Dare to Ask: Why does Filipino start with an "F," and Philippines with a "Ph"?

By Phillip Milano

The Florida Times-Union

Question

Why does "Filipino" start with an "F," while "Philippines" starts with a "Ph"?

Jason, Tampa

Replies

"Philippines" is anglicized, while "Filipino" is probably in Spanish (Spain colonized the Philippines).

Sadhbh, 15, white female, Ireland

Because that's the proper spelling in the country's language. Philippines is an Americanized spelling.

Chibi, 28, female, Houston

Ebonics for the lazy learner.

Thelma, 58, white, Horse Shoe, N.C.

The language spoken in the Philippines is Pilipino (note the absence of the h). The people are Filipinos (men) and Filipinas, also without the h.

Mary, 42, white, Atlanta

Because it's a Spanish word. I don't think there are any Ph combinations in the Spanish language.

Ron, Stockton, Calif.

Because the country is officially Filipinas, after the Spanish, who "discovered" it in 1521.

A. Urbanes, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.

The Philippines (after King Philip) was under the control of Spain for more than 400 years. That explains the extensive Spanish influence on the country by way of customs, clothing, language, spelling, words and even names of the natives. Philippines is the English word for Filipinas (Spanish then, now changed to Pilipinas). This applies also to the word "Filipino".

Wally, Toronto, Canada

Expert says

If we're talking English, then yes, it's the Philippines. But it's also been called, among other things, Tawalisi, Las islas de San Lazaro, Las islas de Poniente, Las islas Felipenas and Las islas Filipinas.

It all depends on who was running things at the time, and where they were from. Explorer Ferdinand Magellan did claim the islands for Spain in 1521, giving it the name "Filipinas" (Spanish for Philippines), deriving it from King Philip II of Spain.

But, according to M. Paul Lewis, editor of "Ethnologue," a reference volume that catalogs all known living languages, the country is called "Pilipinas" in Tagalog, a language spoken by a big chunk of people there that doesn't distinguish between the "f" and "p" sounds.

"Filipino," which is Spanish, refers to the island's inhabitants. But wait, it also refers to the country's official national language (the Philippines gained independence from the U.S. in 1946), which is based on Tagalog and some of the island's other 170 or so languages.

To make matters a bit more confusing, the official language was once called Pilipino, but in the 1970s it was changed to Filipino to recognize the "f" sound.

People who speak English couldn't come up with anything different that they wanted to call Filipinos (like "Philippine," for example) so they also latched on to "Filipino" -- even though they still use the English "Philippines" to refer to the country itself.

ADD OR READ MORE COMMENTS

This is your column. You can help it grow! If you like "Dare to Ask," please call or e-mail your favorite newspaper or web site and urge them to start running it. It's syndicated by Universal Press.

Phillip Milano, author of I Can't Believe You Asked That! (Perigee), moderates cross-cultural dialogue at Y? The National Forum on People's Differences. Visit www.yforum.com to submit questions and answers. Send general column comments to phillip.milano@jacksonville.com. You can also hear his podcasts or watch his TV spots.