The Diversity of the Philippine Population

A country of many islands, the Philippines is also a country of many languages. The Tagalog language of Manila has been chosen as the base of the national Pilipino language, even if Cebuano counts as many speakers. The languages of the Philippines have common grammatical structures, but wide differences in vocabulary. Contrary to Latin America where Spanish and Portuguese became the dominant languages, Spanish did not dominate the local languages, since colonial priests preferred to learn local languages rather than teaching Spanish to their flocks. English, as the second colonial language, is spoken much more, since the Americans educated Filipinos in English as part of their ``benevolent assimilation'' policy. Today, there is debate about the role to give to English, a colonial language, in the educational system, while English is a definite asset for the Philippines in the global economy. The Philippine diversity is also ethnic, with many tribes of ``indigenous people'', mostly located in remote hilly areas. Legislation tend today to protect their customs and lifestyles, even if it seems too late for many of them. Other minority groups include the Chinese and Koreans, who play an important role in the country's economic life.