Cebuano language
The Cebuano language, colloquially referred to by most of its speakers simply as Bisaya/Binisaya is an Austronesian language spoken in the southern Philippines, namely in Central Visayas, western parts of Eastern Visayas and on the majority of Mindanao. The language originates from the island of Cebu, and is spoken primarily by various Visayan ethnolinguistic groups who are native to those areas, mainly the Cebuanos. While Filipino has the largest number of speakers of Philippine languages, Cebuano had the largest native language-speaking population in the Philippines until about the 1980s. It is by far the most widely spoken of the Visayan languages, which are in turn part of the wider Philippine languages.
The English translation is Visayan, which should not be confused with other Visayan languages.
It is the lingua franca of the Central Visayas, western parts of Eastern Visayas, some western parts of Palawan and most parts of Mindanao. The name Cebuano is derived from the island of Cebu, which is the Urheimat or origin of the language. Cebuano is also the prime language in Western Leyte, noticeably in Ormoc and other municipalities surrounding the city, though most of the residents in the area name the Cebuano language by their own demonyms such as "Ormocanon" in Ormoc and "Albuerahanon" in Albuera. Cebuano is given the ISO 639-2 three-letter code ceb, but has no ISO 639-1 two-letter code. The Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino, the official regulating body of Philippine languages, spells the name of the language as Sebwano. Cebuano and its dialects are also sometimes referred to as Cebuan, especially in linguistics, where it is one of the five primary branches of the Visayan languages.
Distribution
Cebuano is spoken in the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, Negros Oriental, northeastern Negros Occidental,, southern Masbate, many portions of Leyte, Biliran, parts of Samar, and most parts of Mindanao, the second largest island of the Philippines. Furthermore, "a large portion of the urban population of Zamboanga, Davao, Surigao and Cotabato is Cebuano speaking". Some dialects of Cebuano have different names for the language. Cebuano speakers from Cebu are mainly called "Cebuano" while those from Bohol are "Boholano". Cebuano speakers in Leyte identify their dialect as Kanâ meaning that. Speakers in Mindanao and Luzon refer to the language simply as Binisaya or Bisaya.Nomenclature
In common or everyday parlance, especially by those speakers from outside of the island of Cebu, Cebuano is more often referred to as Bisaya. Bisaya, however, may become a source of confusion as many other Visayan languages may also be referred to as Bisaya even though they are not mutually intelligible with speakers of what is referred to by linguists as Cebuano. Cebuano in this sense applies to all speakers of vernaculars mutually intelligible with the vernaculars of Cebu island, regardless of origin or location, as well as to the language they speak.The term Cebuano has garnered some objections. For example, generations of Cebuano speakers in northern Mindanao say that their ancestry traces back to Cebuano speakers native to their place and not from immigrants or settlers from the Visayas. Furthermore, they ethnically refer to themselves as Bisaya and not Cebuano, and their language as Binisaya.
History
Cebuano originates from the island of Cebu. The language "has spread from its base in Cebu" to nearby islands and also Bohol, eastern Negros, western and southern parts of Leyte and most parts of Mindanao, especially the northern, southern, and eastern parts of the large island.Cebuano was first documented in a list of vocabulary compiled by Antonio Pigafetta, an Italian explorer who was part of and documented Ferdinand Magellan's 1521 expedition. Spanish missionaries started to write in the language during the early 18th century. As a result of the eventual 300-year Spanish colonial period, Cebuano contains many words of Spanish origin.
While there is evidence of a pre-Spanish writing system for the language, its use appears to have been sporadic. Spaniards recorded the Visayan script which was called Kudlit-kabadlit by the natives. The colonists erroneously called the ancient Filipino script "Tagalog letters", regardless of the language for which it was used. This script died out by the 17th century as it was gradually supplanted by the Latin script.
The language was heavily influenced by the Spanish language during the period of colonialism from 1565 to 1898. With the arrival of Spanish colonists, for example, a Latin-based writing system was introduced alongside a number of Spanish loanwords. Due to the influence of the Spanish language, the number of vowel sounds also increased from three to five.
