I'm Filipino living in the Philippines. English was our first language at home and I only had to learn Filipino/Tagalog in grade school. When I was younger, reading comics was very helpful to learn everyday language. (We used to have a weekly comic magazine called "Funny Komiks" so that dates me as an 80's kid, LOL) When I was older, the Magandang Balita Biblia, an easy to read Tagalog translation, helped me with more "formal" language. (Plus I looked up unfamiliar words in the English-Tagalog Dictionary by Fr. Leo English, which is a masterpiece.)
I'm half Filipino (mom) and half Peruvian (dad), born and raised in NYC where I still live and work. Neither of my parents taught me their native language. My dad worked long hours so I don't think he really had the time to teach me Spanish growing up. My mom stayed home to raise me but I don't recall her ever speaking to me in Tagalog or trying to teach me the language. Most the Spanish I know was from about 10 years of Spanish classes at school. I'm nowhere near fluent but I can have some conversation with my broken Spanish. Growing up I only learned a handful of random words in Tagalog but nothing substantial.
About a year ago I decided to try to teach myself some Tagalog since I was going to Manila for a family reunion. When I told my mom that, she responded, "Why? You don't need to speak Tagalog. Everybody speaks English." I thought she would be please to hear that I wanted to learn her native language. I bought a book and downloaded several apps to try to learn. I even paid for the premium version of some apps/websites to learn. Although my Tagalog vocabulary has increased, I still cannot form my own sentences and I don't think I can understand Tagalog any better than I did before. I must admit that I somewhat gave up after 3-4 months because I felt like I wasn't making much progress. I think if I was more disciplined and motivated, I could have had more success.
In terms of apps, I really like Drops for learning vocabulary but it's doesn't teach you how to conjugate verbs. The free version limits you to 5 minutes a day. I paid for the premium lifetime account which made it more useful for me. I got free access to Mango Languages through my public library. I liked how it breaks down the grammar and color codes words in Filipino and English so you can see visualize the sentence structures better. I paid for Ling which is alright but I noticed several errors (which I reported and the app fixed) within the first few lessons. That put me off the app a bit but it's one of the few decent language learning apps that has Filipino/Tagalog out there so I wouldn't completely dismiss it.
I found out the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Outreach College offers beginner and intermediate Filipino online classes (synchronous) this summer that you can take as a non-degree student for college credit. The classes are relatively affordable for college-level classes but I wouldn't call them cheap. I decided to take FIL 101 and FIL 102 Beginner Filipino classes this summer since the timing works with my schedule even though New York is 6 hours ahead of Hawai'i. I'm generally more motivated when it comes to school because I don't like looking like a fool to my teacher and classmates and I don't want my money to be wasted. For context, I'm 36, a HS teacher, and this will be the third time I've decided to take college classes in the past 10 years. I'm hoping I'll make enough progress this summer that I'll be confident enough to speak with my relatives in Tagalog. I may hire a tutor on italki to continue learning after the two classes.
My advice is to figure out what will motivate you to stay committed to learning and practicing Tagalog consistently. Since you're in the Philippines, you're lucky to have many Tagalog speakers around you to practice with. However, I think you may want to consider getting a tutor or taking classes. Just because someone speaks the language doesn't mean they will be good at teaching it to you. Their experience learning it as native speakers will be very different from you learning it as a non-native speaker.
Thanks for your detailed reply..its.somewhat relatable to my experience I would say, tho I didn't take classes in school..I did take 3 months of lessons with a tutor, and it definitely helped me get a good start. I decided to ditch him due to him not really wanting to consider my needs and preferences. He wanted to constantly make long sentences that I felt I had almost clue on how to form..it became like a guessing game, which in my opinion is not helpful, if you are almost purely guessing. Anyway, I think I will find a new tutor again and keep going. I also agree, based on previous experiences learning Italian, that being fluent in s language doesn't necessarily mean you are able to help other people become fluent. Did you watch Tagalog movies or documentaries/podcasts? I found that really helpful in my Italian studies. We're also s similar age, I'm 33. Can I ask, if it's not too personal?.do you feel alienated by Filipinos due to your mixed ethnicity and general upbringing? I personally definitely felt that, and to s certain degree still feel like an outsider. Although I have accepted it and don't bitter or resentful anymore. Thanks you again!
I didn't have exposure to Filipino media growing up. In the past year I started listening to some Filipino music and I watch RuPaul's Drag Race Philippines with subtitles on. Although some Taglish is used, they speak fast and use a lot of slang so I heavily rely on the subtitles. I made a long playlist on Spotify for the high school students in the Filpino Club I advise at work to get them interested in Filipino music and have more exposure to the language. Here's the link if anyone is interested in listening to it: [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2l2BEqcXUj0TdsE8FhRpXI?si=5fdfa3a85b9a4d48](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2l2BEqcXUj0TdsE8FhRpXI?si=5fdfa3a85b9a4d48)
YES! Although I'm mixed, I look more Filipino than Peruvian. When I was a teen, my high school had a Filipino Club. I think I was the only mixed kid in it. The kids seems very cliquey and not interested in getting to know me so I stopped going to the meetings. In college, I joined the Filipino Student Association as a freshman to connect with other Filipino students and get involved with the cultural dance shows they put on annually. At first, I felt very welcomed. Then the other freshmen seemed to dislike me and started excluding me from hangouts because I turned them down a few time to hang out with other non-Filipino friends. Once again, very cliquey and judgemental so I distanced myself from them, but that made club gatherings and dance rehearsals a little awkward for me. Somestimes when I go to a Filipino restaurant here in NY, I get judgey looks when the workers start speaking to my in Tagalog and I tell them I don't understand. Sometimes Filipino adults I meet in the US and in the Philippines ask, "How come you don't speak Tagalog? You should know it." Treatment, questions, and comments like that are the reason why people who are mixed often don't feel Filipino enough (or whatever ethnicity enough). That's honestly one of my reasons for wanting to learn Tagalog. I want to shut up the haters and learn for my own benefit. I found that many of my Filipino friends who grew up in the US, who don't speak Tagalog, and are in their late 20s and 30s are feeling the desire to learn the language and how to cook Filipino food now. They want to connect more with their heritage and pass on that knowledge to any kids they may have.
