The Filipino language incorporated Spanish loanwords as a result of 333 years of contact with the Spanish language. In their analysis of José Villa Panganiban's
Talahuluganang Pilipino-Ingles (Pilipino-English dictionary), Llamzon and Thorpe (1972) pointed out that 33% of word root entries are of Spanish origin. As the aforementioned analysis didn't reveal the frequency of the usage of these words by native speakers, a study was conducted by Antonio Quilis in order to understand the percentage of Spanish-derived words used by Filipinos in their daily conversations. Through his studies, the results of which were published in 1973 in the case of
Tagalog and in 1976 in the case of
Cebuano, it was found out that 20.4% of the lexicon used by Tagalog speakers were of Spanish origin, while it was 20.5% in the case of Cebuano. According to Patrick O. Steinkrüger, depending on the
text type, around 20% of the vocabulary in a Tagalog text are of Spanish origin. In an analysis of a Tagalog-language corpus consisting of random news, fiction and non-fiction articles published between 2005 and 2015, Ekaterina Baklanova found out that Spanish-derived words constitute 20% of the lexicon used. An example is the sentence below in which Spanish–derived words are in italics (original in parentheses): :
Tagalog: "
Puwede (
Puede) ba akóng umupô sa
silya (
silla) sa tabí ng
bintanà (
ventana) hábang nása
biyahe (
viaje) táyo sa
eroplano (
aeroplano)?" :
Translation in English: ("
May I sit on the
chair near the
window during our
voyage in the
aeroplane?") The adoption of the Abakada alphabet in 1940 changed the spelling of the Spanish loanwords present in the Filipino language. The spellings of Spanish loanwords were reformed according to the new orthographic rules. Examples include: :
agila (from Sp.
águila),
alkalde (from Sp.
alcalde),
bakuna (from Sp.
vacuna),
banyo (from Sp.
baño),
baso (from Sp.
vaso),
biktima (from Sp.
víctima),
bintanà (from Sp.
ventana),
bisita (from Sp.
visita),
biyahe (from Sp.
viaje),
braso (from Sp.
brazo),
demokrasya (from Sp.
democracia),
diyaryo (from Sp.
diario),
estudyante (from Sp.
estudiante),
henerál (from Sp.
general),
hustisya (from Sp.
justicia),
kama (from Sp.
cama),
kambiyo (from Sp.
cambio de marcha),
keso (from Sp.
queso),
kutsara (from Sp.
cuchara),
kuwarto (from Sp.
cuarto),
kuwento (from Sp.
cuento),
lababo (from Sp.
lavabo),
mensahe (from Sp.
mensaje),
meryenda (from Sp.
merienda),
mikrobyo (from Sp.
microbio),
niyebe (from Sp.
nieve),
panyô (from Sp.
paño),
pila (from Sp.
fila),
plema (from Sp.
flema),
presyo (from Sp.
precio),
prinsesa (from Sp.
princesa),
reseta (from Sp.
receta médica),
reyna (from Sp.
reina),
serbisyo (from Sp.
servicio),
sinturón (from Sp.
cinturón),
teklado (from Sp.
teclado),
telebisyón (from Sp.
televisión),
tinidór (from Sp.
tenedor),
trabaho (from Sp.
trabajo),
tuwalya (from Sp.
toalla) and
yelo (from Sp.
hielo). Other loanwords underwent phonological changes. Vowel changes can be observed to some of the Spanish words upon adoption into the Filipino language, such as an /i/ to /a/ vowel shift observed in the Filipino word
pamintá, which came from the Spanish word
pimienta, Other words underwent vowel deletion, e.g.,
pustá (from Sp.
apostar),
tarantado (from Sp.
atarantado),
kursonada (from Sp.
corazonada),
Paskó (from Sp.