Phonology
Vowels
Below is the vowel system of Cebuano with their corresponding letter representation in angular brackets:| Front | Central | Back | |
| Close | |||
| Mid | |||
| Open |
- an open front unrounded vowel similar to English "father"
- an open-mid front unrounded vowel similar to English "bed"
- a close front unrounded vowel similar to English "machine"
- a close-mid back rounded vowel similar to English "forty"
- a close back rounded vowel similar to English "flute"
During the precolonial and Spanish period, Cebuano had only three vowel phonemes:, and. This was later expanded to five vowels with the introduction of Spanish. As a consequence, the vowels or, as well as or, are still mostly allophones. They can be freely switched with each other without losing their meaning ; though it may sound strange to a native listener, depending on their dialect. The vowel has no variations, though it can be pronounced subtly differently, as either or . Loanwords, however, are usually more conservative in their orthography and pronunciation.
Consonants
For Cebuano consonants, all the stops are unaspirated. The velar nasal occurs in all positions, including at the beginning of a word. The glottal stop is most commonly encountered in between two vowels, but can also appear in all positions.Like in Tagalog, glottal stops are usually not indicated in writing. When indicated, it is commonly written as a hyphen or an apostrophe if the glottal stop occurs in the middle of the word. More formally, when it occurs at the end of the word, it is indicated by a circumflex accent if both a stress and a glottal stop occurs at the final vowel ; or a grave accent if the glottal stop occurs at the final vowel, but the stress occurs at the penultimate syllable.
Below is a chart of Cebuano consonants with their corresponding letter representation in parentheses:
In certain dialects, may be interchanged with in between vowels and vice versa depending on the following conditions:
- If is in between and /, the vowel succeeding is usually dropped.
- If is in between / and, it is the vowel that is preceding that is instead dropped
- If is in between two like vowels, the may be dropped completely and the vowel lengthened. For example, dala, becomes da ; and tulod becomes tud. Except if the l is in between closed syllables or is in the beginning of the penultimate syllable; in which case, the is dropped along with one of the vowels, and no lengthening occurs. For example, kalatkat, "climb", becomes katkat.
In some parts of Bohol and Southern Leyte, is also often replaced with when it is in the beginning of a syllable. It can also happen even if the is at the final position of the syllable and the word, but only if it is moved to the initial position by the addition of the affix -a. For example, baboy can not become baboj, but baboya can become baboja.
All of the above substitutions are considered allophonic and do not change the meaning of the word.
In rarer instances, the consonant might also be replaced with when it is in between two vowels, but and are not considered allophones, though they may have been in the past.
Stress
Stress accent is phonemic, so that dapít means "near to a place," while dāpit means "place."dū-ol means "come near," while du-ól means "near" or "close by."
Grammar
Vocabulary
Cebuano is a member of the Philippine languages. Early trade contact resulted in a large number of older loan words from other languages being embedded in Cebuano, like Sanskrit, and Arabic.It has also been influenced by thousands of words from Spanish, such as kurus , swerte , gwapa ,, merkado and brilyante . It has several hundred loan words from English as well, which are altered to conform to the limited phonemic inventory of Cebuano: brislit, hayskul, syáping, bakwit, and dráyber. However, today, it is more common for Cebuanos to spell out those words in their original English form rather than with spelling that might conform to Cebuano standards.
Phrases
A few common phrases in Cebuano include:- How are you? - Kumusta?
- Good morning - Maayong buntag
- Good afternoon - Maayong udto
- Good afternoon - Maayong hapon
- Good evening - Maayong gabii
- Good bye - Ayo-ayo, Adios, Babay, Amping, Hangtud sa sunod nga higayon
- Thank you - Salamat
- Many thanks! - Daghang Salamat
- Thank you very much! - Daghang kaayong salamat
- You're welcome - Wala'y sapayan
- Do not - Ayaw
- Don't know - Ambot
- Yes - O
- Maybe - Tingali, Basin
- No
- Who - Kinsa
- What - Unsa
- Where
- * dein - where
- *Ása - where
- Which - Hain
- When - Kanus-a
- How - Giunsa
Dialects
Colloquialisms can also be used to determine the regional origin of the speaker. Cebuano-speaking people from Cagayan de Oro and Dumaguete, for example, say chada or tsada/patsada and people from Davao City say atchup which also translated to the same English context; meanwhile Cebuanos from Cebu on the other hand say nindot or, sometimes, aníndot. However, this word is also commonly used in the same context in other Cebuano-speaking regions, in effect making this word not only limited in use to Cebu.
There is no standardized orthography for Cebuano, but spelling in print usually follow the pronunciation of Standard Cebuano, regardless of how it is actually spoken by the speaker. For example, baláy is pronounced in Standard Cebuano and is thus spelled "baláy", even in Urban Cebuano where it is actually pronounced.
