View source for Filipino orthography

{{Short description|Filipino language writing conventions}}
{{IPA notice}}

'''Filipino''' '''[[orthography]]''' ({{langx|fil|Ortograpiyang Filipino, Palatitikang Filipino}}) specifies the correct use of the [[writing system]] of the [[Filipino language]], the [[national language#Philippines|national]] and co-[[official language|official]] [[languages of the Philippines|language of the Philippines]].

In 2013, the [[Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino]] released the ''Ortograpiyang Pambansa'' (“National Orthography”), a new set of guidelines for writing the Filipino language.

==Alphabet==
The modern Filipino alphabet introduced since 1987 consists of 28 letters (20 if you only count native letters).

{|class="wikitable" width="100%" align= "center"
! Letter
! Name
! style="width: 13%" | Phoneme
! Notes
|-
| [[A]]
| ey
| {{IPA|/a/}}
| Becomes {{IPAblink|ɐ}} in unstressed syllables and {{IPAblink|ä}} in stressed syllables.
|-
| [[B]]
| bi
| {{IPAslink|b}}
| 
|-
| [[C]]
| si
| {{IPA|/k/}}, {{IPA|/s/}}
| Only appears in unassimilated loanwords or foreign names, {{IPAblink|k}} applies to {{anglebracket|ca, co, cu}}, while {{IPAblink|s}} applies to {{anglebracket|ce, ci}}. Formerly used for Tagalog words under Spanish orthography.
|-
| [[D]]
| di
| {{IPAslink|d}}
| Is often allophonic with {{IPAblink|ɾ}} in intervocalic positions.
|-
| [[E]]
| i
| {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/ə/}}
| Normally {{IPA|[{{IPA link|e}} ~ {{IPA link|e̞}}]}}, but can become {{IPAblink|ɛ}} in emphatic speech. In [[Northern Luzon]], it is sometimes pronounced as {{IPAblink|ə}}.
|-
| [[F]]
| ef
| {{IPAslink|f}}
| Often indistinguishable from {{IPAblink|p}}. Only appears in unassimilated loanwords or foreign names.
|-
| [[G]]
| dyi
| {{IPAslink|ɡ}}, {{IPA|/dʒ/}}, {{IPA|/h/}}
| In unassimilated loanwords or foreign names, {{IPAblink|dʒ}} often applies to those from English, while {{IPAblink|h}} applies to those from Spanish.
|-
| [[H]]
| eyts
| {{IPAslink|h}}
| Speakers from [[Luzon]] tend to pronounce the name of the letter as {{IPA|[e̞t͡ʃ]}}.
|-
| [[I]]
| ay
| {{IPA|/i/}}
| Becomes {{IPAblink|ɪ}} in unstressed syllables and {{IPAblink|i}} in stressed syllables.
|-
| [[J]]
| dyey
| {{IPA|/dʒ/}}, {{IPA|/h/}}
| Normally rewritten as {{anglebracket|dy, diy}} to represent {{IPAblink|dʒ}} or as {{anglebracket|h}} to represent {{IPAblink|h}}. Only appears in unassimilated loanwords or foreign names, the former corresponds to English, while the latter to Spanish.
|-
| [[K]]
| key
| {{IPAslink|k}}, {{IPA|/kʷ/}}
| Not to be confused with {{IPAblink|kʰ}}. {{IPAblink|kʷ}} only applies to {{anglebracket|kw, kuw}}.
|-
| [[L]]
| el
| {{IPAslink|l}}
| 
|-
| [[M]]
| em
| {{IPAslink|m}}
| 
|-
| [[N]]
| en
| {{IPAslink|n}}, {{IPA|/nʲ/}}
| {{IPA|[n.j ~ {{IPA link|nʲ}}]}} only applies to {{anglebracket|ny, niy}}.
|-
| [[Ñ]]
| enye
| {{IPA|/nʲ/}}
| Exclusively appears in unassimilated Spanish loanwords.
|-
| [[Ng (digraph)|Ng]]
| en dyi
| {{IPAslink|ŋ}}
| Comparative to {{anglebracket|ng}} in "si<u>ng</u>," "runni<u>ng</u>," etc. Not to be confused with the [[Tagalog grammar#Nouns|indirect case marker]] ''ng'' (originally ''ng̃'' with a [[tilde]] over the g), which is {{IPA|[nɐŋ]}}.
|-
| [[O]]
| o
| {{IPA|/o/}}
| Normally {{IPA|[{{IPA link|o}} ~ {{IPA link|o̞}}]}}, but can become {{IPAblink|ɔ}} in emphatic speech.
|-
| [[P]]
| pi
| {{IPAslink|p}}
| Not to be confused with {{IPAblink|pʰ}}. 
|-
| [[Q]]
| kyu
| {{IPA|/kʷ/}}
| Only appears in unassimilated loanwords or foreign names. Formerly used for Tagalog words under Spanish orthography.
|-
| [[R]]
| ar
| {{IPA|/ɾ/}}
| Normally {{IPAblink|ɾ}}, but can become {{IPA|[{{IPA link|ɹ}} ~ {{IPA link|r}}]}} in consonant clusters.
|-
| [[S]]
| es
| {{IPAslink|s}}
| 
|-
| [[T]]
| ti
| {{IPAslink|t}}
| Not to be confused with {{IPAblink|tʰ}}. 
|-
| [[U]]
| yu
| {{IPA|/u/}}
| Becomes {{IPAblink|ʊ}} in unstressed syllables and {{IPAblink|u}} in stressed syllables.
|-
| [[V]]
| vi
| {{IPAslink|v}}
| Often indistinguishable from {{IPAblink|b}}. Only appears in unassimilated loanwords or foreign names.
|-
| [[W]]
| dobolyu
| {{IPAslink|w}}
| 
|-
| [[X]]
| eks
| {{IPA|/ks/}}, {{IPA|/s/}}
| Normally rewritten as {{anglebracket|eks, ks, s}}. Only appears in unassimilated loanwords or foreign names.
|-
| [[Y]]
| way
| {{IPAslink|j}}
| 
|-
| [[Z]]
| zi
| {{IPAslink|z}}
| Often indistinguishable from {{IPAblink|s}}. Only appears in unassimilated loanwords or foreign names. Alternatively pronounced as {{IPA|[zeɪ̯]}}.
|}

