Waray-Waray language

Waray-Waray
Samar-Leyte Winaray
Native to	Philippines
Region	Eastern Visayas, some parts of Masbate
Ethnicity	Waray people
Native speakers	2.6 million  (2000 census) 5th most spoken native language in the Philippines
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Philippine Central Philippine Visayan Central Visayan Warayan Waray-Waray
Dialects	Waray, Samar-Leyte, Northern Samar
Writing system	Latin; Historically Baybayin
Official status
Official language in	Regional language in the Philippines
Regulated by	Commission on the Filipino Language Historically regulated by the Sanghiran san Binisaya ha Samar ug Leyte
Language codes
ISO 639-2	war
ISO 639-3	war

Waray-Waray (also Waray, Samar-Leyte, and Samarnon) is a language spoken in the provinces of Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Biliran, and in the north-east of Leyte Island (surrounding Tacloban) in the Philippines. The name comes from the word often heard by non-speakers, "waray" (meaning "none", "nothing" or "not"), in the same way that Cebuanos are known in Leyte as "mga Kana" (after the oft-heard word "kana", meaning "that", among people speaking the Cebuano language).

The Waray-Waray language spoken by the Waray people of Samar island, in the north east of Leyte Island (surrounding Tacloban) and in some parts of Biliran island shows dialectal variations. Dialects are spoken in some parts of Masbate, particularly on the island of Ticao which is adjacent to Samar island.

Waray-Waray Sorsogon and Masbate Sorsogon are grouped into the Waray-Waray language. Waray-Waray Sorsogon and Masbate Sorsogon are called Bisakol by the untrained^{[citation needed]} because they are intermediate between the Visayan and Bicolano languages, however, all of these are just variants of the Waray-Waray language.^{[citation needed]}

Grammar

Pronouns

	Absolutive	Ergative	Oblique
1st person singular	ako, ak	nakon, nak, ko	akon, ak
2nd person singular	ikaw, ka	nimo, nin, mo	imo, im
3rd person singular	hiya, siya	niya	iya
1st person plural inclusive	kita, kit, kirita	naton	aton, at
1st person plural exclusive	kami	namon	amon
2nd person plural	kamo, kam	niyo	iyo
3rd person plural	hira, sira	nira	ira

The Waray copula

Waray-waray, like other Philippine languages, does not have any exact equivalent to the English linking verb be. In Tagalog, for example, the phrase "Siya ay maganda" (She is beautiful) contains the word ay which, contrary to popular belief, does not function as an attributive copula predicating maganda (beautiful) to its subject and topic Siya (he or she). The function of Tagalog's ay is rather a marker of sentence inversion, which is regarded as a literary form but somewhat less common in spoken Tagalog. The same phrase may be spoken as Maganda siya, which has the same meaning.

The Waray-waray language in comparison would express "She is beautiful" only as "Mahosay hiya" or sometimes "Mahosay iton hiya" (iton functioning as a definite article of hiya, she), since Waray doesn't have a present-tense copula or even an inversion marker. As in other Philippine languages, attributive statements are usually represented in predicate-initial form and have no copula at all. Take for example the ordinary English sentence "This is a dog" as translated to Waray:

Ayam ini.

The predicate Ayam (dog) is placed before the subject ini (this); no copula is present. Another example:

Amo ito an balay han Winaray o Binisaya nga Lineyte-Samarnon nga Wikipedia.

Asya it an balay han Winaray o Binisaya nga Lineyte-Samarnon nga Wikipedia.

In English: "This is the Waray/Leyte-Samar Visayan Wikipedia". The predicate Amo ini is roughly translated as "This here" but the rest of the sentence then jumps to its subject, marked by the particle an. It is grammatically impossible to invert a sentence like this into a subject-head form without importing the actual Tagalog inversion marker ay, a growing trend among younger people in Leyte. The word amo is used only in Leyte Waray-Waray. In Samar, asya (this) is used.