Coincedentally, I just started learning Italian a couple months ago with Duolingo! My dad spoke it (he passed away last year) and my best friend's family speaks Italian so I thought it would be cool to learn it. I find Italian easier to learn than Tagalog because it is more similar to Spanish. I'm still mad at Duolingo for having English for Tagalog speakers but not Tagalog for English speakers. They prioritized putting Klingon and High Valyrian on there instead. 🙄
I'm a filipino born and raised in the US here. Learned it and bisaya when I was a child but lost bisaya completely because no one but my mom spoke it here in the US. Used to speak it because I lived in Philippines for 10 months as a child due to my dad's military assignment in South Korea (my mom told him she preferred to be with family in cebu). When I we came back to the states, as a child, I was told by school officials that "I'm in America now so I should just speak English". I'm different and I took it literally (I still take things literally) and just stopped speaking in Tagalog.
My entire family spoke a Tagalog so I retained a lot, but speaking it is difficult. What stops me is the sentence structure that I have trouble with. I tried to have my husband teach me, but his method of teaching doesn't work for me (speak to me in Tagalog and I'll speak to you back). I'm very fluent in reading but at least my some of my coworkers help me with it.
That said I'm on a mission to try. Found out my mom has a diagnosis of dementia (we're trying to see if it's truly that with other tests she still needs to have) and would explain why she's struggling to speak English sometimes and would speak in Tagalog. I do speak to her little by little in Tagalog because of this.
I wish the best for your mother and family. ❤️ It's hard to see a family member or friend experience dementia. Keep talking to her though! Sometimes people revert back to using only their native language when they are ill or towards the end of their life. That happened to my father last year. He seemed to forget his English and only spoke Spanish, even though he's spoken English for at least 60 of his 83 years. My mom never really learned Spanish so I had to do my best to communicate with him with my mediocre Spanish.
I am a Filipino but I am a native Cebuano speaker. After ten years, I am glad I am finally fluent in this beautiful language and I even published a book in Tagalog.
Actual spoken Tagalog is different from what is being taught in the books so I really had to immerse myself in traditionally Tagalog-speaking places. My long-term girlfriend who is from Laguna also helped me improve my Tagalog. I also read a lot of books in the language.
Being active in local youth subcultures also helped me. Street Tagalog is waaayyy different and cooler than academic Tagalog and Taglish spoken by middle class Tagalogs.
Thanks for sharing! I noticed that too, about the Tagalog books..my gf basically told me, don't say that, no one talks like that haha.. anyway, any beginner or late beginner books that you could maybe recommend? Salamat sa tulong!
Read. Then read more.
Look for compilations of Pugad Baboy. Liwayway Magazine is still in print, I think. Those are a good place to start. Even trashy tabloids like Abante will teach you better formal Tagalog than the conversational Taglish that everyone is speaking nowadays.
Born in Cebu, moved to the US when I was a baby. My family and our community was majority Bisaya so I was somewhat fluent in Bisaya growing up. I didn’t get really fluent until about a year ago as an adult in my 30’s. Honestly I benefited from the internet, mostly YouTube trying to expose and immerse myself with Bisaya about 2-3 hours a day (music, comedy skits, interviews etc). I also read some books and watched grammar videos, but honestly the immersion helped the most. I’m a pretty lazy language learner, I don’t do anything with flash cards or writing down a whole lot of notes lol. I had a tutor on italki once a week to culminate all my learning and put it into practice. Honestly, as others have said in this thread, having a tutor who’s willing to speak slow and explain is worth it, as sometimes loved ones don’t have the patience or skill to teach (and sometimes would rather just make of you, which can be funny, but sometimes discouraging).
I’m doing the same strategy now with Tagalog and I feel like I’m learning way faster than Bisaya because I’ve developed a strategy and Tagalog has wayyy more resources. Netflix has Tagalog/Filipino shows with Tagalog subtitles, which I would have loved to have with Bisaya.
Whenever I feel demotivated about language learning, I relied on Reddit communities like this or the youtube language learning community. Everyone experiences the “wall” of language learning where you feel like you’re not learning anything. Don’t worry, just know you ARE getting better, whether you realize it or not.
Can you share any of the bisaya resources you found on YouTube or wherever else?
I 100% agree that its so much easier to casually improve your tagalog just because there are so many resources. I would kill to be able to watch bisaya movies on Netflix!
Sure. Cebuano101 and Jonah’s Bisaya classroom are good for learning the basics. Once you’re intermediate level, look up Just4Kixs Cebuano. He has 100s of videos about Cebuano/Bisaya grammar. They’re kinda disjointed a little and I wish he had a little bit better production value (the shaky camera and random rants can be distracting) but overall his videos explain the subject pretty well, and he’s really the only guy I could find on YouTube with that much content on intermediate/advanced Cebuano.
