MAGKAMAY-ONG: AN ANALYSIS OF BUTUANON AND

FILIPINO LANGUAGE COGNATES

Fe S. Bermiso Philippine Normal University-Agusan

ABSTRACT

Butuanon is an Austronesian language spoken by some native

speakers in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and some parts

of Misamis Oriental and Surigao del Norte, in the island of Mindanao,

Philippines. This paper examines the Butuanon and the Filipino languages.

Through the collected Butuanon oral literature, the cognates of Butuanon

and Filipino languages are analyzed and compared.

Specifically, this paper seeks to: 1) describe the sociolinguistic

background of the Butuanon language through their oral literature genres

namely, folktales, legends, folk narratives, poetry, songs, ballads, proverbs,

sayings, riddles and beliefs; 2) analyze the cognates of Butuanon and Filipino

languages; 3) identify the principles that underpinned the formation of the

cognates of Butuanon and Filipino languages; 4) discuss the similarities and

differences of some linguistic items of Butuanon and Filipino languages.

Moreover, the descriptive-comparative method of analyzing the

morphological system of the cognates of the Butuanon and Filipino

languages is used in the study.

The outcome of the study reveals that Butuanon language shows

similarities with the Filipino language, and at the same time proves its

distinct characteristics.

Keywords: Magkamay-ong, Analysis, Butuanon, Filipino Language, Cognates

INTRODUCTION

This study basically gave emphasis on the analysis of the pagkamay-

ong or similarity of Butuanon ( one of the languages of Mindanao, Butuan

City in particular) and Filipino ( the national language of the Philippines). It

proved that there is mutual intelligibility of languages as explained in

wikipedia.org/mutual_intelligibilty that even if there are proofs that

languages are different in general between or among them but the fact

remains that there is/are aspect/s of them that are linguistically the same

which could be understood by people who are speaking two or more

different languages.

This study further illustrated the comparison of Butuan and Filipino

cognates to justify that other languages in the Philippines are the results of

continuous interactions of the people from one place to another. These

interactions paved the way to unity and acceptance or perhaps deviation

which is proposed by the Theory of Accommodation. Thus, these people of

a particular group able to formulate their own language based on their

needs as a speech community. This is proven on the analysis of the

different cognates of Butuanon and Filipino words based on the gathered

and translated oral literature of Butuanon language.

Magracia (2010) explained in her paper, Basic Theory of Language

Varieties and Variation, that the geographical dimension or the location

causes the variation of languages. The various languages in the Philippines

can be attributed to its geographical construct, its being an archipelago.

People may go from one island to another for various purposes that they

may leave right away or stay on that place for a long time. He may become

an influence of a new vocabulary of the people in the certain group or he

have been influenced by the people in that new place which in turn will

result to converging of the two languages, his and the language of the

people that he will continually be in contact with.

Behind the development that each language attained over time, the

fact remains that the Philippine languages has similarities in some linguistic

items, such as in phonology, morphology , syntax and semantics.

Moreover, to better understand and appreciate the relationship of

the languages in the Philippines, is to assess whether and in what way the

languages are magkamay-ong (similar and different). The researcher

believes that the clear understanding of the similarities and differences

among languages can bring about ways in cultivating and elaborating the

Filipino language. It is firmly believed that if the cognates from different

languages will be recognized, be part of the vocabulary of the national

language, the more enhanced and elaborated national language will

become.

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the cognates of Butuanon and the

Filipino languages through the collected Butuanon oral literature.

Specifically, this paper seeks to:

1) describe the sociolinguistic background of the Butuanon language

through their oral literature genres namely, folktales: legends, folk

narratives; poetry, folk love songs, ballads, proverbs, sayings , riddles,

and superstitious beliefs;

2) analyze the cognates of Butuanon and Filipino languages;

3) identify the principles that underpinned the formation of the cognates of

Butuanon and Filipino languages; and

4) discuss the similarities and differences of some linguistic items of

Butuanon and Filipino languages.

METHODOLOGY

The descriptive-comparative method of analyzing the morphological

system of the cognates of the Butuanon and Filipino languages is used in the

study.

To carry out the purposes of the study, the oral literature of

Butuanon where collected, translated to Filipino and analyzed.

