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Spelling Adaptations & Transformations from Foreign Words

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Words from Spanish and English origins are often integrated into the Filipino language. When they are, the words are spelled with slightly different letters to use the spelling system of the Filipino language, while remembering the simple rule that in the Filipino language a word is spelled as it is pronounced.

These letter changes occur because certain letters ( like C, Q, V, F, X ) did not exist in the original Filipino alphabet, and in other cases because the sounds made by a foreign word are better represented with different letters when using the normal rules of Filipino pronunciation.

Review the spelling transformations that frequently take place in the example box below:

Markup
Examples:
Hard C is changed to the letter K
"crisis" in English becomes...
krisis in Filipino.
Soft C is changed to S
"cinema" in English becomes...
sine in Filipino.
CK is changed to K, and
Double M's are change to a SINGLE M
"gimmick" in English becomes...
gimik in Filipino
CT is changed to K
"abstract" in English becomes...
abstrak in Filipino.
QUA is changed to KWA
"quadruple" in English becomes...
kwádrupló in Filipino.
long I is changed to AY, and
V is changed to B
"driver" in English becomes...
drayber
F is changed to P, and
Hard C is changed to K
"traffic" in English becomes...
trapik in Filipino.
Long O is changed to U, and
V is changed to B
"approve" in English becomes...
aprúb in Filipino.
Long I is changed to AY,
Soft C is changed to S, and
CLE is changed to KEL
"tricycle" in English becomes...
tráysikel in Filipino.
TION is changed to SYON, and
Hard C is changed to K
"action" in English becomes...
aksyón in Filipino.
X is changed to KS
"relax" in English becomes...
reláks in Filipino.
Beginning S is changed to IS
"score" in English becomes...
iskór in Filipino.
Soft CH is changed to TS, and
CK is changed to K
"check" in English becomes...
tsek in Filipino.
+ more examples
Hard C is changed to K
"carne" in Spanish becomes...
karné in Filipino.
Soft C is changed to S
Hard C is changed to K
"circo" in Spanish becomes...
sirko in Filipino.
CH is changed to TS, and
E is sometimes changed to I
"lechon" in Spanish becomes...
litsón in Filipino.
F is changed to P, and
IE is changed to IYE
"fiesta" in Spanish becomes...
piyesta in Filipino.
J is changed to H
Hard C is changed to K
"cajon" in Spanish becomes...
kahón in Filipino.
LL is changed to LY, and
Hard C is changed to K
kalye in Filipino.
"calle" in Spanish becomes...
V is changed to B
"vapor" in Spanish becomes...
bapór in Filipino.
Z is changed to S
"lapiz" in Spanish becomes...
lapis in Filipino.
Markup
Examples:
Hard C is changed to the letter K
"crisis" in English becomes...
krisis in Filipino.
Soft C is changed to S
"cinema" in English becomes...
sine in Filipino.
CK is changed to K, and
Double M's are change to a SINGLE M
"gimmick" in English becomes...
gimik in Filipino
CT is changed to K
"abstract" in English becomes...
abstrak in Filipino.
QUA is changed to KWA
"quadruple" in English becomes...
kwadruplo in Filipino.
long I is changed to AY, and
V is changed to B
"driver" in English becomes...
drayber
F is changed to P, and
Hard C is changed to K
"traffic" in English becomes...
trapik in Filipino.
Long O is changed to U, and
V is changed to B
"approve" in English becomes...
aprub in Filipino.
Long I is changed to AY,
Soft C is changed to S, and
CLE is changed to KEL
"tricycle" in English becomes...
traysikel in Filipino.
TION is changed to SYON, and
Hard C is changed to K
"action" in English becomes...
aksyon in Filipino.
X is changed to KS
"relax" in English becomes...
relaks in Filipino.
Beginning S is changed to IS
"score" in English becomes...
iskor in Filipino.
Soft CH is changed to TS, and
CK is changed to K
"check" in English becomes...
tsek in Filipino.
+ more examples
Hard C is changed to K
"carne" in Spanish becomes...
karne in Filipino.
Soft C is changed to S
Hard C is changed to K
"circo" in Spanish becomes...
sirko in Filipino.
CH is changed to TS, and
E is sometimes changed to I
"lechon" in Spanish becomes...
litson in Filipino.
F is changed to P, and
IE is changed to IYE
"fiesta" in Spanish becomes...
piyesta in Filipino.
J is changed to H
Hard C is changed to K
"cajon" in Spanish becomes...
kahon in Filipino.
LL is changed to LY, and
Hard C is changed to K
kalye in Filipino.
"calle" in Spanish becomes...
V is changed to B
"vapor" in Spanish becomes...
bapor in Filipino.
Z is changed to S
"lapiz" in Spanish becomes...
lapis in Filipino.
Trivia:
There are many Spanish and English words integrated into the Filipino language. These influences in language can also be observed in Filipino traditions, clothing, government, food, architecture, and religion.




Did you also notice that the Filipino language rarely uses double consonant letters? You don't spell gimik with double m's. Or adik with double d's.


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