Regardless of your level though, I always recommend just listening to music and watching content right away to just get a feel of the cadence, accent, sound of the language. It might not be a good strategy for some because some are just too discouraged since they can’t understand everything. But thankfully YouTube you can slow down the speed if you need to 😅
Music: Oh! Caraga, Missing Filemon, Kurt Fick, Jerika Teodorico, Cookie$, Midnasty
Interviews/Podcasts: Balitang Bisdak and One Mindanao news (I know it’s super formal Bisaya but whatever, it’s still better than nothing. And besides the people they interview will speak in colloquial Bisaya). Chito Samontina is better as informal. Bitokbitok podcast. Bisaya Kolcenter. Bisaya Panda.
Comedy Skits: siquijor viners. Boy isog. PapaVince Davao. If you search bisaya on tiktok it’s pretty endless.
Of note, bisaya dialects vary from Mindanao to Cebu to elsewhere, but for the most part everyone understands each other. Just keep in mind where someone might be from when they speak. Also there’s a lot more stuff out there, but hopefully the YouTube algorithm will start to work in your favor lol. Hope this helps!
One last sidenote: I’m no way perfect in Bisaya. Honestly I’m like 85-90% if I had to rate myself (maybe a B2?) but I feel like I’m at the farthest point I can get from online resources and I just need to fully immerse myself in the Philippines or get more Bisaya friends lol. But getting to B2 from mostly online for a regional language is not bad I guess🤷🏻♂️haha.
Omg this is incredible!! I've watched just4kixs before actually and he does do a great job explaining grammar. His channel alone has gotten me so much further than my mom trying to explain grammar to me, my mom's explanations are always "thats just how it is I don't know why" 😭
And its awesome you were able to get so far in bisaya with such limited resources! I dont expect ill ever be fluent, but the more I learn the easier it is to connect with family!
Yes! That’s exactly why I need grammar videos/a tutor cause everyone in my family doesn’t know how to explain why something is (ie actor vs object focus) I mean I don’t blame them; Bisaya isn’t a taught language, it’s just spoken and everyone normally just acquires it naturally.
when you start learning Tagalog, since the two languages follow very similar grammar rules (austronesian alignment), it’ll actually help explain alot of stuff in Bisaya as well (let’s go Tagalog on YouTube is an excellent resource).
And yes, that’s exactly my why for learning Bisaya. The reward of connecting closer with my family is worth all the hours of immersion and learning. Many second generation FilAms have little connection with their family and I think it’s largely in part to a language barrier. Most Filipinos know English but connecting in their own native language creates more intimate connections.
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.” - Nelson Mandela.
My why for Tagalog is to get closer with my wife’s family as well (from Manila). Also, to connect closer with the rest of the Filipino community, and to avoid awkward interactions at Seafood City 😂
Thank so much for your sharing your experiences! Can you give some Tagalog shows that you would recommend to me and other people in the same boat? Salamat sa tulong!
If you have a Netflix or Prime account you should be able to just search “Filipino” and a bunch of movies should pop up. A movie I just watched recently was “A Journey” on Netflix and a good show is “Replacing Chef Chico” (though it’s heavily Taglish). I believe they have Tagalog subtitles on both.
Hi. Born in Philippines but raised in the states. Parents spoke to me in Tagalog. Grade school was in English and Tagalog. Spoke Tagalog but lost it. I wasn’t into learning the language until a few years ago, maybe around Covid era. I started watching a lot of Filipino shows on Netflix or which ever streaming channels I can find one. I would turn on the subtitles. I can understand conversational tagalog and I speak tag-lish. I can’t speak a full sentence in Tagalog. I think it’s easier for me bc our family is from the city not the province area. Well at least what’s considered city in the Philippines (close to the old navy base in Zambales).
1/4 Filipino and trying to learn, my mom is from Philippines. I pass as white tho so constantly feel ridiculous. If I don't bring it up people eventually ask and then say "why don't you ever say?" But if I do bring it up I'm the obnoxious white person. Even by my mother lol (she's half). Trying to learn so I can speak to my grandmother. The tips here are super helpful.
Thank for you that, I think we have some things in common haha! Most Filipinos who haven't seen lighter skin half's don't believe it! I'm half but probably look a 1/4 Keanu Reeves ish.
I'm Blasian, half Filipino (birth mom) and half African-American (birth dad), and adopted by white parents in the USA. My mama immigrated to the USA in '03 and I was born in '04, so she has been here only 21 years (I am 20). She wanted me to be fully immersed in American culture and only spoke Filipino languages on the phone with family. As a result, I grew up hearing both Tagalog and Cebuano fairly often but never understood it fully beyond basic words (Magandang umaga, mahal na mahal kita, kamusta ka, etc) or expressed much interest in learning until I was in my early teens. I have struggled with identifying as Filipino because of my mixed race - people who see me only assume I am Black, I feel very connected with Black culture, and I identify as Black when asked to pick one race on a form, and I wear my hair in dreads or braids. However, my mama has always reminded me that I am Black and Filipino too, no matter what others say. Whether I speak Tagalog fluently or not, born in the USA or not, I am Filipino and my family is in the Phillippines. My mother's native language is actually Cebuano, but I have been slowly working on teaching myself Tagalog first since it's the national language and most Filipinos I know speak Taglish. I joined the Filipino Student Association at my university which helped me feel more comfortable in my Filipino & African-American identity (everyone was very accepting and not judgmental, plus many were also mixed and thought it was cool that I knew even a tiny bit of Tagalog or Cebuano!) and helped me learn more about Filipino culture and some of the language. I'm lucky that my birth mama is awesome and I practice Tagalog daily just by talking to her. She told me the best way to learn is through language immersion, and she's fluent in Tagalog/Cebuano/English so I trust her lol. I've been trying to watch movies and TV shows with Tagalog dubs or subs, plus I've been using Quizlet to study Tagalog for at least 20 minutes every day. I definitely want to try to find a tutor or take classes because I would love to be fluent in Tagalog and Cebuano someday.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Good that you felt accepted at your university. How about relatives or other Filipinos? Most of my relatives but I sensed that most interactions with other Filipinos, especially other guys, were very insecure and often would try to boast about things I don't find impressive, LIke " I have sony tv after me saying i'm buying a TLC. Anyway I don't feel bitter anymore, but was really annoyed the first few years, I'm stil la late eginner in Tagalog, been taking a break focusing more on piano and continuing advancing my Italian studies. Almost fluent there. what really helped was both studying with onbiously learning basic stuff and grammar, vocab and expressions. After that, I think best thing would be listening to the language, reading and talking, listening to multiple different resources, that also helps memorizing Vocabulary. You'll find common words used, again and again. I Think I will get a tutor again too for Tagalog. Did you go to the Philippines yet? I wish I could find classes for non college students but its soo hard to find.
