Cebuano language encyclopedia topics

Geographic distribution

Cebuano is spoken natively by the inhabitants of Cebu, Bohol, eastern part of Negros island, western parts of Leyte and Biliran islands, southern third of Masbate island and throughout the most of Mindanao. It is also spoken in a few towns and islands in Samar. Until 1975, Cebuano surpassed Tagalog in terms of total number of speakers, but Cebuano has still the most number of native speakers than Tagalog. Migrations from Cebu, Bohol, and Negros Oriental mostly to Mindanao and vice versa increase the Cebuano-speaking population of the Philippines. Some dialects of Cebuano give different names to the language. Residents of Bohol may refer to Cebuano as Bol-anon while Cebuano-speakers in Leyte may call their dialect Kana.

It is also spoken by Warays in Samar and Leyte, Porohanon in Poro, Ilonggos in Negros Oriental, Eskaya in Bohol, and by native (like Atas, Bagobos, Butuanons, Maranaos, and Tausugs) and migrant Filipino ethnic groups (like Ilocanos and Ilonggos), foreign ethnic groups (like Spaniards, Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans), and other peoples in Mindanao as second language. Cebuano is a language with the Verb Subject Object sentence order, in which the first term in the sentence is the term given emphasis. Nouns and adjectives are joined by the nga connector with their order arbitrary as long as the nga connector is in between them.

Sounds

Cebuano has seventeen consonants: p, t, k, ʔ (the glottal stop), b, d, g, m, n, ng, s, h, w, l, r, y, and j (also spelled gy or dy). There are four vowels: i, e, a, and u/o. The vowels u and o are allophones, 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 appears only in few words such as "babaye" (girl/woman), "dayeg" (praise, complement), "parayeg" (loving), and "pangadye" (prayer) and only in last syllables as "E" was mostly an allophone of "I" in final syllables. When Spanish arrived, more words with e has been added with the introduction of loanwords. Accent is also a distinguisher of words, so that dápit means "to invite", 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

Pronouns

Pronouns are inflected in person, number, and case.

The four cases are nominative, preposed genitive, postposed genitive, and oblique.

	Absolutive	Ergative₁ (Postposed)	Ergative₂ (Preposed)	Oblique
1st person singular	ako, ko, (ta only when the object is ka/mo=you)	nako, ko	ako, akoa	kanako, nako
2nd person singular	ikaw, ka	nimo, mo	imo, imoha	kanimo, nimo
3rd person singular	siya	niya	iya, iyaha	kaniya, niya
1st person plural inclusive	kita, ta	nato	ato, atoa	kanato, nato
1st person plural exclusive	kami, mi	namo	amo, amoa	kanamo, namo
2nd person plural	kamo, mo	ninyo	inyo, inyoha	kaninyo, ninyo
3rd person plural	sila	nila	ila, ilaha	kanila, nila

Cebuano, like most other Austronesian languages, makes use of the inclusive and exclusive we. This distinction, not found in most European languages, signifies whether or not the addressee is included in the pronoun "we."

Examples:

Moadto kami sa sinehan.
"We (someone else and I, but not you) will go to the movies."

Moadto kita sa sinehan.
"We (you and I, and perhaps someone else) will go to the movies."

Demonstrative Pronouns

kiri = (English : this, these) for things that are near or touching distance to the speaker but not necessarily near the listener

kini = (English : this, these) for things that are near or touching distance to both the speaker and the listener

kana = (pronounced kanaq, English : that, those) for things that are not of touching distance to the speaker but is near the listener

kadto = (English : that, those) for things that are not of touching distance to the speaker nor near the listener

10 Types of Sentences

1) equational (topic = predicate )

  a) "Mao kini ang Kabisaya-an".             = This is the Visayas.

  b) "Siya si Oscar."                        = He is Oscar.

  c) "Mao na ang amoang balay"               = That is our house.

2) non-equational (topic < predicate )

  a) "Pilipino ang mga Bisaya."              = Visayans are Filipinos.

  b) "Pula ang iyang gisul-ob."              = The one he wears is red. (He is wearing red.)

  c) "Gipalitan ka niya og balay."           = (He buys a house for you.)

