Question

How many languages are spoken in the Philippines?


Answers (1)

by Lucy 12 years ago

The Philippines has had several official languages in its history, but as of 1987 it has two: Filipino and English. Filipino is the name now given to the national language, which consists mainly - though not entirely - of Tagalog, one of many indigenous language that are still spoken in the country. English for a while was an official language along with Spanish - which again is still spoken by many people - but Spanish ceased to be official earlier in the 20th century.
Apart from these, the Philippines has at least 120 indigenous languages. Some of these have only a few speakers and a few are now extinct. Some are more used nationally - there are 12 languages apart from Tagalog that still have large numbers of speakers - and there are also languages like Chinese and Malay that have been used in some areas for generations.
You can learn more about the Filipino language here.


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