Penn Language Center

Filipino is one of the major languages spoken in the Philippines, mostly by people from the Tagalog regions on the main island of Luzon. It is the lingua franca in Metro Manila, the capital region of the country. It also serves as a base for Filipino, one of the two official languages of the Philippines (along with English).

According to the 1990 and 2000 United States Census, Tagalog is the second most commonly-spoken Asian language (after Chinese) in the United States, and the sixth non-English language spoken in America. Tagalog is the lingua franca of Filipinos everywhere in the world. Most Southeast Asian scholars use Tagalog as the tool for research in the Philippines. It is also the language of Philippine major works in literature, films, and songs.

The Filipino (Tagalog) Language Courses were first offered to Penn students in the Fall '96 through the initiative of Erlinda B. Juliano, M.S. Ed, Lecturer of Penn Language Center. 

Source: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University