The Filipino Alphabet

I tried for sometime, back in 2009 when I was in Morocco, to write my posts in my former blog called Pinoy sa Morocco in Filipino. I tried my best to sustain it but I couldn't. It was really embarrasingly difficult to admit that a Filipino like me, a graduate school level student could not write in Filipino.

Past forward to present, I worked on my Filipino and all about my country the Philippines. Knowing and identifying a problem is one thing but working on the solution to the identified problem should be the end goal. Filipinos have so many complains about our being Filipinos. From discipline issues to the systemic corruption in our society, I believe this lack of knowledge about ourselves is the root of all the problems we are facing. No wonder Filipinos grow up and die hating the Philippines.

Below is a compilation of notes made by a colleague of mine, Ms. Cecille Salvan about the basic rules of the Filipino Alphabet:

What letters are included?

VOWELS (PATINIG):	CONSONANTS (KATINIG)	NEW CONSONANTS
A, E, I, O, U	B, K, D, G, H, L, M, N, Ñ, Ng, P, R, S, T, W, Y	C, F, J, Q, V, X, Z

Borrowed or Foreign Words:

• As much as possible, one looks for the equivalent or closest word equivalent to Filipino.
• If there is no direct translation, one can use the foreign word, but should respell it into Filipino.
• Names are not translated unless there is an existing equivalent, such as Estados Unidos for United States.

Reminders when spelling foreign words in Filipino:

• Filipino does not have phonograms (vowel combinations that make up one sound). Long vowel sounds are combined with a consonant to create the long sound.

Consonants never double in Filipino.

There may be more than one way to say a certain word in Filipino. In these cases, your choice will depend on how you are using the word.

This post will be labelled under "Filipino Icons" and "The Filipino Language" so expect a lot of posts under this label. This blog is not "The Brown Man" for nothing. I have always wanted to promote my country thru this blog so this is another way to do that.