3) existential sentence of presence

  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

  a) "Ang mga anghel sa langit adunay Dios." = (The angels in heaven have a God.)

  b) "Aduna koy imnon sa balay."           = (I had wine at home.)

5) locative sentence

  a) "Ania ang kuwarta."                       = Here is the money.

  b) "Toa siya sa bukid."                    = He/She is in the mountain.

6) meteorologic sentence

  a) "Tugnaw dinhi sa Baguio."                = (It is) cold here in Baguio.

  b) "Hilom kaganiha sa plaza."                = (It was) calm in the plaza.

7) exclamatory remark

  a) "Kadaghan man nimo og sakyanan!"        = (Wow! You have a lot of cars.)

  b) "Gwapaha nimo oy!"                      = (You are pretty!)

  c) "Kasaba ba ninyo!"                      = (You are so noisy!)

8) imperatives

  a) "Isugba kanang isda."                 = (Grill that fish.)

  b) "Umari ka."                             = Come here.

9) question

  a) "Kinsa ka?"                             = Who are you?

  b) "Unsa'y imong ngalan?"                = What is your name?

10) confirmation

  a) "Kini ba ang Kabisay-an?"               = Is this the Visayas?

  b) "Pula ba ang iyang gisul-ob?"           = (Does he wear red?)

  c) "Aduna bay Diyos?"                       = (Does God exist?)

  d) "Isugba ba kining isda?"                =  Shall this fish be grilled?

Enclitic Particles

ba: used for yes-and-no questions and optionally for other types of questions.
gyud: politeness word
kay: because
lang: limiting particle; just, only.
man: even, even if, even though, although
na: now, already (past positive tense), anymore (past negative tense)
pa: still, else
ug: and
usab, upod: also

Gyud is sometimes replaced with jud. Na and pa are not used in the same sentence. The "u" in usab and upod are frequently dropped, making it "sab" and "pod"; in spoken Cebuano, "sad" is sometimes used instead of "sab".

Interrogative Words

Unsa? What?

Asa? Where?(for a place or person)

Diin? , Dis-a? Where?

Hain? , Sa-a? Where?(for an object)

Kinsa? Who?

Ngano? Why?

Kang-kinsa? To whom?

Gi-unsa? How?

Kanus-a? When?

Pila ka buok? , Pila? How many?

Tag-pila? How much?

Diay ba? Really?

Vocabulary and borrowed words

Cebuano has long borrowed words from Spanish, such as krus [cruz] (cross), swerte [suerte] (luck), guapa (beautiful), merkado [mercado] (market), and brilyante [brillante] (brilliant). It has several hundred loan words from English as well, which are altered to conform to the limited phonemic inventory of Cebuano: brislit (bracelet), hayskul (high school), syapin (shopping), and drayber (driver). There are also words from other languages like Arabic like salamat (thanks) and Islamic words used in Mindanao like imam, sharif, jihad, and Islam, and Sanskrit mahárlika [mahardikka] (nobility) and karma.

The use of asa and hain

Asa and hain - both mean where - have distinct uses in formal Cebuano writing.

Asa is used when asking about a place. Asa ka padulong? (Where are you going?) Asa ta molarga? (Where are we travelling to?)

Hain is used when asking about a person or thing. Hain na ang gunting? (Where is the pair of scissors?) Hain na si Arsenia? (Where is Arsenia?)

In modern spoken Cebuano, however, asa is commonly used to replace hain. You can rarely hear hain being used (and it is usually spoken by old native Cebuanos).

Words and phrases

Numbers

	Cardinal	Ordinal
1	usà	úna
2	duhà	ika-duhà
3	tulò	ika-tulò
4	upàt	ika-upàt
5	limà	ika-limà
6	unòm	ika-unòm
7	pitò	ika-pitò
8	walò	ika-walò
9	siyàm	ika-siyàm
10	napú'ô/napulo	ika-napú'ô/ika-napulo
11	napú'ô'g usá/napulo'g/napulo ug usá/onse (Spanish words are used for numbers greater than 10)	ika-napú'ô'g usá/ika-napulo'g usá/ika-napulo ug usá/ika-onse
20	kawhaan/bente
30	katlo-an/trenta
100	usa ka gatos/syento
1000	usa ka libo/mil
100,000	usa ka gatos ka libo/syento-mil
500,000	lima ka gatos ka libo/tunga sa milyon/singko-syento-mil
1000000	usa ka milyon

Note: Shorter terms are the one mostly used.

