Comparative Analysis on Cebuano and Boholano Languages PDF

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This study focused on the comparative analysis of Cebuano and Boholano languages in terms of phonology, syntax and lexical variations and its history which influenced both languages. Varied tools and questionnaires were used to gather data for the research study. Phonological, syntactical or stru...

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Comparative Analysis of Cebuano and Boholano Languages Mariel A. Ybañez, Jennifer G. Nanaman, Rhachel Ann D. Oriola and Edsa Pearl E. Martinez Cebu Normal University Abstract This study focused on the comparative analysis of Cebuano and Boholano languages in terms of phonology, syntax and lexical variations and its history which influenced both languages. Varied tools and questionnaires were used to gather data for the research study. Phonological, syntactical or structural and lexical analyses were employed to interpret the gathered data. The results of the study revealed that there are similarities and differences between the two languages in terms of the three components of language that were taken as bases for the comparison--- phonological, syntactical and lexical aspects. The history of the two places showed that Spanish and Arab languages greatly influenced Cebuano and Boholano languages respectively. Keywords: comparative analysis, Cebuano, Boholano, phonology, syntax, lexical variations Introduction There are many languages all over the world. Some of the languages have similarities with each other in different language components, may it be phonology, syntax and in lexical definition. For example, Italian and French have about 89% lexical convergence, this means that the words have the same characteristics and origins in about 89%.Because the Scots language and English, share much vocabulary, though with notable spelling and aural differences, they have been considered as sister languages (Campbell, 2004). English and German both are in the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language lineage. Therefore, it is not surprising, that many Germans learn English fast and easily. The sounds of English and German are alike, so as the stress and intonation patterns. However, variations can be observed. For example, the /th/ sound as in words like the, and thought is not existent in German, and many speakers have problems pronouncing such words correctly. German words that start with a /w/ are pronounced with a /v/. German and English share many relations. For example, the German word ‘also’ means ‘so’ in English and not ‘also’ (Shoebottom, 2005) Even the languages in the Philippines have similarities with each other even if they are considered as separate ones. Let us take Tagalog language for example. According to the classification, Tagalog can be classified in the following way: Tagalog < Central Philippine < Local Philippine < Western < Malayo-Polynesian < Austronesian. Fairly closely related are Bikol, Bisayan and Mansakan languages (Campbell 2000, Guzman 2001; Makarenko 1998a, 1998b; Phillips 1994, Škarban 1995). Tagalog served as the basis for the country’s national language. It has a lot of dialects which have little differences and variations with each other in terms of different language components. In the provinces of the Philippines like Bohol and Cebu, languages are closely related to each other too. Cebuano, is also referred to as Binisaya (or Visayan in English), is a language spoken in the Philippines mostly in the Central Visayas. It is the most widely spoken language within the Bisayan subgroup. It has the largest native language speaking population of the Philippines despite not being taught formally in schools. It is the mother tongue of the Central Visayas and in some parts of Mindanao (Endriga, 2010). Boholano is a dialect of Cebuano that is spoken on the island of Bohol, Philippines. It’s variant of Cebuano, although it is described as another language or a separate one because of the