The One Hundred Four (104) Butuanon oral literature collected

were composed of seven (7) legends or alamat, nine (9) folk narratives or

salaysayin, four (4) folk poetry or tugmang bayan; two (2)folk love songs or

kundiman, three (3) ballads or awiting pasalaysay; four (4) sayings

(kasabihan); Forty-two (42) proverbs or salawikain; thirty (30) riddles or

bugtong; and three (3) superstitious beliefs or pamahiin.

The following were done in the data gathering stage:

a) The collected oral literature were grouped according to genre such

as: legends, folk narratives, folk poetry, folk love songs, ballads,

proverbs, sayings ,riddles and superstitious beliefs;

b) Each piece of oral literature were translated to Filipino.

c) The cognates in Butuanon and Filipino were analyzed by writing the

original oral literature side by side with its translation in Filipino

after which the cognates that are found in both the Butuanon oral

literature and its translation in Filipino were compared marked

based on their spelling and meaning.

d) The marked cognates were placed in another table for a better view

for analysis.

e) The marked cognates were arranged according to part of speech

each cognate belongs.

f) The principles that underpinned the formation of the cognates in

Butuanon and Filipino languages were analyzed; and

g) The similarities and differences of the formation of the cognates of

Butuanon and Filipino language were noted.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Sociolinguistic Background of Butuanon Language

Butuanon is an Austronesian language spoken by some native

speakers in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and some parts

of Misamis Oriental and Surigao del Norte, in the island of Mindanao,

Philippines.

The language Butuanon is a variety of the Cebuano language that

sprouted due to the social (sosyolek) and geographical (dayalek) factors. It is

continuously developed along its continued contact with other speech

community coming from the different places in the Visayas and some parts

of Mindanao as the people from the aforementioned areas are moving to

find a new way of living in the place called Butuan.

Butuan is near the sea so it is very accessible through land, water

and even air transportation making Butuan a favorite destination for

migration .

The constant interaction of native speakers of the Butuanon

language with the different native speakers of other languages are the

major factors in the birth and development of Butuanon Language.

Rousseau (1950) , mentioned by Constatino (2002) in his paper titled

“Variety and Variation of Languages: History, Theory and Practice;

explained that people in society undergo the integration and interaction or

interaction and interdependence along with the growing and expanding

society. This processes resulted to the various ideas and activities of the

people, who become specialized in their work and duties. In other words,

the variation of the languages in the country is a natural process. This is

brought about by the development of human civilization which come along

constantly with the diverse and rich language. The Filipino and other

Languges in the Philippines like Butuanon are not exceptions to this

process. The languages in the Philippines came from one family, it grow,

spread, disintegrate, and vary over time.

The exposure of a native speaker of Butuanon Language to

Cebuano and Ilonggo speakers has had an influence on some linguistic

items of Butuanon Language, specifically the phonological and

morphological items. It can be noted that the word 'gid' in Ilonggo is also

found in Butuanon. It means in one time or another, Ilonggo influences the

native speaker of Butuanon and therefore some of the words frequently

uttered is adapted . It can be noted further that the words in Butuanon are

similar to the Ilonggo and Cebuano languages in some linguistic items

specifically in pronunciation of morphemes. It is usual in Butuanon to delete

some phoneme in a word and to replace the deleted phoneme with a

prolonged or extended pronunciation of the phonemes left.

The Cognates of Butuanon and Filipino Language

What are cognate words ?

Cognates are words that are related in origin, as certain words in

genetically related languages descended or derived from the same ancestral

root.

In the study, the cognates in Butuanon and Filipino languages,

based on Butuanon Oral literatures, are found to be: True Cognates; Semi

Cognates and False Cognates.

A true cognate is a word that looks the same in two or more

languages and has the same meaning probably because they share a

common origin . The semi-cognate are words from two or more languages

that don’t look exactly the same but have the same meaning. While False

Cognates (falsos amigos by Dr. Carlos D. Coton website ) are words from

two or more languages which look similar but different in meaning.

The cognates of Butuanon and Filipino found in the study are

further grouped into two general categories, such as: Native (originated in

Philippine Languages) and Borrowed/Assimilated (words from Spanish and

English).

