A small country with 7,107 islands, the Philippines has 120 – 175 recognized languages depending on the classification (4 of which does not have any known speakers anymore).
The original official language of the country is Spanish, given we had the Spanish invasion for three centuries. National Hero Jose Rizal uses Spanish in his works, such as Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
The Americans came after and the imposition of the English language gradually reduced the use of Spanish. 1935 Constitution made English an official language alongside Spanish. 1939 came and Tagalog was chosen among regional languages as Wikang Pambansa. It was renamed to Pilipino (1959) and to what we know now as Filipino (1973).
It is no secret that not every Filipino knows how to speak Tagalog and/or English. Depending on the region you live in, you’re most likely taught in your regional language (Ilocano, Cebuano, etc.) and English. And if you do speak English, you have a certain accent, which most of the time people mock you (and the sad thing is, it’s your own countrymen that do).
But after reading an article in Yahoo! Philippines entitled “PH: World’s best country in business English“, I was like “WOW! We beat U.S.? Seriously?”. To top that off, we’re the only country who got a score above of 7.0 and showing that the country’s economy is improving.
This isn’t bias, I assure you. The study was made by GlobalEnglish Corporation.
Very inspiring! It’s more FUN in the Philippines. So Proud to be Pinoy! ♥
