Obviously my subtlety passed you by, so I'll spell it out for you. Mate. Tagalog is a very widely spoken language in most, but not all, of Luzon and as your friend is studying in the NCR, she will have to speak it there. I assume that her local dialect is Ilocana - or possibly Pampango - and if your intentions towards her are genuine and lasting, then I'd suggest learning a few words of her dialect; she'll be touched that you respect her culture and traditions by doing so.
Yes, I appreciate your advice, but I made it clear that I was interested in learning a more broadly spoken language, and so my point seems to have be missed... I know it would be a nice gesture to learn her local dialect, and perhaps I will, but that wasn't what I was asking.
Hi Greenspin - Yes! I'm learning Tagalog some each day on my way to work (audio CD) With my limited knowledge I would have translated it as: Magandang Pinay siya (beautiful) (Pinay) (she) But just speaking to my Filipina girlfriend she said you can say: Siya ay magandang Pinay (She is) (beautiful) (Pinay) So I would use the latter! You can also say to her "maganda ka" which I use sometimes to mean "You're beautiful" You don't need to use 'babae' (which means girl) because Pinay is already the female form (ie. filipina and filipino) I know she'll appreciate your effort so best of luck!
