Cebuano Phonetics and Orthography1 Exordium
i CEBUANO PHONETICS AND ORTHOGRAPHY1 EXORDIUM The Cebuano language, also known as Sinugbuanon, is one of the major languages in the Philippines. It is spoken by more than 20,000,000 people,2 not only Cebu, but in Bohol, Negros Oriental, western parts of Leyte, some areas in Samar, Negros Occidental, Palawan, Biliran islands, southern part of Masbate, and in the regions of Mindanao as well. Though classified as dialect of the Bisayan or Visayan Language (also called Binisaya) along with Hiligaynon and Waray languages, but it is spoken nationwide and heard otherwhere. Cebuano belongs to the Western or Indonesian subgroup of the Austronesian family of languages, formerly known as the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages, one of the world’s largest language groups. Its derivation is from Cebu or Sugbu. Sugbu means "to wade" through the waters in the bayou or "suba." It is said that the early settlers in Cebu lived near the bayou and were known as "Taga-Suba" or "Suban-on"; hence, the name Sugbuanon. Sinugbuanon refers to the language; Sugbuanon adverts to its native or inhabitant. Both are alluded to as Cebuano. ALPHABET During the pre-Hispanic colonization, the Cebuano language had only three vowels, namely: a, i, and u.3 With the adoption of some Spanish, English, and other foreign words, it expanded to five to include e and o.4 In current usance, there are five (5) vowels: a, e, i, o, and u along with fifteen (15) consonants: b, k, d, g, h, l, m, n, ng, p, r, s, t, w, and y.
[Show full text]