UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES-DILIMAN

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
ON THE PHONOLOGY OF
TAGALOG, CEBUANO AND ITAWIS

ABIGAIL A. BOLLAS
LINGUISTICS 165
AUGUST 2013

PROF. VIVECA HERNANDEZ

List of abbreviations and symbols used

adj

adjective

ex

exclusive

interj.

interjection

in

inclusive

noun

vs.

versus

BOLLAS

1.0 Introduction
Delahunty and Garvey (2010) define phonology as [one that] concerns itself with

the ways in which languages make use of sounds to distinguish words from each other.

Phonology, according to Forel and Pusks (1986), gives gives us insight into how the

human mind works. Briefly, phonology is the study of the relations of sounds in a system
(language), how their relationship with each other produce contrasts or similarities in words.
1.1 Statement of the topic

This paper aims to provide a comparative analysis of the phonology of three languages

in the Philippines (in this paper Tagalog, Cebuano and Itawis). It aims to present the brief

phonology of each language and provide a conclusion which presents the similarities and
differences of the three languages.
1.2 Methodology

Data gathering is essential in this work and to do this, the 500 word list (Swadesh list)

is accomplished by the informants of Cebuano and Itawis (Tagalog is not included since the

writer is a native speaker of the language herself). Also, one-on-one correspondence is done
with the informants for further questions unanswerable by the 500 word list. Since the list does

not encompass all the data needed for this work, referencing was also done with the previous
works in each respective language.
1.3 Scope and Limitations

This paper provides a short introduction on each featured language, their phonemic

inventories, contrastive pairs, and a short presentation of their phonotactics. After presenting all

the three featured languages, their similarities and differences will be presented in the
conclusion part.

However, although this paper aims to provide a sufficient collection and analysis of data

for the phonology of each language, it was not able to do so since it lacked in examples and
minimal pairs which depended solely on the data. Unfortunately, although the informants have

been generous enough to provide all these (since they too are busy with their respective

businesses), the data still lacks a lot which if provided for, will help improve the quality of this
paper.

BOLLAS

1.4 Review of Related Literature

There are many reference materials available for Tagalog, but it is wise to choose the

updated ones since Tagalog is a well-documented language and using not updated works will
simply provide room for more mistakes. Reid and Schachters Tagalog chapter in the second

edition of the book The Worlds Major Languages (2009) provides an updated and summarized
presentation of the phonology and orthography of Tagalog. It also includes a brief discussion of
Tagalogs syntax and morphology and a brief but comprehensive history of how the language
acquired some of its sounds. Reid and Schachters work maybe not that lengthy but it sure did
explain the important notes one needs to know about Tagalog.

Cebuano is also a well-documented language but most of its published references are

quite out-of-date. Again, to promote updated linguistic work, I have chosen Rubricos Cebuano

Grammar Notes. Although it has no available date, since it is published online, I chose to refer

to it. Rubricos work is very short yet it can give the reader a comprehensive glimpse of the
Cebuano language. It also provides good sets of examples for the morphophonemic processes
of Cebuano. What the work lacks is proper transcription of examples and also, abundance of
examples themselves. It must also be noted that Bunye and Yap (1971) also have their own

Cebuano Grammar Notes. It contains detailed and well-presented examples on Cebuano

phonology especially on minimal pairs. It also includes Cebuano phonotactics and

morphophonemic process found in Cebuano. Nelsons An Introduction to Cebuano (1964)

provides a good introduction on what is the Cebuano language and where it can be found. He
described Cebuanos phonology and orthography in an extensive way.

While the first two languages seem to have a lot of materials, Itawis is left with very

few. The only credible reference I saw was Jalotjots masters thesis Diskripsyon ng Klos na

Verbal ng Wikang Itawit (1937). This is obviously out-of-date but was still able to provide
examples for minimal pairs that the data lacked. This work is mainly focused on the verbs of

Itawis and it is quite lucky that the author provided a short description of Itawis phonology and
morphology.

BOLLAS

2.0 Phonology of the Philippine languages Tagalog, Cebuano and Itawis

2.1 Tagalog

(Tagalog-Bulacan [Obando])

2.1.1 Introduction
The Tagalog language is a very wide-encompassing language in Central Luzon. Tagalog

is also where Filipino is first based on. In the year 2000, the Tagalog speakers in the

Philippines reached a number of 21, 500, 000 (Lewis, Simon, & Fennigs, 2013). In the year
2007, Tagalog ranked 58th in the 100 Most Spoken Languages in the World (Matos, 2009).
According to the Ethnologue, it is commonly spoken in Manila, most of Luzon and

Mindoro. It also has 9 dialects: Bataan, Batangas, Bulacan, Lubang, Manila, Marinduque, Puray,
Tanay-Paete, Tayabas (Lewis, Simon, & Fennigs, 2013). In the Ethnologue, they also classified
Tagalog as an Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Philippine, Greater Central Philippine, Central

Philippine language. In this paper, the dialect of Tagalog used is that of Bulacan (Obando).

2.1.2 Phoneme Inventory

The Tagalog language has 25 phonemes: 23 segmental phonemes and 2 suprasegmentals

(i.e. stress // at vowel length //). The 23 segmental phonemes are made up of 18 consonants
and 5 vowels.

