Language and Culture
Most common languages spoken today are Tagalog (with many words borrowed from Spanish), and English, which is used in the public sphere. Many other Filipinos also speak other Philippine languages.
Today, only a minority of Filipinos speak Spanish, only some mestizos from older generations, those with links with Spain, America or other Spanish-speaking areas and recent immigrants, have preserved Spanish as a living spoken language, although many Spanish cultural traits still remain, most notably the adoption of Christianity among the majority of Filipinos.
In addition, Chavacano (a creole language based largely on Spanish vocabulary) is spoken in the southern Philippines and forms one of the majority languages of Zamboanga Peninsula and Basilan. It is also spoken in some parts of Malaysia where it has been made official.
Read more about this topic: Filipino People Of Spanish Ancestry
Famous quotes containing the words language and/or culture:
“Language makes it possible for a child to incorporate his parents’ verbal prohibitions, to make them part of himself....We don’t speak of a conscience yet in the child who is just acquiring language, but we can see very clearly how language plays an indispensable role in the formation of conscience. In fact, the moral achievement of man, the whole complex of factors that go into the organization of conscience is very largely based upon language.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)
“Letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend is the policy for promoting the progress of the arts and the sciences and a flourishing culture in our land.”
—Mao Zedong (1893–1976)