FAQs Series #2: The Language Question

Do you already know how to speak the language?

Maybe this seems like a silly question, but we actually get asked this almost every time we are telling someone about our plans for moving to the Philippines. The answer is no. We don't already speak the language. I (Holly) am very familiar with the sounds of the language having grown up in the Philippines and that will be an advantage. I grew up hearing people speak the language. I know some phrases and words. I can mimic the accent and sound like a native speaker (somewhat). It will all be new for Dan: new sounds, grammar, vocab, cadence, etc. A lot will be new for me too. Here's the kicker: after we spend about two years learning our first language...we'll move into a tribal location and start learning another!

We have been equipped in our training with New Tribes Mission with valuable tools/methods for learning language. We learned phonetics, grammar analysis, phonemics, linguistics and language acquisition techniques. The ideal is to learn the language in the country from a native speaker. For this reason it is not recommended to use Rosetta Stone or to start learning some other way before you go overseas. Language and culture are so intrinsically tied together that it would be detrimental to us to separate them. We need to learn both simultaneously.

Some things you need to know about the Philippines/language:

• There are two 'official' languages in the Philippines: Tagalog and English (Yes! English!); and eight major dialects: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan.
• Speaking of English...English is taught in many public schools (often immersion-style). Signs and billboards are often in English. Exposure to English is high in the Philippines, but that does not mean everyone understands it or is fluent.
• We will be learning Cebuano. This is the language spoken in the area we will be living. It is one of the more widely spoken languages along with Tagalog. Cebuano is also referred to as Visayan.
• Depending on the source, there are roughly 181 different languages spoken in the Philippines. We will be learning at least two of those 181 during our time serving in the Philippines.