Cebuano language

This article is about the language in the Philippines. For the ethnic group in Cebu, see Cebuano people.

Cebuano
Bisaya, Sugbuanon
Spoken in	Philippines
Region	Southeast Asia (Central Visayas and Mindanao)
Native speakers	15.8 million  (2000 census) The second-most-spoken language in the Philippines.
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Philippine Central Philippine Visayan Cebuano
Dialects	Standard Cebuano (Cebu City dialect) Boholano Leyteño (Kana) Mindanao Cebuano (Bisaya)
Writing system	Latin (Cebuano alphabet)
Official status
Official language in	Regional language in the Philippines.
Regulated by	Visayan Academy of Arts and Letters
Language codes
ISO 639-2	ceb
ISO 639-3	ceb

Cebuano, referred to by most of its speakers as Bisaya (or Visayan in English), is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 20 million people mostly in the Central Visayas. It is the most widely spoken of the languages within the so-named Bisayan subgroup and is closely related to other Filipino languages. It has the largest native language speaking population of the Philippines despite not being taught formally in schools and universities. It is the lingua franca of the Central Visayas and parts of Mindanao. The name Cebuano is derived from the island of Cebu where the prestige dialect is spoken.

Cebuano is given the ISO 639-2 three letter code ceb, but has no ISO 639-1 two-letter code.

Distribution

Cebuano-speaking regions in the Philippines.

Cebuano is spoken in Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, western parts of Leyte, some parts of Samar, Negros Occidental, Biliran islands, southern region of Masbate island and Mindanao. Some dialects of Cebuano have different names for the language. Ethnic groups from Bohol may refer to Cebuano as Bol-anon while Cebuano speakers in Leyte identify their dialect as Kana (Leyteño). Speakers in Mindanao and Luzon refer to the language simply as Bisaya, and such calling is been subject of rectifications by the constitutional reformists from Mindanao.

Characteristics

Cebuano speakers can be easily distinguished from speakers of other Visayan languages by the use of the word sa ("of") instead of sang (in Hiligaynon) or han (in Waray).

Two standards of spelling are used. The traditional form, called the "Bisaya Standard", is widely disseminated by Bisaya Magasin, the oldest surviving publication published in Cebuano. The more modern form called the "Tamdanan Standard" is widely used by the Superbalita magazine published by Sun.Star Publications.

Phonology

Main article: Abakada

Cebuano has 21 phonemes. There are sixteen consonants: p, t, k, ʔ (the glottal stop), b, d, g, m, n, ng, s, h, w, l, r and y. There are five vowels: i, e, a, o and u.

Vowels

During the pre-colonial and Spanish period, Cebuano had three vowel phonemes: /a/, /i/ and /u/. This was later expanded to five vowels with the introduction of Spanish words. The vowels o and u are still mostly allophones, however, with u always being used when it is the beginning of a syllable and o always used when it ends a syllable. But there are some exceptions, like kamatuoran (truth) and hangtúd (until). "E" originally appeared only in a few words such as "babaye" (girl/woman), "dayeg" (praise, compliment), "parayeg" (loving), and "pangadye" (prayer) and only in last syllables as "E" was mostly an allophone of "I" in final syllables. Under the influence of Spanish, more words with e have been added with the introduction of loanwords.

The vowels are:

• /a/ an open front unrounded vowel similar to English "father".
• /ɛ/ an open-mid front unrounded vowel similar to English "bed".
• /i/ a close front unrounded vowel similar to English "machine".
• /o/ a close-mid back rounded vowel similar to English "forty".
• /u/ a close back unrounded vowel similar to English "flute".

Consonants

Below is a chart of Cebuano consonants. All the stops are unaspirated. The velar nasal occurs in all positions including at the beginning of a word.

		Bilabial	Dental	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	n		ŋ
Plosive	Voiceless	p	t		k	ʔ
	Voiced	b	d		ɡ
Fricative			s			h
Flap			ɾ
Lateral			l
Approximant		w		j

Stress

Stress accent is phonemic, so that dápit means "act of inviting", while dapít means "near" or "nearby place". Consonants [d] and [ɾ] were once allophones, but cannot interchange, like kabungturan (uplands) [from bungtód, mountain] is correct but not *kabungtudan and tagadihá (from there) [from dihá, there] is correct but not *tagarihá.