2.1.2.1 Segmentals
2.1.2.1.1 Consonants

This inventory is updated based on the data. It can be noticed that // and // are the

additions to this inventory. These two phonemes probably came from the palatalized versions
of the phonemes /t/ and /d/ (ts, ty, and dy).
Table 1 - Consonants

Stops
Nasal

Bilabial

Alveolar

alveolar

Glottal
g

Lateral
Trill

Velar
k

Affricate
Glide

Alveopalatal

Fricative

Post-

l
w

BOLLAS

p /paa/

foot

/lkd/

back

s /saa/

branch

b /bagaj/

thing

/rrk/

peak

h /han/

wind

d /dahas/

k /kahj/

violence

wood

n /namn/

g /gamt/

medicine

w /wakas/

/ta/

human

m /maga/

Phonemic contrasts:
A. /t/ vs. /d/
1. tla

dla

2. tla

/ajn/

mango

/ataj/

liver

our (ex)

/an/

rattan

tummy

end

/an/

there

now

/jantk/

stop (rain)
tongue

poem

dla stage play

B. /p/ vs. /b/

1. pasa

basa

2. pala

bala

bruise

wet (adj)
expression for thought so

bullet

C. /g/ vs. /k/

1. kamt

scratch (something itchy) (n)

gamt

medicine

gahl

hassle (n)

2. kahl

bark (of a dog) (n)

D. /m/ vs. /n/

1. mana

inheritance

2. sama

to go with

nana

pus

sana

wishing

E. /l/ vs. /r/

1. bal

widow

bar

clothes

2. pala
para

shovel

F. Glottal stop //
1. basa

basa

stop (spoken when getting off a jeepney)

read
wet

BOLLAS

G. Glides (/w/ vs. /j/)

1. hnaw

rinse

hnaj

slowly

2. araw

sun/ day

araj

interj. for something painful (ouch)

2.1.2.1.2 Vowels (Figure 1)

dog

cry (n)

/bas/

a /as/

grape

/jak/

/pal/

one who always intrudes

/s/

bear

a
Phonemic contrasts
A. // vs. //

1. msa

B. // vs. //

table

msa

1. tj

mass

soy sauce

tj

dried fish

2. tr

bull

tr

teaching (n)

2.1.2.1.3 Diphthongs (Figure 2)

w
j

2.1.2.2 Suprasegmentals
A. Stress

1. pt

pt

seven

whistle (n)

/bahaj/

house

/gj/

cradle (n)

aw /laaw/

aj aw

aj

/badj/

not trendy

w /paksiw/
j

/rjna/

fly (insect)

viand cooked with vinegar

queen

B. Vowel length
1. as
as

dog

smoke
BOLLAS

2.1.3 Phonotactics of Tagalog

Onset

Coda

Medial

1. /p/
/pas/

scald

/spsp/

suck

/sapt/

nearing

thing

/dbdb/

chest

/ban/

white hair

/bakit/

why

/tak/

brain

leaf

/hadhad/

jock itch

/apd/

wood

/mank/

chicken

/lkd/

back
dry

2. /b/
/bagaj/
3. /t/
/talon/

waterfall/ jump

4. /d/
/dahn/

gall bladder

5. /k/
/kahj/
6. /g/
/galit/

anger

/basag/

broken

/tiga/

/param/

param

/amn/

7. /m/
/mank/

chicken

our

8. /n/
/natn/

our (in)

/ajn/

now

/snat/

small fever

now

/a/

(determiner)

/paa/

jaw

back

/datal/

queen

/pntr/

ray

9. //
/ajn/
10. /l/
/lkd/

arrival

/blag/

blind

painter

/hram/

borrowed

/ps/

cockroach

/sp/

mind

/araw/

sun/ day

11. /r/
/rjna/
12./s/
/snag/
13. /w/
/wakas/

end

/bawa/

garlic

14. /j/
/jamot/

irritation

/tlaj/

bridge

/ajn/

now

15. //
/aso/

dog

/baba/

chin

/pagbg/

love

16. /h/
/han/ wind

/baha/

flood

/paj/

Chinese cabbage

20. //

/an/

belly

21. //
BOLLAS

/an/

there

/a/

judge

/bat/

budget

Consonant Clusters

These consonant clusters found in Tagalog usually originated from borrowed words

from Spanish and English. Some clusters are results of deletion and palatalization in some
words and this phenomenon is usually seen in native words (Reid & Schachter, 2009).
Examples:

Assumed native consonant clusters

C1

C2

b1

w, j

/bwan/ moon/month; /bjrns/ Friday

d2

/djan/ there

/sja/ he/she

1
2
3

Examples

from /bwan/ (deletion of //); deletion of // in /bjrns/

may also be the phoneme ; also from /djan/ (deletion of //)

may also be the phoneme ; also from /sja/ (deletion of //)

Borrowed consonant clusters:

C1

1
2
3

C2

Examples

l, r

/blk/ block; /bras/ arm

l, r, w

/plat/ plate; /praksa/ franchise; /pwst/1 position

/trak/ truck

/drajbr/ driver

l, r, w

/klas/ class; /kwag/2 owl

l, r, j

/glamrs/ glamorous; /grab/ excessive; /gjra/3 war

from /pwst/ (deletion of //)

from /kwag/ (deletion of //)
from /gjra/ (deletion of //)

Syllable structures

1. CV (aso, paso)

4. CCVC (kwento)

2. CVC (pagkain)

5. CCCVC (straktura)

3. CCV (kweba)

BOLLAS

2.2 Cebuano
(Binisaya/ Bisayan/ Sebuano/ Sugbuanon/ Sugbuhanon/ Visayan)

2.2.1 Introduction

The Cebuano language is spoken across the Philippines because of the number of its

speakers and because of trade especially in todays world where technology makes things easier
and travel much convenient. In 2007, Cebuano speakers in the Philippines reached a number of
15, 800, 000 (Lewis, Simon, & Fennigs, 2013). In the year 2007, Tagalog ranked 68th in the
100 Most Spoken Languages in the World (Matos, 2009).

