Cebuano (Cebuano on Merriam-Webster.com ), natively called by its generic term Bisaya or Binisaya (both translated into English as ''Visayan'', though this should not be confused with other
Bisayan languages
The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. Mos ...
) and sometimes referred to in English sources as Cebuan ( ), is an Austronesian language spoken in the southern
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
Cebu
Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...
,
Bohol
Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. It ...
,
Siquijor
Siquijor ( , ), officially the Province of Siquijor ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Siquijor; tl, Lalawigan ng Siquijor), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the municipality also named Siquijor ...
, the eastern half of
Negros
Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...
, the western half of
Leyte
Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Since the accessibility of land has be ...
, and the northern coastal areas of
Northern Mindanao
Northern Mindanao ( tl, Hilagang Mindanao; ceb, Amihanang Mindanao; Maranao: ''Pangotaraan Mindanao'') is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region X. It comprises five provinces: Bukidnon, Camiguin, Misamis Occidental, ...
and the
Zamboanga Peninsula
Zamboanga Peninsula ( tl, Tangway ng Zamboanga; cbk, Peninsula de Zamboanga; ceb, Lawis sa Zamboanga) is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region IX. It consists of three provinces (Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibu ...
Camiguin
Camiguin, officially the Province of Camiguin ( ceb, Probinsya sa Camiguin; tl, Lalawigan ng Camiguin; Kamigin: ''Probinsya ta Kamigin''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about off the northern coast of Mi ...
, parts of the
Dinagat Islands
Dinagat Islands ( Cebuano: ''Mga Pulo sa Dinagat''; Surigaonon: ''Mga Puyo nan Dinagat''; Kabalian: ''Mga Puyo san Dinagat''; Waray: ''Mga Purô han Dinagat''; Filipino: ''Mga Islang Dinagat''), officially the Province of Dinagat Islands, is a ...
, and the lowland regions of
Caraga
Caraga, officially the Caraga Administrative Region (or simply known as Caraga Region) and designated as Region XIII, is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines occupying the northeastern section of Mindanao. Th ...
, often displacing native languages in those areas (most of which are closely related to the language).
While Tagalog has the largest number of native speakers among the languages of the Philippines today, Cebuano had the largest native-language-speaking population in the Philippines from the 1950s until about the 1980s. It is by far the most widely spoken of the
Bisayan languages
The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. Mos ...
.
Cebuano is the '' lingua franca'' of the Central Visayas, western parts of Eastern Visayas, some western parts of
Palawan
Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in t ...
and most parts of
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
. The name Cebuano is derived from the island of
Cebu
Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...
, which is the source of Standard Cebuano. Cebuano is also the primary language in Western Leyte — noticeably in
Ormoc
Ormoc (IPA: oɾˈmok, officially the City of Ormoc ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Ormoc; war, Syudad han Ormoc; fil, Lungsod ng Ormoc), is a 1st class independent component city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 ce ...
. Cebuano is assigned the
ISO 639-2
ISO 639- 2:1998, ''Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 2: Alpha-3 code'', is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. The three-letter codes given for ea ...
three-letter code ceb, but not a
ISO 639-1
ISO 639-1:2002, ''Codes for the representation of names of languages—Part 1: Alpha-2 code'', is the first part of the ISO 639 series of international standards for language codes. Part 1 covers the registration of two-letter codes. There are 1 ...
two-letter code.
The
Commission on the Filipino Language
, logo =
, logo_width =
, logo_caption =
, seal = Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF).svg
, seal_width =
, seal_caption =
, formed = 1937 (first formation)1991 (reformed)
, preceding1 ...
, the Philippine government body charged with developing and promoting the national and regional languages of the country, spells the name of the language in Filipino as .
Nomenclature
The term ''Cebuano'' derives from "
Cebu
Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...
"+"'' ano''", a Latinate calque, reflective of the Philippines's Spanish colonial heritage. In common or everyday parlance, especially by those speakers from outside of the island of Cebu and in fact in Cebu the language is more often referred to as ''Bisaya''. ''Bisaya'', however, may become a source of confusion to non-native speakers as many other Bisayan languages may also be referred to as ''Bisaya'' even though they are not mutually intelligible with speakers of what is referred to by linguists as Cebuano. Cebuano in this sense applies to all speakers of vernaculars mutually intelligible with the vernaculars of Cebu island, regardless of origin or location, as well as to the language they speak.