Common expressions

I am Sean. Ako si Sean.
May I ask a question? Mahimo bang mangutana? or Puwede ko mangutana?
How are you? Kumusta ka?
Good. (I am well.) Maayo.
How old are you? Unsay edad nimo?
How much? Pila? or Tag-pila?
How many? Pila?
I don't know. Wala ko kahibalo. or Ambut.
Good day! Maayong adlaw!
Good Morning! Maayong buntag!
Good Noon! Maayong udto!
Good Afternoon! Maayong hapon! or Maayong Palis!
Good Evening! Maayong gabii!
Who are you? Kinsa ka (Informal)
When is Anus-â ang
Where do you live? Asa ka nagpuyô?
Where are you from? Taga-asa ka?
Where are you going? Asa ka paingon?
Where are they going? "Asa sila paingon?"
Where is Asa ang
Where is the bathroom? Asa man ang banyo?
Where is the toilet? Asa man ang kasilyas? or Asa man ang CR? (CR = English "Comfort Room")
Where is the market? Asa man ang merkado?
What Unsa
What's this? Unsa ni?
What's that? Unsa nâ?
What should we do? Unsay among buhaton? or Unsay atong buhaton? or Unsay angay namong buhaton? or Unsay angay natong buhaton
What is your name? Unsay ngalan nimo? Unsay imong ngalan?, or colloquially, Kinsa'y ngalan nimo?
What number of child are you in your family? Ikapila ka sa imong pamilya? (Firstborn, secondborn, etc.; common expression in Cebuano, not English)
I would like to buy that. Gusto ko mopalit anâ.
I would like two of those. Gusto ko ug duha anâ.
Hello, my name is Miguel. Kumusta, Miguel akong ngalan., or colloquially, Ako si Miguel.
Shut up Hilom! or Saba! although "saba" means loud and sometimes people ridicule this word by being louder instead of being silent.
Help Me! Tabangi ko!
Help! Tabang!
Please, help me! "Palihug tabangi ko!" or "Palihug tabangi ako!"
Wait a minute Kadiyot lang or Huwat sâ
What time is it? Unsa nang (namang) orasa?
It's five o'clock Alas singko na
I love you. Gihigugma ko ikaw. or Nahigugma ko nimo. or Gihigugma tika. or Gimahal ko ikaw
Take care. Pag-ayo-ayo! or Pag-amping
Take that! (slang) Usapa 'na! (literally "Chew it!")
Ouch! Agay!
Don't! Ayaw!
Yes Oo
No Dili

Clamor for recognition

The use of Tagalog as a basis for Filipino drew criticism from other Philippine linguistic groups. To some extent, there was active resistance shown against its usage. For instance, the Philippine national anthem is sometimes sung in Cebuano and not in Filipino in the island province of Cebu. This resistance did not threaten the country's national sovereignty.

Historically, Cebu is the first and oldest City in the Philippines. Long before Manila fell into the hands of the Spanish Conquerors in the 16th century, Cebu was already an established trading and military post for the Spaniards.
Linguistically, Cebuano is recently, the country's second most widely used language. During the independence, it was the first largest linguistic group. Cebuano, though originally spoken only in the island of Cebu, is now being spoken in many parts of Mindanao, the eastern part of Negros island, and Bohol.
Strategically, due to its geographical location, Cebu is the alternate gateway to Manila adding significance to its language. Cebuano is the native language of more regions than Tagalog, being the language with the most native speakers in Region VII (Central Visayas), Region IX (Western Mindanao), Region X (Northern Mindanao), Region XI (Davao Region), Caraga Region, and Region XII (Southern Mindanao), and lingua franca speakers in latter 5 regions and even Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). There are also significant number of speakers in Region VI (Western Visayas, mostly in San Carlos City and neighboring areas) and Region VIII (Eastern Visayas, mostly in western Leyte and Southern Leyte). By comparison, Tagalog is the language of the majority in the NCR, Region IV-A, Region IV-B, and Region III (Central Luzon, where Kapampangan and Ilocano also dominate some areas).