Bagong Alpabetong Filipino

   I have an issue with the Bagong Alpabetong Filipino. Or even the old Alpabetong Filipino. It says “Ng/ng” is a letter. In her Filipino subject Daughter Cheska was marked wrong when she answered “g” as the last letter of “hinirang”.

   Excuse me.

   “Ng” are letters “n” and “g”. Ng is a consonant blend – when 2 letters combine to create a single sound. That’s according to Cheska’s language book “Grammar in Focus”. However, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digraph_(orthography) says that “ng” is a consonant digraph which represents /ŋ/ (velar nasal). A digraph or digram (from the Greek: δίς, dís, “double” and γράφω, gráphō, “write”) is a pair of characters used to write one phoneme (distinct sound) or a sequence of phonemes that does not correspond to the normal values of the two characters combined.

   The English language also uses “ng” particularly in the present participle forms of verbs. Walking, talking, eating, writing. The last letter of those words is “g”. Because “ng” are two letters. Why does the Alpabetong Filipino consider “ng” as a letter and why doesn’t the English alphabet? Does it make a difference that the Filipino language has a word that start with “ng” as in “ngayon” ?

   Paging Surian ng Wikang Pambansa. I think you should review the Bagong Alpabetong Filipino.

   Ngayon na.

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Melissa Sena (Manila, 1973- )

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Inspired by daily rides at the LRT where ad boards from Instituto Cervantes feature Spanish and Filipino poems translated to the other language.