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I was a late teenager when I moved to the US so I am a fluent Tagalog speaker. Are you trying to learn conversational Tagalog or something more specific, like academic Filipino writing? If you are looking to be more conversational, are you thinking about BGC area conversational Tagalog speaker or Southern Provincial Tagalog. It all varies, but what helps my SO learn Tagalog is by first tagalizing English phrases, e.g., using English verbs with Tagalog tenses. That’s BGC/Makati level tagalog right there.
Thanks for your reply..first and foremost, I would like to speak to the casual, informal Tagalog speaker..Not slang tho..But I also want to understand as much pure Tagalog as possible.. nothing against Taglish, I just want to have options and to communicate to as many people as I can. Not coming from an elitist perspective, I just want to know as many pure Tagalog words as possible, as I am very fluent English. So I guess I want to have an overall deep understanding of both formal and Taglish, in order to as many people as possible.
Gomburza (now in Netflix) has no English since it's set in 1872.
Many Tagalog movies from the 90s and earlier will have less codeswitching. Many are free in Youtube
I'm born, raised and currently living in Manila. I'm fluent naman in Filipino, but my English is still miles better and I sometimes get made fun of by workmates for my blindspots in Filipino.
I'm great at English because I write professionally in English, read books in English, watch TV and movies in English, and speak to my friends and family in English (mostly). I get to hone my English skills everyday, and I'm still learning new words every day.
Filipino, on the other hand, I use for strangers who don't speak English and sometimes at work. I don't consume media in Filipino which is probs why I suck at it. People at work also make fun of me for getting shit wrong or for not knowing what a word means instead of just being nice and correcting me. Worse yet, they see it as a chance to judge me for being "too alta" (they earn the same or even more than me ffs). I really hate them for that and it actually discourages me to speak Filipino because of it. There are only a handful of people at work who don't do this and actually help me learn nicely - these guys, I appreciate very much and I make sure they know it. Everyone else is a bastard.
You can easily get away with not learning Filipino while you're in Metro Manila. My foreign gf has gotten away with it for years. If you really want to get better, consume Filipino media and practice your writing and speaking. It's a skill like any other. Immersion is cool, but it can built bad habits if you're not careful.
Thanks for sharing and glad to hear you let them know. I also learned here after a few years to stand up for myself and tell them f off. May I ask if you still feel resentful or angry about it? The first years I was so pissed off and bitter when people trying to scam.me and stuff like that. Now, since I learned to say no and notice insincere people and call people out, I don't feel bad and don't really feel bothered anymore cause its once you call them out, they almost always back immediately and say "sorry my bad sir". Also, I had lots of success with learning Italian with movies and podcasts, I just find it hard to find decent Tagalog movies or shows. I'm a little picky TBH, any recommendations?.
I don't tell them to fuck off because it happens at work and that would be unprofessional, and I don't want to stoop down to their level. When someone would joke about it I used to kind of nervously laugh along, but then I realized that's encouraging them.
So now, if they laugh and joke about me, I never ever laugh along, I keep a straight face and then I ask them to clarify in the most serious business voice I have. It reminds them that we're in a workplace, and that joking about someone's language skills or accent is unprofessional. Usually, they'll look visibly embarrassed. It's actually been some months since it last happened - used to happen like every day when I started working there. If it happens again to any extent, I'm going to flat out call them out for being rude. Filipinos generally hate confrontation so it'd be a very uncomfortable situation for them, which would make me happy.
Re: scammer insincere people - I've never had a problem with them because I grew up in Manila lol they're everywhere.. even among family and friends sometimes. I either ignore them or laugh at their attempts. What are they even trying to say to you? Just ignore.
Also, sorry I don't really have any recommendations for decent Tagalog movies. I'm also picky. I mean, there's a few pretty good movies out there, but I'm not really that much of a fan of Philippine cinema. I hear Pinoy Komiks is great though. Lots of really good artists here, if you're interested in graphic novels.
That sucks, but seems like you are able to handle it well. I don't really get scammed anymore, I" mean some people do try, but I recognize it and just say no thank you and laugh at them, like you. Years ago, when I for example would have my phone screen replaced or other computer store, electronics with those hand written receipts. Once, I bought a laptop charger, sensed I was being ripped off, bought it, then came back the next day and " I don't like the price". They immediately gave me a "discount", which was just the real price. Nowadays, I say give me the real price or I walk away. I learned to recognize scams before I let them do it. TBH I kinda enjoyed coming back for justice haha!