Despite the debate regarding the Waray copula, it would be safe to treat structures like magin (to be), an magin/an magigin (will be or will become), and an nagin (became) as the English treat linking verbs:

Makuri magin estudyante. ([It's] hard to be a student.)

Ako it magigin presidente! (I shall be the president!)

Ako an nagin presidente. (I became the president.)

Existential

Waray of Leyte	Waray of Northern Samar	Tagalog	English
mayda, may-ada	yaon, may-yaon	meron/mayroon	there is
wara/waray	wara/waray	wala	none

Modal

Waray	Tagalog	English
puyde*/mahangyo	maaari/pwede*	may/can (*from Spanish puede, he/she can)
diri puyde	hindi maaari/pwede	may not/cannot
pahudma or mahoram/huram	pahiram/hiram	may I borrow?/borrow
pakita-a	patingin	let me see

Interrogative words

Waray of Leyte (Winaray nga pan Leyte)	Waray of Northern Samar (Winaray nga pan Norte)	Waray of Samar (Winaray nga pan Samar)	Tagalog	English
hin-o	sin-o	hin-o	sino	who
kay-ano	kaynano	kay-nano	bakit	why
diin/hain	diin	diin	saan	where
kanay	kanay	kankanay	kanino	whose
gin-aano/a-anhon	panano	gin-aano/na-ano	paano	how
san-o	san-o	san-o	kailan	when
ano	nano	nano	ano	what

Orthography issues

While the now-defunct Sanghiran san Binisaya ha Samar ug Leyte (Academy of the Visayan Language of Samar and Leyte) formulated and recommended a standard orthography, this was never widely disseminated, and therefore as of present there is still no commonly accepted official orthography. In effect, there may exist two spellings of the same word (usually limited to differences in vowels only), such as

• diri or dire ("no")
• hira or hera ("them")
• maupay or mabaysay ("good")
• guinhatag or ginhatag ("gave")
• direcho or diritso ("straight [ahead]")
• ciudad or syudad ("city")
• espejo or espeho ("mirror")

Usage

Waray-Waray is one of the ten officially recognized regional languages in the Philippines and used in local government. It is spoken throughout its islands, especially in the Eastern Visayas region. But it is also spoken in some parts of Mindanao, Masbate, Sorsogon and Metro Manila where Warays have migrated. There is also a small number of Filipinos abroad, especially in the United States, who speak this language. Waray-Waray is widely used in media, especially in radio and television. One good example of this is the regional version of the Philippine news program TV Patrol for Eastern Visayas, TV Patrol Tacloban, which broadcasts in Waray-Waray. There is also a regional cable channel that broadcasts its programs in Waray-Waray, the An Aton Channel operated by DYVL.

However print media in this language are rare because most regional newspapers are published in English. The language is also used in the Eucharistic celebrations or Holy Masses in the Roman Catholic Church in the region. Bibles published in Waray-Waray are also available. Waray-Waray songs are widely appreciated and can be heard in the radio. In 1993, the LDS Church or Mormonism published a selected Waray-Waray edition of the Book of Mormon entitled "An Libro ni Mormon". Today, many Waray aficionados advocate wider use of this language.

Sounds

Consonants

The Waray language has sixteen consonant phonemes: /p, t, k, b, d, ɡ, m, n, ŋ, s, h, w, l, ɾ, j/. Consonants /d/ and /ɾ/ were once allophones but cannot now interchange, as in palaron (to be lucky) from palad, palm (one's luck is seen on one's palm in fortune-telling) which cannot be paladon, or tagadiín (from where) [from diín, where] which cannot be tagariín.

Plosives

The voice onset time of Waray voiceless Plosives like /p, t, k/ is very low. And their aspiration, if existing, seems to be only minimal. Respectively, the voiced Plosives /b, d, ɡ/ are always fully voiced. If not fully voiced they will be perceived as /p, t, k/.