Pascua) and
labì (from Sp.
labio). (intelligence or wisdom, from Sp.
talento) and tina (dye, from Sp.
tinta). Some Spanish-derived words have also undergone consonant or syllable deletion upon introduction to Tagalog like in the case of
limós (from Sp.
limosna),
masyado (from Sp.
demasiado),
posas (from Sp.
esposas),
restawran (from Sp.
restaurante),
riles (rail, railway or railroad; from Sp.
carriles),
sigurado (from
asegurado),
sindí (from Sp.
encender) and
sintunado (from Sp.
desentonado).),
kabayò (from Sp.
caballo),
kutamaya (from. Sp.
cota de malla),
lauya (a stew of meat and vegetables, from Sp.
la olla),
sibuyas (from Sp.
cebollas) and
tabliya or
tablea (from Sp.
tablilla de chocolate). Spanish loanwords in which the digraph [ll] is pronounced as /lj/ in Tagalog might have been introduced (or reintroduced) during the 19th century. Examples include
apelyido (from Sp.
apellido),
balyena (from Sp.
ballena),
kalye (from Sp.
calle),
kutsilyo (from Sp.
cuchillo),
makinilya (from Sp.
maquinilla de escribir),
sepilyo (from Sp.
cepillo de dientes),
silya (from Sp.
silla) and
sigarilyo (from Sp.
cigarrillo). There are also rare cases of Tagalog doublets coming from the same Spanish etymological root which exhibit both the influences of the Renaissance /j/ and the latter /λ/ sounds, like in the case of the Tagalog word pair
laryo and
ladrilyo, both from Sp.
ladrillo. There are also instances of the Spanish digraph [ll] being transformed into [l] upon adoption by Tagalog. Such is the case in
kulani (lymph node, from Sp.
collarín Loanwords which have the pronunciation that reflects the transition from Middle Spanish /ʃ/ to Modern Spanish /x/ are also present in Tagalog. The Modern Spanish /x/ sound is rendered in Tagalog as [h], which is the standard pronunciation in other Spanish dialects. Example cases include
ahedres (from Sp.
ajedrez),
anghél (from Sp.
ángel),
halayá (from Sp.
jalea),
hardín (from Sp.
jardín),
hepe (police chief, from Sp.
jefe),
kahera and
kahero (cashier, from Sp.
cajera and
cajero respectively) and
kahón (from Sp.
cajón). There are also rare cases of doublets that exhibit influences of both the Middle Spanish /ʃ/ and Modern Spanish /x/ like for example in the cases of Tagalog
muson and
mohon (both from Sp.
mojón) and
relos and
relo (both from Sp.
reloj). The compound word ''batya't palo–palo
, a phrase in the laundry business where many Spanish words proliferate. The words were taken from the Spanish batea
for "washing tub" and palo
for "stick", something a typical Filipino might think had no Spanish provenance at all because of the Tagalog verb palò'' which means "strike". Some loanwords have been associated to new meanings, such as
kursonada (
corazonada, originally meaning '"hunch"), which means "object of desire";
sospetsoso (
sospechoso) is the "suspicious person" and not the "suspect" as in the original;
insekto ("insecto"), which still means "insect" but also refers to a "pesty clownish person"; or even sige (
sigue), a Spanish word for "continue" or "follow", which is popularly understood to mean "all right" or "go ahead". Some Spanish affixes are combined with Tagalog words to make new words. For example,
pakialamero (from Tag.
pakialam, "to meddle" and the Sp. suffix
–ero, masculine subject);
majongero ("
mahjong", ultimately from Chinese, and the Sp. suffix
–ero);
basketbolista,
boksingero.
Daisysiete is a word play and
portmanteau of the
English "daisy" and the Spanish
diecisiete ("seventeen"), now meaning a sweet and sexually desirable underaged (17 year-old) female.
Bastusing katawán (Sp.:
basto ->
bastós & Tag.:
katawán) is an example of a two-word term for a bombshell body. Tagalog still uses Spanish language influence in coining new words, e.g.,
alaskadór ("Alaska" + Sp. suffix '–ador');
bérde ("verde"="green", nuanced to "
toilet humour" or "
blue joke", a literal Tagalog translation of
Philippine English term "green(-minded)".); which are not readily understood in Spain or any Latin American country.