In the Ethnologue, they also classified Tagalog as an Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian,

Philippine, Greater Central Philippine, Central Philippine, Bisayan language (Lewis, Simon, &
Fennigs, 2013). Although Cebuano is quite rampant all over the country, it still has its major

places where it is spoken and these are in Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Biliran, south Masbate

provinces, and also in some parts of Mindanao. In each of these places, dialects have emerged
so now, there are many dialects of Cebuano all over the country. Some are Boholano, Cebu

(Standard Cebuano), Leyte (Kana), and Mindanao Visayan (Bisaya) like the one used in this
paper which from Iligan City and Ozamis City.
2.2.2 Phoneme Inventory

The Cebuano language has 21 phonemes: 19 segmental phonemes and 2

suprasegmentals (i.e. stress // at vowel length //). The 19 segmental phonemes are made up of
16 consonants and 3 vowels.
2.2.2.1 Segmentals

2.2.2.1.1 Consonants

This inventory is updated based on the data. It can be noticed that // and // are the

additions to this inventory. These two phonemes probably came from the palatalized versions
of the phonemes /t/ and /d/ (ts, ty, and dy).
Table 2 Consonants

Stops
Nasal

Bilabial

Alveolar

alveolar

Glottal
g

Lateral
Trill

Velar
k

Affricate
Glide

Alveopalatal

Fricative

Post-

l
w

BOLLAS

10

p /psk/

to shower

/lag/

loose

s /sk/

anger

b /balas/

sand

/bra/

pull

h /hat/

/tm/

sharpness

black

d /dat/

rotten

n /nps/

/pn/

thin

tooth

/a/

weak

sneeze

w /wal/

eight

/s/

ten

/tambal/ medicine

k /kahj/

wood

g /gamt/ medicine

m /mabaw/

shallow

/hnaj/

Phonemic contrasts
A. /t/ vs. /d/
1. tra

shoot/fire

dra there (near)

2. tktk

insect that sticks to the skin

dkdk pound

B. /p/ vs. /b/

1. pana
bana

2. pla
bla

C. /g/ vs. /k/

arrow
husband
red

foam

1. galan separate

kalan dont like

2. gasabt having a plan

kasabt do you understand?

D. /m/ vs. /n/

1. malms may drown

nalms drowned

2. maba to go crazy
naba gone crazy

E. /l/ vs. /r/

1. klt

curly hair

2. blak

flower

krt

brak

pinch

break

F. Glides (/w/ vs. /j/)

1. lawas

body
BOLLAS

11

lajas

to go out

2. lwa

to spit

lja

ginger

G. Glottal stop
1. lawaj

lawa

spittle (saliva)
spider

2.2.2.1.2 Vowels

Rubrico (n.d.) gave a rule regarding the vowels of Cebuano. The phoneme // has 2

allophones i.e. [] and [] which are in free variation. The phoneme // has two allophones in
complementary distribution:
//

[]/ ___C#

[]/ (V)C___#

Ex.: ug, uy!

Ex.: ko, mo, ako, imo

But apparently, this does not apply generally to the Cebuano dialect of Iligan.

According to the informant, when I gave him words containing the phonemes // and // and //
and // which I assumed can be interchangeable, he said it cannot be at all times

interchangeable and most of the time cannot be interchangeable. This cannot be further proven
in this paper since the data lacks the needed evidences to prove such although, now I consider
the given phonemes to be not allophones of each other because they are not yet predictable
based on the gathered data.

One explanation which I think might have happened here is that a phonological shift

occurred which split the traditional allophonic distribution of [] and [] under the phoneme //
and [] and [] under the phoneme //. Now that it has undergone split, the former allophones
now became phonemes by themselves.
[]

//

//

[]

//

//

[]

//

[]

//

Figure 3 - Vowels
a /adlaw/

sun

/nlan/

pillow

dog

/r/

/pst/

pest

/ban/

buhok na puti

BOLLAS

12

Phonemic contrasts
A. // vs. //
1. pst

damn it

pst

pest

B. // vs. //
1. ban

buhok na puti

ban

to go with

obey

right (direction)

2.2.2.1.3 Diphthongs (Figure 4)

aj

/gamaj/

few

aw /lakaw/
j

to walk

/majab/ yawn

/ssw/

chick

/ttj/

breast

aj aw
2.2.2.2 Suprasegmentals
A. Stress

1. lah

B. Vowel length*

different

*Examples from Rubrico (n.d.).

lah

kind / specie

go home

1. baj

return

house

baj

vocative for a friend

dapt invite
dapt

place

2.2.3 Phonotactics of Cebuano

Onset

Coda

Medial

1. /p/
/pga/

to squeeze

/spsp/

suck

/hjp/

to blow

thick

/tgab/

to belch

/hbag/

swollen

thorn

/pajat/

thin

/kadt/

that (far)

there (near)

/kaladkad/

2. /b/
/baga/
3. /t/
/tnk/
4. /d/
/dra/

to drag

/tndg/

stand up/ stature

BOLLAS

13

5. /k/
/kan/

this

/tnk/

thorn

/kaw/

you

/baga/

thick

6. /g/
/gt/

tight

/dalgdg/

thunder

7. /m/
/mabaw/

shallow

/aslm/

sour

/gamaj/

small

face

/nlan/

pillow

/tanm/

plant

tooth

/nah/

face

/dan/

ear

to throw

/katl/

to scratch (itch)

/habla/

to weave

/ldr/

chief

/bra/

to pull

8. /n/
/nah/
9. //
/pn/
10. /l/
/labaj/
11. /r/
12./s/
/sk/

anger

/lamgas/

ant

/bras/

arm

/paw/

bald

/lawas/

body

breast

/hajag/

bright

13. /w/
/wal/

eight

14. /j/
/jta/

earth/soil

/ttj/

15. //
/amg/

fog

/pn /

full

/tl/

foot

16. /h/
/hmt/ fragrant

/gah/

hard

/a/

sneeze

20. //
/an/

belly

21. //
/s/

ten

BOLLAS

14

Consonant Clusters
These consonant clusters found in Cebuano usually originated from borrowed words

from Spanish and English. Some clusters are results of deletion and palatalization in some
words.