Vowels

There are three vowel phonemes: a [a], i [ɛ ~ i], and u [o ~ u]. This means that the vowel phoneme i can be represented with sounds from a scale of [i ~ ɛ]. This is also the cause of multiple orthographic variations among Waray speakers. Words like lolo (grandfather)can also be written as lulu since o and u are the representatives of the same Phonemes and thus the interchange will never form meaningful contrasts between utterances.

Numbers

Native numbers are used for numbers one through ten. From eleven onwards, Spanish numbers are exclusively used in Waray-Waray today, their native counterparts being obsolete for the majority of native speakers (except for gatus for hundred and yukot for thousand). Some, especially among the elderly, are spoken alongside the Spanish counterparts.

English	Native Waray-Waray	Borrowed from Spanish
One	Usa	Uno
Two	Duha	Dos
Three	Tuló	Tres
Four	Upat	Cuatro
Five	Limá	Cinco
Six	Unom	Saiz
Seven	Pitó	Siete
Eight	Waló	Ocho
Nine	Siyám	Nueve
Ten	Napúlô	Diez
Eleven	(Napúlô kag usá)	Onse
Twelve	(Napúlô kag duhá)	Duce
Thirteen	(Napúlô kag tulo)	Trece
Fourteen	(Napúlô kag upat)	Katorse
Fifteen	(Napúlô kag lima)	Kinse
Sixteen	(Napúlô kag unom)	Diez y Saiz
Seventeen	(Napúlô kag pito)	Diez y Siete
Eighteen	(Napúlô kag walo)	Diez y Ocho
Nineteen	(Napúlô kag siyam)	Diez y Nueve
Twenty	(Karuhaan)	Biente
Thirty	(Katloan)	Trenta
Forty	(Kap-atan)	Kwuarenta
Fifty	(Kalim-an)	Singkwenta
Sixty	(Kaunman)	Siesenta
Seventy	(Kapitoan)	Setenta
Eighty	(Kawaloan)	Ochienta
Ninety	(Kasiaman)	Nobenta
One Hundred	Usa ka Gatus	Cien
One Thousand	Usa ka Yukut	Mil
One Million	Usa ka Libo	Milyon

Some common words and phrases

Below are examples of the Waray spoken in Metropolitan Tacloban and the nearby areas:

• Good morning (noon/afternoon/evening): Maupay nga aga (udto/kulop/gab-i)
• Good day: Maupay nga adlaw
• Can you understand Waray?: Nakakaintindi/Nasabut ka/Nakainchindi ka hin Winaray? (hin or hito)
• Thank you: Salamat
• I love you: Hinihigugma ko ikaw or Ginhihigugma ko ikaw or Pina-ura ta ikaw
• I don't care: "Baga saho" or "Waray ko labot" or baga labot ko
• Where are you from? : Taga diin ka? or Taga nga-in ka? or Taga ha-in ka?
• How much is this? : Tag pira ini?
• I can't understand: Diri ako nakakaintindi/Nakaichindi or Di ak Naabat
• I don't know: Diri ako maaram or Ambot
• What: Ano
• Who: Hin-o
• Where: Hain
• When (future): San-o
• When (past): Kakan-o
• Why: Kay-ano
• How: (past) Gin-aano?
• How: (present) A-anhon
• Yes: Oo
• No: Dire or Diri

• There: Adto or Didto or Ngad-to
• Here: Didi or Nganhi
• Front or in front: Atubang or Atubangan
• Night: Gab-i
• Day: Adlaw
• Afternoon: Kulop
• Nothing: Waray
• Good: Maopay
• Boy: Lalaki
• Bisexual: Silahis
• Girl: Babayi
• Gay:Bayot
• Lesbian: Tomboi/Lesbyana/Palakin-on
• Who are you?: Hin-o ka?
• I'm a friend: Sangkay ako.
• It's very hot now: Kapapaso hin duro yana.
• I'm lost here: Nawawara ako didi.
• Maybe: Kunta or Bangin
• Now: yana
• Yesterday: Kakulop
• How are you: Kumusta or Kumusta ka

