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"Sa" and "ng" question. Please explain to novice like me why the

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Author Photo by: TagaErik
Feb 17 2021, 1:48pm CST ~ 3 years, 2 mos ago. 
"Sa" and "ng" question. Please explain to novice like me why the sentence "Nagsasalita sa wikang Arabo ang mga tao sa Ehipto." uses "sa" in front of "wikang" while the sentence "Nagtutoro ako ng wikang Intsik." uses "ng" in front of "wikang"?
 
I'm sure there is a really good reason that I don't understand. May someone more knowledgeable kindle a light bulb for me?
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Author Photo AMBoy Badge: SupporterBadge: Serious SupporterBadge: VIP Supporter
Feb 17 2021, 2:51pm CST ~ 3 years, 2 mos ago. 
-not an expert, wait for better feedback but this is what I came up with.-
 
I think it was just an attempt at a litteral translation since Rosetta stone is pretty generic and used over and over again in multiple languages.
 
Nagsasalita sa wikang Arabo ang mga tao sa Ehipto. = People IN Egypt speak IN Arabic.
 
Nagsasalita ang mga tao ng wikang Arabo sa Ehipto. = People speak Arabic in Egypt.
Nagsasalita ang mga tao sa Ehipto ng wikang Arabo. = People speak Arabic in Egypt.
Nagsasalita ng wikang Arabo ang mga tao ng Ehipto. = The people of Egypt speak Arabic.
 
Rosetta stone kind sucks anyway tbh.
 
I look forward to an experts reply.
 
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Author Photo Zandero
Feb 17 2021, 6:55pm CST ~ 3 years, 2 mos ago. 
Well, @AMBoy is somewhat right, but they didn't change the word order to match the meaning of the sentences. (I'm not an expert either, but I've been living in the Philippines my whole life.)
"Nagsasalita sa wikang Arabo ang mga tao sa Ehipto." "The people in Egypt are speaking _in_ Arabic."
"Nagsasalita ang mga tao ng wikang Arabo sa Ehipto." "The people are speaking Arabic in Egypt."
"Nagsasalita ang mga tao sa Ehipto ng wikang Arabo." "The people in Egypt are speaking Arabic."
"Nagsasalita ng wikang Arabo ang mga tao ng Ehipto." "The people _of_ Egypt are speaking Arabic."
 
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Author Photo AMBoy Badge: SupporterBadge: Serious SupporterBadge: VIP Supporter
Feb 17 2021, 7:25pm CST ~ 3 years, 2 mos ago. 
Thanks for the reply. Just to clairfy my thinking, and to promote discussion:
 
The way I understand it is that the word order doesn't actually matter much in Tagalog as it does in English due to the markers (ng/ang/etc), but there are of course customary ways to order them.
 
Nagsasalita = yeah can mean speaking, but this aspect is also used for habitual actions as well, which is why my english translation was "speak" which is how we indicate we habitually speak / know a language.
 
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Author Photo Zandero
Feb 17 2021, 9:03pm CST ~ 3 years, 2 mos ago. 
@AMBoy Yeah, sorry about the verb translation. I was just not sure about the difference between habitual and progressive because I don't have a clear understanding of Tagalog.
 
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Author Photo AMBoy Badge: SupporterBadge: Serious SupporterBadge: VIP Supporter
Feb 17 2021, 9:17pm CST ~ 3 years, 2 mos ago. 
@Zandero No problem, I don't really either! Just trying to make sense of it everyday .
 
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Author Photo SiAko Badge: Native Tagalog Speaker
Feb 26 2021, 9:19am CST ~ 3 years, 2 mos ago. 
One of the functions of SA in Tagalog is a general marker for prepositions ( except OF ) hence .... speak in Tagalog = .. nagsasalita sa Tagalog, while NG is a marker ( one of its functions) of the direct object of the verb ..... speak Tagalog = nagsasalita ng Tagalog ....
 
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Author Photo pear
Feb 28 2021, 6:52am CST ~ 3 years, 2 mos ago. 
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