" 
 :::::I haven't read everything about, but a few comments:  舎利弗 (is that 'Charley'?), I agree with what you just said.  We've already achieved consensus on just that, or s.t. very similar.  Corinne, I get a somewhat similar impression, but the govt does say the national language is ""Filipino"".  That is, the language of the Filipino people.  The idea that this is anything but Tagalog is a political fiction, but nonetheless the name is used.  RioHondo, Filipino is based on Manila dialect, but it's not quite the same thing, just as RP is not exactly London dialect, Hyōjungo is not exactly Tokyo dialect, Putonghua is not exactly Beijing dialect, etc.  Wtmitchell, ""Philippine languages"" is a proposed branch of the Austronesian family that includes most, but not all, ""languages of the Philippines"", as well as a few languages not in the Philippines.  I don't particularly like the name, but it does follow our naming guidelines.  —   "