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A Small List of Malay/Indo Words Found in the Tagalog Language

I wrote a blog entry where I discussed about trying to find links between Filipino languages and Southeast Asian languages. It wasn't surprising that while I was researching the song "Dayang Dayang", I found out that there was an Indonesian version sung by Virvina Vica in the 1990s. There was also another singer named Hainun Pangilan from Mindanao (where Indonesian and Malaysian influence survived). Bahasa is simply another word for language. 

From Mastering Bahasa, here are some words in Tagalog which are borrowed from the Indonesians and Malaysians:

1.[/td] [td]Abo[/td] [td]Abu[/td] [td]Ash

2.[/td] [td]Ako[/td] [td]Aku[/td] [td]I (informal)

3.[/td] [td]Apoy[/td] [td]Api[/td] [td]Fire

4.[/td] [td]Balita[/td] [td]Berita[/td] [td]News

5.[/td] [td]Gulay[/td] [td]Gulai[/td] [td]Vegetables; Curry

6.[/td] [td]Hangin[/td] [td]Angin[/td] [td]Wind

7.[/td] [td]Hari[/td] [td]Hari[/td] [td]King; Day

8.[/td] [td]Kulang[/td] [td]Kurang[/td] [td]Less

9.[/td] [td]Salamat[/td] [td]Selamat[/td] [td]Thank you; Safe

10.[/td] [td]Sandok[/td] [td]Sendok[/td] [td]Ladle; Spoon

And more from Mastering Bahasa, we can read more about the similarities of Indonesian and Tagalog. 

Words that have the same meaning in Indonesian and Tagalog:

  1. Anak : Kids (Bahasa Indonesia), Kids (Tagalog)
  2. Balik : Come home (Bahasa Indonesia), Come Home (Tagalog)
  3. Mahal : Expensive (Bahasa Indonesia), Expensive (Tagalog)
  4. Murah : Cheap (Bahasa Indonesia), Cheap (Tagalog)
We also have these identical words except with different spelling in Indonesian and Tagalog:
  1. Aku and ako mean me in English
  2. Abu and abo means dust in English
  3. Batu and Bato mean stone in English 
  4. Payung and Payong mean umbrella in English
An interesting tidbit is this one about both Indonesian and Tagalog:
Is Tagalog and Bahasa Indonesia similar? In the first example, we see that the word Aku and Ako has the same meaning, which is “me”. But, in bahasa Indonesia it use “u” vowel while in Tagalog it use “o”. Its the same with Abu and Abo, Batu and Bato as well as Payung and Payong. All words above have the same meaning, but words in Bahasa Indonesia use “u” vowel while words in Tagalog use “o” vowel.

Another similarity is some word in bahasa Indonesia use “i” while in Tagalog it use “oy” below aare example of similarity between word in Bahasa Indonesia and Tagalog.

This Buwan ng Wika, it's time to study the origins of the Filipino language. Some words may sound similar yet they have a different meaning. What we can't deny is that the Filipino language isn't unique on its own. Rather, it has evolved overtime as people in the Philippines became a melting pot of different cultures.  

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