Other common words

• Beautiful - mahusay
• Ugly - Mapurot/maraksut
• Table - Lamesa
• Spoon - kutsara
• Fork - tinidor
• Open - abre/abrido
• Can opener - abridor/kankiri

Technical terms

• Steel - puthaw
• Car - awto / sarakyan / Kotchi
• Airplane - edro / eroplano
• Airport - paluparan / erport / landing

Astronomical terms

• Earth - kalibutan
• Moon - bulan Indonesian/Malay - bulan
• Sun - sudang/adlaw
• Star - bituon Indonesian/Malay - bintang
• North - amihanan
• South - habagatnan
• East - sinrakan
• West - katundan
• I Wish - "sana"

Natural terms

• Wind - hangin Indonesian/Malay - angin
• Fire - kalayo
• Land - tuna Indonesian/Malay - tanah
• Water - tubig
• Yard - libong
• Mountain - bukid Indonesian/Malay - bukit
• Falls - bangon
• Sea - dagat
• High Seas - lawud
• Ocean - kalawdan/lawud Indonesian/Malay = laut i.e. ka-laut-an
• Island - puro/isla Indonesian/Malay - pulau
• Archipelago - kapuruan Indonesian/Malay - kepulauan
• River - salug tubig
• Lake - danaw Indonesian - danau

Parts of the house

• House - balay
• Room - kwarto/sulod
• Bedroom - sulod-katurugan
• Kitchen - kusina
• Outdoor Kitchen - abuhan
• Dining Room - kaunan
• Bathroom - kubeta/karigu-an
• Toilet - kasilyas
• Living Room - sala

Members of the family

• Parent - tigurang/kag-anak
• Father - amay/tatay/papa
• Mother - iroy/nanay/mama
• Son/Daughter - anak
• Brother - bugto nga lalaki
• Sister - bugto nga babayi
• Grandparent - apoy/lolo (male) / lola (female)
• Cousin - patod
• Nephew/Niece - umangkon
• Son-in-Law/Daughter-in-Law - umagad
• Brother-in-Law/Sister-in-Law - bayaw (male) / hipag (female)
• Father-in-Law/Mother-in-Law - ugangan
• Oldest Child - suhag
• Youngest Child - pudo/putu/puto

Fashion words

• Jeans/Pants - saruwal
• Clothes - bado / duros
• Belt - paha
• slipper - tsinelas/ismagol

Food

• Bread - tinapay
• Rice - kan-on / kanon / luto
• Viand - sura
• Coffee - kape
• Vinegar - suoy
• Soy Sauce - toyo
• Oil - asyete/owil

Animals

• Dog - ayam / inu/ido
• Cat - uding / misai
• Rat - yatut
• Crocodile - buaya
• Bird - tamsi
• Snake - halas
• Water buffalo - karabaw
• Crab - masag
• Lobster - tapusok
• Goat - kanding
• Horse - kabayo
• Pig - baboy

Waray-Waray loanwords

The language of Waray-Waray intensively borrowed vocabulary from other languages. Most of those words are so called core B words or cultural words which are adopted by a language when heavily exposed to a new culture. These words are being adopted to fill lexical gaps of the recipient language. Spanish colonialization introduced new systems to the Philippine society. Prohibitions and "Reëducation" as imposed by the Spanish priests penetrated all domains of everyday life and so led to massive lexical borrowing.

Since World War II many of the Spanish terms, mainly political or technical, are being replaced by English vocabulary.