The TRUE COGNATES in the NATIVE Butuanon and Filipino are:

PANGNGALAN (NOUN) which may be::

a) name of objects ( abstract or concrete) like :

alimango (crab) bakat (big basket)

bala (bullet) basbas (blessing)

baso (glass) bato (stone)

bayabas (guava) bituka (intestine)

bunga (fruit) buwan (moon)

dahon (leaf) haligi (pillar)

isda (fish) itlog (egg)

kahoy (tree) kapalaran (destiny)

karangalan (honor) kawayan (bamboo)

kayamanan (wealth) kuko (nail)

lana (oil) lubid (rope)

luha (tear) mangga (mango)

mata (eyes) nipa (palm)

niyog (coconut) panahon (weather)

patay (dead) saging (banana)

sandok (ladle) sanga (branch)

tanim (plant) tubig (water)

tulay (bridge) utang (debt)

b) name of person:

anak (child) ama (father)

asawa (wife) bata (child)

datu (tribal chief) ina (mother)

lolo (grandfather) Diana (Diana)

Nene (Nene) Dodong (Dodong).

c) name of place :

bukid (field) dagat (sea)

PANGHALIP PANAO (PERSONAL PRONOUN) :

ako (I) ikaw (you)

kami (we) ka (you)

ko (I) mo (you)

niya (she/he) sila (they)

siya (she/he)

PANDIWA (VERB ) . Based on the data, there are only few verbs that are

true cognates of Butuanon and Filipino languages. These are the

pandiwang pawatas (base form of verb or infinitives ): ibalik

(unstressed) or return and the verb matapos (finish) . These are proofs

that due to the varied ways of doing things among the speech

communities they would also have different ways of calling their

activities, thus, few true cognates in Butuanon and Filipino in their

verbs.

PANG-URI (ADJECTIVES) which are ordinal number. Only one ordinal

number found to be a true cognates in Butuanon and Filipino: it’s “una”

(first) or “una nga” ( the first) which in Filipino is written as “una” +

ng (ligature) which when written together becomes “unang”. It can be

noted that the ligature in Butuanon is not attached to the word being

modified rather it is always a separate word as as in “una nga”.

PANG-ABAY (ADVERB) which are:

a) enclitics, such as:

ba (do) na (that) pa (more)

b) pang-abay na panggaano (adverbs of degree or quantity) such as :

kulang (lacking) sobra ( so much)

c) pang-abay na pamaraan (adverb of manner) like:

madali (right away)

PANTUKOY (ARTICLE) which may be used with:

a) pangngalang pambalana (common noun) (singular or plural in

number) such as :

mga (the) ang mga (the)

b) pangngalang pantangi (proper noun-singular) such as :

“ni” (of)

It can be noted that the articles used for plural nouns in

Filipino such as “sina (of) and nina (by)” are not used as marker of

plural nouns in Butuanon. Instead of “sina”(of), “sila” (they) is used

and instead of “nina” (by) , “nila” (them) is used . It can be noted that

sila (they) and nila (them) are pronouns.

zxxPANG-UKOL (PREPOSITIONS) which are abstract words that have no

concrete meaning such as show the relationships between groups of

words in the sentence : sa (in), para (for) , para kay (for) at para sa (for).

Example : “panginabuhian para matapos (ikinabubuhay para matapos)

PANG-ANGKOP (Ligatures), based on the data it was noted that there’s no

ligatures that are true cognates in Butuanon and Filipino.

PANGATNIG (Conjunction) : No conjunctions which are true cognates in

Butuanon and Filipino.

The TRUE COGNATES of the ASSIMILATED/ BORROWED WORDS of

Butuanon and Filipino

The true cognates found in the oral literature of Butuanon which are

assimilated/borrowed from English and Spanish are as follows:

1) Assimilated from English such as :

tribu (tribe) ranggo (rank)

tigre (tiger)

2) From Spanish are :

ambisyoso [adjective ] (ambisioso)

bintana [noun] (vintana)

botelya [noun] (botella)

Katoliko [noun] (Catolico)

korona [noun] (corona)

Kristiano [noun] (Cristiano)

kusina [noun] (cosina)

impeyerno [noun] (impierno)

impluwensiya (noun) (imfluencia)

ispiritu [noun] (spiritu)

libro [noun] (libro)

mensahe [noun] (mensaje)

prinsesa [noun] (princesa)

rosaryo [ noun] (rosario)

tabako [noun] (tobaco)

trabaho [noun] (trabajo)

The true cognates in Butuanon and Filipino which are borrowed

from English and Spanish are but a real proof that Butuanon and Filipino,

like other languages in the world are alive and dynamic as they continue

growing and developing through constant interaction and interdependence

of the speech communities thus convergence among languages are

happening .