==Glottal stop and diacritic marks==
When glottal stop occurs at the beginning of a word or between vowel letters, it is not written:
:''aso'' {{IPA|/ˈʔaso/}} 
:''kain'' {{IPA|/ˈkaʔin/}}
After a consonant, it is written as a hyphen:
:''pang-araw'' {{IPA|/paŋˈʔaraw/}}
At the end of a word, it is indicated with a [[grave accent]] mark {{angbr|`}}:
:''batà'' {{IPA|/ˈbataʔ/}}

Final stress is indicated with an [[acute accent]] mark {{angbr|´}}:
:''sakít'' {{IPA|/saˈkit/}} 
(The acute accent mark is also used in foreign loan words, particularly Spanish)

When both acute and grave accents occur on the same letter, they merge into a [[circumflex]] {{angbr|ˆ}}:
:''likô'' {{IPA|/liˈkoʔ/}}

==Notes on Filipino orthography==
* C, F, J, [[Ñ]], Q, V, X, and Z are used mostly for [[loanwords]], regional words and proper nouns.
* The vowels are A, E, I, O, and U.
* Usual [[diacritic marks]] are [[acute accent|acute]] {{angbr|´}}, [[grave accent|grave]] {{angbr|`}}, [[circumflex]] {{angbr|ˆ}}, [[diaeresis (diacritic)|diaeresis]] {{angbr|¨}} which are optional, and only used with the vowels. [[grave accent|Grave]] {{angbr|`}} and [[circumflex]] {{angbr|ˆ}} may only appear at the end of a word ending in a vowel. [[Diacritics]] have no impact on collation or alphabetical order. Possible combinations include: ''á, à, â, é, è, ê, ë, ë́, í, ì, î, ó, ò, ô, ú, ù, û''. Historically, the tilde was used with <g> (''g̃'') in many [[Languages of the Philippines|Philippine languages]]. It was notably used to shorten the words ''nang'' (ergative case marker) and ''man͠gá'' (pluralization particle) into ''ng̃'' and ''mg̃á'' respectively. Today, these two words are usually just simply written as ''ng'' and ''mga''.
* [[Ñ]] is considered as a separate letter, instead of a letter-diacritical mark combination.
* The alphabet also uses the [[Ng (digraph)|Ng]] digraph, even originally with a large tilde that spanned both n and g (as in n͠g) when a vowel follows the [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]]. This [[tilde]] indicates that the "''n͠g''" and the vowel should be pronounced as one syllable, such as "''n͠ga''" in the three-syllable word "''pan͠galan''" ("name") – syllabicated as [pa-n͠ga-lan], not [pan-ga-lan]. The use of the tilde over the two letters is now rare. Due to technical constraints, machine-printed variants of "''n͠ga''" emerged, which included "''ñga''", "''ng̃a''", and even "''gña''" (as in the case of [[Sagñay, Camarines Sur|Sagñay]], [[Camarines Sur]]).
* The [[Ng (digraph)|Ng]] [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]] letter is similar to, but not the same as, the prepositional word ''ng'' ("of"/"of the"), originally spelled ''ng̃'' (with a tilde over the ''g'' only). The words ''ng'' and ''ng̃'' are shortened forms of the word ''nang''.
* ''[[Ë]]'' is a new variant of ''e'' introduced in 2013 to represent {{IPA|/ə/}} ([[schwa]]) in Austronesian words of non-Tagalog origin.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kwf.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/Ortograpiyang-Pambansa1.pdf |title=ORTOGRAPIYANG PAMBANSA |access-date=August 28, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012055004/http://www.kwf.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/Ortograpiyang-Pambansa1.pdf |archive-date=October 12, 2013 }}</ref>
* D and R are commonly interchangeable depending on the letter's location: "D" becomes "R" if there is a preceding vowel, e.g. '''''d'''agat'' ("sea") to ''manda'''r'''agat'' ("seafarer"), '''''d'''unong''  ("intelligence") to ''ma'''r'''unong'' ("knowledgeable"). This does not, however, apply to some words such as ''dumadagundong'' ("booming") as well as loanwords and proper nouns.

==History==

===Pre-Hispanic scripts===
{{main|Suyat|Baybayin}}
{{further|History of the Philippines (900–1565)#Indianization and the emergence of Suyat scripts (800 onwards)|Philippine literature#History of literacy}}
[[File:Extract_from_Inskripsyon_sa_Binatbat_na_Tanso_ng_Laguna.jpg|right|thumb|250px|[[Laguna Copperplate Inscription]] (c. 900)]]

During the [[History of the Philippines (Before 1521)|Pre-Hispanic Era]], most of the [[languages of the Philippines]] were written in [[abugida]], an ancient [[segment (linguistics)|segmental]] [[writing system]]. Examples of this ancient Philippine writing system which descended from the  [[Brāhmī script]] are the [[Kawi script|Kawi]], [[Baybayin]], [[Buhid script|Buhid]], [[Hanunó'o script|Hanunó'o]], [[Tagbanwa script|Tagbanwa]], [[Butuan Silver Paleograph|Butuan]], [[Kulitan alphabet|Kulitan]] and other [[Brahmic family of scripts]] known to antiquity. A controversial and debatable script of the Philippines is the [[Eskayan language|Eskayan script]].

