The Kabalian (Cabalian) language, ''Kinabalian'', is spoken in the municipality of
San Juan in the province of
Southern Leyte
Southern Leyte ( ceb, Habagatang Leyte; Kabalian: ''Habagatan nga Leyte''; war, Salatan nga Leyte; tl, Timog Leyte), officially the Province of Southern Leyte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital ...
in the
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 ...
. It is closely related to
Waray-Waray.
Native speakers refer to the language as ''Cabalianon'' or ''Kinabalianon''. This language shares certain characteristics with
Cebuano,
Boholano, and
Surigaonon mainly because of the seafaring livelihood of pre-Hispanic inhabitants of Cabalian, documented by Spanish explorers. Waray did not make inroads into the southern portion of Leyte because of the mountains separating the north and south portions of the island. This is coherent under the principle of ''mountains divide; seas unite'' in the spread of Philippine languages.
The heaviest influence on Cabalianon is Surigaonon, owing to the contact between Cabalian and Surigao in the early Spanish period. Cabalianons, as well as the natives of Sogod, regularly travelled to Surigao and Butuan to obtain gold, a fact recorded by the Augustinian Friar Agustín María de Castro in the .
Kabalian
( la) is spoken in six villages in
San Juan (Cabalian) town,
Southern Leyte Province. These
barangays
A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...
are located in the eastern portion of the town. The predominance of Cabalianon in this side of the town is due to the fact that migrants from Cebu and Bohol settled in the western portion of the town, particularly Pong-oy, as well as in Himatagon, the business hub of Saint Bernard, formerly a part of Cabalian, resulting in the gradual disappearance of the language in these parts.
Although Kabalian is a Warayan language, it has mixed elements of
Boholano,
Cebuano and
Surigaonon, a similar pattern which is also found in
Baybayanon. However, Kabalian is not mutually intelligible with either Waray-Waray, Boholano, Cebuano or Surigaonon. Kabalian speakers do not ethnically or linguistically identify themselves with speakers of either of these languages.
Vocabulary
Interrogatives
* Who?
* To whom?
* What?
* How? (past)
* How? (future)
* Where? (for person or object)
* Where? (for place)
* Where? (for directions or origin)
* When?
* Why?
* Really?
* How much?
, , and mean 'where'. They have distinct uses in Kabalianon.
is used when asking about a person or object.
* (Where is Papa?)
* (Where was the scissor put?)
is used when asking about a place.
* (Where are we going to?)
* (Where are you going?)
is used when asking about directions or origin.
* (Where is this place?)
* (Where are you from?)
* (Where were you?)
Phrases and vocabulary
* (Hello)
* (Good morning)
* (Good noon)
* (Good afternoon)
* (Good evening or good night)
* (Good day)
* (Goodbye)
* (Take care)
* (Thank you)
* (Don't)
* (Nothing)
* (No)
* (Yes)
* (Maybe)
* (I don't know)
Comparison between Cabalianon, Surigaonon, Cebuano, and Waray
References
{{Languages of the Philippines
Visayan languages
Languages of Southern Leyte