Examples (Rubrico, n.d.) [revised]:

C1

1
2
3

C2

Examples

l, r, w, j

plan , praka , pwrt , pjan

r, w, s, j

trap , twrka , tspr , tjabaw

l, r, w, j

klma , krs , kwba , kjgps

l, r, w, j

blaka , brljant , bwgt , bjrns

r, w, j

drajbr , dwnd , djamant

r, w

grab , gwan

w, j

nwb , njb

w, j

mwbls , myrkls

w, j

swapa , sjagt

hws

from /pwst/ (deletion of //)

from /kwag/ (deletion of //)

from /gjra/ (deletion of //)

Syllable structures
1. CV (imo, tana)
2. CVC (umoy)
3. CCV (klaro)
4. CCVC (kwarta, krus)

BOLLAS

15

2.3 Itawis
(Itawes/ Itawit/ Tawit)
2.3.1 Introduction

The Itawis language is spoken in Northern Luzon, in the southern parts of Cagayan.

According to the Ethnologue, it has two dialects: Itawis and Malaueg (Lewis, Simons, &
Fennig, 2013). The Itawis language is an Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Philippine,

Northern Luzon, Northern Cordilleran, Cagayan Valley, Ibanagic language (Lewis, Simons, &
Fennig, 2013). In the census of the year 1990, the Itawis speakers in the Philippines reached a
number of 139, 000 (Lewis, Simons, & Fennig, 2013). The dialect from which the data is
gathered is the one in Tuguegarao City.
2.3.2 Phoneme Inventory
The Itawis language has 27 phonemes: 26 segmental phonemes at 1 suprasegmental (i.e.

stress). The 26 segmental phonemes consist of 21 consonants and 5 vowels.

2.3.2.1 Segmentals

2.3.2.1.1 Consonants
This inventory is updated based on the data. It can be noticed that // and // are the

additions to this inventory. These two phonemes probably came from the palatalized versions
of the phonemes /t/ and /d/ (ts, ty, and dy). It must also be noted that the Itawis language is a

geminate language. In the data, the phonemes (consonants) which can be geminated are /p, b, t,
d, k, g, m, n, , f, s, z, l, j/.
Table 3 - Consonants
Bilabial
Stops
Nasal

Labiodental

Dental
t

Alveolar

l
w

Trill

b /bagg/

Glottal
g

Lateral

p /paa/

Velar
k

Affricate
Glide

alveolar

Alveopalatal

Fricative

Post-

branch
body

/taga/

d /daha/

chest

blood

k /kaj/
g /gaft/

brother-in-law

catch

BOLLAS

16

/lkg/

back

/ragga/

m /mla/

n /nabsn/

w /wah/

sibling

j /jakan/

red

s /saaw/

now

f /ft/

heart

hungry

h /hanna/ what

plant

z /zraja/

/ammn/ all

/atg/

left
knee

v /vkal/

seed

/kak/ earwax
/an na/ where

Phonemic contrasts
A. /t/ vs. /d/
1. tta

we (dual, pl.)

dda to lie (on side)

2. gada rise (from the water)

gata buy

B. /p/ vs. /b/

1. mappatt

mabbagg

to jump

to wash

2. paga

good thing that happened to you (sarcasm)

3. lappag

slap

baga
labbag

C. /g/ vs. /k/

ember
rotten

1. taggam

ant

akkan

not

tttg

sit

2. tttk

3. bannak
bannag

bump

throw
tired

4. lappak

drop

lappag

slap

D. /m/ vs. /n/

1. na

mother

nataj

corpse

ma

mataj
E. /l/ vs. /r/
1. l

palm

to die

head
BOLLAS

17

medicine

F. /f/ vs. /v/

1. af

god

av

ash

G. /s/ vs. /z/

1. gasst

tobacco seed

gazzt

anger

H. Glides (/w/ vs. /j/)

1. snnaw
snaj

washing the dishes

belly

2.3.2.1.2 Vowels (Figure 5)

a /ajam/

animal

/bat/

buttocks

e /ntr/

and

/ma/

o /dn/

arm

leaf

a
Phonemic contrasts
I. // vs. //

1. kkt
kk

2. kkkg

J. // vs. //

to steal

1. bbaj

nail

bibaj

to dig

aj

kkkg

/snaj/

aw /algaw/

aj aw

shell

2. mkkkg

kkkg scraping coconuts

2.3.2.1.3 Diphthongs (Figure 6)

sea
to bury (the dead)
to bury

belly
day/ afternoon

BOLLAS

18

2.3.2.2 Suprasegmentals
Stress

1. kaj

tree

()kaj

you

2.3.3 Phonotactics of Itawis

Onset

Coda

Medial

1. /p/
/paa/

branch

/snsp/

suck

/napt/

bitter

2. /b/
/bagg/

body

/bat/

buttocks

3. /t/
/taggam/

ant

/gazzt/

anger

/tak/

brain

4. /d/
/daha/

blood

/apd/

gall bladder

5. /k/
/kaj/

tree

/mammank/

bird

/lkg/

back

/taga/

chest

/tma/

ankle

6. /g/
/galt/

bundle/ belt

/nalkag/

awake

7. /m/
/manaat/

fish

/ajam/

animal

8. /n/
/naral/

dull (knife)

/ammn/

all

/snaj/

belly

9. //
/ammn/

all

/ka/

back

/dakal/

at

/paa/

branch

big

/vlag/

10. /l/
/lkg/

blind

11. /r/
/ragga/

red

/trabahadr/

servant

/taram/

sharpness

12. /s/
/snaj/

belly

/ps/

cockroach

/nast/

black

13. /w/
/wah/

sibling

/algaw/

day/afternoon

/nanawag/

bright

14. /j/
BOLLAS

19

/jakan/

/natlaj/

alive

/ajam/

animal

knee

/baba/

chin

/mang/

15. //
/atg/

to flow

16. /h/
/hanna/ what

/daha/

blood

17. /z/
/zraja/

left

/attazzt/

tight

18. /f/
/ft/

heart

/vkal/

seed

/gaft/

catch

/av/

ash

19. /v/
/avk/

hair

20. //
/kak/ earwax
21. //
/an na/ where

/palaaw/

to run

Consonant clusters
These consonant clusters found in Itawis usually originated from borrowed words from

