The Tagalog language did develop as a national language from the time President Quezon approved it as the basis of a Philippine national language. The Tagalog language was soon called Pilipino (in 1959), then renamed Filipino (in 1973). The reason for this, among other things, is clearly to make the language more palatable to the non-Tagalogs or those not belonging to the Tagalog tribe.
Before the inception of Tagalog as the basis of a common language, the non-Tagalogs, especially the Visayans, whose language — the Visayan Cebuano, Visayan Panay and Visayan Leyte-Samar — dominated the Tagalog language speakers. Even more than 10 years later, in 1948 (after the Second World War), the Visayan-speaking Cebuanos comprised 25 percent of the Philippine population as compared to the Tagalog speakers which consisted of only 19 percent [1]. Thus, it was the Visayans who vehemently fought against the implementation of Tagalog as “the basis of a national language.” The reason is clear: among the Philippine languages, their language was the more dominant language as far as the number of native speakers is concerned. But Tagalog, which is the language of Manila, the seat of the national government, was already predetermined to become the basis of the national language.
To appease the wounded feelings of the Visayans, President Quezon appointed Jaime C. de Veyra, representing the Visayan Leyte-Samar, as Chairman of the Institute of National Language. Some observers said this was to make de Veyra the scapegoat the moment the Tagalog language is chosen as the national language.
Another reason why Tagalog was renamed Filipino is to make it appear as the “national language” or the “language of the whole Filipino nation”. The fact, however, remained that the Filipino language is the same as the Tagalog language. Many observers say it is the same dog with a different collar.
The Tagalog or the Filipino language, having been instituted as the national language of the Philippines, and mandated to be used as a medium of instruction and communication in the country, received the much needed support, financial or otherwise, from the taxpayers. The writing and printing of the official Tagalog grammar (or Balarila in the native tongue) was financed by the government and was distributed to all schools of the archipelago. Tagalog or Filipino is taught not only as a separate subject but is also used as a medium of instruction in Philippine schools, public and private, from kindergarten up to undergraduate levels. The English language, however, enjoys the same support as it is also mandated by all Philippine Constitutions as a medium of instruction and communication in the Philippines except during the Japanese occupation.
Reference materials and textbooks written in Tagalog and English abound to the delight of book writers in Tagalog and in English. Press conferences are annually held to determine the best writers in these two languages. Students in the Ilocano- and Visayan-speaking provinces, on the other hand, were encouraged, coerced, and forced to speak and write fluent Tagalog and English. In some schools, students were fined if they were caught speaking in their mother tongue.
From Tagalog to Pilipino to Filipino
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