made of tree bark), and medical and scientific terms like zinc and amoxicillin.
There are conventions in the pronunciation of the consonants ñ and ng. Tagalog words with ñ are pronounced as if there is a combination of n and y consonants instead of one consonant. The first half is the n part which takes the sound of the vowel before it while the second half is the y part which takes the sound of the vowel after it. For example, the word Niño in Santo Niño is pronounced ninyo. Note that ñ is between i and o, thus n takes the initial sound of the vowel i while y takes the sound of the vowel o.
The pronunciation of the consonant ng is very difficult for foreigners particularly when it appears at the beginning of a word. To produce the sound ng, push the tongue back and up—making sure that the back part of the tongue is curled and almost touches the molars and the roof of your mouth to produce a nasal sound, and then add the sound of the vowel after it. The syllable before ng usually rides on the nasal ng sound.
Another Tagalog consonant that may pose some difficulty for foreigners is the consonant r. Unlike the English r where the tongue does not touch the sides of the mouth, the Tagalog r is produced by quickly tapping the tip of the tongue on the gum ridge behind the upper teeth (like a Spanish r but not rolled or trilled).
A Tagalog word is pronounced just as it is spelled, and each syllable is pronounced separately and distinctly. Except for certain vowel and semi-vowel combinations (diphthongs) such as ay, aw, ey, iw, oy, and uy, foreigners will have minimal difficulty in pronouncing most Tagalog words. However, foreigners may find the iw and uy combinations a bit hard to pronounce and may likely break up the combinations especially when they appear at the end of words. Some Tagalog examples of these diphthongs are:
| agiw | a-giw | cobweb | áway | a-way | fight |
| bítiw | bi-tiw | let go | láway | la-way | saliva |
| kasúy | ka-suy | cashew | reyna | rey-na | queen |
| badúy | ba-duy | dowdy | káhoy | ka-hoy | wood |
| mabábaw | ma-ba-baw | shallow | amóy | a-moy | scent |
| áyaw | a-yaw | do not like |
Foreign Words in Tagalog
When a foreign word is borrowed or assimilated into Tagalog, it is written according to the conventions of Tagalog phonetics. However, the names of persons and places need not be changed. Many foreign words (mostly Spanish and English) have been absorbed into the Tagalog vocabulary and remain foreign when their original spelling and pronunciation is retained. But when changed to conform with the Tagalog alphabet, they become Tagalog words. Although many new English loan words have come into the language in recent years (especialy technical and scientific terms), there are still many common, everyday words in the language that were borrowed from Spanish in earlier times. Between the English word telephone and the Spanish equivalent telefono, for example, the Tagalogs have adopted the latter and write it as teléponó.
In writing and pronouncing Spanish loan words in Tagalog, be guided by the following:
| SPANISH | TAGALOG | ENGLISH | |||
| hard c | is changed to k | as in | calesa | kalésa | rig |
| soft c | is changed to s | as in | circo | sírko | circus |
| ch | is changed to ts | as in | lechon | litsón | roast pig |
| f | is changed to p | as in | final | pinál | final |
| soft j | is changed to h | as in | cajon | kahón | box, drawer |
| or s | as in | jabon | sabón | soap | |
| ll | is changed to ly | as in | calle | kálye | street |
| q | is changed to k | as in | maquina | mákina | machine |
| v | is changed to b | as in | vapor | bapór | ship |
| z | is changed to s | as in | lapiz | lápis | pencil |
English words also undergo changes when they are assimilated into the Tagalog language. Some words may bear some resemblance to the original English words although others have an added hint of Spanish influence. Still others undergo odd, sometimes comical changes when English sounds are given the nearest Tagalog equivalent such as kwaliti for quality. Since kalidád is another Tagalog loan word (from Spanish), an English word may often have more than one Tagalog equivalent.
A current but debatable issue on the Filipinization of English words has also led to the use of words such as efektiv from the English word effective, the Tagalog equivalent of which is mabísa. Another example is varayti from variety (or urí in Tagalog).
The following lists a few of the rules:
| ENGLISH | TAGALOG | |||
| soft c | is changed to s | as in | cinema | sine |
| hard c | is changed to k | as in | academic | akadémik |