Spanish influences on Tagalog morphosyntax Although the overall influence of Spanish on the morphosyntax of the Tagalog language was minimal, Clear influences of Spanish can be seen in the morphosyntax of comparison and the existence of Spanish-derived modals and conjunctions,
Kumustá can also be used as a greeting (similar to English "Hello!") or as a verb with the meaning of "to greet" or "to say hello". The native term can be used as Ohoy and Taupo, however these were lost in translations.
Spanish-derived comparative markers Tagalog has several
comparative markers that are etymologically derived from Spanish. The particle
mas (meaning "more", from Sp.
más), in conjunction with the various Tagalog counterparts of the English "than" (
kaysa +
sa-marker,
sa,
kay), is used as a comparative marker of non-equality. Another comparative marker of non-equality is
kumpará (from Sp.
comparado), usually followed with the appropriate
sa-marker and used as the Tagalog equivalent of the English "compared to". Lastly, the word
pareho (from Sp.
parejo), commonly employed with the Tagalog linker
-ng, is used as a comparative marker of equality.
Spanish-derived Tagalog modals There are several Spanish-derived words that have acquired function as
modals upon adoption in Tagalog. Tagalog modals, including those that are etymologically derived from Spanish, can be classified into two main groups: words realizing
deontic modality (
i.e. modals concerned with expressing inclination, obligation and ability) and words realizing
epistemic modality (
i.e. modals concerned with degrees of reality).
Deontic modality in Tagalog is realized through words which are grammaticized by Paul Schachter and Fe T. Otanes as "pseudo-verbs". An example of a Spanish-derived Tagalog deontic modal is
gusto (from Sp.
gusto), which is used to denote preference or desire.
Gusto is considered to be more commonly used than its other counterparts newly adapted to this usage such as
nais or
ibig, since these two words are usually perceived as more formal than
gustó and are more commonly used in literature than in colloquial speech; in native Tagalog synonyms,
nais is more commonly used in colloquial speech than
ibig as an alternate of
gustó and also commonly used as a noun for "desire", "want", or "wish". Another example is
puwede (from Sp.
puede), which can be translated in English as "can" and is thus used to express permission or ability. The word
puwede co-exists with its equivalent
maaárì and the two pseudo-verbs are deemed to have little semantic difference, with
puwede only being considered usually as more colloquial and less formal than
maaarì.
Epistemic modality in Tagalog is realized through words functioning as adverbials. These words, when used as modals, are typically linked to the clause that they modalize through the Tagalog linker
-ng or
na. An example of a Spanish-derived epistemic modal used for expressing high degree of probability is
sigurado + -ng (from Sp.
seguro +
-ado), with the meaning of "surely" or "certainly", and is considered as a synonym of Tagalog
tiyak,
sigurado is derived from "asegurado", "assured". The word
siguro (from Sp.
seguro) is an epistemic modal marking moderate degree of probability, with the meaning of "maybe", "probably" or "perhaps". The word
siguro is also identified by the linguist Ekaterina Baklanova as a Spanish-derived
discourse marker in Tagalog, thus contrasting the claims of other scholars such as Patrick Steinkrüger that none of the numerous
discourse markers in Tagalog are of Spanish origin. Similarly to Tagalog, the word
siguro is also considered as an adverbial clitic in
Cebuano and in
Masbateño.
Posible + -ng (from Sp.
posible), which can be translated to English as "possibly", is a Tagalog epistemic modal marking low degree of probability. Examples of Spanish-derived Tagalog epistemic modals marking excessive degree of intensity include
masyado + -ng (from Sp.
demasiado) and
sobra + -ng (from Sp.
sobra) while
medyo (from Sp.
medio) marks moderate degree of intensity.