It can be deduced from the data that there are lots of cognates

that are assimilated from Spanish language than in English because of the

length of time the country is under the regime of the Spaniards compared

to the number of years that the country is under the Americans. It can’t be

denied that within the span of time of continued contact with the speaking

community due to their social and cultural functions, converging took place,

thus assimilating / borrowing happened. It can be noted further that the

assimilated/ borrowed words may only differs in spelling and few other

linguistic item like the utterances or tones become part of the vocabulary of

the language

The Semi-Cognates of Butuanon and Filipino.

The following are the semi-cognates of Butuanon and Filipino

language from the oral literature of the Butuanons. These cognates are

native or likas na Butuanon at Filipino, as follows:

1) PANGNGALAN ( Noun) such as :

adlaw (araw) [day]

bay (bahay) [house]

bituon (bituin) [star]

buaya nga (buwayang) [crocodile]

dan (daan) [way]

has (ahas) [snake]

inahan (ina) [mother]

kalibutan (sanlibutan) [earth]

kugita (pugita) [ octopus]

ngan (ngalan) [name]

pad (palad) [palm]

pilok hong mata (pilik-mata) [eyelashes]

sudlay (suklay) [comb]

tanum (tanim) [plant]

u (ulo) [head]

wa (kaliwa) [left]

nangka (langka) [jackfruit]

kudkudan (kudkuran) [shred]

kabo (tabo) [dipper]

tingog (tinig) [voice]

uwan (ulan) [rain]

It can be noted that the semi-cognates in Butuanon differ

on in Filipino with the following :

a. KALTAS GITNA (Midial Deletion): Some letters or phonemes are

deleted from the middle of the word. One or two phonemes are

deleted and this deletion is substituted by lengthening the

pronunciation of the vowel being retained , such as:

Halimbawa:

dan from daan (way)

bay from bahay (hause)

ngan from ngalan (name)

pad from palad (palm)

pangan from pangalan (name)

buaya from buwaya (crocodile)

b. KALTAS HULI (Final Deletion) : Shortened form by deleting the last

syllable of the word The deleted final phonemes are replaced with a

lengthened utterance of the vowel.

Example :

u for ulo (head)

c. KALTAS UNA (Initial Deletion): Shortened form by deleting some

phonemes leaving the last KP (Consonant-Vowel) phoneme or KPK

(Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) phoneme . The deleted phoneme is

replaced with a lengthened utterance of the remaining vowel.

Example:

wa for kaliwa (left)

has for ahas(snake)

d. DAGDAG-PALIT (Addition/Substitution): A phoneme is deleted and

substituted with another phoneme and another phoneme is still.

Example:

adlaw for araw (day) ( /d/ instead of /r / plus /l/)

e. PALIT-GITNA (Central Substitution): One phoneme in the central

position is substituted with another phoneme.

Example:

pilok for pilik [eyelashes] ( /o/ instead of /i/

bituon for bituin [star] (/o/ instead of /i/

uwan for ulan [rain] (/w/ instead /l/

sudlay for suklay [comb](/d/ instead of /k/)

kudkudan for kudkuran [shred] (/d/ para sa /r/

f. PALIT-UNA (Initial Substitution) : The phoneme at the initial position

is substituted with another phoneme.

Example :

kugita for pugita [octupos] [ (/k/ instead /p/)

nangka for langka [jackfruit](/n/ instead /l/)

kabo for tabo[deeper] (/k/ instead /t/)

g. PALIT-UNLAPI (Prefix substitution) : The prefix of Filipino is

substituted with different prefix in Butuanon.

Example : kalibutan for sanlibutan (earth) ( /ka-/ for /sa-/)

h. PALIT-GITDOBLE ( Central Double Substitution) : Two phonemes at

the central position are substituted with two (2) phonemes.