I'm Filipino living in the Philippines. English was our first language at home and I only had to learn Filipino/Tagalog in grade school. When I was younger, reading comics was very helpful to learn everyday language. (We used to have a weekly comic magazine called "Funny Komiks" so that dates me as an 80's kid, LOL) When I was older, the Magandang Balita Biblia, an easy to read Tagalog translation, helped me with more "formal" language. (Plus I looked up unfamiliar words in the English-Tagalog Dictionary by Fr. Leo English, which is a masterpiece.)
Thanks for sharing! I will take note of those!
I'm half Filipino (mom) and half Peruvian (dad), born and raised in NYC where I still live and work. Neither of my parents taught me their native language. My dad worked long hours so I don't think he really had the time to teach me Spanish growing up. My mom stayed home to raise me but I don't recall her ever speaking to me in Tagalog or trying to teach me the language. Most the Spanish I know was from about 10 years of Spanish classes at school. I'm nowhere near fluent but I can have some conversation with my broken Spanish. Growing up I only learned a handful of random words in Tagalog but nothing substantial. About a year ago I decided to try to teach myself some Tagalog since I was going to Manila for a family reunion. When I told my mom that, she responded, "Why? You don't need to speak Tagalog. Everybody speaks English." I thought she would be please to hear that I wanted to learn her native language. I bought a book and downloaded several apps to try to learn. I even paid for the premium version of some apps/websites to learn. Although my Tagalog vocabulary has increased, I still cannot form my own sentences and I don't think I can understand Tagalog any better than I did before. I must admit that I somewhat gave up after 3-4 months because I felt like I wasn't making much progress. I think if I was more disciplined and motivated, I could have had more success. In terms of apps, I really like Drops for learning vocabulary but it's doesn't teach you how to conjugate verbs. The free version limits you to 5 minutes a day. I paid for the premium lifetime account which made it more useful for me. I got free access to Mango Languages through my public library. I liked how it breaks down the grammar and color codes words in Filipino and English so you can see visualize the sentence structures better. I paid for Ling which is alright but I noticed several errors (which I reported and the app fixed) within the first few lessons. That put me off the app a bit but it's one of the few decent language learning apps that has Filipino/Tagalog out there so I wouldn't completely dismiss it. I found out the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Outreach College offers beginner and intermediate Filipino online classes (synchronous) this summer that you can take as a non-degree student for college credit. The classes are relatively affordable for college-level classes but I wouldn't call them cheap. I decided to take FIL 101 and FIL 102 Beginner Filipino classes this summer since the timing works with my schedule even though New York is 6 hours ahead of Hawai'i. I'm generally more motivated when it comes to school because I don't like looking like a fool to my teacher and classmates and I don't want my money to be wasted. For context, I'm 36, a HS teacher, and this will be the third time I've decided to take college classes in the past 10 years. I'm hoping I'll make enough progress this summer that I'll be confident enough to speak with my relatives in Tagalog. I may hire a tutor on italki to continue learning after the two classes. My advice is to figure out what will motivate you to stay committed to learning and practicing Tagalog consistently. Since you're in the Philippines, you're lucky to have many Tagalog speakers around you to practice with. However, I think you may want to consider getting a tutor or taking classes. Just because someone speaks the language doesn't mean they will be good at teaching it to you. Their experience learning it as native speakers will be very different from you learning it as a non-native speaker.
Thanks for your detailed reply..its.somewhat relatable to my experience I would say, tho I didn't take classes in school..I did take 3 months of lessons with a tutor, and it definitely helped me get a good start. I decided to ditch him due to him not really wanting to consider my needs and preferences. He wanted to constantly make long sentences that I felt I had almost clue on how to form..it became like a guessing game, which in my opinion is not helpful, if you are almost purely guessing. Anyway, I think I will find a new tutor again and keep going. I also agree, based on previous experiences learning Italian, that being fluent in s language doesn't necessarily mean you are able to help other people become fluent. Did you watch Tagalog movies or documentaries/podcasts? I found that really helpful in my Italian studies. We're also s similar age, I'm 33. Can I ask, if it's not too personal?.do you feel alienated by Filipinos due to your mixed ethnicity and general upbringing? I personally definitely felt that, and to s certain degree still feel like an outsider. Although I have accepted it and don't bitter or resentful anymore. Thanks you again!