Spanish. Some clusters are results of deletion and palatalization in some words.
Examples:
C1

C2

Examples

/pwrta/ door

r, j

/kstmbr/ custom, /bjrnt/ Biyernes

/trabahadr/ servant

/kwan/ to do

/dwa/ two

w, j

/gwapa/ beautiful, /gjra/ war

/frnt/ forehead

BOLLAS

20

Gemination
According to Bolozky (2004), gemination is a long consonant, represented either by

a special mark, or by doubling the consonant. In syllable division, a geminate consonant is

assumed to close one syllable and serve as the onset to the next one This is very particular
in Itawis in the consonant phonemes /p, b, t, d, k, g, m, n, , f, s, z, l, j/. Some word examples
are given below:
pp

lappaw flower

nn

hanna what

bb

kabba scratch/ carving

baag deaf

tt

bttt short

ff

ff thigh

dd

gadda skin

ss

bssa few

kk

kkkg to bury

zz

mzzan last

gg

maggna to hear

ll

all same

mm

amm to know

jj

arajj far

Syllable structures (Jalotjot, 1937)

1. CV (na)

2. CVC (garsig)
3. CCV (kwan)

4. CCVC (frente, byernit)

BOLLAS

21

3.0 Conclusion
Having presented the phonology of Tagalog, Cebuano, and Itawis, it now calls for a

definitive conclusion on their phonological similarities and differences.

Tagalog and Cebuano are Central Philippine languages (although geographically, they

belong to different islands and regions) while Itawis is a Northern Luzon (Northern

Cordilleran) language. Given these subgrouping and geographical differences, how can these
three languages be similar or different from each other?

This phonemic inventory (table and figure below) shows the core segmental phonemes

of the three languages. It means that these are the phonemes which occurred consistently in all
three languages. We can see that the voiced and voiceless stops /p, b, t, d, k, g, / are present in

all three Philippine languages, same with the nasals /m, n, /, fricatives /s, h/, affricates /, /
glides /w, j/ and the lateral /l/ and the trill /r/. It should not be forgotten that stress // is also a

core suprasegmental phoneme in these three languages. Also, adding the vowels: the low back
unrounded lax /a/, the mid front unrounded lax //, the high front unrounded lax //, the mid
back rounded lax //, and the high back rounded lax //. This makes the vowel inventory of the

three languages the same and with no differences. Summed up, there are 24 phonemes which
are inherent in Tagalog, Cebuano and Itawis.

Table 4 Core phonemes of Tagalog, Cebuano and Itawis (Segmentals)

Stops

Bilabial

Alveolar

Nasal

Post-

alveolar

Alveopalatal

Fricative

Velar

Glottal
g

Affricate

Lateral

Glide

Trill

Figure 7 Core Vowels of Tagalog,

Cebuano and Itawis

Since these three languages belong to

different subgroups and lies in different geographies,

it must have also reflected in their respective

language; there must be differences. The first

difference is in the phonemic inventory, the

suprasegmental phoneme vowel length //. Although
BOLLAS

22

present in both Tagalog and Cebuano, it was not proven by the data gathered that it is
phonemic (or if it exists) in Itawis. The Itawis languages voiceless and voiced labiodental
fricatives /f, v/ and the voiced alveolar fricative /z/ are also the deviations from the core
phoneme inventory of the three languages. Nonetheless, these are not borrowed phonemes in
Itawis, rather they are native.

With the diphthongs, the core ones are only /aj/ and /aw/. Although Tagalog had 6

diphthongs /aj, aw, j, w, j, j/ and Cebuano had 5 (all those of Tagalog too excluding /j/),
Itawis only had 2 which are /aj/ and /aw/.

The core consonant cluster patterns of the three languages are CV, CVC, CCV, and

CCVC.

Only Tagalog deviated from this having an additional CCCVC pattern which

obviously originated from borrowed words from English.

The additional phonemes in the three languages (i.e. &) are due to recent

innovations in the language. This may be limited only to speakers who are exposed to English
or other foreign languages and may be acquired only by the younger speakers of each language.

All based from the data, the findings of this paper reflects the current usage of Tagalog,

Cebuano (in Iligan) and Itawis (in Tuguegarao) by the respective native speakers. It can be seen

that there innovations that have reflected in this paper especially the vowels of Cebuano-Iligan.
Tagalog, on the other hand, may include a lot of English borrowed terms and phonemes but it
is not included here so as to distinguish Tagalog from Filipino.

It is quite ecstatic to see how three geographically separated languages can have so

many shared features and even in their lexicon (see Appendix 1). They may have differences
but these deviations existed in order to distinguish these three languages from each other.

BOLLAS

23

References:
Bolozky, S. (2004). Surface geminates (dage forte) in Israeli Hebrew. In L. Ehrlich, S.
Bolozky, R. Rothstein, M. Schwartz, J. Berkovitz, J. Young (Eds.), Textures and

Meaning: Thirty Years of Judaic Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst ,

Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Bunye, M. V. R. & Yap, E. P. (1971). Cebuano grammar notes. Honolulu: University of

Hawaii.

Delahunty, G. P., & Garvey, J. J. (2010). The English language from sound to sense. West
Lafayette,

Indiana:

Parlor

Press.

Retrieved

from

http://wac.colostate.edu/books/sound/sound.pdf

Forel, C-A., & Pusks, G. (1986). Phonetics and phonology: reader for first year English

linguistics. Informally published manuscript, University of Oldenburg, Retrieved from

http://www.staff.uni-oldenburg.de/cornelia.hamann/download/Phonology.pdf

Jalotjot, E. M. (1937). Diskripsyon ng klos na verbal ng wikang Itawit (Masters thesis).