Grammar

Main article: Cebuano grammar

Cebuano is a language with the verb–subject–object sentence order. Nouns and adjectives are joined by the nga connector with their order arbitrary as long as the nga connector is in between them.

Nouns

While Cebuano nouns are not inflected, they are usually preceded by case markers. There are three types of case markers: kinsa (nominative), tag-iya (genitive) and gitagan'an (oblique).

Unlike English or Spanish which are nominative–accusative languages, Cebuano is an ergative–absolutive language. This may have led to a misconception about Cebuano as being often spoken in a passive voice.

Kinsa or nominative markers mark the topic of most sentences and both the topic and complementary predicate of an equational sentence. Tag-iya or genitive markers mark the owner of the thing or the doer of an action. Gitagan'an markers are similar to prepositions in English. They mark things such as location and direction. Furthermore, noun markers are divided into two classes: one for names of people (personal) and the second for everything else (general).

Below is a chart of case markers. Mga (pronounced [maˈŋa]) marks the plural.

	Kinsa	Tag-iya	Gitagan-an
general singular	ang	og	sa
general plural	ang mga	og mga	sa mga
personal singular	si	ni*	kang
Personal plural	sila si/ silang	nila ni/ nilang*	kanila ni/ kanilang

*Tag-iya case functions like an adjective. Sometimes an adjective acts as a complementary predicate. When a tag'iya case noun is a complementary predicate it uses kang in singular and ila ni/ilang in plural.

Examples:

Cebuano: Mga gobernador sa Pilipinas.
The governors of the Philippines
"The governors of the Philippines."

Cebuano: Init ka'ayo ang adlaw karon.
Hot very the weather today.
"The weather is very hot today."

Cebuano: Hain/Asa ang mga libro?
At-where the those book?
"Where are the books?"

Cebuano: To'a kang Presidente ang yawe/lyabe.
with the President the keys.
"The keys are with the President.

Pronouns

Like nouns, personal pronouns are categorized by case.

	Kinsa	Tag-iya (primary)	Tag-iya (modifier)	Oblique
1st person singular	ako	akoa	nako	kanako
2nd person singular	ikaw	imoha	nimo	kanimo
3rd person singular	siya / sya	iyaha /iya	niya	kaniya
1st person plural inclusive	kita	atoa / ato	nato	kanato
1st person plural exclusive	kami	amoa / amo	namo	kanamo
2nd person plural	kamo	inyoha	ninyo	kaninyo
3rd person plural	sila	ilaha	nila	kanila

*The two sets of tag-iya case function similarly except that the primary tag-iya would need the unifying linker nga and the modifier tag-iya cannot be used as complementary adjective.
**The final syllable of a primary tag-iya pronoun is mostly dropped.

When the pronoun is not the first word of the sentence, the short form is more commonly used than the full form.

	Kinsa	Tag-iya (primary)	Tag-iya (modifier)	Oblique
1st person singular	ko	ako	ko	nako
2nd person singular	ka	imo	mo	nimo
3rd person singular	siya	iya	niya	niya
1st person plural inclusive	ta	ato	nato	nato
1st person plural exclusive	mi	amo	namo	namo
2nd person plural	kamo	inyo	ninyo	ninyo
3rd person plural	sila	ila	nila	nila

*When the object is a second person pronoun, use ta instead of ko.

Examples:

Misulat ko.
"I wrote."

Nagbasa ko.
"I'm reading."

Nagtrabaho ko
"I'm working."

Modifier tag-iya pronouns follow the word they modify. Primary tag-iya pronouns can take the place of the modifier tag-iya pronoun but they precede the word they modify.

Ang akong sakyanan.
Ang akong sakyanan.
"My vehicle."

Special attention should be given to the short form ta. When the subject is second person it means first person singular.

Taga'an ta ka.
"I will give you"

Nakit'an ti ka kagahapon sa dagat.
"I saw you at the beach yesterday."

Higala ta ka.
"You are my friend."