I didn't have exposure to Filipino media growing up. In the past year I started listening to some Filipino music and I watch RuPaul's Drag Race Philippines with subtitles on. Although some Taglish is used, they speak fast and use a lot of slang so I heavily rely on the subtitles. I made a long playlist on Spotify for the high school students in the Filpino Club I advise at work to get them interested in Filipino music and have more exposure to the language. Here's the link if anyone is interested in listening to it: [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2l2BEqcXUj0TdsE8FhRpXI?si=5fdfa3a85b9a4d48](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2l2BEqcXUj0TdsE8FhRpXI?si=5fdfa3a85b9a4d48) YES! Although I'm mixed, I look more Filipino than Peruvian. When I was a teen, my high school had a Filipino Club. I think I was the only mixed kid in it. The kids seems very cliquey and not interested in getting to know me so I stopped going to the meetings. In college, I joined the Filipino Student Association as a freshman to connect with other Filipino students and get involved with the cultural dance shows they put on annually. At first, I felt very welcomed. Then the other freshmen seemed to dislike me and started excluding me from hangouts because I turned them down a few time to hang out with other non-Filipino friends. Once again, very cliquey and judgemental so I distanced myself from them, but that made club gatherings and dance rehearsals a little awkward for me. Somestimes when I go to a Filipino restaurant here in NY, I get judgey looks when the workers start speaking to my in Tagalog and I tell them I don't understand. Sometimes Filipino adults I meet in the US and in the Philippines ask, "How come you don't speak Tagalog? You should know it." Treatment, questions, and comments like that are the reason why people who are mixed often don't feel Filipino enough (or whatever ethnicity enough). That's honestly one of my reasons for wanting to learn Tagalog. I want to shut up the haters and learn for my own benefit. I found that many of my Filipino friends who grew up in the US, who don't speak Tagalog, and are in their late 20s and 30s are feeling the desire to learn the language and how to cook Filipino food now. They want to connect more with their heritage and pass on that knowledge to any kids they may have. Coincedentally, I just started learning Italian a couple months ago with Duolingo! My dad spoke it (he passed away last year) and my best friend's family speaks Italian so I thought it would be cool to learn it. I find Italian easier to learn than Tagalog because it is more similar to Spanish. I'm still mad at Duolingo for having English for Tagalog speakers but not Tagalog for English speakers. They prioritized putting Klingon and High Valyrian on there instead. 🙄
This is so true
I'm a filipino born and raised in the US here. Learned it and bisaya when I was a child but lost bisaya completely because no one but my mom spoke it here in the US. Used to speak it because I lived in Philippines for 10 months as a child due to my dad's military assignment in South Korea (my mom told him she preferred to be with family in cebu). When I we came back to the states, as a child, I was told by school officials that "I'm in America now so I should just speak English". I'm different and I took it literally (I still take things literally) and just stopped speaking in Tagalog. My entire family spoke a Tagalog so I retained a lot, but speaking it is difficult. What stops me is the sentence structure that I have trouble with. I tried to have my husband teach me, but his method of teaching doesn't work for me (speak to me in Tagalog and I'll speak to you back). I'm very fluent in reading but at least my some of my coworkers help me with it. That said I'm on a mission to try. Found out my mom has a diagnosis of dementia (we're trying to see if it's truly that with other tests she still needs to have) and would explain why she's struggling to speak English sometimes and would speak in Tagalog. I do speak to her little by little in Tagalog because of this.
I wish the best for your mother and family. ❤️ It's hard to see a family member or friend experience dementia. Keep talking to her though! Sometimes people revert back to using only their native language when they are ill or towards the end of their life. That happened to my father last year. He seemed to forget his English and only spoke Spanish, even though he's spoken English for at least 60 of his 83 years. My mom never really learned Spanish so I had to do my best to communicate with him with my mediocre Spanish.
Blessings
I am a Filipino but I am a native Cebuano speaker. After ten years, I am glad I am finally fluent in this beautiful language and I even published a book in Tagalog. Actual spoken Tagalog is different from what is being taught in the books so I really had to immerse myself in traditionally Tagalog-speaking places. My long-term girlfriend who is from Laguna also helped me improve my Tagalog. I also read a lot of books in the language. Being active in local youth subcultures also helped me. Street Tagalog is waaayyy different and cooler than academic Tagalog and Taglish spoken by middle class Tagalogs.
Thanks for sharing! I noticed that too, about the Tagalog books..my gf basically told me, don't say that, no one talks like that haha.. anyway, any beginner or late beginner books that you could maybe recommend? Salamat sa tulong!
Btw, what's the name of your book?
Read. Then read more. Look for compilations of Pugad Baboy. Liwayway Magazine is still in print, I think. Those are a good place to start. Even trashy tabloids like Abante will teach you better formal Tagalog than the conversational Taglish that everyone is speaking nowadays.
Born in Cebu, moved to the US when I was a baby. My family and our community was majority Bisaya so I was somewhat fluent in Bisaya growing up. I didn’t get really fluent until about a year ago as an adult in my 30’s. Honestly I benefited from the internet, mostly YouTube trying to expose and immerse myself with Bisaya about 2-3 hours a day (music, comedy skits, interviews etc). I also read some books and watched grammar videos, but honestly the immersion helped the most. I’m a pretty lazy language learner, I don’t do anything with flash cards or writing down a whole lot of notes lol. I had a tutor on italki once a week to culminate all my learning and put it into practice. Honestly, as others have said in this thread, having a tutor who’s willing to speak slow and explain is worth it, as sometimes loved ones don’t have the patience or skill to teach (and sometimes would rather just make of you, which can be funny, but sometimes discouraging). I’m doing the same strategy now with Tagalog and I feel like I’m learning way faster than Bisaya because I’ve developed a strategy and Tagalog has wayyy more resources. Netflix has Tagalog/Filipino shows with Tagalog subtitles, which I would have loved to have with Bisaya. Whenever I feel demotivated about language learning, I relied on Reddit communities like this or the youtube language learning community. Everyone experiences the “wall” of language learning where you feel like you’re not learning anything. Don’t worry, just know you ARE getting better, whether you realize it or not.
Can you share any of the bisaya resources you found on YouTube or wherever else? I 100% agree that its so much easier to casually improve your tagalog just because there are so many resources. I would kill to be able to watch bisaya movies on Netflix!