differences of the two in terms of language components. Boholano especially the dialects used in Central Bohol can be recognized from other Cebuano dialects by a few phonetic changes. The dialects used in the coastal areas of Bohol though, including Tagbilaran City, are approximately the same from other Cebuano-speaking areas (Endriga, 2010). Cebuano’s linguistic pedigree is Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Meso-Philippine, Western Malayo-Polynesian, Central Philippine, Bisaya and Cebuan. It has the ISO 639-2 three letter code ceb. In 1948, it is uttered orally by 25% of the population, in 1960 by 24%, in 1978 by 24%, in 1900 by 24%, and 1995 by 21.17%. According to Endriga (2011), the 2000 census is under debates because of the classes were included, this separates Boholano and Binisaya/Bisaya from Cebuano, making them evident languages. Speakers of Cebuano are 13% (10,030,667), speakers of Binisaya/Bisaya are 8% (5, 778,435) and speaker of Boholano are 2% (1,837,361) which when taken together would make 23% of the population (Philippine Census, 2000). This paper will focus on comparative analysis between Cebuano-Cebu and CebuanoBoholano/Bol-anon language in terms of different language components. The phonology will be examined; the consonants and vowels will be compared and analyzed. Syntax and lexical variation will also be used in the study. History and culture of Cebu and Bohol will also be analyzed, if these two have influences on both Cebuano and Boholano languages. Review of Related Literature The Cebuano- Visayan has walked the same path as the progress in the Filipino orthography. Cebuano orthography likely was written in the Spanish Abecedario, then followed the Abakada, and eventually the reformed 28- letter orthography. There is difference for Cebuano orthographic rules because of the nuances in the language’s traits while the script and the characters are similar. There are studies attempting to write working orthographies and grammar sketches even if there is no standardized orthography for Cebuano yet (Ilao, Santos and Guevara, 2012). Cebuano takes two meanings. First, it refers to the people and language of Cebu. Cebuano is a Spanish word which means ‘of/ from Cebu’s such as Argentino (Argentenian) and Mexicano (Mexican). Secondarily, it refers to all speakers of the native language of a locality; correlatively clear with the vernaculars of Cebu. The second meaning gained dissenting arguments. Say, generations of Cebuano speakers in northern Mindanao say that their parentage can be traced to Cebuano speakers native to their place and not immigrants from the Visayas. According to Dr.Jes Tirol, an expert on Cebuano, all these are just distinct dialects of Cebuano because they have similar grammar with the exclusion of some different lexicon (Endriga, 2011). In the study, Cebuano and Boholano languages are compared in terms of three language components: First, the Phonology which refers to "the study of sound pertaining to the system of language". Second, the Syntax refers to the grammar, structure, or order of the elements in a language statement (Rouse, 2005).Lexical variation is a not so developed topic in sociolinguistics and corpus linguistics: studies taking a “contextualized, pragmatic conception of onomasiology, which centers on the actual alternatives made for a specific name as an appointment of a specific term” are uncommon (Grondelaers & Geeraerts 2003). Methodology This study is a descriptive research that describes what exists and may help to uncover new facts on Cebuano and Boholano languages, their similarities and differences. Instruments we use to obtain data include questionnaires with words, phrases and sentences that the participants will translate into their respective languages, interviews about their language and observation on the way that they pronounce or articulate Cebuano and Boholano languages.

Descriptions of the subsets of each language to be compared were given first. The comparison then happens with these two subsets noting the similarities and differences of both languages. The comparative procedure is based on the establishment of patterns of (a) absolute equivalence, (b) partial equivalence, and (c) difference. In each of the components of language, a point by point organizational scheme will be used where alternate points about A (Cebuano) will be compared with points about B (Boholano).The data that were examined were researched and gathered from speakers of the two languages. The words were paired according to the meaning. In the Syntactic aspect, data were gathered from questionnaires. Ten (10) speakers of each language were given questionnaires and they translate it into their mother tongue. The gathered data were examined in terms of sentence construction, whether it has a Subject + Predicate pattern or Predicate + Subject pattern. In the lexical variations, the two languages were examined by the meaning of words, phrases and common expressions. For the influence of history, ten(10) Spanish words with Cebuano equivalents were given and ten(10) Arab words with Boholano equivalents were cited from Dr.Jes B.Tirol’s “Ang Atong Mga Pulong Gikan Sa Arabo” (2004) as permitted by him. Results and Discussions Phonology Phonology refers to the organization of sounds of a language. Every language has its own unique sound system. Variations with ‘y’ and ‘j’

CEBUANO BOHOLANO ENGLISH ayaw ajaw no kaayo kaajo so much sibuyas sibujas onion There is a variation with ‘y’ for Cebuano, and ‘j’ for Boholano. Variations with ‘l’ and ‘w’ CEBUANO BOHOLANO ENGLISH balud bawud wave kahibalo kahibawo knows kalo kawo hat The ‘l’ in Cebuano, followed by a vowel change into ‘w’ when it is spoken in Boholano. Variation with‘d’ and ‘r’ CEBUANO BOHOLANO ENGLISH kadiyot kariyot not so long The‘d’ in Cebuano is replaced by ‘r’ in Boholano. Monosyllabic and Polysyllabic Variations CEBUANO BOHOLANO ENGLISH balay bay house dalan dan way kalayo kayo fire The words in Cebuano are polysyllabic and the equivalent words in Boholano are monosyllabic. Syntax is the study of the principles and processes by which sentences are constructed. English Cebuano Boholano You are beautiful. Gwapa ka. Maanyag ka. How are you? Kumusta ka. Kumusta ka.

I like to sing and dance.

Ganahan ko musayaw.

I love you. I am sorry. I hate vegetables.

Gihigugma ta ka. Pasaylo-a ko. Di ko ganahan ug utan.

Gihigugma ko ikaw. Pasaylo-a ko. Kontra nako ang utanon.

The house is beautiful. The food is delicious. I love my family.

Nindot ang balay. Lami ang pagkaon. Gihigugma nako ang akong pamilya. Humot ang mga bulak. Maayo siya musayaw. Maayo kaayo siyang mukanta.

Lami ng baya. Lami-an ang kan-on. Mahal nako ang akong banay.

The flowers are fragrant. She is a great dancer. He sings very well.

mukanta

ug Ganahan ko musayaw.