Example:

tingog for tinig(voice) (/ng/ instead of /n/ at /o/

instead /i/)

2. PANGHALIP (Pronoun) such as:

a) panghalip panaklaw ( indefinite pronoun): “iban” (iba) [others] ,

“usa-usa” (isa-isa) [each]

b) panghalip pamatlig (demonstrative pronoun): “iton” (ito) [it],

“idto” (dito)[here]

c) panghalip pananong (interrogative pronoun): “uno” (ano)[what]

d) panghalip panao (personal pronoun) : “ila” (kanila) [them], “iya”

(kaniya) [his], “namo” (namin)[ours], “ako” (akin)[mine], “imo”

(iyo)[yours], “ko” (ako) [I], “imo nga (iyong)[ it’s yours] , “akong or

ako nga” (aking) (mine], and “ila nga or ilang” (kanilang)[theirs].

It can be deduced from the SEMI COGNATES of the words from

Butuanon and Filipino that following morphological changes took place,

such as:

a) DAGDAG –HULI (Final Addition): A phoneme is added at the final

position of the word in Butuanon.

Example:

iban for iba (others)

iton for ito (it)

b) PALIT-UNA (Initial Substitution): A phoneme at the initial position is

substituted with another phoneme in the Butuanon word.

Example:

usa-usa for isa-isa (each)

uno for ano (what)

c) PALIT-GITNA (Midial Substitution): A phoneme at the midial position

is substituted with another phoneme in Butuanon.

Example:

imo for iyo (yours)

akon for akin (mine)

amon for amin (ours)

d) KALTAS-UNA (Initial Deletion): The phonemes in the beginning of

the word is deleted in Butuanon words.

Example:

ila for kanila (ilang instead of kanilang) [theirs]

iya for kaniya (iyang instead kaniyang) his]

e) PALIT GITNA-KALTAS HULI (Midial Substitution-Final Deletion): The

pronouns in Butuanon substitutes the middle sound and deletes the

final sound .

Example:

ako for akin (mine) namo for namin (ours)

f) PALIT-POSISYON O METATESIS (Metathesis) : The Butuanon

pronouns are formed by changing the position of two phonemes in a

syllable.

Example:

idto for dito (here)

3. PANDIWA (Verbs) such as :

(a)IMPERPEKTIBO (present tense) :

migabaha (bumabaha) [flooding]

migaulan (umuulan) [raining]

migasakay (sumasakay) [riding]

migapaligo (naliligo) [bathing]

pigatagu- an (itinatago) [hiding]

migauwahi (nahuhuli) [come late]

migauna (nauuna) [come ahead]

migatudlo (nagtuturo) [teaching]

mipusa (napisa) [cracking]

magkita (nagkikita) [seeing]

migadaro (nag-aararo) [plowing]

(b)PERPEKTIBO ( past tense) :

miluto ( naluto) (cooked)

mibalik (bumalik) [came back]

mi-ulanan (naulanan) [rained]

mipatay (namatay) [died]

pigapalayas (pinalayas) [driven away]

mikakita (nakita) [seen]

migaplano (nagplano) [ plan]

igatawag (tinawag) [called]

mimutol (pumutol) [ cut]

migatrabaho (nagtrabaho) [worked]

miuli (umuwi) [came home]

pakasakit (nagkasakit) [was sick/indisposed ]

mikasa (nagkasala) [sinned]

mipanaog (nanaog) [scended]

milayas (lumayas) [ran away]

(c) KONTEMPLATIBO (future tense):

ipakasal (ipapakasal) [to wed]

mangasawa (mag-aasawa) [to marry]

mamunga (mamumunga) [will bear fruit]

magkakita (magkikita) [will see]

d)PAWATAS (infinitives):

makit-an (makita) [see]

gapabunyag (magpabinyag) [baptize]

itanom (itanim) [plant]

motrabaho (magtrabaho) [work]

magpaligo (maligo) [bathe]

magapangahoy (mangahoy) [gather firewood]

makaon (makain) [edible)

makakuwa (makakuha) [get]

pilion (piliin) [choose]

muputak (pumutak) [crow]

magdag (magdala) [bring]

ilubong (ilibing) [bury]

pahidan (pahiran) [wipe]

malipatan (malimutan) [forget]

masakyan (masasakyan) [ride]

From the listed SEMI-COGNATES in Butuanon and Filipino, the

following MORPHOLOGICAL DIFFERENCE especially in their AFFIXES are

noted such as:

a) miga- / mi- / for –um/-um- (the affixes which denotes ordinary

actions such as impersonal actions.)

