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Get more Tagalog Fun Facts!
Sign up for our FREE newsletter! Tagalog is an Austronesian language with about 57 million speakers in the Philippines, particularly in Manila, central and southern parts of Luzon, and also on the islands of Lubang, Marinduque, and the northern and eastern parts of Mindoro. Tagalog speakers can also be found in many other countries, including Canada, Guam, Midway Islands, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, UK and USA.
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The name Tagalog derives from tagá-ílog, which means "resident beside the river".  |
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Tagalog used to be written with the Baybayin alphabet, which probably developed from the Kawi script of Java, Bali and Sumatra, which in turn descended from the Pallava script, one of the southern Indian scripts derived from Brahmi. Today the Baybayin alphabet is used mainly for decorative purposes and the Latin alphabet is used to write to Tagalog.
Baybayin Alphabet
BOONDOCKS
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"The boondocks" (or "boonies"), meaning "rural" or "back country," was imported by American soldiers stationed in the Philippines following the Spanish American War. It is a mispronounced version of the Tagalog, bundok, which means "mountain."
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