Filipino language

Filipino is the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines along with English. The language, a member of the Austronesian languages, was primarily based on the Pilipino language, which itself was based on Tagalog. The National Language Institute of the Philippines initiated the new language in 1973.

As a language designed to be the lingua franca of the islands, it borrows many words from the various languages used throughout the islands, although grammar is based on Tagalog. The alphabet consists of 30 letters which include the 26 letters of the English alphabet, plus the Spanish ñ, ll, and ch, and the ng (pronounced nang) of Tagalog. In practice though, the digraphs are considered as their two constituent letters.