The term ''Cebuano'' has garnered some objections. For example, generations of Cebuano speakers in Leyte, Bohol, and Northern Mindanao (
Dipolog
Dipolog, officially the City of Dipolog ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dipolog; Subanen: ''Gembagel G'benwa Dipuleg/Bagbenwa Dipuleg''; Chavacano: ''Ciudad de Dipolog''; fil, Lungsod ng Dipolog), is a 3rd class component city and capital of the province ...
,
Dapitan
Dapitan, officially the City of Dapitan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dapitan; Subanon: ''Gembagel G'benwa Dapitan/Bagbenwa Dapitan cbk, Ciudad de Dapitan''), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines. According to ...
,
Misamis Occidental
Misamis Occidental ( ceb, Kasadpang Misamis; Subanen: ''Sindepan Mis'samis''; fil, Kanlurang Misamis), officially the Province of Misamis Occidental, is a province located in the region of Northern Mindanao in the Philippines. Its capital is th ...
Butuan
Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Butuan; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; fil, Lungsod ng Butuan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Caraga, Philippines. It is the ''de facto'' c ...
) say that their ancestry traces back to Cebuano speakers native to their place and not from immigrants or settlers from the Visayas. Furthermore, they ethnically refer to themselves as ''Bisaya'' and not Cebuano, and their language as ''Binisaya''.
Classification
Cebuano is an Austronesian language; it is generally classified as one of the five primary branches of the
Bisayan languages
The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. Mos ...
, part of the wider genus of
Philippine languages
The Philippine languages or Philippinic are a proposed group by R. David Paul Zorc (1986) and Robert Blust (1991; 2005; 2019) that include all the languages of the Philippines and northern Sulawesi, Indonesia—except Sama–Bajaw (languag ...
.
Geographical distribution
Cebuano is spoken in the provinces of
Cebu
Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...
,
Bohol
Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. It ...
,
Siquijor
Siquijor ( , ), officially the Province of Siquijor ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Siquijor; tl, Lalawigan ng Siquijor), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the municipality also named Siquijor ...
,
Negros Oriental
Negros Oriental ( ceb, Sidlakang Negros; tl, Silangang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Oriental, is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Dumaguete. It occupies the southeaste ...
, northeastern
Negros Occidental
Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. ...
, (as well as the municipality of
Hinoba-an
Hinoba-an, officially the Municipality of Hinoba-an (formerly ''Asia'' Chan Robles, retrieved 2012), ...
and the cities of
Kabankalan
Kabankalan, officially the City of Kabankalan ( hil, Dakbanwa sang Kabankalan; ceb, Dakbayan sa Kabankalan; fil, Lungsod ng Kabankalan), is a 1st class component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...
and
Sipalay
Sipalay, officially the City of Sipalay ( hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Sipalay; fil, Lungsod ng Sipalay; ceb, Dakbayan sa Sipalay), is a 4th class component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it h ...
Masbate
Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate ( Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; tl, Lalawigan ng Masbate), is an island province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provincial capital is Masbate C ...
, western portions of
Leyte
Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Since the accessibility of land has be ...
and
Biliran
Biliran, officially the Province of Biliran ( Waray-Waray: ''Probinsya han Biliran''; ceb, Lalawigan sa Biliran; tl, Lalawigan ng Biliran), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region (Region VIII). Biliran is ...
(to a great extent, alongside Waray), and a large portion of
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
, notably the urban areas of
Zamboanga Peninsula
Zamboanga Peninsula ( tl, Tangway ng Zamboanga; cbk, Peninsula de Zamboanga; ceb, Lawis sa Zamboanga) is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region IX. It consists of three provinces (Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibu ...
, Cagayan de Oro, Davao Region, Surigao and Cotabato. Some dialects of Cebuano have different names for the language. Cebuano speakers from Cebu are mainly called "Cebuano" while those from Bohol are "Boholano" or "Bol-anon". Cebuano speakers in Leyte identify their dialect as ''Kanâ'' meaning ''that'' (Leyte Cebuano or Leyteño). Speakers in
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
and
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
refer to the language simply as ''Binisaya'' or ''Bisaya''.
History
Cebuano was first documented in a list of vocabulary compiled by
Antonio Pigafetta
Antonio Pigafetta (; – c. 1531) was an Venetian scholar and explorer. He joined the expedition to the Spice Islands led by explorer Ferdinand Magellan under the flag of the emperor Charles V and after Magellan's death in the Philippine Islands, ...