Baybayin script began to decline in the 17th century and became obsolete in the 18th century. The scripts that are still in use today by the indigenous [[Mangyan]] groups of the Philippines are the Buhid and the Hanunó'o script.<ref name="baybayin">{{cite web|url=http://www.mts.net/~pmorrow/bayeng1.htm |title=Baybayin: The Ancient Script of the Philippines |first=Paul |last=Morrow |publisher=Manitoba Telecom Services (mts.net) |location=Manitoba, Canada |work=Sarisari etc...Filipino History, Language, Pop Culture & other completely unrelated stuff. |at=Baybayin Lost |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821192259/http://www.mts.net/~pmorrow/bayeng1.htm |archive-date=August 21, 2010 |access-date=August 20, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Adoption of the Latin script===
{{See also|History of the Philippines (1521–1898)#Culture|Spanish influence on Filipino culture}}
[[File:Election results (Province of Iloilo, Philippines, 1855).jpg|left|thumb|Result of Election of the [[Principalía]] of [[Iloilo]] in 1855]]

When the [[Spanish people|Spaniards]] arrived in 1521 and began to [[History of the Philippines (1521–1898)|colonize]] the islands of the [[Philippines]] in 1565, they  introduced the [[Latin script]] to the [[Catholic Church in the Philippines|Catholicized Filipinos]]. When most of the Philippine languages were first written in the Latin script, they used the [[Spanish alphabet]]. This alphabet was called the '''Abecedario''', the original alphabet of the Catholicized Filipinos, which variously had either 28, 29, 31, or 32 letters. Until the first half of the 20th century, most Philippine languages were widely written in a variety of ways based on Spanish orthography.

The writing system of the [[Muslim]] Filipinos in the different independent [[sultan]]ates of [[Mindanao]] during the Spanish colonization shifted from [[abugida]] script to [[Arabic alphabet]] while the writing system of most of the Catholicized [[Chinese Filipino]]s shifted from [[Written Chinese]] to Abecedario alphabet.

Virtually unutilized from the Abecedario were the letters ''K'' and ''W'', which are both used extensively in most Philippine languages today due to the imposition of the Abakada alphabet. Relics of this Abecedario alphabet can still be seen in the way "[[Spanish orthography|Castilianized]]" [[Filipino people|indigenous]] and Chinese-origin [[Family name|surnames]] are written. Some examples of [[Filipino name#Filipino surnames|indigenous Filipino surnames]] are ''Macasáquit'', ''Guintô'', ''Bañaga'', ''Guipit'', ''Abucajo'', ''Abueg'', ''Bangachon'', ''Dagohoy'', ''Valarao'' and ''Dimaculañgan''. Some examples of [[Chinese Filipino#Surnames|Chinese-origin surnames]] are ''Guanzón'', ''[[Cojuangco]]'', ''Siapuatco'', ''Yapchulay'', ''Locsín'', ''Quisumbing'', ''Tuazon'' and ''Yuchengco''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Santos |first=Hector |title=Katálogo ng mga Apelyidong Pilipino (Catalog of Filipino Names) |url=http://www.bibingka.com/names/ |access-date=2010-06-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100305142404/http://www.bibingka.com/names/ |archive-date=2010-03-05 }}</ref> Many indigenous place names are also written using Spanish orthography, often either coexisting or competing with their [[Indigenization|indigenized]] forms if they exist (''[[Bulacan|Bulacán]]'' or ''Bulakán'', ''[[Caloocan]]'' or ''Kalookan'', ''[[Taguig]]'' or ''Tagig'', etc.). ''[[Parañaque]]'' would be written in the indigenized system as ''Paranyake'', but the latter spelling is so far unaccepted and not known in use. ''[[Marikina]]'' on the other hand gained acceptance over the older ''Mariquina''.

Quite notable are proper nouns wherein the letter ''Y'' is written before consonants and is pronounced ''I''. [[Iloilo]] and [[Ilocos]] were spelled [[Archaism|archaically]] as ''Yloylo'' or ''Yloílo'' and ''Ylocos''. Surnames in the Philippines such as ''Ybañez'', ''Ysagan'', ''Ybarra'', ''Yldefonso'' and ''Ylagan'' are evidences of the [[Old Spanish language|Old Spanish]] writing system. ''[[Cananga odorata|Ylang Ylang]]'', a native Philippine tree valued for its perfume, is another example. The use of the letter ''Y'' at the beginning of words, however, gradually shifted to the letter ''I'' reflecting revisions in Spanish orthography.

The representation of certain sounds were largely derived from Spanish orthography but differed in several ways. The letter ''H'' was utilized to represent the [[voiceless glottal fricative]] ({{IPA|/h/}}) in the orthographies of most [[Philippine languages]] during the Spanish period in contrast to the orthography of Spanish which uses the letter ''J'' (the letter ''H'' in Spanish is silent). Spanish loanwords like ''Jesús'', ''Justicia'', or ''Jardín'', however, often retained their original spelling in Spanish. [[Archaism|Archaic]] use of the letter ''X'' in the Old Spanish writing system that is pronounced in a guttural way (quite similar phonetically to ''H'' in English even though the sound is different) is evident in surnames such as ''Roxas''. Another example is ''[[Mexico, Pampanga|México, Pampanga]]''.

