Learning Tagalog

Kevin, my son (panganay-oldest child), took it upon himself to learn how to speak Tagalog (language spoken in the Philipines). Which I think is WONDERFUL since he is a quarter Filipino.

I am so happy!

There is a new kid in his class that is Filipino. So he has been teaching Kevin some words every now and then. Kevin has about 3 pages full of words he has learned. He would share his new words he learned for the day. He repeats them constantly, makes sentences, and through out the day/evening he'll either answer or say some things in Tagalog.

I am so proud of him that he took the initiative to learn the language and is very gung ho about it. It is so much fun learning all these words again. Sometimes he'll quiz me to see if I remember them. I have alot of "that's right. How can I forget that." moments.

I'm bummed that I don't remember how to speak Tagalog. I remember when I was younger, I spoke it fluently. I even had an accent when I spoke English. Now I just know a handful of words and can understand a little bit when my mom speaks it. I've always wanted to learn it again but my mom and I have just been too busy for a lesson.

Thanks to my son I am excited about learning Tagalog again especially learning it with him. I found a great website that teaches it to you and you can even listen to how they say it. He can't wait to speak to his Lola in her language. She will be so proud of him and very happy that he is learning.

I leave you with a few Tagalog words:

Ina - Mother
Anak - Child
Ama - father
Asawa - spouse
Salamat - Thank you
Kamusta - How are you?
Oo - yes
Hindi - No, not
Ako - I, Me
Ikow - You
Sarap! - Delicious
Bakit - why?
Sino? - Who?
maganda - beautiful
Mahal Kita - I Love You

Theresa