, an Italian explorer who was part of
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the Eas ...
's 1521 expedition. Spanish missionaries started to write in the language during the early 18th century. As a result of the eventual 333-year Spanish colonial period, Cebuano contains many words of Spanish origin.
While there is evidence of a pre-Spanish writing system for the language, its use appears to have been sporadic. Spaniards recorded the Visayan script which was called ''Kudlit-kabadlit'' by the natives.
The language was heavily influenced by the Spanish language during the period of Spanish rule from 1565 to 1898. With the arrival of Spanish colonists, for example, a Latin-based writing system was introduced alongside a number of Spanish loanwords.
Phonology
Vowels
Below is the vowel system of Cebuano with their corresponding letter representation in angular brackets:
* an
open front unrounded vowel
The open front unrounded vowel, or low front unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. It is one of the eight primary cardinal vowels, not directly intended to correspond to a vowel sound of a specific language b ...
similar to English "father"
* an
open-mid front unrounded vowel
The open-mid front unrounded vowel, or low-mid front unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is a Latinised variant of the Greek lower ...
similar to English "bed"
* a
close front unrounded vowel
The close front unrounded vowel, or high front unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound that occurs in most spoken languages, represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet by the symbol i. It is similar to the vowel sound in the English wo ...
similar to English "machine"
* a
close-mid back rounded vowel
The close-mid back rounded vowel, or high-mid back rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is .
Close-mid back protruded vowel
The close ...
similar to English "forty"
* a close back rounded vowel similar to English "flute"
Sometimes, may also be pronounced as the
open-mid back unrounded vowel
The open-mid back unrounded vowel or low-mid back unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , graphically a rotated lowercase "v" (c ...
(as in English "gut"); or as the
near-close near-front unrounded vowel
The near-close front unrounded vowel, or near-high front unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , i.e. a small capital letter ''i ...
(as in English "bit"); and or as the
open-mid back rounded vowel
The open-mid back rounded vowel, or low-mid back rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is . The IPA symbol is a turned letter ''c'' a ...
(as in English "thought") or the
near-close near-back rounded vowel
The near-close near-back rounded vowel, or near-high near-back rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some vocal languages. The IPA symbol that represents this sound is . It is informally called "horseshoe u". Prior to 1989, there was ...
(as in English "hook").
During the precolonial and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
period, Cebuano had only three vowel phonemes: , and . This was later expanded to five vowels with the introduction of Spanish. As a consequence, the vowels or , as well as or , are still mostly
allophone
In phonology, an allophone (; from the Greek , , 'other' and , , 'voice, sound') is a set of multiple possible spoken soundsor '' phones''or signs used to pronounce a single phoneme in a particular language. For example, in English, (as in '' ...
s. They can be freely switched with each other without losing their meaning ( free variation); though it may sound strange to a native listener, depending on their dialect. The vowel has no variations, though it can be pronounced subtly differently, as either or (and very rarely as immediately after the consonant ).
Loanword
A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because t ...
s, however, are usually more conservative in their orthography and pronunciation (e.g. ''dyip'', "
jeepney
Jeepneys (), sometimes called jeeps (), are minibus-like public transportation, public utility vehicles, serving as the most popular means of Transportation in the Philippines, public transportation in the Philippines. They are known for their ...
" from English "jeep", will never be written or spoken as ''dyep'').
Consonants
For Cebuano consonants, all the stops are unaspirated. The
velar nasal
The voiced velar nasal, also known as agma, from the Greek word for 'fragment', is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. It is the sound of ''ng'' in English ''sing'' as well as ''n'' before velar consonants as in ''Englis ...
occurs in all positions, including at the beginning of a word (e.g. ''ngano'', "why"). The glottal stop is most commonly encountered in between two vowels, but can also appear in all positions.
Like in Tagalog, glottal stops are usually not indicated in writing. When indicated, it is commonly written as a
hyphen
The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. ''Son-in-law'' is an example of a hyphenated word. The hyphen is sometimes confused with dashes ( figure ...
or an apostrophe if the glottal stop occurs in the middle of the word (e.g. ''tu-o'' or ''tu'o'', "right"). More formally, when it occurs at the end of the word, it is indicated by a
circumflex accent
The circumflex () is a diacritic in the Latin and Greek scripts that is also used in the written forms of many languages and in various romanization and transcription schemes. It received its English name from la, circumflexus "bent around"a ...
if both a stress and a glottal stop occurs at the final vowel (e.g. ''basâ'', "wet"); or a grave accent if the glottal stop occurs at the final vowel, but the stress occurs at the penultimate syllable (e.g. ''batà'', "child").