To represent {{IPA|/k/}}, "c" was used before the vowels "a", "o", and "u" (i.e. '''ca'''yo, '''co'''ng, '''cu'''lang) and at final positions (pumaso'''c''') while a silent "u" was used between "q" and "e" or "i" (i.e. "a'''qui'''ng", "'''qui'''lala") reflecting Spanish orthography. This is because should "c" be utilized before either "i" or "e", the sound produced would instead be representing {{IPA|/s/}} (like Spanish '''''ci'''udad''). These two combination of letters ("ci" and "ce") were not used in native words and "s" was used in all cases to represent {{IPA|/s/}}. Likewise, in representing {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, "g" was used before "a", "o", "u" (i.e. "'''ga'''mit", "ta'''go'''", "'''gu'''tom") and at final positions while a silent "u" was used between "g" and "e" or "i" to (i.e. "'''gui'''tna") so that "gue" represents {{IPA|/ɡe/}} and "gui" represents {{IPA|/ɡi/}}.

The letter W as used today was absent. Instead, "u" was utilized ("ga'''ua'''", "a'''u'''a", "'''u'''ala") and diphthongs written as "aw" today (ar'''aw''') was written with "ao" (ar'''ao'''). Words like "huwag" and "kapwa" were written as h'''ou'''ag and cap'''ou'''a.

A common practice in the orthography of some of the Philippine languages during the [[History of the Philippines (1521–1898)|Spanish colonial period]] up to the 1960s was the use of [[tilde]] written over ''[[g̃]]'', a letter which was notably used to shorten the words ''nang'' ([[ergative case]] marker) and ''man͠gá'' ([[pluralization]] particle) into ''ng̃'' and ''mg̃á'' respectively. No literature could be found that pertained to the rules that governed the usage of this letter or that explained its disappearance. Today, these two words are usually just simply written as ''ng'' and ''mga''.<ref>{{cite web | last =Signey | first =Richard | title =The evolution and disappearance of the "Ğ" in tagalog orthography since the 1593 doctrina Cristiana | url =http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18813686 | access-date =2010-07-04 | archive-date =2012-01-13 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120113010354/http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18813686 | url-status =dead }}</ref>

Originally, there was a large tilde that spanned both ''n'' and ''g'' (as in n͠g) when a vowel follows the [[Ng (digraph)|Ng]] [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]]. This tilde indicates that the ''n͠g'' and the vowel should be pronounced as one syllable, such as ''n͠ga'' in the three-syllable word ''pan͠galan'' ({{langx|en|name}}) – syllabicated as [pa-n͠ga-lan], not [pan-ga-lan]. The use of the tilde over the two letters is now virtually non-existent.

Due to technical constraints, machine-printed variants of ''n͠ga'' emerged, which included ''ñga'', ''ng̃a'', and even ''gña'' as in the case of [[Sagñay, Camarines Sur|Sagñay]] – syllabicated as [sa-ngay]. The [[Ng (digraph)|Ng]] digraph letter is similar to, but not the same as, the prepositional word ''ng'' ({{langx|en|of/of the}}), originally spelled ''ng̃'' with a tilde over the ''g'' only. The words ''ñg'' and ''ng̃'' are shortened forms of the word ''nang''. There are some words  with no tilde written over the ''ng'' digraph as in the case of [[barangay]] ({{langx|fil|baranggay}} {{langx|es|barangay}}) from the Tagalog word ''balan͠gay'' since it is syllabicated as [ba-rang-gay].<ref>{{cite web | author =REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA | title =DICCIONARIO DE LA LENGUA ESPAÑOLA – Vigésima segunda edición | url=http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltConsulta?TIPO_BUS=3&LEMA=barangay | access-date = 2010-06-24}}</ref> [[Hiligaynon (disambiguation)|Ilonggo]] used to be written as ''Ylongo'' or ''Ilongo'' without a tilde over the ''ng'' since it is syllabicated as [i-long-go]. Another example is Zamboanga syllabicated as [zam-bo-ang-ga]. Words that end in ''ng'' digraph such as ''ang'' ({{langx|en|the}}), ''utang'' ({{langx|en|debt}}) and ''saguing'' ({{langx|en|banana}}) also didn't have tildes over the ''n'' or ''g'' or both ''ng''.

Contraction of certain words were indicated by two commas such as ''iba'' and ''at'' → "''iba, t,''"; Indicated today by a single quotation mark as in English (i.e. iba't).

[[Diacritic marks]] were also utilized. [[acute accent|Acute]] ( ´ ), [[grave accent|grave]] ( ` ) and [[circumflex]] ( ˆ ) were required and only used with the vowels. The latter two may only appear at the end of a word ending in a vowel. [[Diacritics]] had no impact on the primary alphabetical order. Possible combinations include: ''á, à, â, é, è, ê, í, ì, î, ó, ò, ô, ú, ù and û''.

Punctuation marks were also borrowed from Spanish. Quotation marks like ''« »'' instead of the quotation marks (''" "'') were used. The inverted question mark (¿) and inverted exclamation mark (¡) were also utilized at the beginning of phrases ending with either the regular question mark/exclamation mark. <!-- for an example, see http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18141/18141-h/18141-h.htm -->

The [[vowels]] were pronounced in a short [[vowel length]] ''[A (ah), E (eh), I (ih), O (oh), U (uh)]'' while the [[consonants]] were pronounced as ''B (be), C (se), Ch (che), D (de), F (efe), G (he), H (ache), J (hota), K (ka), L (ele), LL (elye), M (eme), N (ene), NG (nang), Ñ (enye), Ñg or Ng̃ or N͠g or Gñ  (ñga or ng̃a or n͠ga or gña), P (pe), Q (ku), R (ere), RR (er-re), S (ese), T (te), V (ve), W (wa), X (ekis), Y (ya or i griega or ye), Z (zeta).'' This alphabet gradually fell out of use since 1940 due to the imposition of the Abakada alphabet.