The inclusive pronoun kita refers to the first and second persons. It may also refer to a number of persons.

The exclusive pronoun kamí refers to the first and a number of persons in a group.

wa ta'y klase karon
"We don't have school today."

wa 'mi'y libro para basahonon karon "We don't have a book to read today."

The short form is often used when the pronoun is not the first word in the sentence.

The pronouns are gender neutral, hence siyá means either he or she.

Demonstrative pronouns

Cebuano demonstrative pronouns are as follows.

	Kinsa		Tag-iya		Gitagan-an
	Full*	Short*	Full*	Short*	'NG-'**	'D-'**
Nearest to speaker (this, here)	kiri kari	ri	niiri niari	iri ari ri	ngari	diri
Near speaker and addressee (this, here)	kini kani	ni	niini niani	ini ani ni	nganhi	dinhi
Nearest addressee (that, there)†	kana	na	niana	ana	nganha	diha dinha
Remote (yon, yonder)	kadto	to	niadto	adto	ngadto	didto

* When the demonstrative is used as a predicate, the full form must be used.
** Both forms, those beginning with 'ng-' and those with 'd-', are interchangeable.
† Although not represented in the orthography, forms in this row end in a glottal stop:
kana /kanaˀ/, na /naˀ/, niana /niˀanaˀ/, nganha /ŋanhaˀ/, diha /dihaˀ/, dinha /dinhaˀ/.

Examples:

Unsa ni?
What is this?.
"What's this?."

Kinsa na?.
Who's that?.
"Who is that?."

Gikan ni sa Presidente sa Filipinas, ning sulata.
From (ni=adjective) President this letter.
"This letter is from the President of the Philippines"

Mangaon sila didto.
We will eat they there.
"They will eat there."

Ni kaon na ang mga ta'o ug ang mga bata didto sa fiesta.
The people and children have already eaten in the festival.
"The people and children have already ate some of that in the festival."

Verbs

Cebuano verbs are morphologically complex (agglutinative) and take on a variety of affixes reflecting focus, aspect, mode and others. This is the functional view. There is disagreement over the issue. A number of linguists do not believe there is a verb at all. Cebuano controls arguments (subject–object) from an inflectional affix.

Aspect

From a functionalist school point of view, Cebuano verbs conjugate for aspect rather than for tense. Cebuano verbs indicate whether you are still going to start the act or not going to start it anymore. There are three types of aspect: imperative, incepted and incepting.

1. imperative aspect - for giving commands.
2. incepted aspect - past actions and present actions that are not habitual. While habitual may have been started somewhere in the past or the present, the fact that you are still have to start it again in the future make it in the incepting aspect.
3. incepting aspect - future actions and habitual actions.

Examples on INCEPTED ASPECT:

Past actions
We butchered carabao.
The act had been started in the past therefore the Cebuano translation is:
Nag-ihaw mi og kabaw.

Present actions
We feast on delicious food and drink on beer.
The act has been started before the statement is spoken therefore the Cebuano translation is:
Nagsalo mi sa mga lamian nga pagkaon ug nanginom og beer.

Examples of Incepting Aspect

Future actions
My friend and I are going to Europe.
The act has not happened yet; therefore it has not yet started:
Mangadto mi sa akong higala sa Europa.

Habitual actions
I always go to the festival in San Fernando.
Although the act had already happened she will still have to start the same act again and again (every morning) so the act itself is still to be started or pagasugdan pa and therefore:
Moadto ko kada fiesta sa San Fernando.

Forms

An interesting feature of the functional categorization of verbs in Cebuano and in other Philippine languages is its orientation (forms) system. This means that the role or relationship of the topic (marked by the absolutive marker) is reflected in the verb.

There are nine common orientation types: um verbs, pag verbs, pang verbs, ka verbs, magka verbs, on verbs, an verbs, i verbs and reciprocative.

um verbs

• Form

imperative	incepted	incepting	wala base
-(um)-	mi-	mo-	mo-

• Function - this form is used for either of the following conditions.

1. one is emphasising that the action happen in an instance.
2. one is emphasising that the doer willed the act.