Below is a chart of Cebuano consonants with their corresponding letter representation in parentheses:
In certain dialects, may be interchanged with in between vowels and vice versa depending on the following conditions:
*If is in between and /, the vowel succeeding is usually (but not always) dropped (e.g. ''lalom'', "deep", becomes ''lawom'' or ''lawm'').
*If is in between / and , it is the vowel that is preceding that is instead dropped (e.g. ''bulan'', "moon", becomes ''buwan'' or ''bwan'')
*If is in between two like vowels, the may be dropped completely and the vowel lengthened. For example, ''dala'' ("bring"), becomes ''da'' (); and ''tulod'' ("push") becomes ''tud'' (). Except if the l is in between
closed syllables
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered the phonological "bu ...
or is in the beginning of the penultimate syllable; in which case, the is dropped along with one of the vowels, and no lengthening occurs. For example, ''kalatkat'', "climb", becomes ''katkat'' ( not ).
A final can also be replaced with in certain areas in Bohol (e.g. ''tambal'', "medicine", becomes ''tambaw''). In very rare cases in Cebu, may also be replaced with in between the vowels and / (e.g. ''tingali'', "maybe", becomes ''tingayi'').
In some parts of Bohol and Southern Leyte, is also often replaced with when it is in the beginning of a syllable (e.g. ''kalayo'', "fire", becomes ''kalajo''). It can also happen even if the is at the final position of the syllable and the word, but only if it is moved to the initial position by the addition of the affix ''-a''. For example, ''baboy'' ("pig") can not become ''baboj'', but ''baboya'' can become ''baboja.''
All of the above substitutions are considered allophonic and do not change the meaning of the word.
In rarer instances, the consonant might also be replaced with when it is in between two vowels (e.g. Boholano ''ido'' for standard Cebuano ''iro'', "dog"), but and are not considered allophones, though they may have been in the past.
Stress
Stress accent is phonemic, which means that words with different accent placements, such as ''dapít'' (near) and ''dápit'' (place), are considered separate. The stress is predictably on the
penult
Penult is a linguistics term for the second to last syllable of a word. It is an abbreviation of ''penultimate'', which describes the next-to-last item in a series. The penult follows the antepenult and precedes the ultima. For example, the main ...
when the second-to-last syllable is closed (CVC or VC). On the other hand, when the syllable is
open
Open or OPEN may refer to:
Music
* Open (band), Australian pop/rock band
* The Open (band), English indie rock band
* ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969
* ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999
* ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001
* ''Open'' ( ...
(CV or V), the stress can be on either the penultimate or the final syllable (although there are certain grammatical conditions or categories under which the stress is predictable, such as with numbers and pronouns).
Philippine languages
The Philippine languages or Philippinic are a proposed group by R. David Paul Zorc (1986) and Robert Blust (1991; 2005; 2019) that include all the languages of the Philippines and northern Sulawesi, Indonesia—except Sama–Bajaw (languag ...
. Early trade contact resulted in a large number of older loan words from other languages being embedded in Cebuano, like
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
(e.g. , "fight" and , "wealth", from Sanskrit and respectively), and
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
(e.g. , "thanks"; or , "judge").
It has also been influenced by thousands of words from Spanish, such as (, "cross"), (, "luck"), (, "beautiful"), (, "market") and (, "brilliant"). It has several hundred loan words from English as well, which are prescriptively altered to conform to the phonemic inventory of Cebuano: (bracelet), (high school), (shopping), (evacuate), and (driver). However, today, it is more common for Cebuanos to spell out those words in their original English form rather than with spelling that might conform to Cebuano standards.
Phrases
A few common phrases in Cebuano include:
* How are you? (used as a greeting) - ''Kumusta/Kamusta ka?''
