The Philippines has its national language, which is based on the dialect Tagalog. From here, you can gain information about when and where speaking Filipino language is most preferred.
No urgent need to learn Filipino
If you are a non-tourist foreigner, then you are most likely staying in the cities. Most Filipinos in the cities are English literate, and many are also trained into speaking English with competency. In urban places, Filipinos who can read or write using the national language can also do the same in English.
Talking to a Filipino only requires that you can speak English and be kind.
Talking to a Filipino only requires that you can speak English and be kind.
You would also not need to find an English-Filipino translator in the country, because every Filipino is entitled to learning English. Students in the elementary level are already taught on how to read, write and speak English.
Learning the Filipino language
If you have decided that learning the Filipino language is good for you (doing it yourself will make you fascinating for Filipinos), then you can study the Filipino language through the following:
- An educated Filipino - This is the most recommended way of learning the Filipino language. This way, you can learn the Filipino language in a convenient and friendly way without spending a lot of time and money. That said, you can even learn while you are outside the Philippines. It is up to you how to return the favor, but they will usually not ask for anything in return. The word "educated" is used because while Filipinos can always read and write English, not all of them can help a lot when it comes to teaching the basics. If you are interested to learn the Filipino language from the author, you may comment on this post.
- Language classes - There are a few institutions in the country where Filipino learning courses are accepted. Their methods of teaching are very efficient, but you have to enroll to a specific schedule and use a portion of your money to do so.
- The Internet - Though this is not the best way to learn any country's language, it provides free resources about learning Filipino. Making a search on a typical search engine will give you results that will usually direct you to blogs and forums that provide some resources in learning Filipino. However, this is not recommended because everyone can post anything on the Internet and that may lead to lack of reliability, unless you trust the sources.