• Type of topic - the doer is the topic.

pag verbs

• Forms

imperative	incepted	incepting	wala base
pag-	nag-	mag-	mag-

• Functions - expresses actions that either.

1. happen for a duration of time.
2. do not imply doer intention.

• Type of topic - talks about the doer.

pang verbs

• Forms

imperative	incepted	incepting	wala base
pang-	nang-	mang-	mang-

• Function - pluritive form of um verbs.
• Type of topic - talks about the doer.

ka verbs

• Forms

imperative	incepted	incepting	wala base
ka-	na-	ma-	ma-

• Function - talks about changes.
• Type of topic - the topic is the one who undergoes the change.

magka verbs

• Forms

imperative	incepted	incepting	wala base
none	nagka-	magka-	magka-

• Function - talks about a slow but steady change.
• Type of topic - the topic is the one who undergoes the change.

reciprocating verbs

• Forms

imperative	incepted	incepting	wala base
pag-in-ay	nag-in-ay	mag-in-ay	mag-in-ay

• Function - reciprocating actions.
• Type of topic - at least two persons/things doing reciprocating actions to each other.

on verbs

• Forms

imperative	incepted	incepting	wala base
-a	gi-	-on	-a

• Function - the direct object is often the topic, mostly misunderstood as similar to English passive voice.

an verbs

• Forms

imperative	incepted	incepting	wala base
-i	gi-an	-an	-i

• Function - the indirect object is often the topic, mostly misunderstood as similar to English passive voice.

i verbs

• Forms

imperative	incepted	incepting	wala base
i-	gi-	i-	i-

• Function - the instrument used is often the topic, mostly misunderstood as similar to English passive voice.

Mood

There are several grammatical moods in Cebuano: intuitive, non-intuitive and aptative.

1. intuitive - the intuitive subject is the normal word of the verb, the one whose form you have just learned.
2. non-intuitive - the non-intuitive aspect is used to express unexpected or unintended actions. It has no imperative aspect.

NON_INTUITIVE	incepted aspect	incepting aspect	wala form
um verbs	nahi-	mahi-	mahi-
pag verbs	nahi-	mahi-	mahi-
pang verbs	nahipang-	mahipang-	mahipang-
ka verbs	naha-	maha-	maha-
magka verbs	none	none	none
reciprocating verbs	nagka-in-ay	magka-in-ay	magka-in-ay
on verbs	na-	ma-	ma-
an verbs	hing-an	mahi-an	hing-i
i verbs	nai-	mai-	mai-

1. aptative - the aptative aspect expresses the possibility of an action. Like the non-intuitive aspect, it has no imperative aspect. In the incepted aspect it implies the English perfect tenses or the have form. In the incepting aspect it implies the English can/could form.

APTATIVE	incepted aspect	incepting aspect	wala form
um verbs	naka-	maka-	maka-
pag verbs	naka-	maka-	maka-
pang verbs	nakapang-	makapang-	makapang-
ka verbs	none	none	none
magka verbs	none	none	none
reciprocating verbs	none	none	none
on verbs	na-	ma-	ma-
an verbs	na-an	ma-an	ma-i
i verbs	gika-	ika-	ikaw

Modifier

Cebuano adjectives (and also nouns) are linked to the word they modify by the unifying linker nga. However if nga follows a word ending in a vowel or glottal stop or the letter N, then it becomes suffixed to that word as -ng. The adjective often come before the word it modifies but it can also come after it.

Ex:
maayong buntag = a good morning
daghang tawo = a large crowd
kusoga sa Uwan = The rain is raining very hard.

A noun however always comes after the word it modifies.

Ex:
balay nga nipa = straw/bamboo house
hangin nga habagat = southeast monsoon

Superlative are expressed by adding the affix kina—an or the particle labing. Ex:
kina'maayohan = best
kinadak'an = largest
labing'matahom = the most pretty

Comparative are express by adding the particle mas or labawng.

Enclitic particles

Cebuano has enclitic particles that have important information conveying difference nuances in meaning.

Below is a list of some enclitic particles.