Common Waray-Waray words and their foreign and local origins

Spanish

• Abandonada (Spanish: Abandonado/a) – abandoned
• Abaniko (Spanish: Abanico) – fan
• Abriha (Spanish: Abrir, Filipino: Abrihin) – to open
• Abrelata (Spanish: Abrelatas) – tin-opener/can opener
• Abril (Spanish: Abril) – April
• Abogado (Spanish: Abogado) – lawyer, attorney
• Aborido (Spanish: Aburrido) – bored (used in Tagalog as 'anxious, confused')
• Akasya (Spanish: Acacia) – acacia tree
• Aksidente (Spanish: Accidente) – accident
• Adurnuha (Spanish: Adornar, Filipino: Adurnuhan) – to decorate
• Agrabiyado (Spanish: Agraviado) – being aggrieved
• Aginaldo (Spanish: Aguinaldo) – Christmas gift
• Agosto (Spanish: Agosto) – August
• Ahensiya (Spanish: Agencia) – agency
• Ahente (Spanish: Agente) – agent
• Alahas (Spanish: Alhaja) – jewel
• Alambre (Spanish: Alambre) – wire
• Alkansiya (Spanish: Alcancía) – piggy bank
• Alpilir (Spanish: Alfiler) – pin
• Alsaha (Spanish: Alzar, Filipino: Alsahin)
• Ambisyoso (Spanish: Ambicioso) – ambitious
• Ambisyon (Spanish: Ambición) – ambition
• Arbularyo (Spanish: Herbolario) - Medicine man (from "Herbo" -herb)
• Arina (Spanish: Harina) – flour
• Arkitekto (Spanish: Arquitecto) – architect
• Armado (Spanish: Armado) – armed
• Arnibal (Spanish: Almíbar) – syrup
• Artista (Spanish: Artista) – artist (used in Waray Waray as 'actor/actress')
• Ariyos (Spanish: Arreos) – tack (used in Waray Waray as 'earrings')
• Asintado (Spanish: Asentado) – settled
• Asero (Spanish: Acero) – steel
• Asno (Spanish: Asno) – donkey
• Asoge (Spanish: Azogue) – mercury
• Asosasyon (Spanish: Asociación) – association
• Asukar (Spanish: Azúcar) – sugar
• Asul (Spanish: Azul) – blue
• Asyatiko (Spanish: Asiatico) – Asian
• Intyendeha (Spanish: Atender) – to attend to
• Atrasado (Spanish: Atrasado) – overdue, slow (clock), backward (used in Waray Waray as 'late')
• Ayuda (Spanish: Ayudar, Filipino: Ayudahan) – to help
• Banyo/Kasilyas (Spanish: Baño) – bathroom, toilet
• Baraha (Spanish: Baraja) – deck of playing cards
• Baratilyo (Spanish: Baratillo) – flea market (used in Waray Waray as 'bargain sale')
• Barato (Spanish: Barato) – cheap
• Barbero (Spanish: Barbero) – barber
• Barbula (Spanish: Válvula) – valve
• Bareta (Spanish Bareta) – bar
• Bagahe (Spanish: Bagaje) – baggage
• Baho (Spanish : Vaho) – steam (used in Waray Waray as 'foul smell')
• Bintana (Spanish: Ventana) – window
• Bintilador (Spanish: Ventilador) – electric fan
• Birhen (Spanish: Virgen) – virgin
• Bisagra (Spanish: Bisagra) – hinge
• Bisikleta (Spanish: Bicicleta) – bicycle
• Bisitaha (Spanish: Visitar) – to visit
• Botika/Botica/Parmasya/Farmacia - drugstore, pharmacy
• Conbensido (Spanish: Convencido) - convinced
• Demanda (Spanish: Demanda) – demand
• Demokrasiya (Spanish: Democracia) – democracy
• Demonyo (Spanish: Demonio) – demon, evil spirit
• Dentista (Spanish: Dentista) – dentist
• Departamento (Spanish: Departamento) – department, bureau
• Depensa (Spanish: Defensa) – defense
• Deposito (Spanish: Depósito) – depot (fuel), deposit (money)
• Desisyon (Spanish: Decisión) – decision
• Diyos/a (Spanish: Dios/a) – god/goddess
• Doble (Spanish: Doble) – double
• Doktor/a (Spanish: Doctor/a) – doctor
• Don (Spanish: Don) – Mr. (used in Waray Waray to address a rich man)
• Donya (Spanish: Doña) – Mrs. (used in Waray Waray to address a rich woman)
• Dos (Spanish: Dos) – two
• Dose (Spanish: Doce) – twelve
• Dosena (Spanish: Docena) – dozen
• Drama (Spanish: Drama) – drama
• Droga (Spanish: Droga) – drugs
• Hugador (Spanish: Jugador)- game (used in Waray Waray as 'gambler'
• Huygo (Spanish: Juego)- game (used in Waray Waray as 'gambling'
• Kabayo (Spanish: Caballo) – horse
• Karsonsilyo/Carsoncillo (Spanish: Calzoncillo) – boxer shorts (used in Waray Waray as 'shorts')
• Marigoso (Spanish: Amargoso) - bittermelon
• Padi (Spanish: Padre) - father (used in Waray Waray as a title for a Roman Catholic priest)

