Old Tagalog

Old Tagalog
Lumang Tagalog
Region	Philippines Particularly Tagalog Region
Era	10th century AD (evolved into Classical Tagalog c. 16th century)
Language family	Malayo-Polynesian
Writing system	Baybayin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	None

Old Tagalog (Filipino: Lumang Tagalog), also known as Classical Tagalog, was the language of Central and Southern Luzon during the Classical period in Luzon. It is the language of the Mai State and Maynila, and other regions of the northern Philippines. The language originated from the Proto-Philippine language and evolved to Classical Tagalog, which was the basis for Modern Tagalog.

Etymology

The word Tagalog is derived from the endonym ᜆᜄ ᜁᜎᜓᜄ᜔ taga-ilog ("river dweller"), composed of ᜆᜄ (tagá-) ("native of" or "from") and ᜁᜎᜓᜄ᜔' (ílog) ("river"). Very little is known about the ancient history of the language; linguists such as Dr. David Zorc and Dr. Robert Blust speculate that the Tagalogs and other Central Philippine ethno-linguistic groups had originated in Northeastern Mindanao or the Eastern Visayas.^[1][2]

The Language

The Tagalog Baybayin script.

Old Tagalog is one of the Central Philippine languages, which evolved from the Proto-Philippine language, which comes from the Austronesian peoples who settled in the Philippines 2000 years ago. This is the Language of the Mai State, the Tondo Dynasty and Maynila, and other regions of the northern Philippines.

The early history of the Tagalog language remains relatively obscure, and a number of theories exist as to the exact origins of the Tagalog peoples and their language. Most scholars suggest that the Tagalog people originated in North-eastern Mindanao or the Eastern Visayas. The first written record of Tagalog is the Laguna Copperplate Inscription which dates to 900 CE, and exhibits fragments of the language along with Sanskrit, Malay, Javanese and Old Tagalog.^[3] The first known complete book to be written in Tagalog is the Doctrina Christiana (Christian Doctrine), printed in 1593.^[4]

Writing System

Old Tagalog was written in Baybayin, which belongs to the Brahmic family of scripts. Loanwords from Malay and Sanskrit were written in the Kawi script because these words could not be represented in Baybayin.

vowels ᜔ a ᜀ i e ᜁ u o ᜂ

b b ᜊ᜔ ba ᜊ bi be ᜊᜒ bu bo ᜊᜓ

k k ᜃ᜔ ka ᜃ ki ke ᜃᜒ ku ko ᜃᜓᜓ

d/r d/r ᜇ᜔ da/ra ᜇ di/ri de/re ᜇᜒ du/ru do/ro ᜇᜓ

g g ᜄ᜔ ga ᜄ gi ge ᜄᜒ gu go ᜄᜓ

h h ᜑ᜔ ha ᜑ hi he ᜑᜒ hu ho ᜑᜓ

l l ᜎ᜔ la ᜎ li le ᜎᜒ lu lo ᜎᜓ

m m ᜋ᜔ ma ᜋ mi me ᜋᜒ mu mo ᜋᜓ

n n ᜈ᜔ na ᜈ ni ne ᜈᜒ nu no ᜈᜓ

ng ng ᜅ᜔ nga ᜅ ngi nge ᜅᜒ ngu ngo ᜅᜓ

p p ᜉ᜔ pa ᜉ pi pe ᜉᜒ pu po ᜉᜓ

s s ᜐ᜔ sa ᜐ si se ᜐᜒ su so ᜐᜓ

t t ᜆ᜔ ta ᜆ ti te ᜆᜒ tu to ᜆᜓ

w w ᜏ᜔ wa ᜏ wi we ᜏᜒ wu wo ᜏᜓ

y y ᜌ᜔ ya ᜌ yi ye ᜌᜒ yu yo ᜌᜓ

Phonology

Old Tagalog Vowels

Height		Front		Central		Back
Close		i /i/				u /u/
Mid				ə /ə/
Open				a /a/

Table of consonant phonemes of Old Tagalog

	Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	Postalveolar/ Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Stop	p b	t d	tʃ dʒ	k ɡ	ʔ
Fricative		s	ʃ		h
Tap		ɾ
Approximant		l	j	w

Examples of words

• The words and sentences of Old Tagalog are the roots of the Modern Tagalog language. Some of the words and sentences have evolved over time (like the word Babuy or Pig, which became Baboy in modern Tagalog), but some of the words in Old Tagalog (like Hari or King), have survived and are in common use in Modern Tagalog.