Examples:

migabaha (bumabaha) [flooding]

migaulan (umuulan) [flooding]

migasakay (sumasakay) [riding]

mibalik (bumalik) [came back]

miuli (umuwi) [came home]

mimutol (pumutol) [cut]

milayas (lumayas) [run away]

Based on the noted examples, it can be deduced that affixes in

Butuanon which is equivalent to um-/-um in Filipino is mi- if past tense

and miga- miga for present tense.

b) miga-/ mi-~an/ ma-/ maka-/mag- for ma- /na-~ -an (prefixes which

focus is the actor of the verb and which denotes the capacity to

perform the action in the root word)

Example:

migapaligo (naliligo) [taking a bath]

migauna (nauuna) [come ahead]

migauwahi (nahuhuli) [came late]

miluto ( naluto) [cooked]

mikakita (nakita) [seen]

mi-ulanan (naulanan) [rained]

mipusa (napisa) [cracked]

mamunga (mamumunga) [bear fruit]

masakayan (masasakyan) [ride]

malipatan (malimutan) [forgot]

makakuwa (makakuha) [get]

makaon (makain) [edible]

magpaligo (maligo) [bathe]

magdag (magdala) [bring]

From the examples listed, it can be noted that the affixes used for

ma- in Filipino is mi- when perpektibo or past tense, miga- when

imperpektibo or present tense and ma- for kontemplatibo or future tense,

ma- or mag- for infinitives.

c) miga- /mi-/mo- instead of mag-/nag- ( an affix which denotes

repeated action)

Example:

migatudlo (nagtuturo) [teach]

migadaro (nag-aararo) [plow

migaplano (nagpaplano) [plan]

mikasa (nagkasala) [sin]

motrabaho (magtatrabaho) [work]

It is clear in the examples that the affixes of verbs in Butuanon

language that for mag- of Filipino , miga- is used with verbs in the present

tense, mi- for past tense, and mo- for future tense.

d) piga- / gi-/-on instead of –in- / -an ( the affix which focus is the

object and which focus is the direction of the action)

Example:

pigatawag (tinawag) [called] (object focus)

pigatagu-an (pinagtaguan) [hiding] ( directional focus)

It is shown in the listed examples, that instead of –in-/ -an affixes in

Filipino infinitives , Butuanon uses piga- / -an.

e) mang- / magka- instead of mag- ( which idea of the verb means

someone has a profession or something has something to do.)

Example:

mangasawa (mag-aasawa) [to marry]

magkakita (magkikita) [to meet]

The mang-/magka- affixes of Butuanon is used for mag- prefix of

Filipino which rootwords means one has a profession or has something to

do.

f) magapa- instead of mang-( these affixes are used for the actor verb

focus which further denotes that the action will be done by a group)

Example:

magapangahoy (mangahoy) [gather firewood]

The listed SEMI-COGNATES listed shows that the mang- affixes of

Filipino is magapa- in Butuanon which means the verb is in the actor focus

and that the action will be done by many or by a group.

g) i-/ ipa- instead of i-/ipa- (this prefix is in the object focus which

further denotes that others will be asked to do the action.)

Example:

ipakasal (ipapakasal) [to wed]

ilubong (ilibing) [bury]

itanom (itanim) [plant]

Butuanon and Filipino both uses i-/ipa- affixes for the verbs which

are of object focus which denotes that a certain action is to be done by the

others. However, the Butuanon differ from Filipino in this aspect as it is

unusual for Butuanon to repeat the same syllable in a word which is normal

in when Filipino words denote something to be done by others.

h) gapa- / magpa- instead of magpa- ( an affix which is in the actor

focus and that the action will be done by someone else.)

