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Tagalog and the Filipino-American Community

The Tagalog-speaking population in the United States stood at 2.4 million Americans in the 2000 U.S. Census, with Tagalog being the sixth most spoken language in the United States. The Filipino-American population is the second largest Asian-American community in the United States. Learning about the most common language of the Philippines, Tagalog, can come in handy when working with your patients and families.

Tagalog is an Austronesian language distantly related to the languages of Indonesia, Madagascar, aboriginal Taiwan, most Pacific islands, and parts of New Guinea. Very little is known about the history of the Tagalog language in the Philippines, because there are no surviving written works of Tagalog before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. The word Tagalog was derived from tagá-ílog, from tagá- meaning "native of" and ílog meaning "river", thus, it means "river dweller." Languages that have made significant contributions to Tagalog are Spanish, Min Nan Chinese, English, Malay, and Arabic. While there are as many as 80 dialects used in the Philippines, the country’s official languages are Tagalog, Spanish, and English. English is used most often in higher education and government, and Tagalog is taught in elementary education and is used conversationally, in the media, and to express Filipino culture, arts, and history.

As mentioned, Tagalog has been influenced by several different languages like Spanish and English. For example, the Tagalog word for “luck” is swerte, which is like the Spanish word, suerte. An English term like “ballpoint pen” is bolpen in Tagalog. Tagalog uses a Latin-based alphabet and has several diacritical marks, but there are no special characters in Tagalog. The word order in Tagalog is Verb-Subject-Object, which often results in sentence structures like:

Umiyák ang batà = cried the child = The child cried.

The Philippines was a colony of the U.S. from 1898-1946, so the country has been highly influenced by Western countries due to contact with Americans and Hispanics. Filipino-Americans have been immigrating to the United States since the early 1900s. Large numbers of immigrants came to work in the sugar cane industry of Hawaii in the first half of the 20th century. Then from the 1920s until the 1970s, a second wave of immigrants arrived through their connection to the U.S. Navy and military. From 1965 to the present, the Filipino-American population has continued to grow through immigration, often related to family reunification programs.

Most Filipino-Americans reside in California, Washington, New York City and Hawaii. Various Filipino-American organizations and consulates offer Tagalog courses to the new generation of Filipinos born in the United States. California's educational system offers Tagalog as a foreign language course in some of its public schools, while many colleges and universities there have been teaching it to coincide with the growing Filipino community.

Healthcare organizations and hospitals can keep several points in mind when communicating with Filipino-American patients and families. Interpersonal and family relationships are valued very highly in Filipino culture, especially sibling relationships. Also, elderly people are highly respected and should never be addressed by the first name only. According to Ethnomed.com, a leading healthcare multicultural resource, when addressing elderly Tagalog speakers, one would say "Kumusta po" when addressing elderly men and women. Po displays respect similar to the English "Sir" and "Madam". During an appointment with a Filipino-American immigrant, be sure to take your time, because the culture often places more value on relationships than time. Speaking politely, warmly, and in an unhurried manner is respected by this community.

Care providers should also familiarize themselves with traditional Filipino beliefs. A traditional healer in the Philippines is called an albularyo and are sometimes consulted in the U.S., too. They provide herbal remedies, among other treatments, that can include prescribing eucalyptus and red guava leaf for different illnesses. The belief that some diseases, like tuberculosis, are caused by dehydration of the body is prevalent in the Philippines and Filipino culture. Drinking large quantities of water, drinking certain brands of canned milk, or avoiding sweet or salty food are said to prevent or heal diseases like TB.

Providing timely and informative healthcare material in Tagalog can really improve your relationships and communication with Filipino-American patients and families so that they can remain healthy and in charge of making their own health-related decisions.


	viaLanguage Translation Articles Tagalog and the Filipino-American Community The Tagalog-speaking population in the United States stood at 2.4 million Americans in the 2000 U.S. Census, with Tagalog being the sixth most spoken language in the United States. The Filipino-American population is the second largest Asian-American community in the United States. Learning about the most common language of the Philippines, Tagalog, can come in handy when working with your patients and families. Tagalog is an Austronesian language distantly related to the languages of Indonesia, Madagascar, aboriginal Taiwan, most Pacific islands, and parts of New Guinea. Very little is known about the history of the Tagalog language in the Philippines, because there are no surviving written works of Tagalog before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. The word Tagalog was derived from tagá-ílog, from tagá- meaning "native of" and ílog meaning "river", thus, it means "river dweller." Languages that have made significant contributions to Tagalog are Spanish, Min Nan Chinese, English, Malay, and Arabic. While there are as many as 80 dialects used in the Philippines, the country’s official languages are Tagalog, Spanish, and English. English is used most often in higher education and government, and Tagalog is taught in elementary education and is used conversationally, in the media, and to express Filipino culture, arts, and history. As mentioned, Tagalog has been influenced by several different languages like Spanish and English. For example, the Tagalog word for “luck” is swerte, which is like the Spanish word, suerte. An English term like “ballpoint pen” is bolpen in Tagalog. Tagalog uses a Latin-based alphabet and has several diacritical marks, but there are no special characters in Tagalog. The word order in Tagalog is Verb-Subject-Object, which often results in sentence structures like: Umiyák ang batà = cried the child = The child cried. The Philippines was a colony of the U.S. from 1898-1946, so the country has been highly influenced by Western countries due to contact with Americans and Hispanics. Filipino-Americans have been immigrating to the United States since the early 1900s. Large numbers of immigrants came to work in the sugar cane industry of Hawaii in the first half of the 20th century. Then from the 1920s until the 1970s, a second wave of immigrants arrived through their connection to the U.S. Navy and military. From 1965 to the present, the Filipino-American population has continued to grow through immigration, often related to family reunification programs. Most Filipino-Americans reside in California, Washington, New York City and Hawaii. Various Filipino-American organizations and consulates offer Tagalog courses to the new generation of Filipinos born in the United States. California's educational system offers Tagalog as a foreign language course in some of its public schools, while many colleges and universities there have been teaching it to coincide with the growing Filipino community. Healthcare organizations and hospitals can keep several points in mind when communicating with Filipino-American patients and families. Interpersonal and family relationships are valued very highly in Filipino culture, especially sibling relationships. Also, elderly people are highly respected and should never be addressed by the first name only. According to Ethnomed.com, a leading healthcare multicultural resource, when addressing elderly Tagalog speakers, one would say "Kumusta po" when addressing elderly men and women. Po displays respect similar to the English "Sir" and "Madam". During an appointment with a Filipino-American immigrant, be sure to take your time, because the culture often places more value on relationships than time. Speaking politely, warmly, and in an unhurried manner is respected by this community. Care providers should also familiarize themselves with traditional Filipino beliefs. A traditional healer in the Philippines is called an albularyo and are sometimes consulted in the U.S., too. They provide herbal remedies, among other treatments, that can include prescribing eucalyptus and red guava leaf for different illnesses. The belief that some diseases, like tuberculosis, are caused by dehydration of the body is prevalent in the Philippines and Filipino culture. Drinking large quantities of water, drinking certain brands of canned milk, or avoiding sweet or salty food are said to prevent or heal diseases like TB. Providing timely and informative healthcare material in Tagalog can really improve your relationships and communication with Filipino-American patients and families so that they can remain healthy and in charge of making their own health-related decisions.