1. na and pa
   • na - now, already, yet
   • pa - still, else, in addition, yet
2. man - particle used for disregarding reasons or results; even, even if, although
3. pud, sad - too, also
4. lamang (lang) - limiting particle; only or just
5. daw, kuno - a reporting particle that expresses that the information in the sentence is second-hand; they say, he said, reportedly, supposedly, etc.
6. gyud - politeness particle
7. ba - used in yes-and-no questions and optionally in other types of questions.
8. sa - for now, for a minute and yet (in negative sentences).
9. kaha - expresses wonder; I wonder; perhaps (we should do something) (also optionally used in yes-and-no questions and other forms of questions).
10. kay - expresses cause; because
11. diay - expresses that the speaker has realized or suddenly remembered something; realization particle.
12. tingali - expresses uncertainty; probably, perhaps, seems
13. unta - expresses hope, unrealized condition (with verb in incepting aspect), used in conditional sentences.

Sentences

1) equational ( topic = predicate ) ~ in this sentence type you can interchange the topic and the predicate without changing the thought of the sentence.

a) "Ma'o kini ang Kabisay'an".	= This is the Visayas.
b) "Ma'o ’na ang amo'ang balay"	= That is our house.

2) non-equational ( topic < predicate ) ~ in this sentence type the topic and the predicate are not interchangeable.

a) "Taga-Asia ang mga Bisaya."	= Visayans are Asians.
b) "Mo simba mi karon."	= We are going to church now.

3) existential sentence of presence ~ sentences of this type tells the existence of a thing or idea.

a) "Adunay Diyos sa langit."	= There is God in heaven.
b) "Didtoy halas sa kahoy."	= There was a snake in the tree.

4) existential sentence of possession. ~ sentences of this type tell about someone or something possessing something.

a) "Ang mga anghel sa langit adunay Diyos."	= The angels in heaven have a God.
b) "Naa koy ilimnon sa balay."	= I had a drink at home.

5) locative sentence ~ this type of sentence tells the location of a thing.

a) "Ani'a/Na'ara ang kwarta."	= Here is the money.
b) "’To'a siya sa bukid."	= He/She is in the mountain.

6) meteorologic sentence ~ this type of sentence tells about weather condition, noise level, etc., of a place.

a) "Tugnaw dinhi sa Bukidnon."	= It is cold here in Bukidnon.
b) "Hilom kaganiha sa plaza/Mingao ka'ayo didto sa plaza."	= It was calm in the square.

7) exclamatory remark ~ praises and unexpected discoveries belong here.

a) "Kadaghan man nimo og sakyanan!"	= You have a lot of cars.
b) "Guapa'ha nimo."	= You are pretty.
c) "Kasaba ba ninyo."	= You are so noisy.

8) imperatives ~ commands and requests.

a) "Isugba kanang isda."	= Grill that fish.
b) "Ako nang gi sugba."	= I already grilled it.

9) interrogatives ~ questions that are not answerable by yes or no.

a) "Kinsa ka?."	= Who are you?.
b) "Unsay imong ngalan?"	= What is your name?.

10) confirmation ~ questions that are basically answered by yes or no. Constructed sentence like the first 6 sentence type with the insertion of the particle "ba" as a second term.

a) "Kini ba ang Kabisay'an?."	= Is this the Visayas?.
b) "Unsa ba ang imohang kinahanglan?."	= What do you want?.
c) "Na unsa ba ang Politica?."	= What is wrong with politics?.
d) "Isugba ba kining isda?."	= Shall this fish be grilled?.

Negation

There are three negation words: dili, wala and ayaw.

Dili negates adjectives, nouns and incepting verbs.

Dili ko mo trabaho ugma.
"I will not work tomorrow."

Wala negates existentials and incepted verbs.

Wala ko mo trabaho tibuok adlaw.
"I did not work the whole day."

Ayaw is used in expressing negative commands.

Ayaw og hilak.
"Don't cry."

Ayaw mo pagdagan'dagan dinhi.
"Don't run here."

In response to interrogatives, Dili is used to reply negatively to future actions, while Wala is used to reply negatively to past and progressive actions. Ayaw is used when the intended response is the imperative "Don't" (Dili can also be used).