Collation of the ''Abecedario'' (32 letters):<ref name="guillermo">{{cite web | last =Gómez Rivera | first =Guillermo | title =The evolution of the native Tagalog alphabet | url =http://emanila.com/news/opinion/ggrivera_2001_04_10_opinion_tagalog.html | access-date =2010-07-03 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130919003751/http://emanila.com/news/opinion/ggrivera_2001_04_10_opinion_tagalog.html | archive-date =2013-09-19 | url-status =dead }}</ref>
{|class="wikitable" style="border-collapse:collapse;"
|- 	 
|bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align="center" colspan="32" | '''[[Capital letters|Majuscule Forms]]''' 
|-
|width=3% align="center"|[[A]]||width=3% align="center"|[[B]]||width=3% align="center"|[[C]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Ch (digraph)#Spanish|Ch]]||width=3% align="center"|[[D]]||width=3% align="center"|[[E]]||width=3% align="center"|[[F]]||width=3% align="center"|[[G]]||width=3% align="center"|[[H]]||width=3% align="center"|[[I]]||width=3% align="center"|[[J]]||width=3% align="center"|[[K]]||width=3% align="center"|[[L]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Ll#Philippine languages|Ll]]||width=3% align="center"|[[M]]||width=3% align="center"|[[N]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Ng (digraph)|Ng]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Ñ]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Ng (digraph)|Ng̃]] or [[Ng (digraph)|Ñg]] or [[Ng (digraph)|N͠g]] or [[Ng (digraph)|Gñ]]||width=3% align="center"|[[O]]||width=3% align="center"|[[P]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Q]]||width=3% align="center"|[[R]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Rr (digraph)#R|Rr]]||width=3% align="center"|[[S]]||width=3% align="center"|[[T]]||width=3% align="center"|[[U]]||width=3% align="center"|[[V]]||width=3% align="center"|[[W]]||width=3% align="center"|[[X]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Y]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Z]]
|- 	
|align="center" colspan="32" | '''[[Lower case|Minuscule Forms]]'''
|-
|align="center"|a||align="center"|b||align="center"|c||align="center"|ch||align="center"|d||align="center"|e||align="center"|f||align="center"|g||align="center"|h||align="center"|i||align="center"|j||align="center"|k||align="center"|l||align="center"|ll||align="center"|m||align="center"|n||align="center"|ng||align="center"|ñ||align="center"|ng̃ or ñg or n͠g or gñ||align="center"|o||align="center"|p||align="center"|q||align="center"|r||align="center"|rr||align="center"|s||align="center"|t||align="center"|u||align="center"|v||align="center"|w||align="center"|x||align="center"|y||align="center"|z
|}

=== Late 19th-century orthographic reforms ===
Filipino doctor and student of languages [[Trinidad Pardo de Tavera]] in his 1887 essay ''El Sanscrito en la lengua Tagalog'' made use of a new Tagalog orthography rather than what had then been in use. In 1889, the new bilingual ''La España Oriental'', of which [[Isabelo de los Reyes]] was an editor, newspaper began publishing using the new orthography stating in a footnote that it would "use the orthography recently introduced by ... learned Orientalis". This new orthography, while having its supporters, was also not initially accepted by several writers. Soon after the first issue of ''La España'', [[Pascual H. Poblete]]'s ''Revista Católica de Filipina'' began a series of articles attacking the new orthography and its proponents. A fellow writer, Pablo Tecson was also critical. The attacks included that the letters "k" and "w" were of German origin and foreign in nature, thus those promoting it were deemed "unpatriotic". These two publications would eventually merge as ''La Lectura Popular'' in January 1890 and would eventually make use of both spelling systems in its articles.<ref name="k is for">{{cite journal|last1=Thomas|first1=Megan C.|title=K is for De-Kolonization: Anti-Colonial Nationalism and Orthographic Reform|journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History|date=8 October 2007|volume=49|issue=4|pages=938–967|doi=10.1017/S0010417507000813}}</ref><ref name="Is k foreign 19">{{cite web|title=Accusations of Foreign-ness of the Revista Católica de Filipinas - Is 'K' a Foreign Agent? Orthography and Patriotism...|url=http://www.espanito.com/is-k-a-foreign-agent-orthography-and-patriotism-in-the-late-19.html?part=6|website=espanito.com}}</ref>

