learning Tagalog when you're used to another dialect

[g2narat]

I've had to learn another dialect when all I knew was Tagalog. It was easier than learning a whole new language in the sense that some words are the same. It can get a bit confusing though as some words are the same but mean different things. I was wondering if the experience is similar for those who had to learn Tagalog from other dialects...

[tar_toei]

I'm a native Cebuano speaker and I learn tagalog through school and watching TV. I did not have the same experience because the transition was smooth then. There are few words in Cebuano that has a different meaning when it comes to tagalog like "langgam" which is ant in Tagalog but bird in Cebuano but that doesn't mean it was hard then.

[eppie]

I was born in Manila and raised in Quezon City.  My father is also a Manileño while my mother is a Bulakeña which means I only know Tagalog. 

I think it's cool to learn at least one dialect like a Visayan dialect or Ilocano or Kapampangan.  I have two sisters-in-law that are both Ilocanas and I can't help admire them when they're speaking in Ilocano.  I wish I can also learn Cebuano or Chavacano (which is very similar to Spanish). 

[Chris4Davi]

I always laugh when I hear people talking Tagalog, I would love to learn it but it seems rather complicated. It also reminds me of the Jamaican creole, some words just sound weird. There are several words that are the same but have different meanings depending on the context in which they are used.

[Verba]

I've had to learn another dialect when all I knew was Tagalog. It was easier than learning a whole new language in the sense that some words are the same. It can get a bit confusing though as some words are the same but mean different things. I was wondering if the experience is similar for those who had to learn Tagalog from other dialects...

It was not so difficult for me because I learnt Bicol, my parents' dialect when I was still in grade school. It was interesting also for me and I like their diction and intonation. Perhaps that made me learn it faster. I asked my grandma to teach me and to write to me in Bicol which I really enjoyed reading. Although, I cannot speak Bicol because I was never confident to speak it, I can understand it really well. I don't want to sound too trying hard with the accent, that's why I refuse to speak it.

[lindbergh]

IMO it's easy to learn Tagalog if you already know another Filipino dialect like Ilokano or Pangasinense or Kapampangan. I say this because the dialects in the Philippines have one thing in common - they have some sort of Spanish influence embedded into them. So there will be words that would be similar within these different dialects.

Aside from Tagalog, I also know Ilokano and these two dialects have a some similarities. Learning a new dialect is, I think, a bit easier than learning a new language (if you're really dedicated to it).

[petrushka]

Guys, I just want to clarify since most of the posters are commenting about it, but those are not dialects.

A different Tagalog dialect would when you're used to the Tagalog from Manila and you're lost about the numerous words/phrases/grammar usage by someone from Batangas. Cebuano, Ilokano, Pangasinense or Kapampangan are not dialects. They're different languages each with their own words and sometimes grammar rules, the ones with the most population having several dialects under their family.

There are at least 175 languages in the Philippines: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_Philippines The most popular of those have several major dialects under them too, but each of them is a language of their own,

[AExAVF]

I may have to agree with petrushka on this.  Tagalog is a language on its own, and so is Visayan.  There are various dialects of Tagalog such as those living in Manila and the Southern Tagalog provinces, and Visayan has just as many various dialects.

I have had to deal with language barriers in high school since I'm the only Tagalog in a class where most of my classmates are Visayan.  Though they can speak Tagalog, I am unable to speak Visayan, though I can understand what they mean.  My father is a Batangueno Tagalog and my mother is Visayan, but I am born in Quezon City and thus Tagalog is the only language I learned.  I never learned Visayan at all, and couldn't speak it except for some words taught to me.

[g2narat]

Guys, I just want to clarify since most of the posters are commenting about it, but those are not dialects.

A different Tagalog dialect would when you're used to the Tagalog from Manila and you're lost about the numerous words/phrases/grammar usage by someone from Batangas. Cebuano, Ilokano, Pangasinense or Kapampangan are not dialects. They're different languages each with their own words and sometimes grammar rules, the ones with the most population having several dialects under their family.

There are at least 175 languages in the Philippines: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_Philippines The most popular of those have several major dialects under them too, but each of them is a language of their own,

Oh thank you for clarifying this! I didn't know that actually. I've always heard of the Filipino languages getting referred to as dialects. I think you can see from the replies on this thread that it's a pretty common misconception. I guess the correct title of this thread should be "Learning Tagalog when you're used to another Filipino language" then.

[sidney]

I only know Tagalog, since both of my parents also did not know any other dialect, but it would be really nice if I can be able to learn other dialects too, especially the Visayan dialect. I do know some words and phrases in Cebuano because I hear it on tv and from other people speaking it.

[stygium]

I only know Tagalog, since both of my parents also did not know any other dialect, but it would be really nice if I can be able to learn other dialects too, especially the Visayan dialect. I do know some words and phrases in Cebuano because I hear it on tv and from other people speaking it.

It's quicker to learn if you have someone who you can converse with.

[sidney]

It's quicker to learn if you have someone who you can converse with.

I agree, but unfortunately, I am surrounded by people who also do not speak or understand the language. I guess I should just wait to meet someone from Visayas who will cross my path in the future so that I can convese with him/her in Cebuano.

[aira]

I know Cebuano because it is my native tongue, but I learned English faster than I learned Tagalog. It was because English was first taught to us before Tagalog, and in first grade, I had a hard time learning it, even the spelling for certain words. But later on, because of certain similarities, transition was easy.