Cebuano is spoken natively over a large area of the Philippines and thus has numerous regional dialects. It can vary significantly in terms of lexicon and phonology depending on where it is spoken. Increasing usage of spoken English has also led to the introduction of new pronunciations and spellings of old Cebuano words. Code-switching forms of English and Bisaya are also common among the educated younger generations.
There are four main dialectal groups within Cebuano aside from the Standard Cebuano and Urban Cebuano. They are as follows:
Boholano Cebuano
The Boholano dialect of Bohol shares many similarities with the southern form of the standard Cebuano dialect. It is also spoken in some parts of Siquijor. Boholano, especially as spoken in central Bohol, can be distinguished from other Cebuano variants by a few phonetic changes:- The semivowel y is pronounced : iya is pronounced ;
- Ako is pronounced as ;
- Intervocalic l is occasionally pronounced as when following u or o: kulang is pronounced as .
Leyteño Cebuano
Southern Kana
Southern Kana is a dialect of both southern Leyte and Southern Leyte provinces; it is closest to the Mindanao Cebuano dialect at the southern area and northern Cebu dialect at the northern boundaries. Both North and South Kana are subgroups of Leyteño dialect. Both of these dialects are spoken in western and central Leyte and in the southern province, but the Boholano is more concentrated in Maasin City.Northern Kana
North Kana, is closest to the variety of the language spoken in northern part of Leyte, and shows significant influence from Waray-Waray, quite notably in its pace which speakers from Cebu find very fast, and its more mellow tone. A distinguishing feature of this dialect is the reduction of prominent, but an often unnoticed feature of this dialect is the labialisation of and into, when these phonemes come before and, velarisation of and into before and, and the dentalisation of and into before, and and sometimes, before vowels and other consonants as well.| Sugbu | Kana | Waray | English |
| Kan-on | Luto | Lutô | Cooked rice/maize |
| Kini/kiri | Kiri/kini | Ini | This |
| Kana | Kara'/kana | Iton | That |
| Dinhi/Diri | ari/dinhi/diri | Didi/Ngadi/Aadi/Dinhi | Here |
| Diha/Dinha | Dira/diha/dinha | Dida/Ngada/Aada | There |
| Bas/Balas | Bas/Balas | Baras | Soil/Sand |
| Alsa | Arsa | Alsa | To lift |
| Bulsa | Bursa | Bulsa |
Mindanao Cebuano
This is the variety of Cebuano spoken throughout most of Mindanao and it is the standard dialect of Cebuano in Northern Mindanao.Local historical sources found in Cagayan de Oro indicates the early presence of Cebuano Visayans in the Misamis-Agusan coastal areas and their contacts with the Lumads and peoples of the Rajahnate of Butuan. Lumads refer to these Visayan groups as "Dumagat" as they came in the area seaborne. It became the lingua franca of precolonial Visayan settlers and native Lumads of the area, and particularly of the ancient Rajahnate of Butuan where Butuanon, a Southern Visayan language, was also spoken. Cebuano influence in Lumad languages around the highlands of Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon was furthered with the influx of Cebuano Visayan laborers and conscripts of the Spaniards from Cebuano areas of Visayas during the colonial period around the present-day region of Northern Mindanao. It has spread west towards the Zamboanga Peninsula, east towards Caraga, and south towards Bukidnon, Cotabato and the Davao Region in the final years of Spanish colonial rule.
Similar to the Sialo dialect of southeastern Cebu, it is distinctive in retaining /l/ sounds, long since considered archaic in Urban Cebuano. For example: bulan instead of buwan, dalunggan instead of dunggan, and halang instead of hang.
Due to the influx of migrants during the promotion of settlement in the highlands of Central Mindanao in the 1930s, vocabulary from other Visayan languages have also been incorporated into Mindanao Cebuano. For example, the Hiligaynon sábat is commonly used alongside Cebuano tubag, bulig alongside tábang, and Waray lutô alongside kan-on. Though, these influences are only limited to the speakers along the port area and Hiligaynon-speaking communities.