* Good morning - ''Maayong buntag''
* Good afternoon (specifically from 12:00 PM to 12:59 PM) - ''Maayong udto''
* Good afternoon (specifically from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM) - ''Maayong palis''
* Good afternoon (specifically from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM) - ''Maayong hapon''
* Good evening - ''Maayong gabii''
* Goodbye
** ''Ari na ko'' ("I'll be here", casual)
** ''Ayo-ayo'' ("Take care", formal)
** ''Adyos'' (rare, from Spanish "adiós")
** ''Babay'' (informal, from English "Bye-bye")
** ''Amping'' ("Take care")
** ''Hangtod sa sunod nga higayon'' ("Until next time")
** ''Adto na ko'' ("I will go now")
* You're so beautiful - ''Gwapa/Maanyag/Matahom kaayo ka''
* Thanks! - ''Salamat''
* Thank you - ''Salamat sa imo''
* Many thanks! - ''Daghang Salamat''
* Thank you very much! - ''Daghan kaayong salamat''
* You're welcome - ''Wala'y sapayan''
* Do not ( imperative) - ''Ayaw''
* Don't know - ''Ambot'' or ''Wala ko kabalo''
* Yes - ''Oo'', ''O''
* Maybe - ''Basin''/''Tingali''
* No
:*''Dili'' - for future verb negation ("will not", "does/do not", "not going to"); and negation of identity, membership, property, relation, or position (" e/she/it/this/thatis not")
:*''Wala'' - for past and progressive verb negation ("have not", "did not"); and to indicate the absence of ("none", "nothing", "not have", "there is not")
* Who? - ''Kinsa?''
* What? - ''Unsa?''
* Where?
** ''Diin?''/''Dis-a?'' - where (past)
** ''Hain?'' - where (present), which
**''Asa?'' - where (future, general)
* Which? - ''Hain?''
* When?
** ''Kanus-a?'' - when (past)
** ''Anus-a?'' - when (future)
* How?
** ''Giunsa?'' - how (past)
** ''Unsaon?'' - how (future)
* Why? - ''Ngano?''
* This/These
** ''Kiri'' - this/these (1st person)
** ''Kini'' - this/these (1st & 2nd person)
* That/Those
** ''Kana'' - that/those (2nd person)
** ''Kadto'' - that/those (3rd person)
Dialects
The de facto Standard Cebuano dialect (sometimes referred to as General Cebuano) is derived from the conservative Sialo vernacular spoken in southeastern Cebu (also known as the Sialo dialect or the Carcar-Dalaguete dialect). It first gained prominence due to its adoption by the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
as the standard for written Cebuano. It retains the intervocalic . In contrast, the Urban Cebuano dialect spoken by people in
Metro Cebu
Metropolitan Cebu, or simply Metro Cebu, ( ceb, Kaulohang Sugbo; fil, Kalakhang Cebu), is the main urban center of the province of Cebu in the Philippines. Metro Cebu is located along the central eastern portion of the island including the ne ...
and surrounding areas is characterized by elision and heavily contracted words and phrases. For example, ''balay'' ("house"), ''dalan'' ("road"), ''kalahâ'' ("pan"), and ''kalayo'' ("fire") in Standard Cebuano can become ''bay'', ''dan'', ''kahâ'', and ''kayo'' in Urban Cebuano respectively, while the phrase ''waláy problema'' ("no problem") in Standard Cebuano can become ''way 'blema'' in Urban Cebuano.
Colloquialisms can also be used to determine the regional origin of the speaker. Cebuano-speaking people from Cagayan de Oro and
Dumaguete
Dumaguete, officially the City of Dumaguete ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dumaguete; fil, Lungsod ng Dumaguete), is a 3rd income class component city and the capital of the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a p ...
, for example, say ''chada'' or ''tsada''/''patsada'' (roughly translated to the English colloquialism "awesome") and people from
Davao City
Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...
say ''atchup'' which also translated to the same English context; meanwhile Cebuanos from Cebu on the other hand say ''nindot'' or, sometimes, ''aníndot''. However, this word is also commonly used in the same context in other Cebuano-speaking regions, in effect making this word not only limited in use to Cebu.
There is no standardized orthography for Cebuano, but spelling in print usually follow the pronunciation of Standard Cebuano, regardless of how it is actually spoken by the speaker. For example, ''baláy'' ("house") is pronounced in Standard Cebuano and is thus spelled "baláy", even in Urban Cebuano where it is actually pronounced .
Cebuano is spoken natively over a large area of the Philippines and thus has numerous regional dialects. It can vary significantly in terms of lexicon and phonology depending on where it is spoken. Increasing usage of spoken English (being the primary language of commerce and education in the Philippines) has also led to the introduction of new pronunciations and spellings of old Cebuano words.