Example:

gapabunyag (magpabinyag) [baptize]

The affix gapa- of Butuanon for Filipino magpa- affix means that

someone else will be asked to do the action specified in the root word.

i) –on instead of –in ( an affix which is in the directional focus)

Example:

pilion (piliin) [choose]

It can be noted that only few words in Butuanon that has affixes at

the end of the word. In the study only –on affix instead of –in of Filipino is

found.

It can also be noted that no affixes in Butuanon words that are

affixed at the middle of the word unlike the some of Filipino words. The

affixes in Butuanon are usually found at the beginning of the word.

4) PANG-URI (Adjective) which are :

a) palarawan ( descriptive) such as: baho (mabaho) [foul], buhi

(buhay)[alive], sakit gid (sobrang sakit)[too painful] , tam-is

(matamis)[sweet] , baho gid (napakabaho) [very bad odor);

b) pamilang (count):

usa (isa) [one]

duha (dalawa) [two]

duha nga (dalawang) (two]

usa nga (isang) [one]

upat (apat) [four]

una nga (unang) [first]

It can be deduced from the listed SEMI –COGNATE adjectives of

Butuanon and Filipino that the Butuanon undergo the following process on

its way to be different from Filipino and yet still have the same meaning:

a) A root word is used to describe a noun while Filipino adjectives have

affixes

tam-is (matamis) [sweet]

baho (mabaho) [foul]

b) Using the enclitics GID to show the superlative degree while in Filipino

it is usually an affix that will show the degree of comparison.

Example:

sakit gid (sobrang sakit) [too painful]

baho gid ( napakabaho) [very bad odor]

c) Like the usual Cebuano words, Butuanon has also the characteristic of

being “hard” and lengthened utterances of the a certain syllable in

a word.

Example:

buhi /bu.hi?/ (buhay) [alive]

d) It can also be deduced from the data that although the Butuanon and

Filipino sprouted from the same root, the Cebuano language has

more influence in Butuanon. It can be noted that Butuanon, like the

Cebuano language has /i/ , /u/ and /a/ vowel sounds.

Examples:

usa (isa) duha (dalawa) upat (apat) buhi ( buhay)

e) The adjectives of Butuanon are not usually affixed with a ligature,

instead the ligature is always a separate word.

Example :

usa nga ( isang) [one]

una nga (unang) [first]

5) PANG-ABAY (Adverbs) which are semi –cognate in Butuanon and

Filipino are the following:

a) pananggi (negation) :

wa (wala) [none]

di (hindi) [not]

miwa na (wala na) [nothing]

b) kataga/inklitik (enclitics) :

lang (lamang) [only]

pa gid (pang) [still]

c) pamanahon (adverb of time) :

adlaw (araw) [day]

adtong (noong) [when]

gabii (gabi) [evening]

Based on the data, it was found that:

a) The semi-cognate adverbs in Butuanon and Filipino can be adverb of

negation , enclitics and adverb of time.

b) It is usual for the Butuanon to shorten the words by deletion and

replaced the deleted phoneme with length, such as: lang ( lamang)

[only] , di (hindi) [not], at wa (wala) [none].

c) The enclitics “gid” shows that it can also be used as modifier of

another adverb, such as: wa gid (walang) which means, nothing.

d) There are Butuanon words that are longer than it’s equivalent in

Filipino , such as: gabii (gabi) or evening.

e) The phoneme /ng/ which is one of the strong phoneme in Filipino can

only be seen at the initial and final position of the Butuanon words,

such as : adtong (noong) or when –final position and ngoho

(ngongo) or clipped – initial position.

5) PANG-ANGKOP (Ligature) which connects the modifier to the word it

modifies, such as “nga” instead of “ng” and “na” of Filipino.

Example:

buaya nga instead of buayang

ikaw nga buotan instead of ikaw na mabait

magtiayon nga pobre instead of mag-asawang mahirap

It can be noted that the ligature “nga” is not affixed to the modified

word or to the modifier, instead, it is always a separate word. When the

ligature is affixed to the word modified or to the modifier , the /a/ in nga is

usually deleted , such as: instead of ako nga it will be akong (aking); amo

nga it becomes among (aming).