Spanish-derived Tagalog conjunctions Several conjunctions in Tagalog have Spanish-derived etymological roots. The Tagalog disjunctive conjunction
o (from Sp.
o, meaning "or") has completely substituted the old Tagalog equivalent "kun", rendering the latter obsolete. Two Spanish-derived counter-expectational adversative conjunctions used in Tagalog are
pero (from Sp.
pero) and
kaso (from Sp.
caso), both of which are considered as synonyms of the Tagalog counterparts
ngunit,
subalit, etc. The Tagalog
ni (from Sp.
ni) can be used as a negative repetitive conjunction, similar to the English "neither...nor" construction. When not repeated,
ni assumes a scalar focus value stripped of all its conjunction function, translatable to English as "not even".
Basta (from Sp.
basta), when used as a conditional conjunction, assumes a meaning similar to English "as long as" or "provided that".
Maski (from Sp.
mas que) is a synonym of Tagalog
kahit and both are used as Tagalog concessive conjunctions.
Porke (from Sp.
porque) assumes the function of causal conjunction in Tagalog and it is used to express an ironic or critical attitude, translatable to English as "just because" or "only because";
porke is a synonym of Tagalog
dahil (exact translation of "because") and
dahil lang (lámang) (exact translation of "just because" and "only because"), and all are used as Tagalog causal conjunctions. The Tagalog
puwera (kung) (from Sp.
fuera) is used as a negative exceptive conditional conjunction, translatable in English as "unless" or "except if", used alongside "maliban sa" or "liban sa". The Tagalog
oras na (from Sp.
hora) is a temporal conjunction which can be translated in English as "the moment that". The Tagalog
imbés na (from Sp.
en vez) is used as an implicit adversative conjunction and it can be translated in English as "instead of". The Tagalog
para (from Sp.
para), when used to introduce verb-less or basic-form predicates, assumes the role of a purposive conjunction. However, if followed by the appropriate dative
sa-marker,
para assumes the role of a benefactive marker in Tagalog.
Loanwords that underwent semantic shift Upon adoption into Tagalog, a number of Spanish-derived terms underwent a process of
semantic shift or change in meaning. A loanword is said to have undergone a semantic shift if its meaning in Tagalog deviates from the original meaning of the word in the source language (in this case, Spanish). A type of semantic shift is the so-called
semantic narrowing, which is a linguistic phenomenon in which the meaning of a Spanish-derived word acquires a less general or inclusive meaning upon adoption into Tagalog. Semantic narrowing occurs when a word undergoes specialization of usage. For example, the word
kuryente (meaning "electricity" or "electric current") comes from the Spanish word
corriente, which is a general term to refer to any current, whether electric or not. Upon adoption of the word
corriente into Tagalog as
kuryente, it underwent a semantic narrowing and its usage became restricted to refer only to an electric current, unlike its Spanish counterpart. Another example of a semantic narrowing is the Tagalog word
ruweda (meaning "
Ferris wheel"), a term derived from the Spanish word
rueda which refers to any kind of wheel. Upon adoption into Tagalog,
ruweda underwent usage specialization and its meaning became restricted to the Ferris wheel. Semantic shift may also occur through semantic interference by another language, usually the English language. This phenomenon can result into reinterpretation of a Spanish-derived term by attributing to it an English meaning upon assimilation into Tagalog. An example is the Tagalog word
libre, which is derived from the Spanish translation of the English word
free, although used in Tagalog with the meaning of "without cost or payment" or "free of charge", a usage which would be deemed incorrect in Spanish as the term
gratis would be more fitting; Tagalog word
libre can also mean free in aspect of time, like "Libre ang oras" or "Libre ang panahon" ("The time/hour is free", in the sense that the time is available). Another example is the Tagalog word
iskiyerda, derived from the Spanish term
izquierda meaning "left" as opposed to "right", although used in Tagalog with the meaning of "to leave". Here is the list of Spanish-derived words which underwent semantic shift upon assimilation into Tagalog:
Tagalog words derived from pluralized Spanish nouns Some of the Spanish loanwords in Tagalog appear in their pluralized form, marked with -s or -es. However, in Tagalog, such words are not considered as plural and when they are pluralized in Tagalog, they need to be pluralized in the way that Tagalog pluralizes native words, i.e., by placing the pluralization marker
mga before the word. For example, the word
butones (meaning button used in clothing, from Sp.
botones) is considered singular in Tagalog and its plural form is
mga butones.