Pedro Serrano y Laktaw, a schoolteacher, published the first Spanish-Tagalog dictionary using the new orthography in 1890. In April 1890, Jose Rizal authored an article ''Sobre la Nueva Ortografia de la Lengua Tagalog'' in the Madrid-based periodical [[La Solidaridad]]. In it, he addressed the logicality, in his opinion, of the new orthography and its criticisms, including those by Pobrete and Tecson. Rizal described the orthography promoted by Tavera as "more perfect" than what he himself had developed.<ref name="k is for"/><ref name="Is k foreign 19"/> [[José Rizal]] had also suggested a reform of the orthography of the Philippine languages by replacing the letters ''C'' and ''Q'' with ''K''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pangilinan |first=Michael Raymon |title=Kapampángan or Capampáñgan: Settling the Dispute on the Kapampángan Romanized Orthography |url=http://www.silinternational.org/asia/philippines/ical/papers/pangilinan-Dispute%20on%20Orthography.pdf#search=%22siuala%22/ |access-date=2010-06-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326210447/http://www.silinternational.org/asia/philippines/ical/papers/pangilinan-Dispute%20on%20Orthography.pdf |archive-date=2009-03-26 }}</ref> Rizal got the idea after reading an 1884 essay by Trinidad Pardo de Tavera about the ancient [[Baybayin]] script.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mojares |first=Resil |author-link=Resil Mojares |title=Brains of the nation: Pedro Paterno, T.H. Pardo de Tavera, Isabelo de los Reyes and the Production of Modern Knowledge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=es3ks3gibHoC |access-date=August 20, 2010 |year=2006 |publisher=Ateneo de Manila University Press |location=Manila, Philippines |isbn=971-550-496-5 |pages=119–252 |chapter=T.H. Pardo de Tavera}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.pilipino-express.com/pdfs/inotherwords/070616%20Rizal%20Spelling.pdf |title=José Rizal and the Filipino language |first=Paul |last=Morrow |publisher=Pilipino Express  |date=June 16–30, 2007 |volume=3 |issue=12 |location=Manitoba, Canada |journal= In Other Words |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804040312/http://www.pilipino-express.com/pdfs/inotherwords/070616%20Rizal%20Spelling.pdf |archive-date=August 4, 2021 |access-date=August 21, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mts.net/~pmorrow/paterno.htm |title=Palaeographic Chart of the Philippine Islands |first=Paul |last=Morrow |publisher=Manitoba Telecom Services (mts.net) |location=Manitoba, Canada |work=Sarisari etc...Filipino History, Language, Pop Culture & other completely unrelated stuff.  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100809054112/http://www.mts.net/~pmorrow/paterno.htm |archive-date=August 9, 2010 |access-date=August 21, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The new orthography was however not broadly adopted initially and was used inconsistently in the bilingual periodicals of Manila.<ref name="k is for"/>

The revolutionary society Kataás-taasan, Kagalang-galang Katipunan ng̃ mg̃á Anak ng̃ Bayan or [[Katipunan]] made use of the k-orthography and the letter k featured prominently on many of its flags and insignias.

===Filipino as the national language, the Abakada, and expanded alphabet (1940–1987)===
{{main|Abakada script}}

Article XIII, section 3 of the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines provided for the "...development and adoption of a common national language based on one of the existing native languages". For this purpose, the [[Commission on the Filipino Language|Institute of National Language]] (INL) was subsequently set-up. After numerous debates among the different language representatives of the Philippines, the NLI passed a resolution dated November 9, 1937 recommending that [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] serve as basis for the national language. President [[Manuel L. Quezon]] issued Executive Order 134 in December 1937 officially proclaiming this decision.

In 1940, the ''Balarílà ng Wikang Pambansâ'' ({{langx|en|Grammar of the National Language}}) of grammarian [[Lope K. Santos]] introduced the '''[[Abakada script|Abakada]]''' alphabet. This alphabet consists of 20 letters and became the standard alphabet of the national language.<ref name="ebolusyon">{{cite web | title =Ebolusyon ng Alpabetong Filipino | url=http://wika.pbworks.com/Kasaysayan | access-date = 2010-06-22}}</ref> The alphabet was officially adopted by the Institute for the Tagalog-Based National Language to “[[Indigenization|indigenize]]" the writing system (The Latin script itself (the alphabet) was introduced by the Catholic missionaries of Spain, leaving nothing really to "indigenize").

The Spanish-based orthographies of other Philippine languages that were still using its old orthography<ref>{{cite web | last =Pinpin | first =Tomás | title =Librong pagaaralan nang manga Tagalog nang uicang Castilla | url=https://ugnay.blogspot.com/2009/12/librong-pagaaralan-nang-manga-tagalog_24.html | access-date = 2010-07-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title =Doctrina Christiana | url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16119/16119-h/16119-h.htm | access-date = 2010-07-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last =de Abella | first =V.M. | title =Vade-mecum filipino, o, Manual de la conversación familiar español-tagalog : sequido de un curioso vocabulario de modismos  | url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;q1=manila;rgn=full%20text;view=image;seq=7;idno=ack4656.0001.001;didno=ACK4656.0001.001;page=root;size=100;frm=frameset; | access-date = 2010-07-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last =Guillén | first =Felix | title =Gramática bisaya para facilitar el estudio del dialecto bisaya cebuano: escrita por ... Felix Guillén. | url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;q1=cebuano;rgn=full%20text;view=image;seq=00000001;idno=APT6490.0001.001;didno=APT6490.0001.001 | access-date = 2010-07-04}}</ref> began to be gradually replaced with the propagation of the new K-orthographies as more people became familiar with it. The Spanish-based orthographies were gradually wiped out since 1940, due to the imposition of Abakada. The Abakada orthography gradually influenced the languages of the Philippines.

The Abakada orthography was guided by the ''Balarilà'' of Santos. [[Vowels]] were pronounced with a short [[vowel length]], while [[consonants]] were pronounced by appending short ''A's'' at the end. Hence, the  name '''Abakada''', from the first 4 letters of the alphabet.

