Tagalog Language | Britannica

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External Websites

• CORE - Tagalog and Philippine Languages
• Center for Applied Linguistics - Heritage Languages in America - Tagalog Language
• Omniglot - Tagalog
• Dartmouth Digital Commons - Early Form-Based Morphological Decomposition in Tagalog: MEG Evidence from Reduplication, Infixation, and Circumfixation Evidence from Reduplication, Infixation, and Circumfixation (PDF)

Tagalog language Ask Anything Homework Help Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Nov. 8, 2025 •History Britannica AI Ask Anything Homework Help Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

Tagalog language, member of the Central Philippine branch of the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) language family and the base for Pilipino, an official language of the Philippines, together with English. It is most closely related to Bicol and the Bisayan (Visayan) languages—Cebuano, Hiligaynon (Ilongo), and Samar. Native Tagalog speakers form the second largest linguistic and cultural group in the Philippines and number about 14 million; they are located in central Luzon and parts of Mindanao.

Key People: Leonard Bloomfield (Show more) Related Topics: Pilipino language Philippine languages Western Malayo-Polynesian languages (Show more) See all related content

Pilipino (based on Tagalog) is spoken by another 25 million persons as a second language and is increasingly used in literature, radio, and the press and as a language for government and education. Tagalog grammar is notable for its complex verbal system, including in particular three distinct types of passive constructions.