Tagalog Loan Words from Other Asian Languages

Sure, you know about many shared Tagalog and Spanish words, but did you know the Philippines had been rich in mulit-cultural influences and language even before the colonial age?

Given the country's strategic location in the Pacific Ocean, the Philippines had always been one of the major trade routes by other nations in the area: China, Japan, India, Thailand, and Malaysia. With trade booming with its neighboring countries, language in the area evolved and shared words solidified themselves in the languages of the Philippines.

According the linguist experts, the many dialects of the Philippines, including Tagalog, were mainly influenced by Bahasa Indonesia, Chinese, Sanskrit, Japanese (and eventually, Spanish and English).

Therefore, in order to survive and directly trade with the visitors and merchants, the native Tagalog speakers had to adjust their language and started using loan words to communicate effectively.

We listed some loan words from other Asian languages that are still used in modern Tagalog.





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