Filipino, the language, is not simply
based on Tagalog, it
is Tagalog. It is merely another name for it, having become recognized as the main Filipino dialect. Tagalog, as it is now, can almost be considered a
pidgin language as it is a smattering of
Spanish (resulting from the influence of the
conquistadors way back in Filipino history),
Chinese (being an overseas neighbor of sorts),
American English (from the cultural impact of having a
United States naval base situated in the
Philippines for so long) as well as other
Malay languages (being part of the overall
Pacific Islander culture).
Note that, despite its huge cultural influence, the Spanish linguistic aspect of the language is a rather bastardized one. Consider the following:
"What time is it?"
"¿Que hora es?" (Spanish)
"Ano'ng horas na?" (Tagalog)
Notice the word horas in the Tagalog translation, obviously a derivative of the spanish hora for the word hour. In all other cases that don't have the Spanish influence, the letter "h" is never silent (contrary to the observance usually made by languages derived from Latin). A near-direct instance of decoding, or the systematic replacing of one word for the other across languages, "horas" is obviously not of Filipino origin. The grammatic sentence construction is nearly identical also. Consider the response to this question as well:
"It is 11:30."
"Son las once y media." (Spanish)
"A las once y media." (Tagalog)
Spanish speakers will notice that this response (in Tagalog) is actually an incorrect response in Spanish. "A las once y media" in actuality translates to "At 11:30" and not "It is 11:30". Yet in Tagalog, it is taken to mean the latter despite its literal meaning. There are other examples in which Tagalog has taken Spanish bits verbatim, but this serves as the best example.
As for the American English decoding instances, they occur much like the way English manages to pop up in other languages. An AT&T long distance commercial that aired on an international channel once urged Filipino customers to sign up now by saying, Mag Sign-Up Ka Na. This, in comparison to the French translation of the act of shopping (faire du shopping), exemplifies systematic and linguistically correct usage, in most places.
Tagalog, though the national language of the Philippines, is only one designated dialect of the country. There exists countless others. More popular ones would include Bisaya, Taosug, Pangasinan, and Ilocano. Being an archipelago comprised of more than 7,000 islands, it wouldn't be surprising to discover that there exists at the least a similar number of dialects. It is fortunate that there exists one language (and not just English) that serves as a common ground.
a collection of nodes as pertaining to the tagalog language, literature, or translations (not necessarily covering the cultural aspects and traditions of the philippines, though overlap does exist). please /msg me for additions.