Code-switching
In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. Code-switching is different from plurilingualis ...
forms of English and Bisaya (
Bislish
Bislish is a portmanteau of the words ''Bisaya'' and ''English'', which refers to any of the Visayan languages of the Philippines macaronically infused with English terms. It is an example of code mixing. The earliest use of the term ''Bislis ...
) are also common among the educated younger generations.
There are four main dialectal groups within Cebuano aside from the Standard Cebuano and Urban Cebuano. They are as follows:
Boholano
The
Boholano dialect
Boholano ( ceb, Binol-anon) is a variant of the Cebuano language spoken in the island province of Bohol in the Visayas and a major portion of Southern Leyte, as well as parts of Mindanao, particularly in Northern Mindanao and Caraga. It is somet ...
of
Bohol
Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. It ...
shares many similarities with the southern form of the standard Cebuano dialect. It is also spoken in some parts of
Siquijor
Siquijor ( , ), officially the Province of Siquijor ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Siquijor; tl, Lalawigan ng Siquijor), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the municipality also named Siquijor ...
. Boholano, especially as spoken in central Bohol, can be distinguished from other Cebuano variants by a few phonetic changes:
*The semivowel ''y'' is pronounced : ''iya'' is pronounced ;
*''Ako'' is pronounced as ;
*Intervocalic ''l'' is occasionally pronounced as when following ''u'' or ''o'': ''kulang'' is pronounced as (the same as
Metro Cebu
Metropolitan Cebu, or simply Metro Cebu, ( ceb, Kaulohang Sugbo; fil, Kalakhang Cebu), is the main urban center of the province of Cebu in the Philippines. Metro Cebu is located along the central eastern portion of the island including the ne ...
dialect).
Leyte
Southern Kanâ
Southern Kanâ is a dialect of both southern
Leyte
Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Since the accessibility of land has be ...
and
Southern Leyte
Southern Leyte ( ceb, Habagatang Leyte; Kabalian language, Kabalian: ''Habagatan nga Leyte''; war, Salatan nga Leyte; tl, Timog Leyte), officially the Province of Southern Leyte, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines loc ...
provinces; it is closest to the Mindanao Cebuano dialect at the southern area and northern Cebu dialect at the northern boundaries. Both North and South Kana are subgroups of
Leyteño dialect
Cebuano (Cebuano on Merriam-Webster.com ), natively called by its generic term Bisaya or Binisaya (bot ...
. Both of these dialects are spoken in western and central Leyte and in the southern province, but the Boholano is more concentrated in
Maasin City
Maasin (IPA: ɐ'ʔasɪn, officially the City of Maasin ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Maasin; war, Syudad han Maasin, fil, Lungsod ng Maasin), is a 4th class component city and capital of the province of Southern Leyte, Philippines. According to the 20 ...
.
Northern Kanâ
North Kanâ (found in the northern part of
Leyte
Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Since the accessibility of land has be ...
), is closest to the variety of the language spoken in northern part of Leyte, and shows significant influence from Waray-Waray, quite notably in its pace which speakers from Cebu find very fast, and its more mellow tone (compared to the urban Cebu City dialect, which Kana speakers find "rough"). A distinguishing feature of this dialect is the reduction of prominent, but an often unnoticed feature of this dialect is the labialisation of and into , when these phonemes come before , and , velarisation of and into before , and , and the dentalisation of and into before , and and sometimes, before vowels and other consonants as well.
Mindanao
This is the variety of Cebuano spoken throughout most of
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
and it is the standard dialect of Cebuano in
Northern Mindanao
Northern Mindanao ( tl, Hilagang Mindanao; ceb, Amihanang Mindanao; Maranao: ''Pangotaraan Mindanao'') is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region X. It comprises five provinces: Bukidnon, Camiguin, Misamis Occidental, ...
.
Local historical sources found in Cagayan de Oro indicates the early presence of Cebuano Visayans in the Misamis-Agusan coastal areas and their contacts with the Lumads and peoples of the Rajahnate of Butuan. Lumads refer to these Visayan groups as "Dumagat" ("people of the sea") as they came in the area seaborne. It became the lingua franca of precolonial Visayan settlers and native Lumads of the area, and particularly of the ancient Rajahnate of Butuan where Butuanon, a Southern Visayan language, was also spoken. Cebuano influence in Lumad languages around the highlands of Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon was furthered with the influx of Cebuano Visayan laborers and conscripts of the Spaniards from Cebuano areas of Visayas (particularly from Bohol) during the colonial period around the present-day region of Northern Mindanao. It has spread west towards the
Zamboanga Peninsula
Zamboanga Peninsula ( tl, Tangway ng Zamboanga; cbk, Peninsula de Zamboanga; ceb, Lawis sa Zamboanga) is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region IX. It consists of three provinces (Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibu ...