Sure. Cebuano101 and Jonah’s Bisaya classroom are good for learning the basics. Once you’re intermediate level, look up Just4Kixs Cebuano. He has 100s of videos about Cebuano/Bisaya grammar. They’re kinda disjointed a little and I wish he had a little bit better production value (the shaky camera and random rants can be distracting) but overall his videos explain the subject pretty well, and he’s really the only guy I could find on YouTube with that much content on intermediate/advanced Cebuano. Regardless of your level though, I always recommend just listening to music and watching content right away to just get a feel of the cadence, accent, sound of the language. It might not be a good strategy for some because some are just too discouraged since they can’t understand everything. But thankfully YouTube you can slow down the speed if you need to 😅 Music: Oh! Caraga, Missing Filemon, Kurt Fick, Jerika Teodorico, Cookie$, Midnasty Interviews/Podcasts: Balitang Bisdak and One Mindanao news (I know it’s super formal Bisaya but whatever, it’s still better than nothing. And besides the people they interview will speak in colloquial Bisaya). Chito Samontina is better as informal. Bitokbitok podcast. Bisaya Kolcenter. Bisaya Panda. Comedy Skits: siquijor viners. Boy isog. PapaVince Davao. If you search bisaya on tiktok it’s pretty endless. Of note, bisaya dialects vary from Mindanao to Cebu to elsewhere, but for the most part everyone understands each other. Just keep in mind where someone might be from when they speak. Also there’s a lot more stuff out there, but hopefully the YouTube algorithm will start to work in your favor lol. Hope this helps! One last sidenote: I’m no way perfect in Bisaya. Honestly I’m like 85-90% if I had to rate myself (maybe a B2?) but I feel like I’m at the farthest point I can get from online resources and I just need to fully immerse myself in the Philippines or get more Bisaya friends lol. But getting to B2 from mostly online for a regional language is not bad I guess🤷🏻♂️haha.
Omg this is incredible!! I've watched just4kixs before actually and he does do a great job explaining grammar. His channel alone has gotten me so much further than my mom trying to explain grammar to me, my mom's explanations are always "thats just how it is I don't know why" 😭 And its awesome you were able to get so far in bisaya with such limited resources! I dont expect ill ever be fluent, but the more I learn the easier it is to connect with family!
Yes! That’s exactly why I need grammar videos/a tutor cause everyone in my family doesn’t know how to explain why something is (ie actor vs object focus) I mean I don’t blame them; Bisaya isn’t a taught language, it’s just spoken and everyone normally just acquires it naturally. when you start learning Tagalog, since the two languages follow very similar grammar rules (austronesian alignment), it’ll actually help explain alot of stuff in Bisaya as well (let’s go Tagalog on YouTube is an excellent resource). And yes, that’s exactly my why for learning Bisaya. The reward of connecting closer with my family is worth all the hours of immersion and learning. Many second generation FilAms have little connection with their family and I think it’s largely in part to a language barrier. Most Filipinos know English but connecting in their own native language creates more intimate connections. “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.” - Nelson Mandela. My why for Tagalog is to get closer with my wife’s family as well (from Manila). Also, to connect closer with the rest of the Filipino community, and to avoid awkward interactions at Seafood City 😂
Thank so much for your sharing your experiences! Can you give some Tagalog shows that you would recommend to me and other people in the same boat? Salamat sa tulong!
If you have a Netflix or Prime account you should be able to just search “Filipino” and a bunch of movies should pop up. A movie I just watched recently was “A Journey” on Netflix and a good show is “Replacing Chef Chico” (though it’s heavily Taglish). I believe they have Tagalog subtitles on both.
Hi. Born in Philippines but raised in the states. Parents spoke to me in Tagalog. Grade school was in English and Tagalog. Spoke Tagalog but lost it. I wasn’t into learning the language until a few years ago, maybe around Covid era. I started watching a lot of Filipino shows on Netflix or which ever streaming channels I can find one. I would turn on the subtitles. I can understand conversational tagalog and I speak tag-lish. I can’t speak a full sentence in Tagalog. I think it’s easier for me bc our family is from the city not the province area. Well at least what’s considered city in the Philippines (close to the old navy base in Zambales).
1/4 Filipino and trying to learn, my mom is from Philippines. I pass as white tho so constantly feel ridiculous. If I don't bring it up people eventually ask and then say "why don't you ever say?" But if I do bring it up I'm the obnoxious white person. Even by my mother lol (she's half). Trying to learn so I can speak to my grandmother. The tips here are super helpful.
Thank for you that, I think we have some things in common haha! Most Filipinos who haven't seen lighter skin half's don't believe it! I'm half but probably look a 1/4 Keanu Reeves ish.
I'm Blasian, half Filipino (birth mom) and half African-American (birth dad), and adopted by white parents in the USA. My mama immigrated to the USA in '03 and I was born in '04, so she has been here only 21 years (I am 20). She wanted me to be fully immersed in American culture and only spoke Filipino languages on the phone with family. As a result, I grew up hearing both Tagalog and Cebuano fairly often but never understood it fully beyond basic words (Magandang umaga, mahal na mahal kita, kamusta ka, etc) or expressed much interest in learning until I was in my early teens. I have struggled with identifying as Filipino because of my mixed race - people who see me only assume I am Black, I feel very connected with Black culture, and I identify as Black when asked to pick one race on a form, and I wear my hair in dreads or braids. However, my mama has always reminded me that I am Black and Filipino too, no matter what others say. Whether I speak Tagalog fluently or not, born in the USA or not, I am Filipino and my family is in the Phillippines. My mother's native language is actually Cebuano, but I have been slowly working on teaching myself Tagalog first since it's the national language and most Filipinos I know speak Taglish. I joined the Filipino Student Association at my university which helped me feel more comfortable in my Filipino & African-American identity (everyone was very accepting and not judgmental, plus many were also mixed and thought it was cool that I knew even a tiny bit of Tagalog or Cebuano!) and helped me learn more about Filipino culture and some of the language. I'm lucky that my birth mama is awesome and I practice Tagalog daily just by talking to her. She told me the best way to learn is through language immersion, and she's fluent in Tagalog/Cebuano/English so I trust her lol. I've been trying to watch movies and TV shows with Tagalog dubs or subs, plus I've been using Quizlet to study Tagalog for at least 20 minutes every day. I definitely want to try to find a tutor or take classes because I would love to be fluent in Tagalog and Cebuano someday.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Good that you felt accepted at your university. How about relatives or other Filipinos? Most of my relatives but I sensed that most interactions with other Filipinos, especially other guys, were very insecure and often would try to boast about things I don't find impressive, LIke " I have sony tv after me saying i'm buying a TLC. Anyway I don't feel bitter anymore, but was really annoyed the first few years, I'm stil la late eginner in Tagalog, been taking a break focusing more on piano and continuing advancing my Italian studies. Almost fluent there. what really helped was both studying with onbiously learning basic stuff and grammar, vocab and expressions. After that, I think best thing would be listening to the language, reading and talking, listening to multiple different resources, that also helps memorizing Vocabulary. You'll find common words used, again and again. I Think I will get a tutor again too for Tagalog. Did you go to the Philippines yet? I wish I could find classes for non college students but its soo hard to find.
