# Stigma of tagalog/Filipino and other creole languages **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 28, 2023, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229 "2023-08-28T14:53:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jagraze1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jagraze1/32/14870_2.png) [@Jagraze1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jagraze1)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/1 "2023-08-28T14:53:25Z")
So I’ve often heard that many creoles are often facing stigma for being a bastardized version of the European languages? Is this the same with Phillipine languages like Tagalog/Filipino and are considered bastardized versions of spanish? Is that why tagalog is considered vulnerable by unesco? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/2 "2023-08-28T15:01:52Z")
I can’t answer some of these questions, but no, UNESCO does not consider people’s prejudices in determining the status of a language. Are you saying that Tagalog is a Spanish creole? It has a lot of Spanish vocabulary borrowings, but that’s does not a creole make. ---
**Author:** ![Jagraze1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jagraze1/32/14870_2.png) [@Jagraze1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jagraze1)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/3 "2023-08-28T15:03:36Z")
I’m asking is there any stigma if the language and opinions that it’s a bastardized version of Spanish? ---
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/4 "2023-08-28T15:08:50Z")
What is your source for considering Tagalog a creole? While it contains a large number of loan words from other austronesian languages as well as English and Spanish, by that criterion you’d have to classify modern English as a creole as well. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/5 "2023-08-28T15:13:57Z")
Tagalog is classified as a language within the Austronesian language group. Not a creole. Not a bastardisation of Spanish. > **[Tagalog language](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagalog_language)** > > Tagalog (/təˈɡɑːlɒɡ/, tə-GAH-log; \[tɐˈɡaːloɡ\]; Baybayin: ᜆᜄᜎᜓᜄ᜔) is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by the ethnic Tagalog people, who make up a quarter of the population of the Philippines, and as a second language by the majority. Its standardized form, officially named Filipino, is the national language of the Philippines, and is one of two official languages, alongside English. > Tagalog is closely related to other Philippine languages, such as the Bikol languages, the Bi... ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/6 "2023-08-28T15:16:08Z")
Tagalog is definitely not a creole language. It is a native language from the Austronesian language group. The modern form has a lot of loan words from Spanish, English, and Chinese, but that’s true to some extent for the modern form of just about any language. ---
**Author:** ![Jagraze1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jagraze1/32/14870_2.png) [@Jagraze1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jagraze1)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/7 "2023-08-28T15:32:08Z")
Oh so then it’s not a Creole? ---
**Author:** ![Jagraze1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jagraze1/32/14870_2.png) [@Jagraze1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jagraze1)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/8 "2023-08-28T15:40:51Z")
By the way, why is fluency and literature so low in the language ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/9 "2023-08-28T15:48:00Z")
Every single response said it’s not a creole, so no. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/10 "2023-08-28T15:48:10Z")
According to this, there is a Creole language in the Philippines, but it’s called **Chavacano**. It’s considered to be a substrate of Tagalog and is primarily spoken in Zamboanga City. > **[Chavacano](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chavacano)** > > Chavacano or Chabacano \[tʃabaˈkano\] is a group of Spanish-based creole language varieties spoken in the Philippines. The variety spoken in Zamboanga City, located in the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao, has the highest concentration of speakers. Other currently existing varieties are found in Cavite City and Ternate, located in the Cavite province on the island of Luzon. Chavacano is the only Spanish-based creole in Asia. The responsible for this Spanish Creole were Don Sebasti The d... ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/11 "2023-08-28T15:50:00Z")
> [@Jagraze1](#): > > By the way, why is fluency and literature so low in the language Tagalog has 24M speakers worldwide, I wouldn’t call that low fluency. As for why English is an official language in the Philippines and more people speak/write it as a lingua franca there than Tagalog - Hello, Colonialism. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/12 "2023-08-28T15:56:50Z")
I don’t even know what the OP means by “low literature”—low literacy? I also suspect they’re not aware of just how many languages there are in the Philippines, and how many are major languges: [quoting from the page linked below]"The following are the four Philippine languages with more than five million native speakers:[[43]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_Philippines#cite_note-:0-43) - [Tagalog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagalog_language) - [Cebuano](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cebuano_language) - [Ilocano](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilocano_language) - [Hiligaynon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiligaynon_language)" from [Languages of the Philippines - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_Philippines) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/13 "2023-08-28T16:02:57Z")
Colonialism for sure, but let’s say your native language is Cebuano, or Ilocano. Would you be OK with being forced to speak Tagalog to talk to someone, or would you rather just speak English or Spanish? ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/14 "2023-08-28T16:03:36Z")
Philipinos I know communicate with written Tagalog all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Jagraze1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jagraze1/32/14870_2.png) [@Jagraze1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jagraze1)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/15 "2023-08-28T17:58:17Z")
Just as a question, do any of you guys think the tagalog/Filipino language is going to decrease in usage if it won’t go extinct? Currently, it’s a vulnerable language by unesco ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/16 "2023-08-28T18:03:11Z")
We’re doing your homework, aren’t we. ---
**Author:** ![Jagraze1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jagraze1/32/14870_2.png) [@Jagraze1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jagraze1)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/17 "2023-08-28T18:15:50Z")
That’s not my question ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/18 "2023-08-28T18:19:01Z")
Well, no, but it is a violation of board rules to get homework help. All vulnerable languages are in danger, but languages with an entire nation behind them are pretty safe. The Philippines isn’t going to switch to English or Spanish as a national language. ---
**Author:** ![Jagraze1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jagraze1/32/14870_2.png) [@Jagraze1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jagraze1)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/19 "2023-08-28T18:19:26Z")
I’m not asking help for homework ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229/20 "2023-08-28T18:50:32Z")
Tagalog is nationalized as an official language of the Republic of the Philippines under the name Filipino. Tagalog is the regional language that’s currently the primary language of about 25% of the population of the Philippines. As a dominant language of a population under literally centuries of colonial rule, the language incorporated quite a lot of vocabulary from the language of the colonial overlords (Spanish and English) but the core of the language itself (most vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation) are distinctly native. Filipino is no more a creole than English is. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigma-of-tagalog-filipino-and-other-creole-languages/989229.md?page=2)