University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

Lewis, M. P., Simons, G. F., & Fennig, C. D. (Eds.). (2013). Ethnologue: Languages of the

World, Seventeenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SiL international. Online version:

http://www.ethnologue.com

Matos, F. H. (2009, June 28). The 100 most spoken languages on the world [Blog post].
Retrieved

from

http://frankherles.wordpress.com/2009/06/28/the-100-most-spoken-

languages-on-the-world/

Nelson, A. M. (1964). An introduction to Cebuano. Cebu City: Rotary Press.

Reid, L. & Schachter, P. (2009). Tagalog. In B. Comrie (Ed.), The worlds major languages (2nd
ed.,

pp.

833-855).

London:

Routledge.

Retrieved

from

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~reid/Combined%20Files/A71.%202008.%20Tagalog%20chapt
er%2049.pdf

Rubrico,

J.

G.

U.

(n.d.).

Cebuano

Grammar

http://www.languagelinks.org/onlinepapers/fil_cbstd.html

Notes.

Retrieved

from

BOLLAS

24

Appendix 1
500 Wordlist
English

Tagalog

Itawis

Cebuano

001

adze

tgbkal

002

alive

bhaj

natlaj

bh

003

all

lahat

ammn

tanan

004

and

at

ntr

005

anger

galt

gazzt

sk

006

animal

hajp

ajam

anmal

007

ankle

bkbk

tma

sak

008

ant

lagam

taggam

lamgas

009

arm

bsg

ma

bras

010

armpit

klkl

klkl

lk

011

arrow

palas
pana

012

ashes

ab

av

ab

013

at

sa

ka

sa

014

awake

gs

nalkag

mata

015

back

lkd

lkg

lkd

016

bad

masama

narakat

mal

017

bald

kalb

kalb

paw

018

bamboo

kawajan

kawajan

kawajan

019

bark (tree)

balat na kahj

020

bear, suffer

ts

pasnan

ants

021

beard

balbas

bt

022

beautiful

maganda

gwapa

gwapa

023

belly

an

snaj

tjan

024

big

malak

dakal

dak

025

bile

apd

apd

apd

026

bird

bn

mammank

lagam

027

bitter

mapat

napt

pat

028

black

tm, matm

nast

tm

029

blade/ sharpness

talm

taram

hat

030

blind

blag

vlag

bta

031

blood

dg

daha

dg

032

body

katawan

bagg

lawas

033

bone

bt (also, seed)

vkal

bkg

sak

bh

pana

bark

tla

BOLLAS

25

034

boy (young m., not

bata lalak

bagtlaj

lak

035

brain

tak

tak

036

branch

saa

paa

saa

037

breast

ss

ss

ttj

038

bright

malwanag

nanawag

hajag

039

brother-in-law

bajaw

kaj

bajaw

040

bundle, belt

bgks

galt

baks

041

butterfly

parpar

ttb

042

buttocks

pwt, pwtan

bat

lbt

043

catch, apprehend

dakp

gaft

dakpan

044

charcoal

045

cheek

ps

apl

ap

046

chest

dbdb

taga

dghan

047

chick

ssw

pjak

ssw

048

chicken

mank

mank

mank

049

chief

pn (als, tr)

kaj

ldr

050

child (young)

anak

anak

anak

051

chin

baba

baba

swa

052

clean

malns

narn

lmpj

053

cloud

lap

054

cockroach

ps

ps

ps

055

coconut

njg

jg

lb

056

coconut grater

kdkran

jag

kdkran

057

coconut milk

gata

gata

gata

058

cold (objects)

malamg

nalammn

bgnaw

059

cold (weather)

magnaw

nalammn

bgnaw

060

corpse

bakaj

nataj

pataj na lawas

061

cousin

pnsan

kaptta

gagaw

062

crocodile

bwaja

bwaja

bwaja

063

crow

wak

mammank

wak

064

curly hair

klt

klt

klt

065

dark, dim

madlm

nakpan

dlm

066

day (12 or 24 hrs)

araw (also, sun)

algaw

adlaw

067

daytime (not night

maga

mma

bntag

068

deaf

baag

bl

069

debt

ta

gattt

ta

070

deep

malalm

adalam

lalm

071

deer

sa

tta

sa

son)

time)

malamg

dagm

BOLLAS

26

072

demolish

gba

darallan

gba

073

dew

hamg

074

dirty

marm

nadap

hgaw

075

dog

as

at

076

door

pnt

pwrta

pwrtahan

077

downward

pababa

pagkag

baba

078

dream

panagnp

tatnat

damg

079

dry (substance)

tj

namaha

ga

080

dull (knife)

maprl

naral

habl

081

dumb (mute)

pp

pp

ama

082

dust

alkabk
alabk

gahk

abg

083

ear

ta

daraga

dan

084

earth (soil)

lpa

lsak

jta

085

earwax

ttl

kak

ttl

086

edible, climbing
plant from fleshy

087

eel

gat (freshwater)

shn

088

egg

tlg

lg

tlg

089

eggplant

tal

baraknt

tal

090

eight

wal

wal

wal

091

elbow

sk

sk

sk

092

ember, hot coal

baga

sdg

baga

093

erection

094

evening

gab

gab

gab

095

excrement

dm

kawt

ta

096

eye

mata

mata

mata

097

eyebrow

klaj

kraj

klaj

098

face

mkha

mkat

nah

099

far

malaj

arajj

laj

100

fast

mabls

paspas

paspas

101

fat (substance)

taba

taba

tambk

102

father

ama

ama

papa

103

father/mother-in-law

bjnan

katwaan

bjnan

104

feather (large)

balahb (fur,fine

ddt

balahb

105

fence

bakd

bakg

kral

106

few

knt

bssa

gamaj

hamg

root stock

pals (saltwater)

tg

ta

hair)