6. PANGATNIG (Conjunctions) : The only semi-cognate conjunction of

Butuanon listed in this study is “kun” instead of “kung” of Filipino

Based on the data gathered, there no PANG-UKOL (Preposition)

and PANTUKOY (Articles) that are SEMI-COGNATES in Butuanon and

Filipino.

The FALSE COGNATES IN BUTUANON AND FILIPINO LANGUAGE

There were only two (2) of words that are found to be false

cognates in Butuanon ang Filipino . These are :

1) migalibang (maglibang) [ crosses] (homograph)

The word migalibang of Butuanon which means “crosses” is taken

from the folk tale titled “LIBANG CREEK” which tells about a body of water

that crosses the road. The word maglibang on the other hand means

“to recreate” in Filipino .

2)sapa / sapa?/ para sa sapa / sa.pa?/ (homonym)

The sapa / sapa?/ of Butuanon means ilog or RIVER or a large

natural stream of water emptying into an ocean, lake, or other body of

water and usually fed along it’s course by converging tributaries while the

sapa / sa.pa?/ of Filipino means batis or CREEK which is a stream of water

smaller than a river.

CONCLUSION

Based on the data gathered in this study, the following are

concluded:

1. The similarity of Butuanon and Filipino is brought about by

migration.

2. The oral literature of the people of Butuan is a rich source to depict

its culture, activities and language – the tool to relate oneself as

part of the community.

3. Aside from the fact that most Butuanon words derived from

Cebuano language because most of the inhabitants are coming from

Cebu and other parts of Visayas, Butuanon language has its own

characteristics/features on the way the words are pronounced.

4. Many Butuanon words that are uttered in prolonged manner like

“bay” instead of balay ( house); “ngan” instead of ngalan (name and

the like. This is to confirm the theory that each language has its own

intelligence and capacity to form its own corpus and steps on how

it is used and be understood by the member of the speech

community.

5. Only very few verbs that are true cognates in Butuanon and Filipino.

This will only prove that the differences in work or activities of the

people in the community as well as its geographical location paved

the way to different terms used by the people in addressing its

action and movements.

6. Butuanon and Filipino have different articles as suggested in the

use of “sila”.

7. The presence of true cognates both in Filipino and Butuanon

languages, which are borrowed from English and Spanish languages

are proofs that these languages are alive and continuously used and

widespread as a result of acceptance and adaptation , as one

interacts from each other from one place to another.

8. Based on the data gathered, it is obvious that many words

borrowed from Spanish become pure cognates both in Butuanon

and Filipino. This is the effect of hundreds of years Spaniards

stayed in the Philippines. Thus, there is intermarriage of native

languages and that of Spaniards’ in establishing relationships.

9. The borrowed words are considered as part of Filipino vocabulary,

even if they have other forms in spelling as mandated in its own

alphabet.

10. As shown in the list of semi cognates in Butuanon and Filipino, they

differ of their affixes. Further, it’s not usual of Butuanon to repeat a

syllable in a word unlike in many words in Filipino.

11. The adverbs in Butuanon are usually shortened. Moreover, the

article “gid” which is inserted between adverbs connotes over

emphasis of the adverb used.

12. The ligature “ nga” is not usually attached to the root word in

Butuanon. If it is conjugated, the last phoneme is removed.

13. Only very few function words that are true cognates in Butuanon

and Filipino. It simply shows that Butuanon variety has the capacity

to form its own words sufficient to the needs of Butuanon as a

speech community.

RECOMMENDATION

In the light of the findings and its implications, the following are

recommended:

1. Further studies on the Filipino languages and its dialects so that the

identity of the group of people can be well understood through the

variety of language the speech community is using.

2. The inclusion of the findings of this study in the teaching of Filipino

language as form of dissemination of the knowledge that can be of

importance in understanding of the Butuanon language and of the

culture of the people using Butuanon .

3. The findings in this study can be one of the bases in making the

orthography of Butuanon Language .

4. The validation of the grammar rules developed in this study to ensure its

accuracy.

5. The present study can be broadened in scope by analyzing not only the

oral but also the written literature to assess the development of the

language through times. `

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Bionote

FE S. BERMISO is an associate professor in Philippine Normal University in Agusan, Poblacion, 8500 Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, fsbermiso@yahoo.com. Her research interest is in regional literature and Filipino Language.