Writing an essay is the bane of any student’s existence and that’s even when written in English. What if it’s a 1000-word essay in Tagalog or another Filipino language? This exact dilemma is what prompted students on Twitter to “petition” for a Filipino version of Grammarly, a popular and reliable online grammar checker. A Filipino version of Grammarly would make sure a student’s essay has proper spelling, punctuation, grammar, and even style. But is this dream software possible?

Petition for a Filipino version of Grammarly

petition for a filipino version of grammarly

— ‏َ (@624logs) September 29, 2022

The petition-slash-rant started from Twitter user @624logs who said they found it “so hard to make a Filipino essay [since] I don’t even know if it’s correct grammar or not.” Apparently, thousands of other Pinoys can relate. The tweet has amassed 44.3k likes and 11.1k retweets as of writing.

Most of the comments and retweets agree with the post, some even saying that “it would be revolutionary.”

Thousands are convinced it’s a good idea

need it more than the english version tbh

— m loves jennie (@blondiemandu) September 29, 2022

If over 40k people liked that tweet, that means there’s a demand for a software tool that would help with Filipino essays, right? Many took that as a sign that someone needs to do something ASAP and they might even earn big from it.  Others also said that having a Filipino version of Grammarly would “open a lot of opportunities for [Pinoys] who are professionals in the field.”

Grammarly responds

Hey! At this time, Grammarly’s primary focus is analyzing English writing. We know how helpful it would be to receive these suggestions in other languages, and it’s a request our team is evaluating. We’ll be sure to pass your comment along to them! 👍

— Grammarly Support (@GrammarlyHelp) September 29, 2022

Another Twitter user tagged the official Grammarly account under the tweet which prompted it to respond. Grammarly said that they’re currently only focused on English writing but they’re evaluating requests for other languages too. That means all hope is not lost for a Filipino version of Grammarly! (Although that would probably take years.)

Online grammar checker alternatives

if you want to paraphrase your filipino essays, try using https://t.co/jVe1xCILoT !! #studytwtph

— ꩜ (@liusdiary) September 29, 2022

While Filipino Grammarly is sadly not yet a thing, other students recommended websites they visit to have their Filipino essays checked. There’s smodin.io (plagiarism checker and essay rewriter) and languagetool.org (grammar, style, and spell checker). Both of these have “Tagalog” or “Filipino” options students can choose. However, their features aren’t as advanced as we’d want them to be or at par with Grammarly’s level.

For example, one Twitter user tried to put smodin.io to the test to see if it has mastered the “ng vs. nang” grammar. The result was disappointing.

tried but ‘di accurate i think?

kumakain “ng” (should be nang) kumakain, but the grammar checker says no mistakes were found. pic.twitter.com/2NUpCsXrBS

— shan (@PanginoongHesus) September 29, 2022

You’re lost, I’m lost, we’re all lost. 

Looks like there’s no other way around it but to study

Pro tip: Read more books in Filipino if you’re struggling with the language. Or play fun games like the Filipino version of Wordle, Saltong. It’s perfectly understandable that kids these days would find it challenging to write essays in Tagalog, a language we often mix with English even in casual conversations. And if Tagalog is difficult, what about other Filipino languages? But yeah, looks like there’s no other way around it. Students have to accept the cold, hard truth — they need to, well, study.

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