Spanish language in the Philippines

Spanish was the only official language of the Philippines for over 300 years when it was ruled by Spain, from the late 1500s to 1898. After that, it became a co-official language with English when the USA ruled the country. Even after the Philippines became independent in 1946, Spanish stayed as an official language, along with Filipino (Tagalog) and English. In 1973, it was taken out as an official language by a change in the constitution. But, after a short time, it became an official language again because of a decision by the president. In 1987, with the new Philippine constitution, Spanish was named an "optional and voluntary language".Article XIV, Section 3 of the 1935 Philippine Constitution  provided, "[...] Until otherwise provided by law, English and Spanish shall continue as official languages." The 1943 Philippine Constitution  (in use when controlled by Japanese soldiers, and later denied) did not specify official languages. Article XV, Section 3(3) of the 1973 Philippine constitution  approved on January 17, 1973 specified, "Until otherwise provided by law, English and Pilipino shall be the official languages. Presidential Decree No. 155 dated March 15, 1973 ordered, "[...] that the Spanish language shall continue to be recognized as an official language in the Philippines while important documents in government files are in the Spanish language and not translated into either English or Pilipino language." Article XIV Section 7 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution specified, "For purposes of communication and instruction, the official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English."Article XIV, Sec 7: For purposes of communication and instruction, the official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English.

The regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the regions and shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein.

Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis.

During the time when the Philippines was ruled by Spain (1565–1898), Spanish was used in government, newspapers, business, schools, and the arts. In the middle of the 19th century, the Spanish government started a free school system. This led to a group of educated Filipinos who spoke Spanish, called the Ilustrados. Famous men in this group were José Rizal, Antonio Luna, and Marcelo del Pilar. When Spanish rule ended, many people in the cities and from rich families could speak Spanish. But, most of the country's people did not know the language.

The country's first official language was in the Malolos Constitution of the First Philippine Republic in 1899. It was used a lot during the first years of the U.S. rule from 1898 to 1946. But over time, the American government started to prefer English over Spanish. They saw Spanish as a bad part of the past. By the 1920s, English became the main language for the government and schools. Even after the Philippines became independent in 1946, Spanish became less important. In 1973, it was no longer an official language. Now, Spanish is not used much in daily life. Some Filipinos are interested in learning it again or bringing it back, but the number of people who speak it is getting smaller. In 2020, about 400,000 Filipinos (less than 0.5% of the people) could speak Spanish well.

The Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española controls the Spanish language in the Philippines. It is part of the Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, which controls the Spanish language around the Spanish-speaking world.

 List of Spanish words of Philippine origin 

Even though Spanish has influenced the languages of the Philippines the most with many loanwords, the Philippinic languages have also given some words to Spanish.

Here are some Philippine-origin words found in the Diccionario de la lengua española de la Real Academia Española, the dictionary made by the Real Academia Española:

 Spanish loan word Origin Tagalog English equivalent abacá  Old Tagalog: abacá  abaká  abacá baguio  Old Tagalog: baguio  bagyo  typhoon or hurricane barangay  Old Tagalog: balan͠gay  baranggay/barangay  barangay bolo  Old Tagalog: bolo  bolo  bolo carabao Waray-Waray: carabáo  kalabáw  carabao caracoa  Visayan: karakoa   karakaw  karakoa, a war canoe cogón  Old Tagalog: cogón  kogón  cogon dalaga  Old Tagalog: dalagà  dalaga  single, young woman gumamela  Old Tagalog: gumamela  gumamela  Chinese hibiscus nipa  Visayan: nipà  nipa  nipa palm paipay  Old Tagalog: paypay or pay-pay  pamaypay  a type of fan palay  Old Tagalog: palay  palay  raw rice pantalán  Cebuano: pantalán  pantalán  wooden pier salisipan  Old Tagalog: salicipan  salisipan  salisipan, a pirate ship sampaguita  Old Tagalog: sampaga  sampagita  jasmine sawali  Old Tagalog: sauali  sawali  sawali, a woven bamboo mat tuba  Cebuano: tuba  tuba  palm wine yoyó   Ilocano: yoyó  yo-yó  yo-yo
 Related pages 
 Chavacano — a creole language based on Spanish spoken in Cavite City, Ternate, and Zamboanga City
 Philippine Spanish — an extinct Philippine variant of the Spanish language

 References 

 Other websites 
 The Teaching of Spanish in the Philippines, UNESCO, February 1968
 Asociacion Cultural Galeon de Manila, Spanish-Philippine cultural research group based in Madrid (in Spanish and English).
 Instituto Cervantes de Manila
 Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines 

*
Philippines