with the standardization of spelling and grammatical rules, there are guidelines now for the use of d/r. However, you will find that when Filipinos speak, they are less conscious of the rules and will interchange, for example, the word daw (also) with raw. Similarly, the words babae (woman) and lalaki (man) each have that standardized spelling; however, in spoken Filipino the e/i sounds are interchangeable for these words.
Stresses
Now let’s turn to stresses: what syllable should you emphasize when you say a word? Tagalog language books used to actually show printed stress marks, but now, if you read newspapers or literature, no stress marks can be found. Here are some important points to remember:
1. For most words with three or four syllables, the stress is usually on the second to the last syllable. Some examples are: Tagalog, Pilipino, babae (woman), lalaki (man), kabataan.
2. Sometimes a vowel is said with a glottal sound—produced by closing your throat abruptly. For example: batì (greeting), tama (prediction), payapà (peaceful). In some of the words in this book, this glottal sound will be indicted by the grave accent mark (`). Remember, the mark means “glottal sound”—it does not mean to stress that syllable.
3. In many pronunciation guides, you will find the symbol ^ above the vowel of the last syllable. This means two things: the accent is on the last syllable; and there is a glottal stop on the vowel. Some examples are: dagâ (mouse), ba-hâ, (flood), walâ (don’t have; nothing) and hindî (no).
4. Sometimes the stress is on the last syllable. Some examples are: dasál (prayer), kumustá (how are you?) and kayó (second person plural pronoun). In some of the words in this book, this will be indicated by the acute stress mark (´).
5. Some long words (with three or four syllables) have an additional stress. Two examples are eskuwélahán (school) and mágnanakáw (thief).
6. Accents and stress can be confusing when words are put together. For example, when the word ako (I or me) is used alone, the accent is clearly on the second syllable (a-kó). When used with the word po (honorific) to show respect, as in the phrase Ako po si Kathleen, native speakers seem to say “ako po” as if they were one word (a-ko-po) with the accent on the syllable po.
Dictionary Guides versus Spoken Filipino
Sometimes, dictionaries will syllabicate words differently than what you may hear/perceive to hear when native speakers speak. Two examples are the word siya (third person singular pronoun) and Biyernes (Friday).
In most dictionary entries, siya will appear as “si-ya” and you will understand this to mean that there are two syllables, “si” and “ya.” However, when you hear a native speaker ask the question “Sino siya?” (Who is she/he?), you hear “Si-no sha?” Which, then, is the correct pronunciation? Both are correct. The sound “sha” is simply a fast way of saying siya thus making it seem like one syllable.
Similarly, Biyernes is seen as “Bi-yer-nes” but can be pronounced “Byer-nes.”
For this guide, I opted for the traditional way—“si-ya” and “Bi-yer-nes.” Why? Because it is easier to learn the language if you learn these syllables. However, as you get more accustomed to it, you can speak these words faster and sound like a native speaker!
Summing Up
Here are some key pronunciation tips, some of which reiterate what we’ve discussed:
1. There are no long vowel sounds in Filipino/Tagalog. Do not extend the sound of the vowel. For example, when saying “Kumusta ka?” (How are you?), do not say “Kumusta kaaaaaaa?”
2. Unless you are asking a question, the intonation should fall at the end of the sentence.
3. When you see two vowels together, bear in mind that they are not pronounced as one vowel.
4. Some letters such as d/r, i/e and o/u may be pronounced interchangeably by some speakers.
5. Practice the diphthongs discussed on pages 12–13. When you look at the pronunciation guide that appears after each sentence in this guide, if you see hay (as in buhay or life), remember that this is pronounced like high.
6. In many instances, you will hear that pronunciation varies. So if you hear someone say ba-ba-e and another say ba-ba-i, that is fine. Also, siya (third person pronoun, singular) will sometimes be pronounced si-ya (the official dictionary pronunciation), while you may hear other people pronounce this as sha with a noticeable h sound.
7. In this book, diacritic marks will only appear when a word has to be said quickly and the accent is on the last syllable; when there is a glottal stop; and to avoid confusion in case the accent changes the meaning of a word. Moreover, the accent only appears the first time the word is used.
8. To review: báyad (noun, payment) shows that the accent is on the first syllable; bayád (has been paid [verb]) shows that the accent is on the last syllable; tamà (correct) shows that there is a glottal sound and the accent is on the first syllable; and hindî (no) shows that there is a glottal stop and the accent is on the second syllable.
Get Sentenced! Grammar
I usually advise students to learn three things: how affixes change words; honorifics or words used for polite language such as po and opo; and the structure of the language—and then just to plunge into speaking the language. For example, let’s say you know of the affix nag-. Now, a friend asks you “Ano ang ginagawa mo tuwing Sabado?” (What do you do on Saturdays?). If you play soccer, you can just say, “Nagsa-soccer ako.” (I [play] soccer.) Note that the affix nag was simply added to the word soccer and the first syllable of soccer (“sa”) was just repeated.
Some students of mine will just add “po” to every sentence to “sound Filipino” to their parents.
Parent: What time will you be home?
Student: I don’t know po.
There are four main points we need to remember in Tagalog/ Filipino grammar: sentence order; focus and markers; the complex system of affixes; and aspects of the verb.
1. In spoken Filipino, the usual order of the sentence is verb-subject-object.
In English we say: I am eating an apple.
In Tagalog/Filipino, we say: Eating I marker apple. (Kumakain ako ng mansanas.)
The marker here is ng because it “marks” the object—the apple.
2. This bring us to the second point: markers, focus and affixes. Tagalog/Filipino has a complex system of affixes and these affixes change depending on the focus of the sentence. For example:
Kumain si John ng mansanas.
John ate an apple.
(Literally, Ate marker John marker apple.)
The focus here is on John as indicated by the marker si, and not on the apple he is eating.
If we would like to change this and make the apple (mansanas) the focus instead of John, the doer of the action, then we can say:
Mansanas ang kinain ni John.
