Sa Aking Mga Kabatà
Kapagka ang baya'y sadyáng umiibig
Sa kanyáng salitáng kaloob ng langit,
Sanlang kalayaan nasa ring masapit
Katulad ng ibong nasa himpapawid.
Pagka't ang salita'y isang kahatulan
Sa bayan, sa nayo't mga kaharián,
At ang isáng tao'y katulad, kabagay
Ng alin mang likha noong kalayaán.
Ang hindi magmahal sa kanyang salitâ
Mahigit sa hayop at malansáng isdâ,
Kayâ ang marapat pagyamaning kusà
Na tulad sa ináng tunay na nagpalà.
Ang wikang Tagalog tulad din sa Latin
Sa Inglés, Kastilà at salitang anghel,
Sapagka't ang Poong maalam tumingín
Ang siyang naggawad, nagbigay sa atin.
Ang salita nati'y huwad din sa iba
Na may alfabeto at sariling letra,
Na kaya nawalá'y dinatnan ng sigwâ
Ang lunday sa lawà noóng dakong una.
To My Fellow Youth
If a nation's people certainly love
The gift of their language bestowed by heaven,
So too will they regain their pawned freedom
Like a bird who takes to the sky.
For language is a measure of worth
Of cities, nations, and kingdoms,
And each person alike deserves it,
As does any creation born free.
One who does not treasure his own language
is worse than a beast or a putrid fish,
Thus it should be nurtured intently,
As a mother nurtures her child.
The Tagalog language is like Latin,
Like English, Spanish, and the language of angels
Because the Lord, in His wisdom
Bestowed it, He gave it to us.
Our language is like that of others,
With its own alphabet and its own characters,
But they vanished as if a sudden storm had come upon
A boat in a lake in an age long past.
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