BOLLAS

27

107

fin

palkpk

paj

palkpk

108

finger

dalr

ma

tdl

109

fingernail

kk

kk

kk

110

fire

apj

af

sng

111

first

na

nna

na

112

firstborn

paanaj

kaka

pnakamagla

113

fish

sda

manaat

sda

114

five

lma

lma

lma

115

flatulence

tt

attt

tt

116

flood

baha

basaw

baha

117

flower

blaklak

lappaw

blak

118

fly (the insect)

laaw (small)

laaw

laaw

119

foam

bla

gwat

bla

120

fog

hamg

lappat

amg

121

foot

paa

taka

tl

baaw (big)

122

forehead

frnt

agta

123

foul-smelling

mabah

navyk

bah

124

four

apat

appat

pat

125

fragrant

maba

nabag

hmt

126

frog

palaka

tkak

bak

127

full (after eating)

bsg

nabattg

bsg

128

full (not empty)

pn

napan

pn

129

fur

balahb

ddt

balahb

130

garden

halamanan

131

gills

hasa

barasaa

hasa

132

ginger

lja

laja

lja

133

girl

bata baba

abb a babaj

ba

134

god

af

gn

135

gold

gnt

gld

gnt

136

good

mabt

mapja

btan

137

goodbye

paalam

pakamm

adt sak

138

grass

dam

kaddat

dam

139

gray hair

ban

ba

ban

140

guts

lamanlb

141

hair

bhk

avk

talamnan

tna
bhk

cowlick

pj

almrak

tnkj

142

hand

kamaj

ma

kamt

143

hard

matgas

nataggat

gah

144

he

a (he, she)

ggna

145

head

BOLLAS

28

146

healthy

malsg

napja j gawgawajan

baskg

147

heart

ps

ft

kaskas

148

heavy

mabgat

nadammat

bgat

149

here

dt

kaaw

dr

150

high tide

151

hole (esp. in ground)

152

tab
btas

battak

bslt

hot

mant

napat

nt

153

house

bahaj

balaj

balaj

154

how

paan

knas

nsa

155

how many?

lan

pja

pla

156

how much?

magkan

tag pja

tagpla

157

hungry

gtm

nabsn

gtm

158

husband

asawa (spouse)

atawa

bana

159

ak

jakan

ak

160

image

larawan

tra

ltrat

161

intestines

btka

btgal

tna

162

island

pl

sla

sla

163

itch

kat

katal

katl

164

jaw

paa

apl

paa

165

kiss

halk

amma

halk

166

knee

thd

atg

thd

167

lake

lawa

168

last

hl

mzzan

tmj

169

lastborn

bns

zzan

pnakamahd

170

later

mamaja

s abt

nja

171

leaf

dahn

dn

dahn

172

leak, drip, rain

tl

trt

tl

173

left (hand)

kalwa

zraja

wala

174

leg

bnt

175

lie (falsehood)

kasnalan

laddg

bakak

176

light

magaa

nalampaw

gaan

177

lightning

kdlat

klklat

kdlat

178

lip

lab

smk

179

liver

ataj

agal

ataj

180

long

mahaba

apadd

taas

181

loose

malwa

alawa

lag

182

louse

kt

kt

kt

183

love charm

gajma

tamaj

gajma

hkaj

bbg (mth)

malwag

lawa

bnt

BOLLAS

29

184

lungs

baga

taga

baga

185

man (male)

lalak

lalak

lalak

186

many

maram

ar

daghan

187

mat (for floor)

bang

abak

bang

188

meat (flesh)

karn

karn

karn

laman

(also,contents)
189

medicine

gamt

tambal

190

melt

tnaw

lnag

tnaw

191

middle

gtna

taa

ta

192

milk

gatas

gattak

gatas

193

moon

bwan (als,

vlan

blan

194

mosquito

lamk

lamk

lamk

195

moss

lmt

lmt

lmt

196

mother

na, nanaj

na

mama

197

mountain

bndk

baklg

bkd

198

mouth

bbg

bbg

baba

199

mud

ptk

vjn

lapk

200

nail (finger or toe)

kk

kk

kk

201

name

paalan

ahan

paalan

202

nape

batk

taag

batk

203

narrow

maktd

attazzt

gt

204

navel

psd

ftag

psd

205

near

malapt

arann

dl

206

neck

lg

karal

lg

207

necklace

kwntas

208

needle

karajm

dahm

dagm

209

nest (as birds)

pgad

tht

pgad

210

net (fishing)

lambat

abt abt

pkt

211

new

bag

bah

bag

212

night

gab

gab

gab

213

nine

am

sam

am

214

none

wala

awan

wala

215

northeast wind

amhan

an

amhan

216

nose

jj

217

not

hnd

akkan

dl

218

now

ajn

saaw

karn

219

octopus

pgta

pgta

pgta

220

often

madalas

kanajn

prm

month)

makpt

kwntas

BOLLAS

30

malmt
221

old

lma

dana

daan

222

once

mnsan

n dddma

talagsa

223

one

sa

sa

sa

224

one hundred

sa daan

sa gats

225

one thousand

sa lb

ml

sa lb

226

orphan

lla

lla

227

other, different

ba

dma

lan

228

outrigger canoe

baka

baraaj

baka

229

outrigger float

katg

balsa

katg

230

over there (far)

dn

kannaj

ddt

231

paddle (canoe)

sagwan

232

pain

sakt (also,

takt

sakt

233

palm (hand)

palad

ma

palad

234

penis

ar na lalak
tt

sn

tn

235

person

ta (also human)

tlaj

ta

236

pig

babj

bav

babj

237

pillow

nan

fan

nlan

238

plant

halaman

mla

tanm

239

pound, well ground

dkdk

dkdk

dkdk

240

press with hand or

weight

dn

tlmag

psat

241

prick, pierce

tsk

tbak

tsk

242

pus

nana

dann

nana

243

rat

daga

balakag

laga

244

red

pla

ragga

pla

245

rib

taa

barat

246

right (correct)

