Page 430 - Tagalog for Beginners: An Introduction to Filipino, the National Language of the Philippines

Appendix 2

Why Filipino and Not Pilipino?
A Brief History of Making a Language the National Language

According to the 1987 constitution Article XIV, Section 6: “The national language
of the Philippines is Filipino. As it evolves, it shall be further developed and
enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages.”

The concept of an “evolving language” and consequently, an “evolving script,”
however, needs further explanation. The history of the Filipino language is strongly
linked to the history of colonization, the assertion of independence and sovereignty,
and the need to find a unifying language for the Philippines’s around sixty
ethnolinguistic groups.

The first constitution that provided for a national language was the 1935
constitution, which was promulgated during American colonial rule (1899–1945).
Article XIV, Section 3 reads: “The Congress shall take steps toward the development
and adoption of a common national language based on one of the existing native
languages. Unless otherwise provided by law, English and Spanish shall continue as
official languages.”

Two years later, in 1937, the Surian ng Wikang Pambansa (Institute of National
Language) was established. The Institute then decided to make Tagalog the basis of
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the national language on the following grounds: first, Tagalog is widely spoken and
is the language most understood in all the regions of the Philippines; second; it is
not divided into smaller, separate languages as Visayan is; third, its literary tradition
is the richest and the most developed and extensive; fourth, Tagalog has always been
the language of Manila, and the political and economic capital of the Philippines
under both Spanish and American rulers; and fifth, Tagalog is the language of the

revolution and the Katipunan—two very important incidents in Philippine history.
This then resulted in the standardization of the language, a new orthography, and
guidelines for Tagalog grammar studied in schools. However, it was only in 1959
that a Department of Education Memorandum specified for the teaching of a
national language called Pilipino.
The 1973 constitution was cognizant of both terms “Pilipino” and “Filipino.”
Article XV (General Provisions), Section 3, No. 1 states that: “The Constitution shall
be officially promulgated in English and in Pilipino, and translated into each dialect
spoken by over fifty thousand people, and into Spanish and Arabic.” Section 3, no. 1
also uses the term “Pilipino”: “Until otherwise provided by law, English and Pilipino

shall be the official languages.”
However, Section 3, No. 2 recognizes the future use of the term “Filipino.” It