Teach Yourself Complete Filipino (Tagalog)

Book and 2 Audio CDs

Get other Filipino Tagalog click here

Teach Yourself Complete Filipino Tagalog - 2 Audio CDs and Book

Book and 2 CDs


-learn to speak, understand and write tagalog
-progress quickly beyond the basics
-explore the language in depth

Are you looking for a complete course in Filipino (Tagalog) which takes you effortlessly from beginner to confident speaker? Whether you are starting from scratch, or are just out of practice, Complete Filipino (Tagalog) will guarantee success! Now fully updated to make your language learning experience fun and interactive. You can still rely on the benefits of a top language teacher and our years of teaching experience, but now with added learning features within the course and online.

The course is structured in thematic units and the emphasis is placed on communication, so that you effortlessly progress from introducing yourself and dealing with everyday situations, to using the phone and talking about work. By the end of this course, you will be at Level B2 of the Common European Framework for Languages: Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Learn effortlessly with a new easy-to-read page design and interactive features:

NOT GOT MUCH TIME?
One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started.

AUTHOR INSIGHTS
Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience.

GRAMMAR TIPS
Easy-to-follow building blocks to give you a clear understanding.

USEFUL VOCABULARY
Easy to find and learn, to build a solid foundation for speaking.

DIALOGUES
Read and listen to everyday dialogues to help you speak and understand fast.

PRONUNCIATION
Don't sound like a tourist! Perfect your pronunciation before you go.

TEST YOURSELF
Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress.

EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Extra online articles at: www.teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of the culture and history of the Philippines.

TRY THIS
Innovative exercises illustrate what you've learnt and how to use it.

Comprehensive - all you need for speaking and understanding, reading and writing Tagalog.
Practical - learn the words and grammar you will need to be able to communicate in everyday situations when you are in the Philippines. Accessible - simple explanations and delightful line drawings will make learning both easy and enjoyable.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Pronunciation guide
At the airport
What time is breakfast?
This gift is for you
Where's the post office?
Money
Where do you live?
My family
At the restaurant
At the pharmacy
Need help?
I want a haircut
Does this suit me?
At the bus station
At the beach
At church
Could I ask a favour of you?
A wedding
At a town fiesta
Life in the barrio
Goodbye
Key to the exercises
Verb list
Tagalog-English glossary
English-Tagalog glossary

About the Authors

Cora Salvacion Castle, co-author, is an author, writer, translator and teacher of Tagalog. She is also the Tagalog editor of a Filipino newspaper in London.

Laurence McGonnell is a member of St. Joseph's Missionary Society and spent six years living and working in the Philippines before returning to the UK to become Director of Studies at a north London College. He currently lives and teaches in the Philippines.

About Tagalog

Tagalog is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. It is the most spoken Philippine language in terms of the number of speakers.

Tagalog, as its de facto standardized counterpart, Filipino, is the principal language of the national media in the Philippines. It is the primary language of public education. As Filipino, it is, along with English, a co-official language and the sole national language. Tagalog is widely used as a lingua franca throughout the country, and in overseas Filipino communities. However, while Tagalog may be prevalent in those fields, English, to varying degrees of fluency, is more prevalent in the fields of government and business.

Tagalog History

The word Tagalog derived from tagá-ílog, from tagá- meaning "native of" and ílog meaning "river", thus, it means "river dweller." There are no surviving written samples of Tagalog before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. Very little is known about the history of the language. However, according to linguists such as Dr. David Zorc and Dr. Robert Blust, the Tagalogs originated, along with their Central Philippine cousins, from northeastern Mindanao or eastern Visayas

The first known book to be written in Tagalog is the Doctrina Cristiana (Christian Doctrine) of 1593. It was written in Spanish and two versions of Tagalog; one written in Baybayin and the other in the Latin alphabet.

Throughout the 333 years of Spanish occupation, there have been grammars and dictionaries written by Spanish clergymen such as Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala by Pedro de San Buenaventura (Pila, Laguna, 1613), Vocabulario de la lengua tagala (1835) and Arte de la lengua tagala y manual tagalog para la adminstración de los Santos Sacramentos (1850).

Poet Francisco "Balagtas" Baltazar (1788-1862) is regarded as the foremost Tagalog writer. His most famous work is the early 19th-century Florante at Laura.

In 1937, Tagalog was selected as the basis of the national language by the National Language Institute. In 1959, Tagalog, which had been renamed Wikang Pambansa ("National Language") by President Manuel L. Quezon in 1939, was renamed by the Secretary of Education, Jose Romero, as Pilipino to give it a national rather than ethnicity label and connotation. The changing of the name did not, however, result in better acceptance at the conscious level among non-Tagalogs, especially Cebuanos who had not accepted the selection. In 1971, the language issue was revived once more,and a compromise solution was worked out — a ‘universalist’ approach to the national language, to be called Filipino rather than Pilipino. When a new constitution was drawn up in 1987, it named Filipino as the national language. The constitution specified that as that Filipino language evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages.

Teach Yourself Complete Filipino Tagalog - 2 Audio CDs and Book