Davaoeño Cebuano
A branch of Mindanao Cebuano in Davao is also known as Davaoeño. Like the Cebuano-speakers of Luzon, it contains some Tagalog vocabulary to a greater extent. Its grammar is somewhat in between the original Cebuano language and the Luzon Cebuano dialect. However, speakers from Davao City nowadays exhibits stronger Tagalog influence in their speech by substituting most Cebuano words with Tagalog ones. One characteristic is the practice of saying atà, derived from Tagalog yatà to denote uncertainty of a speaker's any aforementioned statements. For instance, "To-a man atà sa baláy si Manuel" instead of "To-a man tingáli sa baláy si Manuel". However, the word atà exists in Cebuano though it means " squid ink".Other examples include: Nibabâ ko sa dyip sa kanto, tapos miulî ko sa among baláy instead of Nináug ko sa dyip sa kanto, dayon miulî ko sa among baláy. The words babâ and naug mean "to disembark" or "to go down", while tapos and dayon mean "then"; the former is Tagalog, and the latter Cebuano. It also sometimes add some Bagobo and Mansakan vocabulary, like: Madayaw nga adlaw, amigo, kamusta ka? rather than "Maayo nga adlaw, amigo, kamusta ka?" The words madayaw and maayo mean "good"; the former is Bagobo, and the latter Cebuano.
Negrense Cebuano
The Cebuano dialect in Negros is somewhat similar to the Standard Cebuano, with distinct Hiligaynon influences. It is distinctive in retaining sounds and longer word forms as well. It is the primary dialectal language of the entire province of Negros Oriental and northeastern parts of Negros Occidental, as well as some parts of Siquijor. Examples of Negrense Cebuano's distinction from other Cebuano dialects is the usage of the word maot instead of batî, alálay, kalálag instead of kalag-kalag, kabaló/kahíbaló and kaágo/kaántigo instead of kabawó/kahíbawó.Other dialects
Luzon Cebuano
There is no specific Luzon dialect, as speakers of Cebuano in Luzon come from many different regions in Central Visayas and Mindanao. Cebuano-speaking people from Luzon in Visayas can be easily recognized primarily by their vocabulary which incorporates Tagalog words. Their accents and some aspects of grammar can also sometimes exhibit Tagalog influence. The dialect is sometimes colloquially known as "Bisalog".''Saksak Sinagol''
The term in context means "a collection of miscellaneous things" and literally "inserted mixture", thus those other few Cebuano-influenced regions that have a variety of regional languages uses this term to refer to their dialect with considerable incorporated Cebuano words. Example of these regions are places likes those in Masbate.Examples
Numbers
Cebuano uses two numeral systems:The native system is mostly used in counting the number of things, animate and inanimate, e.g. the number of horses, houses.
The spanish-derived system, on the other hand, is exclusively applied in monetary terminology and is also commonly used in counting from 11 and above.
| Number | Native Cebuano | Spanish-derived |
| 0 | walà | nulo, sero |
| 1 | usá | uno |
| 2 | duhá | dos |
| 3 | tuló | tres |
| 4 | upát | kwatro |
| 5 | limá | singko |
| 6 | unóm | says |
| 7 | pitó | site |
| 8 | waló | otso |
| 9 | siyám | nuybe |
| 10 | napulò, pulò | dyes |
| 11 | napúlog usá | onse |
| 12 | napúlog duhá | dose |
| 13 | napúlog tuló | trese |
| 14 | napúlog upát | katórse |
| 15 | napúlog limá | kinse |
| 16 | napúlog unóm | disesáys |
| 17 | napúlog pitó | disesite |
| 18 | napúlog waló | diseotso |
| 19 | napúlog siyám | disenuybe |
| 20 | kawháan | baynte |
| 21 | kawháag usá | baynte uno |
| 22 | kawháag duhá | baynte dos |
| 23 | kawháag tuló | baynte tres |
| 24 | kawháag upát | baynte kwatro |
| 25 | kawháag limá | bayntsingko |
| 30 | katló-an | traynta |
| 40 | kap-atan | kwarénta |
| 50 | kalím-an | singkwénta |
| 60 | kan-uman | saysénta |
| 70 | kapitó-an | seténta |
| 80 | kawaló-an | otsénta |
| 90 | kasiyáman | nobénta |
| 100 | usá ka gatós | siyén, sento |
| 200 | duhá ka gatós | doséntos |
| 300 | tuló ka gatós | treséntos |
| 400 | upát ka gatós | kwatroséntos |
| 500 | limá ka gatós | kinéntos |
| 1,000 | usá ka libo | mil |
| 5,000 | limá ka libo | singko mil |
| 10,000 | usá ka laksà, napulò ka libo | dyes mil |
| 50,000 | limá ka laksà, kalím-an ka libo | singkwénta mil |
| 100,000 | napulò ka laksà, usá ka gatós ka líbo | siyén mil, siyénto mil |
| 1,000,000 | usá ka yukót | milyón |
| 1,000,000,000 | usá ka wakát | bilyón |