Portuguese

• Porta (Portuguese: Porta) - door
• Morto (Portuguese: Morto) - corpse

Nahuatl

• Achuete (Nahuatl: Achiotl; Mexican Spanish: Achiote) – annatto seeds used to give food a reddish color
• Kakao/Kakaw (Cacao) (Nahuatl: Cacahuatl) – cacao or cocoa
• Sayote (Nahuatl: Chayotli; Mexican Spanish: Chayote) – a Mexican squash
• Tiyangge (Nahuatl: Tianquiztli; Mexican Spanish: Tianguis) – seasonal markets
• Tsokolate (Nahuatl: Xocolatl) – chocolate

Chinese

• Bakya (Fukien Chinese, Chinese: 木屐) – native wooden sandals
• Bihon – Vermicelli (made of rice flour, Chinese: 米粉)
• Bitsin (Fukien Chinese: Bi chhin, Chinese: 味精) – monosodium glutamate
• Jueteng (Fukien Chinese) – illegal numbers game
• Lumpia (Fukien Chinese, Chinese: 潤餅) – spring rolls

English

• Basket – basket
• Basketbol – basketball
• Basketbolan - basketball court
• Baysikol/bisikleta - bicycle
• Bilib - believe, envy
• Bilyar - billiard
• Bilyaran - billiard hall
• Chiki – check
• Dyip – jeep
• Elementarya – elementary
• Ekonomiks - economics
• Eksport – export
• Ekspres - express
• Erkon - air con
• Grado – grade
• Groseri – grocery
• Hayskul – High School
• Iskor – score
• Iskrin – screen
• Ispiker - speaker
• Keyk – cake
• Kostumer/Kustomer – customer
• Kompyuter – computer
• Kondisyoner - conditioner
• Kontrol - control
• Krim - cream
• Kukis - cookies
• Lider – leader
• Losyon - lotion
• Manedyer – manager
• Masol – muscle
• Makroekonomiks - macroeconomics
• Maikroekonomiks - microeconomics
• Isparkol - sparkle
• Traysikol - tricycle
• Pidikab - pedicab

Cebuano

• Bana (Cebuano: Bana) - husband

Persian

• Saruwal (Persian: Sarwal) - jeans

Arabic

• Salamat (Arabic: سلامة = safety) - Thank you

See also

• Bikol
• Cebuano language
• Chabacano
• Filipino
• Hiligaynon
• Ilokano
• Kapampangan
• Languages of the Philippines
• Pangasinan
• Visayan languages
• Waray literature

Further reading

• Dictionary English Waray-Waray/Tagalog (2005) by Tomas A. Abuyen, National Book Store, 494 pp., ISBN 971-08-6529-3.

External links

• Radyo Waraynon - Waraynon Internet Radio Station
• Waray Museum Blog featuring Waray literature
• Online Lineyte-Samarnon (Waray)-English Dictionary (also with Videos, Photos, Music, News, Local Destinations)
• Waray lessons
• Bansa.org Waray Dictionary
• Ethnologue Report for Waray
• Waray dictionary, literary database & teaching resource