Mukaon ka?
Are you going to eat?
Dili.
No.

Nikaon ka?
Did you eat?
Wala.
No.

Gakaon ka?
Are you eating?
Wala.
No.

Kaonon nako ni?
Should I eat this?
Ayaw. or Dili.
Don't. (No.)

Words

• Unsa? What?
• Asa? Where? (for a place or person - present, future)
• Diin?, Dis'a? Where? (past)
• Hain?, Saa? Where? (for an object- present)
• Kinsa? Who?
• Ngano? Why?
• Kangkinsa? To whom?
• Giunsa? How?
• Kanus'a? When? (past)
• Anus'a? When? (future)
• Pila ka buok?, Pila? How many?
• Tagpila? How much?
• Diay ba? Really?

The use of asa and hain

Asa and hain—both mean where—have distinct uses in formal Cebuano usage.

Asa - is used when asking about a place.

• • Asa ka padulong? - Where are you going?
  • Asa ta molarga? - Where are we traveling to?

Hain is used when asking about a person or thing.

• • Hain na ang gunting? - Where is the pair of scissor?
  • Hain na ang papel? - Where is the paper?

In spoken Cebuano in Metro Cebu, however, asa is commonly used to replace hain. Some use hain, especially by Southern Cebu, Negros, and Mindanao Cebuano speakers.

Vocabulary

Cebuano is a Filipino language closely related to the languages of Malaysia, Indonesia with some Latin influences. It is also a member of the Borneo–Philippine languages. It has also been influenced by thousands of words from Spanish, such as krus [cruz] (cross), swerte [suerte] ("luck"), gwapa [guapa], ("beautiful"), merkado [mercado] ("market") and brilyante [brillante] ("brilliant"). It has several hundred loan words from English as well by Cebuanos who were not given an opportunity to go to school, which are altered to conform to the limited phonemic inventory of Cebuano: brislit (bracelet), hayskul (high school), syápin (shopping) and dráyber (driver), nonetheless, Cebuanos are good English speakers. There are also words from other languages like Arabic like Salámat ("thanks"), [Hukom or Hukm] ("judge") and Islamic words used in Mindanao like Imam, Syarip, dyihad and Islam and Sanskrit Mahárlika ("nobility") and Karma.

Numbers

	Cardinal	Ordinal
1	usà / uno	úna
2	duhà / dos	ika-duhà
3	tulò / tres	ika-tulò
4	upàt / quatro	ika-upàt
5	limà / cinco	ika-limà
6	unòm / seis	ika-unòm
7	pitò / siete	ika-pitò
8	walò / ocho	ika-walò
9	siyàm / nueve	ika-siyàm
10	napú'ô / napulo / diez	ika-napú'ô / ika-napulo
11	napú'ô'g usá / napulo'g / napulo ug usá /once	ika-napú'ô'g usá / ika-napulo'g usá / ika-napulo ug usá / ika-once
20	kawhaan / veinte
30	katlo-an / treinta
40	kap-atan / quarienta
100	usa ka gatos / ciento
1000	usa ka libo / mil
100,000	usa ka gatos ka libo / ciento mil
500,000	lima ka gatos ka libo / tunga sa milyon / cinco ciento mil
1000000	usa ka milyon / milliones

Note: Shorter terms are the one mostly used.

Phrases

• How are you? - Kumusta ka?
• Good morning - Ma'ayong buntag
• Good afternoon - Ma'ayong hapon
• Good evening - Ma'ayong gabi'i
• Good bye - Adios (rare), Babay (informal, corruption of "Goodbye")
• Thank you - Salamat
• Where are you from? - Taga asa ka?
• How do you say... in Cebuano? - Unsa'un ni pag sulti sa Binisaya.
• How do I get to ...? - Unsa'un nako pag-adto sa...?
• Do you understand? - 'Naka sabot ka?
• How is the weather? - Unsa na'ang panahon?
• What is that? - Unsa nâ?/Unsa man nâ?
• What time is it? - Unsa nang orasa?/Unsa oras na?
• Stop (Imperative) - Hunong sâ.
• Don't - Ayaw
• Yes - Oo
• No - Dili ("no", used for future tense), Wala ("nothing, the absence of", used for past and progressive tenses)
• O.k. - Sige
• Great - Maayo
• Oh! (Interjection) - Sus! (shortened form of Hesus!, roughly equivalent to English interjections "Sheesh", "Christ!", and "Jesus!")