, east towards
Caraga
Caraga, officially the Caraga Administrative Region (or simply known as Caraga Region) and designated as Region XIII, is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines occupying the northeastern section of Mindanao. Th ...
, and south towards
Bukidnon
Bukidnon(), officially the Province of Bukidnon ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bukidnon; fil, Lalawigan ng Bukidnon; hil, Kapuroan sang Bukidnon; Binukid and Higaonon: ''Probinsya ta Bukidnon''), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the ...
Tausug people Tausug or Tausūg may refer to:
* Tausūg people
* Tausug language
** Tausug alphabet
Tausug (; Jawi: ; ms, Bahasa Suluk) is an Austronesian language spoken in the province of Sulu in the Philippines and in the eastern area of the state of ...
who speaks a language which is 1 of the Visayan languages.
Similar to the Sialo dialect of southeastern Cebu, it is distinctive in retaining /l/ sounds, long since considered archaic in Urban Cebuano. For example: ''bulan'' instead of ''buwan'' ("moon" or "month"), ''dalunggan'' instead of ''dunggan'' (ear), and ''halang'' instead of ''hang'' ("spicy").
Due to the influx of migrants (mostly from Western Visayas and Leyte) during the promotion of settlement in the highlands of Central Mindanao in the 1930s, vocabulary from other Visayan languages (predominantly Hiligaynon and Waray-Waray) have also been incorporated into Mindanao Cebuano. For example, the Hiligaynon ''sábat'' ("reply") is commonly used alongside Cebuano ''tubag'', ''bulig'' alongside ''tábang'' ("help"), and Waray ''lutô'' alongside ''kan-on'' ("cooked rice"). Though, these influences are only limited to the speakers along the port area and Hiligaynon-speaking communities.
Davaoeño
A branch of Mindanaoan Cebuano in Davao is also known as Davaoeño (not to be confused with the Davao variant of
Chavacano
Chavacano or Chabacano is a group of Spanish-based creole language varieties spoken in the Philippines. The variety spoken in Zamboanga City, located in the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao, has the highest concentration of speaker ...
which is called "Castellano Abakay"). Like the Cebuano of Luzon, it contains some Tagalog vocabulary, which speakers may use even more frequently than in Luzon Cebuano. Its grammar is similar to that of other varieties; however, current speakers exhibit uniquely strong Tagalog influence in their speech by substituting most Cebuano words with Tagalog ones. This is because the older generations speak Tagalog to their children in home settings, and Cebuano is spoken in other everyday settings, making Tagalog the secondary lingua franca. One characteristic of this dialect is the practice of saying ''atà'', derived from Tagalog ''yatà'', to denote uncertainty in a speaker's aforementioned statements. For instance, a Davaoeño might say ''"Tuá man atà sa baláy si Manuel"'' instead of ''"Tuá man tingáli sa baláy si Manuel"''. The word ''atà'' does exist in Cebuano, though it means 'squid ink' in contrast to Tagalog (atà sa nukos).
Other examples include: ''Nibabâ ko sa jeep sa kanto, tapos niulî ko sa among baláy'' ("I got off the
jeepney
Jeepneys (), sometimes called jeeps (), are minibus-like public transportation, public utility vehicles, serving as the most popular means of Transportation in the Philippines, public transportation in the Philippines. They are known for their ...
at the street corner, and then I went home") instead of ''Ninaog ko sa jeep sa kanto, dayon niulî ko sa among baláy''. The words ''babâ'' and ''naog'' mean "to disembark" or "to go down", while ''tapos'' and ''dayon'' mean 'then'; in both cases, the former word is Tagalog, and the latter is Cebuano. Davaoeño speakers may also sometimes add Bagobo or Mansakan vocabulary to their speech, as in ''"Madayawng adlaw, amigo, kumusta ka?"'' ("Good day, friend, how are you?", literally "Good morning/afternoon") rather than ''"Maayong adlaw, amigo, kumusta ka?"'' The words ''madayaw'' and ''maayo'' both mean 'good', though the former is Bagobo and the latter Cebuano.
