Tagalog translation, especially into English, presents a fairy interesting language translation situation. This uniqueness comes from the fact that Tagalog, also known as Filipino, is the national language of the Philippines — but then again, so is English.

That’s right, the vast archipelago known as the Philippines has two official state languages: English and Tagalog. This means that, even though not every Filipino speaks or has complete mastery over the English language, his or her chances of being exposed to the language are fairly high. That’s an important fact for professionals working with Tagalog translation to keep in mind.

There are plenty of other Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines (like Tagalog) as well, although Tagalog is now the most dominant among them.

Spanish colonial history in the Philippines meant that Spanish and English — once upon a time — were the only two officially sanctioned languages of the islands. Tagalog was chosen to represent the various indigenous populations as a non-European national language.

Even though Tagalog is of local origin, history has given the language a healthy amount of borrowed words. Translators dealing with Tagalog translation have to be aware of Spanish loanwords, which make up a huge percentage of Tagalog’s modern, conversational vocabulary.

And if that’s not enough to do your head in, English has also taken on a slightly different form in the Philippines as well. “Philippine English” has its own unique cadence, and is often involved in “code switching,” or moving back and forth between two different languages. This code switching happens often with Philippine English, Tagalog, and other local dialects and languages.