Words in Old Tagalog	IPA / Pronunciation	Translation in Modern Tagalog
ᜀᜍᜂ	*arãɜ (araw)	Araw (Sun / Days)
ᜄᜓᜎᜓᜆ᜔	*ɠUlu̯t (golot')	Kabundukan (Mountain Ranges)
ᜊᜓᜎᜏᜈ᜔	*bUlɐ̯ɜn̩ (Bulawan)	Ginto (gold)
ᜊᜓᜎᜅᜌ᜔	*bɒlɐ̯ɲAj (Balangay)	Barangay
ᜊᜓᜈ᜔ᜏ	*bɐ̃n̪wɛ (Banua)	Pook / Vanua (village)
ᜀᜐᜓᜏᜅ᜔	*aʂũɐ̯n̩	Aswang (Ghoul / Monster)
ᜊᜓᜎᜀᜈ᜔	*bũLɑ̯n (Bulan)	Buwan (Moon / Months)
ᜊᜆ᜔ᜑᜎ	*bɐtʜãʟ̩a	Bathala (God / Deity)
ᜊᜊᜌ᜔ᜎᜈ᜔	*bãɓɜjaɲ̩	Babaylan (Priestess)
ᜊᜌᜒ	*bãjɜ̯ (Bayi)	Babae (Woman/ Girl/ lady)
ᜊᜎᜌ᜔	*ba̯Lãj (Balay)	Bahay (House /Structure/Buildings)
ᜊᜊᜓᜌ᜔	*babə̃j (Babuy)	Baboy (Pig)
ᜇᜌᜅ᜔	*dãjãɳ (Dayang)	Reyna,(Queen) or Prinsesa (Princess)
ᜇᜒᜃᜒ	*dəkət	Dikit (adhesive/stick)
ᜇᜓᜍᜓ / ᜇᜓᜄᜓ	*zuRuʔ	Dugo (Blood)
ᜑᜍᜒ	*ʜãRi (Hari)	Hari (King, Emperor)
ᜑᜎᜒᜃ᜔	*hajək	Halik (Kiss)
ᜎᜓᜈᜆᜒᜀᜈ᜔	*jɜnTiãn (luntian)	Luntian (Lush)/ Berde (Green)
ᜃᜏᜎ᜔	*kão̯ɐL Kaual	Kawal (Knight)
ᜋᜓᜆᜒᜌ	*ɱuʈɪa (mutiya)	Mutya or Perlas (Pearl)
ᜋᜅ᜔ᜋᜅ᜔	*Mɐnɠ-Mɑŋɠ	Mang mang (fool) / bobo (stupid)
ᜉᜈ᜔ᜆᜐ᜔	*pãɳ̩ta̯ʂ	Pantas (genius/ wise / gifted)
ᜉᜓᜂᜇ᜔	*pũɜd (Puod)	Bayan (Town)
ᜉᜉᜄᜌᜓ	*papɐgAyɔ (Papagayo)	Karpintero (Carpenter)
ᜅᜎᜒᜈ᜔	*ŋɡajan (Ngalan)	Pangalan (Name)
ᜐᜈ᜔ᜇᜒᜄ᜔	*sɑ̃n̩dĩg) (Sandig)	Sundalo (Soldier)
ᜆᜓᜊᜒᜍ᜔	*tubiR	Tubig (Water)
ᜆᜍᜅ᜔ᜃᜑᜈ᜔	*taRãŋkaħɐ̃ɳ	Tarangkahan (Gate)
ᜆᜒᜋᜋᜈᜓᜃ	*TěGmāmənùKən	Tigmamanukan (eagle, bird , Omen)

Pronouns

Old Tagalog	Translation	Translation in Modern Tagalog	Translation in English
ᜊᜎᜑᜎ ‖	balahala	Kataas-Taasan	Highest (Authority).
ᜈᜊᜓᜃ ᜈ ᜊ ‖	Nabuká na ba?	Nag-bukás na ba?	Is it open now?
ᜋ ᜈ ᜎ| ᜇᜃᜒᜆ᜔‖	Labâ ma na lâ, dakit	Dalhín mo ang pag-kakataóng itó, sa Dakit (punò).	Take this opportunity to the Dakit (tree).
ᜋ ᜈᜒᜌ| ᜋᜀᜈᜄ᜔ᜄ‖	Nínu ma niya mangga	Iyán ay napagkámaláng manggá.	That was mistaken for a mango.
ᜑᜒᜌ| ᜎᜀ| ᜅᜌ᜔ ᜀᜈ᜔	Gakatkat hiya lâ ngay-an	Iyán ba ay nakararamdám ng hiyâ?	Has that (person) ever felt shame?
ᜊᜌ ᜑ ᜇᜃᜒᜆ᜔ ᜈ ᜈᜓ‖	Bayâ ha dakit na, nu?	Pakiusap, lisanin mo na ang punò ng Dakit.	Leave the dakit tree now, will you?
ᜇ ᜃᜎᜄ᜔ ᜊᜒᜈᜄᜆ᜔ ᜑ‖	Da kalág binagat, ha?	Pakibalík mo ang kaluluwáng iyóng kinuhà, ha?	Return the soul that you took away, will you?

See also

• Proto-Philippine language
• Tagalog language
• Filipino language
• Baybayin
• Filipino alphabet
• Languages of the Philippines

References

1. Zorc, David. 1977. The Bisayan Dialects of the Philippines: Subgrouping and Reconstruction. Pacific Linguistics C.44. Canberra: The Australian National University
2. Blust, Robert. 1991. The Greater Central Philippines hypothesis. Oceanic Linguistics 30:73–129
3. Postma, Antoon. (1992). The Laguna Copper-Plate Inscription: Text and Commentary. Philippine Studies vol. 40, no. 2:183-203
4. Zorc, David. 1977. The Bisayan Dialects of the Philippines: Subgrouping and Reconstruction. Pacific Linguistics C.44. Canberra: The Australian National University

External links

• A Handbook and Grammar of the Tagalog Language by W.E.W. MacKinlay, 1905.
• Online E-book of Doctrina Christiana in Old Tagalog and Old Spanish, the first book published in the Philippines. Manila. 1593
• Online E-book of Arte de la Lengua Tagala y Manual Tagalog by Sebastián de Totanes published in Binondo, Manila in 1865
• http://unicode-table.com/en/sections/tagalog/