Tagalog words derived from Spanish verbs Several Spanish verbs are also adopted into Tagalog. Most of them are in their infinitive form characterized by the deletion of their final /r/, like for example in the case of the Tagalog
intindi (to understand) derived from the Spanish verb
entender. This feature is also found in
Chavacano verbs which have a Spanish origin and it can be argued that an already restructured form of Spanish (
Chavacano or a pidgin) was the origin of these Tagalog words.),
kasál (from Sp.
casar),
kumpisál (from Sp.
confesar),
minindál (from Sp.
merendar),
pasyál (from Sp.
pasear) and
sugál (from Sp.
jugar). In some cases, the final /r/ remains unaltered in the Tagalog form like in the case of
andár (to set in action or motion; from Sp.
andar),
asár (to annoy or to verbally irritate; from Sp.
asar) and
pundár (to establish or to save money for something; from Sp.
fundar). Conjugated Spanish verbs are also adopted into Tagalog. Examples include:
pára (from Sp.
parar),
pása (from Sp.
pasar),
puwede (from Sp.
poder),
tíra (from Sp.
tirar) and
sige (from Sp.
seguir).
Imbiyerna (meaning to annoy or to irritate someone) is derived from the Spanish verb
infernar (meaning to irritate or to provoke) and was allegedly coined by Ricardo "Rikki" Dalu, originally to describe the hellish feeling and the frustration he experienced when attending Spanish classes. In some cases, the conjugated verbs are combined with another word to form Tagalog morphemes like in the case of the following words:
asikaso (from the combination of Sp.
hacer and Sp.
caso),
balewala or
baliwala (from the combination of Sp.
valer and Tag.
wala),
etsapwera (from the combination of Sp.
echar and Sp.
fuera) and
kumusta (from the combination of Sp.
cómo and Sp.
estar).
Spanish-Tagalog hybrid compound terms Some Tagalog compound terms are actually formed through a combination of a native Tagalog term and an etymologically Spanish term, like in the case of the idiomatic expression
balát-sibuyas (a term referring to a person's easiness to be offended), which is a combination of the Tagalog
balát and Spanish
cebolla. The linguist Ekaterina Baklanova distinguishes at least two types of Spanish-Tagalog compound terms:
hybrid loanwords or
mixed-borrowings are partially translated Spanish terms which are adopted into Tagalog,
e.g. karnerong-dagat (derived from the Spanish term
carnero marino, meaning "seal") and
anemonang-dagat (derived from the Spanish term
anémona de mar, meaning "sea anemone"), while
hybrid neologisms are new terms invented by Filipinos with use of some native and already assimilated Spanish-derived material,
e.g. pader-ilog, meaning "embankment", derived from the combination of the Tagalog word
ilog (meaning "river") and Spanish word
pared (meaning "wall" and adopted in Tagalog as the word
pader). Below is the list of some Spanish-Tagalog hybrid compound terms. Because of the lack of standardization, some of the compound terms listed below are written differently (
i.e. without the hyphen) in other Tagalog-based literature. For example, while the term
sirang-plaka is usually encountered in many Tagalog-based works without the hyphen, there are also some instances of the term being written with the hyphen like in the case of one of the books written by the Chairman of the
Commission on the Filipino Language Virgilio Almario, entitled
Filipino ng mga Filipino: mga problema sa ispeling, retorika, at pagpapayaman ng wikang pambansa. Another example is the term
takdang-oras, which can also be encountered in the literature without the hyphen. As a rule, a hybrid compound term below will be hyphenated if it has at least one instance of it being written with the hyphen in Tagalog-based literary works. == English ==