Angay pakamatyan ang Pilipino. I shall return. Mubalik ko. The truth shall set us free. Ang kamatuoran maghatag nato ug kagawasan. Don't judge a book by its Ayaw husgahi ang libro sa cover. iyang panagway. In every problem, there is a Naay solusyon sa kada problema. solution.

Filipino is worth dying for.

mukanta

ug

Humot ang mga buwak. Maajo kaajo sija mosayaw. Maajo kaajo sija mokanta. Angajan jud pakamatyan ang Pilipino. Mubalik aho. Ang kamatuoran maghatag nato ug kagawasan. Ajaw hukmi ang libro tungod sa ijang hunig. Sa tanang problema anaay solusyon.

The youth is the hope of the future.

Ang kabatan-onan maoy Ang kabataan maoy paglaum paglaom sa atong kaugmaon. sa kaugmaon.

He who does not love his own language is worse than an animal and smelly fish.

Ang tawo nga wala maghatag ug bili sa iyang pinulungan susama sa hayop ug baho sa isda nga dobok.

He who does not know how to look back at where he came will never get to his destination.

Ang tawo nga dili mulingi sa Ang di kabawo mutan-aw sa iyang gigikanan dili makaabot ijang gigikanan kay di jud sa iyang padulngan. makaabot sa ijang padungan.

Si kinsa kadtong dili magmahal sa kaugalingong pinulongan labaw pa sa mananap ug maanghit nga isda.

In Cebuano, sixteen (16) of the twenty (20) sentences are in P + S Pattern/Predicate + Subject Pattern. Sentences Number: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16 and 17. The other four (4) sentences have an S + P Pattern. Sentences Number: 15, 18, 19 and 20. In Boholano, fifteen (15) of the twenty (20) sentences are in Predicate + Subject Pattern. Sentences Number: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16.The rest of the five (5) sentences have the Subject + Predicate Pattern.Sentences Number: 15, 17, 18, 19 and 20. Lexical Variations

Lexical variations deal with the differences with the meaning of the words or phrases. Cebuano Boholano English wala jamo none Wala ko kahibalo. bawo I don’t know. *kan-on *luto rice diin? dis-a? Where? In Bohol instead of saying ‘wala’, they say ‘jamo’, ‘sani?’ for ‘unsa?’, ‘dis-a?’ for ‘diin?’. *The word ‘luto’ in Boholano which refers to ‘rice’, means ‘cooked’ in Cebuano. The use of “LAMI” word in Boholano with different equivalent words in Cebuano:

Cebuano Boholano English Nindot ang mga sinina. Lami ang sinina. The clothes are nice. Lami ang pagkaon. Lami ang pagkaon. The food is delicious. Influences of Spanish and Arab Languages According to Tirol (2004) there are words in Boholano which we cannot find in Cebuano. This is because of the influence of Arab language in Boholano. Below are some words taken from “A Learner’s English-Arabic Dictionary”by F.Steingass (1984) in Beirut that were used in the study of Dr. Jes Tirol in “ATONG MGA PULONG NGA GIKAN SA ARABO”. ARAB AND BOHOLANO: BOHOLANO ARAB ENGLISH alak al-araq alcohol ali-alli;llihan ali aloft; high up atiman ihtimam attention bagad(Bagad unta) bagad abhor bahad; bahan ahd alliance bandira bandera-t banner biya giyab absence dayandayan zayyan adorn himi (cry baby) hami apologist hukom hakam adjudge SPANISH AND CEBUANO: There are Cebuano terms that are used by the native speakers that came from English and Spanish (Maxilom, 2008). In fact, “when the Spaniards left the Philippines in 1898 after almost 350 years of colonization ten percent of the Filipinos spoke in Spanish…” Gonzalez (2004). CEBUANO SPANISH ENGLISH bomba bomba Bomb kumusta ¿Cómo está? How are you? pari padre priest maldito/a maldito/a bad maski mas que even if sugal jugar gambling/ to gamble gwapo guapo handsome hilo hilo thread sapatos zapatos shoes kwarto cuarto room

Conclusion There are differences and similarities between Cebuano and Boholano in terms of the phonological, syntactical and lexical aspects. The history of Cebu and Bohol showed that the languages from other countries influenced both Cebuano and Boholano. References Campbell, L. (2004). Historical Linguistics: An Introduction. p. 128. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sister_language Shoebottom, P. (2005). A Guide to Learning English. Retrieved July 18, 2006, from http://esl.fis.edu/index-fp.htm Guzman, V. (2001). “Tagalog”. In: “Facts about the World’s Languages: An of the World’s Major Languages, Past and Present”. Edited by Jane Rubino. The H. N. Wilson Company, New York and Dublin. 7037. http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/profile.aspx?langid=98&menu=004

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