Negros
The Cebuano dialect in
Negros
Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...
is somewhat similar to the Standard Cebuano (spoken by the majority of the provincial areas of Cebu), with distinct Hiligaynon influences. It is distinctive in retaining sounds and longer word forms as well. It is the primary dialectal language of the entire province of
Negros Oriental
Negros Oriental ( ceb, Sidlakang Negros; tl, Silangang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Oriental, is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Dumaguete. It occupies the southeaste ...
and northeastern parts of
Negros Occidental
Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. ...
(while the majority of the latter province and its bordered areas speaks Hiligaynon/Ilonggo), as well as some parts of
Siquijor
Siquijor ( , ), officially the Province of Siquijor ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Siquijor; tl, Lalawigan ng Siquijor), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the municipality also named Siquijor ...
. Examples of Negrense Cebuano's distinction from other Cebuano dialects is the usage of the word ''maot'' instead of ''batî'' ("ugly"), ''alálay'', ''kalálag'' instead of ''kalag-kalag'' (Halloween), ''kabaló/kahíbaló'' and ''kaágo/kaántigo'' instead of ''kabawó/kahíbawó'' ("know").
Luzon
There is no specific
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
dialect, as speakers of Cebuano in Luzon come from many different regions in Central Visayas and Mindanao. Cebuano-speaking people from Luzon in Visayas can be easily recognized primarily by their vocabulary, which incorporates Tagalog words. Their accents and some aspects of their grammar can also sometimes exhibit Tagalog influence. Such Tagalog-influenced Cebuano dialects are sometimes colloquially known as "
Bisalog
Bisalog, also ''Tagbis'', is a portmanteau of the words "Bisaya" and "Tagalog" which refers to either a Visayan language or Tagalog being infused with words or expressions from the other.
Speakers of Bisalog may often code-switch with English, a ...
" (a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordssaksak sinagol in context means "a collection of miscellaneous things" or literally "inserted mixture", thus the few other Cebuano-influenced regions that have a variety of regional languages use this term to refer to their dialects with considerable incorporated Cebuano words. Examples of these regions can be found in places like
Masbate
Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate ( Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; tl, Lalawigan ng Masbate), is an island province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provincial capital is Masbate C ...
.
Examples
Numbers
Cebuano uses two numeral systems. Currently, the native system is mostly used in counting the number of things, animate and inanimate, e.g. the number of horses or houses. The Spanish-derived system, on the other hand, is exclusively applied in monetary and chronological terminology and is also commonly used in counting from 11 and above.
Shapes
Colors
See also
*
Boholano dialect
Boholano ( ceb, Binol-anon) is a variant of the Cebuano language spoken in the island province of Bohol in the Visayas and a major portion of Southern Leyte, as well as parts of Mindanao, particularly in Northern Mindanao and Caraga. It is somet ...
Cebuano people
The Cebuano people ( ceb, Mga Sugbuanon) are the largest subgroup of the larger ethnolingustic group Visayans, who constitute the largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group in the country. Their primary language is the Cebuano language, an Austro ...
*
Classical Cebuano
Classical Cebuano ( ceb, Karaang Sinugboanon, Karaang Binisaya; Badlit: pre-virama: , post-virama: ) was a form of the Cebuano language spoken during the Spanish colonial era of the Philippines. It was the primary language spoken in Cebu, Bohol, ...
*
Hiligaynon language
Hiligaynon, also often referred to as Ilonggo or Binisaya/Bisaya nga Hiniligaynon/Inilonggo, is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 9.1 million people, predominantly in Western Visayas and Soccsksargen, most ...
*
Jacinto Alcos Jacinto Alcos is a pre-Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all o ...
*
Languages of the Philippines
There are some 120 to 187 languages spoken in the Philippines, depending on the method of classification. Almost all are Malayo-Polynesian languages native to the archipelago. A number of Spanish-influenced creole varieties generally called C ...
Lagda Sa Espeling ''Rules of Spelling'' (Cebuano)
* [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;q1=cebuano;rgn=full%20text;view=image;seq=00000001;idno=APT6490.0001.001;didno=APT6490.0001.001 Online E-book of Spanish-Cebuano Dictionary], published in 1898 by Fr. Felix Guillén
Cebuano dictionary Online bible video and audio files, publications and other
bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...