Dialects

Cebuano can vary significantly depending on where it is spoken, particularly on the preference for vowel allophones or consonants. Words like kalayo ("fire") can become kalajo or kayo in some regions. Gahì ("hard") forms of vowels are also preferred in some areas. For example, /o/ or /ɛ/ sounds in some areas can become /u/ or /i/ sounds in others.

Colloquialisms can also be used to determine the regional origin of the speaker. Cebuano-speaking people from Cagayan de Oro, for example, say "chada" or tsada (roughly translated to the English colloquialism "awesome"), while Cebuanos from Cebu say nindut or anindut.

Increasing usage of spoken English (being the primary language of commerce and education in the Philippines) has led to the introduction of new pronunciations and spellings of old Cebuano words. /dʒ/ now routinely replace /dj/ sounds, /tʃ/ for /ts/, etc. Code-switching forms of English and Bisaya (Bislish) is also common among the educated younger generations.

There are four main dialectal groups within Cebuano. They are as follows:

Boholano and Southern Kana

The Boholano dialect of Bohol shares many similarities with the southern form of the standard Cebuano dialect; while the Southern Kana of southern Leyte 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.

Speakers of these two dialects can be distinguished by their distinctive modification of /j/ into /dʒ/. Like the Mindanao dialects, they are notable for their usage of a vocabulary containing archaic longer words like kalatkat ("climb") instead of katkat.

Southern kana can be further distinguished from Boholano by slight vocabulary differences, such as arang ("very") for northern kana hastan(g) and standard dialect kaayu.

Northern Kana

North Kana (found in the northern part of Leyte), is closest to the northern Cebu dialect yet its spoken pattern is similar to Waray-waray. A distinguishing feature of this dialect is the reduction of /ŋ/, final-syllable /m/ and /n/ into the dental nasal /n/. Likewise, /n/ usually morphs into a velar nasal /ŋ/ before the consonants /k/ and /g/, and into /m/ before the labial consonants /p/, /b/, and /m/. Before /w/, vowels, and all other consonants, it does not change.

This dialect generally contains less /l/ sounds. In between vowels /l/ is elided into /w/ or a longer form of the vowels. For example: balud ("wave") becomes bawōd or bawod; balay ("house") becomes bāi. Aside from /l/ elision, /l/ may also change to either the alveolar flap /ɽ/ or the velar flap /ɾ/.

There may be slight vocabulary differences and shortened words like the use of āga for buntag (morning), ika for ikaw ("you"), and mā or mana for mga (plural subject marker). The prefixes hin- and hi- are also used in place of the standard mi- in Cebuano.

Mindanao Cebuano

The Cebuano dialect in Mindanao is a unique blending of several dialects, even including other languages like Waray-waray, Hiligaynon, and Tagalog. It is distinctive in retaining /l/ sounds, long since considered archaic in northern Cebuano dialects. For example: bulan instead of buwan ("moon" or "month"), hulam instead of huwam ("borrow"), and the occasional lamang instead of lang ("only").

The Cebuano dialect in Davao, like the Luzon Cebuano dialect, contains some Tagalog vocabulary, though to a lesser extent.

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 the 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 "Tagbis" (a portmanteau of Tagalog and Bisaya).

See also

• Cebuano grammar
• Cebuano literature

External links

• Cebuano English Searchable Dictionary
• Ethnologue report for Cebuano
• John U. Wolff, A dictionary of Cebuano Visayan: Volume I, Volume II, at Project Gutenberg's Distributed Proofreaders
• Ang Dila Natong Bisaya
• Lagda Sa Espeling Rules of Spelling (Cebuano)
• Language Links.org - Philippine Languages to the world - Cebuano Lessons
• Language Links.org - Philippine Languages to the World
• Online E-book of Spanish-Cebuano Dictionary, published in 1898 by Fr. Felix Guillén