Collation of the ''Abakada'' (20 letters):
{|class="wikitable" style="border-collapse:collapse;"
|-
|bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align="center" colspan="20" | '''[[Capital letters|Majuscule Forms]]'''
|-
|width=3% align="center"|[[A]]||width=3% align="center"|[[B]]||width=3% align="center"|[[K]]||width=3% align="center"|[[D]]||width=3% align="center"|[[E]]||width=3% align="center"|[[G]]||width=3% align="center"|[[H]]||width=3% align="center"|[[I]]||width=3% align="center"|[[L]]||width=3% align="center"|[[M]]||width=3% align="center"|[[N]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Ng (digraph)|Ng]]||width=3% align="center"|[[O]]||width=3% align="center"|[[P]]||width=3% align="center"|[[R]]||width=3% align="center"|[[S]]||width=3% align="center"|[[T]]||width=3% align="center"|[[U]]||width=3% align="center"|[[W]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Y]]
|-
|align="center" colspan="20" | '''[[Lower case|Minuscule Forms]]'''
|-
|align="center"|a||align="center"|b||align="center"|k||align="center"|d||align="center"|e||align="center"|g||align="center"|h||align="center"|i||align="center"|l||align="center"|m||align="center"|n||align="center"|ng||align="center"|o||align="center"|p||align="center"|r||align="center"|s||align="center"|t||align="center"|u||align="center"|w||align="center"|y
|}

The ''Wikang pambansa'' (national language) was designated as ''Pilipino'' in 1959. In 1971, the alphabet was expanded to 31 letters: a, b, c, ch, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, ll, m, n, ñ, ng, o, p, q, r, rr, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z.

===Modern Filipino alphabet (1987–present)===
{{main|Filipino alphabet}}

In 1987, the official language called '''Pilipino''' was renamed to '''[[Filipino language|Filipino]]'''. Article XIV Section 6 of the [[1987 Constitution]] states that "the National language of the Philippines is Filipino. As it evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages".<ref>{{cite web|last=Belvez |first=Paz |title=Development of Filipino, The National Language of the Philippines |url=http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/articles-on-c-n-a/article.php?igm=3&i=207 |access-date=2010-06-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306040649/http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/articles-on-c-n-a/article.php?igm=3&i=207 |archive-date=2012-03-06 }}</ref>

The Pilipino alphabet was reduced to 28 letters, with the Spanish ''Ch'', ''Ll'' and ''Rr'' digraphs being dropped from being considered as distinct letters (The [[Association of Spanish Language Academies]] itself abandoned the use of ''Ch'' and ''Ll'' as separate listings in alphabetical [[collation]]s in 1994. Since 2010, ''ch'' and ''ll'' are no longer considered distinct letters. Each digraph is now treated as a sequence of two distinct characters, finding occasional use as conjoined pairs.).

The [[Filipino alphabet|Modern Filipino alphabet]] is primarily [[English alphabet]] plus the Spanish ''[[Ñ]]'' and Tagalog ''[[Ng (digraph)|Ng]]'' digraph; these are alphabetised separately in theory. Today, the Modern Filipino alphabet is used, and may also serve as the alphabet for all [[languages of the Philippines]].

<!-- Note: Order of letters N, Ng, and Ñ, are either "N, Ng, Ñ", or "N, Ñ, Ng", depending on source -->
Collation of the Modern Filipino Alphabet (28 letters):
{|class="wikitable" style="border-collapse:collapse;"
|- 	 
|bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align="center" colspan="28" | '''[[Capital letters|Majuscule Forms]]''' 
|-
|width=3% align="center"|[[A]]||width=3% align="center"|[[B]]||width=3% align="center"|[[C]]||width=3% align="center"|[[D]]||width=3% align="center"|[[E]]||width=3% align="center"|[[F]]||width=3% align="center"|[[G]]||width=3% align="center"|[[H]]||width=3% align="center"|[[I]]||width=3% align="center"|[[J]]||width=3% align="center"|[[K]]||width=3% align="center"|[[L]]||width=3% align="center"|[[M]]||width=3% align="center"|[[N]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Ñ]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Ng (digraph)|Ng]]||width=3% align="center"|[[O]]||width=3% align="center"|[[P]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Q]]||width=3% align="center"|[[R]]||width=3% align="center"|[[S]]||width=3% align="center"|[[T]]||width=3% align="center"|[[U]]||width=3% align="center"|[[V]]||width=3% align="center"|[[W]]||width=3% align="center"|[[X]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Y]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Z]]
|- 	
|align="center" colspan="28" | '''[[Lower case|Minuscule Forms]]''' 
|-
|align="center"|a||align="center"|b||align="center"|c||align="center"|d||align="center"|e||align="center"|f||align="center"|g||align="center"|h||align="center"|i||align="center"|j||align="center"|k||align="center"|l||align="center"|m||align="center"|n||align="center"|ñ||align="center"|ng||align="center"|o||align="center"|p||align="center"|q||align="center"|r||align="center"|s||align="center"|t||align="center"|u||align="center"|v||align="center"|w||align="center"|x||align="center"|y||align="center"|z
|}

==The Orthography of the National Language==
{{update section|date=August 2018}}

In August 2007, the [[Commission on the Filipino Language]] made available a [[Draft document|draft]] version of Filipino orthography open for comment.<ref name = "FilOrthography">{{cite web|url = http://wika.pbworks.com/f/ORTOPDF.pdf|title = Ang Ortograpiya ng Wikang Pambansa|access-date = 2008-01-28|year = 2007|publisher = Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino}}</ref> This document is a result of a series of consultations with various teachers, instructors, [[linguistics|linguists]] and others in the field that took place between 2006 and 2007.

The document begins by detailing the letters of the alphabet, their order and their names. One set of names is based on English letter names; the other, similar to the former ''Abakada''. Some exceptional names are those letters which were not part of the ''Abakada'': ''C'', ''se'', ''Q'', ''kwa'' and ''X'', ''eksa''.

