, e ya makaratang king kayang pupuntalan.
KINARAY-A: Ang indi kamaan magbalikid sa ana ginhalinan, indi makaabot sa ana paaragtunan.
MIRAYA (West), Albay Bikol: Kan na taw na idi tataw mag linguy sa sanyang inalian, idi man maka abot sa sanyang paidtunan.
OBO MANOBO: Iddos minuvu no konnod kotuig nod loingoy to id pomonan din, konna mandad od poko-uma riyon tod undiyonnan din.
PANGASINAN: Say toon ag unlingaw ëd nanlapuan to, ag makasabi ëd laën to.
SAMBAL (Botolan): Hay ahe nin nanlek ha pinag-ibatan, ay ahe makarateng ha lalakwen.
SAMBAL (Tina): Hay kay tanda mamanomtom ha pinangibatan, kay immabot sa kakaon.
SANGAIL: Tao mata taya mabiling su pubuakengnge taya dumanta su kadam tangi.
SINAMA: Ya Aa ga-i tau pa beleng ni awwal na, ga-i du sab makasong ni maksud na.
SURIGAO-NON: Yaon dili kahibayo molingi sa iya ing-gikanan, dili gajod makaabot iya pasingdan.
SORSOGAONON: An diri mag-imud sa pinaghalian diri makaabot sa kakadtuan.
TAGALOG: Ang hindî marunong lumingón sa pinanggalingan ay hindî makararatíng sa paroroonan.
FILIPINO: Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan, hindi makakarating sa pupuntuhan.
TAUSUG: In di' maingat lumingi' pa bakas liyabayan niya, di' makasampay pa kadtuun niya.
WARAY-WARAY: An diri maaram lumingi ha tinikangan, diri maulpot ha kakadtoan.
YAKAN: Gey tau mayam sibukutan, gey tau tekka kaditaran