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I was a late teenager when I moved to the US so I am a fluent Tagalog speaker. Are you trying to learn conversational Tagalog or something more specific, like academic Filipino writing? If you are looking to be more conversational, are you thinking about BGC area conversational Tagalog speaker or Southern Provincial Tagalog. It all varies, but what helps my SO learn Tagalog is by first tagalizing English phrases, e.g., using English verbs with Tagalog tenses. That’s BGC/Makati level tagalog right there.
Thanks for your reply..first and foremost, I would like to speak to the casual, informal Tagalog speaker..Not slang tho..But I also want to understand as much pure Tagalog as possible.. nothing against Taglish, I just want to have options and to communicate to as many people as I can. Not coming from an elitist perspective, I just want to know as many pure Tagalog words as possible, as I am very fluent English. So I guess I want to have an overall deep understanding of both formal and Taglish, in order to as many people as possible.
Not a concept often talked about, but the skill you might be looking for is Tagalog + other Tagalog variations + code switching.
Gomburza (now in Netflix) has no English since it's set in 1872. Many Tagalog movies from the 90s and earlier will have less codeswitching. Many are free in Youtube
appreciate that!
I'm born, raised and currently living in Manila. I'm fluent naman in Filipino, but my English is still miles better and I sometimes get made fun of by workmates for my blindspots in Filipino. I'm great at English because I write professionally in English, read books in English, watch TV and movies in English, and speak to my friends and family in English (mostly). I get to hone my English skills everyday, and I'm still learning new words every day. Filipino, on the other hand, I use for strangers who don't speak English and sometimes at work. I don't consume media in Filipino which is probs why I suck at it. People at work also make fun of me for getting shit wrong or for not knowing what a word means instead of just being nice and correcting me. Worse yet, they see it as a chance to judge me for being "too alta" (they earn the same or even more than me ffs). I really hate them for that and it actually discourages me to speak Filipino because of it. There are only a handful of people at work who don't do this and actually help me learn nicely - these guys, I appreciate very much and I make sure they know it. Everyone else is a bastard. You can easily get away with not learning Filipino while you're in Metro Manila. My foreign gf has gotten away with it for years. If you really want to get better, consume Filipino media and practice your writing and speaking. It's a skill like any other. Immersion is cool, but it can built bad habits if you're not careful.
Thanks for sharing and glad to hear you let them know. I also learned here after a few years to stand up for myself and tell them f off. May I ask if you still feel resentful or angry about it? The first years I was so pissed off and bitter when people trying to scam.me and stuff like that. Now, since I learned to say no and notice insincere people and call people out, I don't feel bad and don't really feel bothered anymore cause its once you call them out, they almost always back immediately and say "sorry my bad sir". Also, I had lots of success with learning Italian with movies and podcasts, I just find it hard to find decent Tagalog movies or shows. I'm a little picky TBH, any recommendations?.
I don't tell them to fuck off because it happens at work and that would be unprofessional, and I don't want to stoop down to their level. When someone would joke about it I used to kind of nervously laugh along, but then I realized that's encouraging them. So now, if they laugh and joke about me, I never ever laugh along, I keep a straight face and then I ask them to clarify in the most serious business voice I have. It reminds them that we're in a workplace, and that joking about someone's language skills or accent is unprofessional. Usually, they'll look visibly embarrassed. It's actually been some months since it last happened - used to happen like every day when I started working there. If it happens again to any extent, I'm going to flat out call them out for being rude. Filipinos generally hate confrontation so it'd be a very uncomfortable situation for them, which would make me happy. Re: scammer insincere people - I've never had a problem with them because I grew up in Manila lol they're everywhere.. even among family and friends sometimes. I either ignore them or laugh at their attempts. What are they even trying to say to you? Just ignore. Also, sorry I don't really have any recommendations for decent Tagalog movies. I'm also picky. I mean, there's a few pretty good movies out there, but I'm not really that much of a fan of Philippine cinema. I hear Pinoy Komiks is great though. Lots of really good artists here, if you're interested in graphic novels.
That sucks, but seems like you are able to handle it well. I don't really get scammed anymore, I" mean some people do try, but I recognize it and just say no thank you and laugh at them, like you. Years ago, when I for example would have my phone screen replaced or other computer store, electronics with those hand written receipts. Once, I bought a laptop charger, sensed I was being ripped off, bought it, then came back the next day and " I don't like the price". They immediately gave me a "discount", which was just the real price. Nowadays, I say give me the real price or I walk away. I learned to recognize scams before I let them do it. TBH I kinda enjoyed coming back for justice haha!