It goes on to name [[punctuation]] marks, and describes the use of the [[acute accent|acute]], [[grave accent|grave]] and [[circumflex]] [[Diacritic|accents]] in Filipino. Words that already exist in the language are preferred over a [[Loanword|borrowed]] term, for example, ''tuntunin'' vs. ''rul'' (derived from English ''rule''). In terms of spelling, issues concerning the use of ''y-/iy-'' and ''w-/uw-'' are codified according to the number of preceding [[consonants]] and the origin of the word if it is borrowed.

Lastly, it provides spelling guidelines for words of [[loanword|foreign]] origin. It focuses mainly on the two languages that have provided a large number of [[Lexicon|lexical]] items to the [[Filipino language]], namely [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[English language|English]]. In short, regarding borrowings from these two languages, Spanish words of common usage are written in a manner consistent with Filipino [[phonology]]. These words are already in common usage, thus they will not revert to their Spanish spelling. On the other hand, if the words come from English or another foreign source or if the term is derived from Spanish that does not already have a [[phonetics|phonetic]] spelling, it should be spelled phonetically and the use of the 8 new letters is allowed.

Examples:

*Spanish '''teléfono''' = '''telépono''' NOT *'''teléfono'''
*English '''psychology''' = '''saykoloji'''
*Spanish '''psicología''' or '''sicología''' = '''sikolohíya'''
*Spanish '''silla''' = '''silya'''
*Spanish '''cuchara''' = '''kutsara'''
*Spanish '''caballo''' = '''kabayo'''

== Evolution example ==
Below is an example of orthography between the Tagalog (Early Spanish-style system) and Filipino (derived from multiple tribe coalitions.) The text used for comparison is the Filipino version of the [[Lord's Prayer]]. The phrase in square brackets is the [[doxology]] "for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever".

{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
: '''Early Tagalog System''' (taken from ''[[Doctrina Christiana]]'',)
: ''Ama namin, nasa Lan͠gitca,''
: ''Ypasamba Mo ang N͠galanmo.''
: ''Mouisaamin ang pagcaharimo.''
: ''Ypasonor mo ang loob mo''
: ''Dito sa lupa para sa Lan͠git.''
: ''Bigya mo cami n͠gaion ng amin cacanin para nang sa arao-arao.''
: ''At patauarin Mo ang amin casalanã,''
: ''Yaiang uinaualan bahala namĩ sa loob''
: ''Ang casalanan nang nagcacasala sa amin.''
: ''Houag Mo caming æwan nang dicami matalo ng tocso,''
: ''Datapouat yadia mo cami sa dilan masama.''
: [''Sapagcat iyo an caharian at capaniarihan''
: ''At caloualhatian, magpacailan man.'']
: ''Amen Jesús.''

{{col-2}}
: '''Modern Filipino orthography'''
: ''Amá namin, sumasalangit Ka,''
: ''Sambahín ang Ngalan Mo.''
: ''Mapasaamin ang kaharián Mo.''
: ''Sundín ang loób Mo''
: ''Dito sa lupà, para nang sa langit.''
: ''Bigyán Mo kamí ngayón ng aming kakanin sa araw-araw.''
: ''At patawarin Mo kamí sa aming mga salà,''
: ''Para nang pagpápatawad namin''
: ''Sa mga nagkakasalà sa amin.''
: ''At huwág Mo kamíng ipahintulot sa tuksô,''
: ''At iadyâ Mo kamí sa lahát ng masamâ.''
: [''Sapagkát sa Iyó ang kaharián, at ang kapangyarihan,''
: ''At ang kaluwálhatian, magpakailanmán.'']
: ''Amen'' ''Hesús''.
{{col-end}}

==See also==
*[[Comparison of orthographies of languages of the Philippines]]
*[[Dambana]]
*[[Filipino alphabet]]
*[[Filipino language]]
*[[Tagalog phonology]]
*[[Commission on the Filipino Language|Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Notes==
*[http://wika.pbworks.com/f/ORTOPDF.pdf Wika.PBWorks.com], Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, August 1, 2007
*[http://www.deped.gov.ph/cpanel/uploads/issuanceImg/DO%20No.%20104,%20s,%202009.pdf The Orthography of the National Language (Final)], Republic of the Philippines, Department of Education, No. 104 s.2009.
*[http://www.proyectos-saluda.org/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=850 ''Proyectos-Saluda''], KWF Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, Proyectos-Saluda.org
*[http://www.proyectos-saluda.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=850&Itemid=156 ''Proyectos-Saluda''], ''Part I: Definitions'', KWF Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, Proyectos-Saluda.org
*[http://www.pilipino-express.com/pdfs/inotherwords/060701%20Ng%20&%20Nang.pdf Nang or ng? – The long and the short of it], ''In Other Words'' by Paul Morrow, ''Pilipino Express'', [http://www.pilipino-express.com/ Pilipino-Express.com], July 1, 2006.
*[http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18813686 The evolution and disappearance of the "Ğ" in Philippine orthographies since the 1593 ''Doctrina Cristiana''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113010354/http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18813686 |date=2012-01-13 }} by Richard C. Signey, Instituto Cervantes, Manila. Accessed May 25, 2009.

==External links==
*[http://www.kwf.gov.ph Commission on the Filipino Language website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412182142/http://www.kwf.gov.ph/ |date=2020-04-12 }}
*[http://wika.pbworks.com Commission on the Filipino Language wiki]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20131012055004/http://www.kwf.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/Ortograpiyang-Pambansa1.pdf Ortograpiyang Pambansa] (2013 edition) KWF

{{Language orthographies}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Filipino Orthography}}
[[Category:Filipino language]]
[[Category:Latin-script orthographies]]