Central Philippine languages

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Central Philippine
Geographic
distribution:
Philippines
Linguistic classification: Austronesian
Subdivisions:

The Central Philippine languages are the most geographically widespread demonstrated group of languages in the Philippines, being spoken in southern Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and Sulu. They are also the most populous, including Tagalog (and Filipino), Bikol, and the major Visayan languages Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray-Waray, Kinaray-a, and Tausug, with forty-some languages altogether. [1]

Contents

[edit] Classification

[edit] Overview

The languages are generally subdivided as follows (Languages in italics refer to a single language):

There are in addition several Aeta hill-tribal languages of uncertain affiliation: Ata, Sorsogon, Tayabas, Karolanos, Magahat, and Sulod.

Most of the Central Philippine languages in fact form a dialect continuum and cannot be sharply distinguished as separate languages. For instance, in the Sorsogon and Masbate regions of the Philippines, the Bikol and Visayan languages transition into each other, forming the Bisakol languages. Blust (2009) notes that the relatively low diversity found among the Visayan languages is due to recent population expansions.[1]

[edit] Gray, et. al. (2008)

A 2008 analysis of the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database[2] supported the following structure, with Palawanic as the closest external branch:

The Bikol–Visayan connection was assigned an 80% confidence. Visaya–Mansakan, Palawan–Central, and Central Philippine itself were fully supported.

[edit] Zorc (1977)

The expanded tree of the Central Philippine languages below is given in David Zorc's 1977 Ph.D. dissertation (Zorc 1977:33).[3] The Visayan subgrouping is Zorc's own work, while the Bikol subgrouping is from McFarland (1974)[4] and the Mansakan subgrouping from Gallman (1974).[5]

Individual languages are marked by italics, and primary branches by bold italics.

[edit] Gallman (1997)

Andrew Gallman (1997:4, 103) classifies the Central Philippine languages as follows:

  • Tagalog
  • Bikol
  • South Central Philippine (Bisayan)
    • West Bisayan
    • Banton
    • Central Bisayan
    • Cebuan
    • East Mindanao
      • North East Mindanao
        • Cebuano (?)
        • Mamanwa
        • Surigaonon
        • Butuanon-Tausug
      • Central East Mindanao
        • Kamayo
        • Davawenyo Banganga
        • Davawenyo Digos
      • South East Mindanao
        • Mandaya Kabasagan
        • Mandaya Caraga
        • Mansaka, Mandaya Maragusan, Mandaya Boso
          • (Branch)
            • Mandaya Islam
            • Kalagan Kaagan, Kalagan Tagakaulu

[edit] Greater Central Philippine (Blust)

Blust (1991) notes that the central and southern Philippines has low linguistic diversity. He expands the Central Philippine branch with South Mangyan, Palawan, Mindanao, and Gorontalo–Mongondow languages, the latter found in northern Sulawesi. (See Philippine languages.) The 2008 study fully supported a similar group that included South Mindanao and Kalamian, but excluded Gorontalo–Mongondow.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Blust, Robert A. The Austronesian Languages. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, 2009. ISBN 0858836025, 978-0858836020.
  2. ^ Greenhill, S.J., Blust. R, & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283.
  3. ^ Zorc, David Paul. The Bisayan Dialects of the Philippines: Subgrouping and Reconstruction. Canberra, Australia: Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, 1977.
  4. ^ McFarland, Curtis D. The Dialects of the Bikol Area. Ph.D. dissertation. New Haven: Dept. of Liunguistics, Yale University, 1974.
  5. ^ Gallman, Andrew Franklin. A Reconstruction of Proto-Mansakan. M.A. dissertation. Arlington, Texas: Dept. of Liunguistics, University of Texas at Arlington, 1974.
  • Blust, Robert (1991). "The Greater Central Philippines hypothesis". Oceanic Linguistics 30: 73–129. 
  • Gallman, Andrew Franklin. 1997. Proto East Mindanao and its internal relationships. Philippine Journal of Linguistics, Special monograph issue, no. 44. Manila: Linguistic Society of the Philippines.
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