Is Filipino, as a language, Artificial?

I am posing this question to recapitulate what Dr. Patricia Schneider-Zioga, a linguistic professor at California State University-Fullerton, mentioned when we were guests of Jannelle So, host of Ch. 18's Kababayan LA. Like Jannelle, I know many TV viewers would have wanted more explanation from Patricia and me. Here now is a reinforcement to make the issue clearer.

Remember the words salungpuwit (catch-ass or ass-catcher), salungsusu(catch-breast or breast catcher), hattinig (send-voice or voice sender), and salipapaw to denote chair, bra, telephone, and airplane, respectively? These were used in our Pilipino language classes sometime in the 60s.

Believe me, most Filipinos expressed a raucous ridicule of these coined words. I was in 6th grade when these new words came about. My Pilipino teacher refrained from using them. Students like me, who even were not native speakers of Pilipino-Tagalog, just can't avoid laughing over them. The construction of new words by Pilipino language purists was initially thought to help overcome colonization and regionalism umbrage. They also thought of coining new words based from existing Tagalog words could help instill nationalism, national identity, and unity amongst Filipinos.

Those new coinage almost made Pilipino, as a language, artificial in flesh and bones. Thank goodness; they were short-lived.

So, why should I support Patricia's statement when those new Pilipino terms did not live on? As a term for a language, Pilipino/Filipino is, superficially, an artificial language. As a language system, it is not.

Pilipino/Filipino is a created term for Philippine national language. (Pilipino used to be the term for the language curriculum, while Filipino was to a people who are from the Philippines.) It is a language, because the Philippine Constitution states it so. Call it politically constructed language. Beyond books and government documents, there never was a Pilipino Philippine language.

So, Pilipino (1959 to 1973), which was renamed to Filipino (1973 to present), as a Philippine national language was never an existing language of Filipinos. Prior to 1959, the national language that Pres. Manuel Luis Quezon, the Father of Philippine National Language, simply wanted it called "Tagalog". This was strongly opposed by non-native Tagalog speakers, particularly those in central(Visayas) and southern Philippines (Mindanao). Hence, the national language was renamed as Pilipino, which, likewise, wasn't well-accepted.

Pilipino/Filipino, as a language system, cannot be aligned with Esperanto, Damin, Glaugnea, Lingua Ignota, Spocamian, etc.. These are all invented languages, with their own set of rules, either developed for art sake, communication secrecy, or neutral auxiliary language for those who engage in international communication, tourism, and research.

As a language system, Pilipino/Filipino is based on Tagalog. Coined words, like salungpuwit, were completely abandoned. The grammar and syntax are not new construction.