How to Learn to Speak Tagalog

Are you planning to go to the Philippines? Do you want to enjoy the white sand beaches of the Philippine Islands? Well, it is a good idea to learn to speak Tagalog if you are considering a vacation in Asia. Learning this language will be a lot easier with the steps I share with you.

Instructions

1. Have in mind that Asiatic languages have different grammars from Indo-European languages like English or German. Japanese and Chinese nationals have the affinity to easily learn Tagalog, Indonesian and Korean, because they have similar sentence patterns in comparison to their native tongue.

2. Watch out your pronunciation. Unlike English, French and Japanese, there are no unpronounced letters in all of their words. So, in the word "maligaya", it is just enunciated as to how it is spelled. No slangs are present in Tagalog.

3. Be familiar with Filipino greetings and sentences. Memorizing things like "Maraming salamat po" "Magandang umaga po" and "Pasensya na po" are very helpful at all times.

4. Always be polite with the Filipinos. Unlike the Japanese language, where they have different approaches when speaking to their parents or to their bosses, showing respect through the Filipino language is relatively easy. You will just add the words "po", "opo" or "oho" at the last part of your statements.

5. Ask the assistance of native Tagalog speakers. The best person who can teach you Tagalog is someone who really practices and uses the language. It is a good idea to join language exchange websites like lang-8, since native Tagalog speakers will never hesitate to correct your mistakes.