How Fluent are you in Tagalog or any Philippine language?

[Balisidar]

Just interested in how well you can converse.😀

[hk blues]

I answered as Don't care/Not interested as the other options didn't fit.  It's not so much I don't care as much as I don't have any particular need.  

[jimeve]

I live in the Visayans region, Dumaguete. So Taglish I have no interest. 

[graham59]

When I ws younger and living here, I was able to learn quite a few words and expressions ( for when shopping, mostly).

30 years on, and my brain seems unable to learn anything to do with a foreign language. Added complication being, that the local (Pangasinese) is used almost exclusively by the locals, day to day. 

[Jack D]

Asawa and I still have plenty of conversations in Taglish, even though we both live in the States.

[manofthecoldland]

Over the last 20 years I've been slowly adding to my knowledge. My use is limited to what I feel is useful in any given situation. Usually in an effort to establish a positive emotionally harmonious relationship. The use of even 20-30 common phrases or expressions often suffices. Most of my vocabulary is focused on basic nouns and verb roots. Also the ligatures (simple words that tie things together... Si, ang, at, sa etc),

Tagalog's grammar is very different from Englsh in terms of sentence word order, and the tenses are complex and varied according to the verb groupings. The first one I learned was for magluto/to cook.infinitive. The past/present/future conjugation forms are : nagluto, nagluluto, magluluto. As you can see, the root (luto) is embedded in all, but the inital prefix syllables change to indicate the time tense. This pattern is for the UM and MAG  verbs.

Word orders in sentences can also vary. When you switch positions you use different forms. e.g.  'my dog' can be either " akin aso" or "aso ko" , so the pre and post forms of possession are different. The pronoun form chart is quite complex for this reason.  "you" and be either "ikaw" or "ka" depending on whether it is pre- or -post.  

All that said, I pretty much stick to throwing in nouns and infinitive verb forms now and then when talking with the wife just to aid in making use of some taglish. I also use the one word interrogatives all the time, when I need clarification in matters. Although we live on a Visayan language island, she is like very many Filipinos, and is bi- or tri-lingual, and I can get away with using Tagalog instead of a local visayan language. Some local terms and words are good to know, however.

There are very many local languages in the PI, so unless you are committed to long term use in an area or with your GF/wife in a local language, you may well be better off learning Tagalog/Pilipino since it is a more universal communication language when traveling through the PI. Most locals are just as pleased to hear you using Tagalog as using their local language IMO.

The local Hilagaynon numbers are different than the Tagalog ones, but I only memorized the 1-10 Tag ones, and the numbers words on the currency....e.g. dalawampu, limampu, sandaan (20,50,100). Dalawa is 2, and lima is 5, but 10 is sampu.  People here also understand the spanish for the monetary denominations.... and usually the English.

I personally have no reason to acquire a deeper mastery of either the local language or Tagalog, but some extra knowledge never hurts if you can acquire it in small increments and brief amounts of time..... 5 or 10 minutes a few times a week. 

There are many Tagalog tutorials on Youtube of varying complexity or simplicity.  I find it easier to watch only part of any lesson, since the amount of new material can be overwhelming and can defeat the purpose of learning a new language when it gets too confusing or boring.

This is the one I am using at present :

 

Even here, at its most basic, you will see that unless you have learned/memorized some basic nouns, verbs and pronouns.....  getting much out of the lesson is problematic.

My wife just told me, when I asked about breakfast, "I am going to cooking."  By now she knows to use some form of time tense construction, imperfect as it is, since I often have to get clarification as to the 'when' re what she is doing. Of course I could have said, " Ikaw magluluto o nagluluto ba?.... You are going to cook or are cooking ?,  but easier for me to just ask "when/?"  (kailan/ ba).   

Things are seldom easy in the Philippines at times...... but we just keep plugging away and get things done.

[sanagimo]

On 7/1/2021 at 2:58 PM, graham59 said:

When I ws younger and living here, I was able to learn quite a few words and expressions ( for when shopping, mostly).

30 years on, and my brain seems unable to learn anything to do with a foreign language. Added complication being, that the local (Pangasinese) is used almost exclusively by the locals, day to day. 

17 years in Japan and I still can't have a heart to heart in Japanese. but now I just don't wanna

[Joey G]

For one... even when they talk Waray to themselves they get confused.  Because the language wasn't designed to handle conversations about todays world. Thus they throw in English, often used incorrectly or out of context... which just adds to the confusion    Yeah I know a few dozen words and phrases... but I can generally get the gist of all discussions.... 90% of the time it has to do with what to eat   No??

Edited October 7, 2022 by Joey G
add word :)

[jimeve]

I can say a few words in Cebuano and naughty words too. Not Tagalog.

[GeoffH]

I understand bits here and there when the family talk in Cebuano and I can manage some simple short sentences (Iike buying things in Cebuano at the sari sari or telling a taxi driver where I want to go).

Carrying on a real conversation at an adult level is well beyond me (although the young children in the family find it amusing at times to be correcting my Bisaya)