tama

sakt

tama

247

right (hand)

kanan

zwanan

248

rinse

banlaw

barnaw

banlaw

249

river

lg

kajan

sba

250

road

daan

dalan

dalan

251

rock (or boulder)

bat

bat

bat

252

roof

bb

sm

bb

253

root

gat

gamt

gat

254

rope

lbd

galt

ps

255

rotten (as fruit)

sra

nalabbag

dat

256

rotten (log)

blk

257

rough

magaspa

sickness)

sagwan

blk
grd

BOLLAS

31

258

salt

asn

asn

asn

259

salty

maalat

nasn

parat

260

same

tlad

all

parhas

261

sand

bhan

gnat

balas

262

scratch, carving

kamt

kabba

katl

263

sea (ocean)

dagat

bbaj

dagat

264

second

kalawa

mkadwa

padha

katlad

kt

paalawa

265

seed

bt (als, bn)

vkal

ls

266

servant

katl

trabahadr

tgtaba

267

seven

pt

pt

pt

268

shadow

ann

ann

ann

269

shallow

mababaw

ababbaw

mabaw

270

shark

pat

pat

pat

271

sharp (knife)

matalm

nataram

hat

272

shore

tabdagat
dalampasgan

273

short

alla

matalas

malt

makl

bajbajn
bttt

gamaj

mags
pandak

274

shoulder

balkat

abaha

abaga

275

shrimp

hpn

lask

hpn

276

sibling (m/f)

kapatd

wah

gsn

277

siblings child (m/f)

pamakn

kanakan

pagmakn

278

singe

pas

lan

pas

279

sister-in-law

hpag

pag

hpag

280

six

anm

annam

nm

281

skin (person)

balat

gadda

pant

282

skull

283

sky

hmpapawd

lat

lat

lat

(also, heaven)
284

slave

alpn

tagatrabah

lpn

285

sleepy

naantk

skkatrg

katlgn

286

slow

mabagal

nabajag

hnaj

287

small

malt

bttt

gamaj

BOLLAS

32

288

smoke

sk

atk

as

289

smooth

makns

nakkns

kns

290

snake

ahas

zarjan

halas

291

sneeze

bah

gabba

292

soft

malambt

naalg

hmk

293

sole

talampakan

dapa

lapalapa

294

some

lan

pja

mahap

295

soul

kallwa

karalwa

kallwa

296

sour

maasm

nasn

aslm

297

southwest wind

habagat

an

habagat

298

spear

sbat

shg

sbat

299

species of bats

pank

pank

pank

300

spider

gagamba

bambalakaj

lawa

301

spittle(saliva)

lawaj

ll

lawaj

302

squid

pst

pst

pst

303

stairs

hagdan

addan

hagdanan

304

stand up, stature

tndg

tadag

tndg

305

star

btwn

btwan

btn

306

stick (of wood)

patpat

kaj

tkg

307

stomach

an

snaj

tjan

308

stone

bat

bat

bat

309

storehouse (food)

kamalg

balaj

310

straight

twd, matwd

dr

dr

311

stretch

nat

nat

nat

312

strong

malakas

maskan

ksg

313

suck

spsp

spspan

spsp

314

sugarcane

tb

tb

tb

315

sun

araw (als, daj)

algaw

adlaw

316

sweet

matams

namt

tams

317

swollen

maga

nalattag

hbag

318

tail

bntt

ft

kg

319

tall

matakad

attanna

taas

320

tear (from crying)

lha

lwa

lha

321

ten

samp

mafl

s/ pl

322

termites

anaj

anaj

anaj

323

testicle

bajag

bajag

tlg / bajag

324

thank you

salamat

mabbalat

salamat

325

that (far)

jn

naj

kadt

326

that (near)

jan

jan

kana

dra

tala

BOLLAS

33

327

there (near)

an

kanjan

dra

328

they

sla

ra

sla

329

thick

makapal

nakannag

baga

330

thigh

hta

ff

hta

331

thin

manps

nmpt

nps

332

thin (human)

pajat

nakabbal

pajat

333

third

katl

mka tall

katl

334

thirsty

haw

skkapnm

haw

335

this

jaw

kan

336

thorn

tnk (also,

ast

tnk

337

thou/you

kaw

kaw

kaw

paatl

fishbone)

338

three

tatl

tall

tl

339

throat

lalamnan

karal

ttnlan

340

thunder

klg

addg

dalgdg

341

tight

maskp

attazzt

gt

342

to ask

magtan

mavt

matana

343

to awake

mags

lkaran

mmata

344

to be angry

magalt

maggazzt

mask

345

to bear (child)

magbnts

manak

maanak

346

to beat (strike)

paln

mamalk
palk

mbnal

347

to belch

dmghaj

mattalgag

tgab

348

to bite

kagatn

kassban

paak

349

to blow (wind)

hp

lazzban

hjp

350

to boil (intrans.)

kml

tallag

pabkal

351

to break (as stick)

mabal

kaltan

bal

352

to breathe

hma

maaat

gnhawa

353

to bring

dala

vln

mdala

354

to burn (by itself)

sngn

sdg

sng

355

to bury

ban

kkkg

lb

356

to bury (the dead)

lb

mkkkg

lb

357

to buy

bl

magatang

palt

358

to call

tawagn

akklan

tawag

359

to carry

dala

abbanan

dala

360

to choose

pln

maml

mpl / pl

361

to clean

lnsn

mappakarn

lmpjh

362

to come

dmat

ma

mabt

363

to copulate (human)

magtalk

kakajg

mjt

bhat

BOLLAS

34

364

to cough

mb

mkag

mb

365

to count

magbla

mabbla

mhap

366

to cut

ptln

garzban

mptl

367

to dance

magsajaw

mabbajl

msajaw

368

to defecate

dmm

makkawt

mta

nasn

majat

nasa

magbawas
tma

369

to desire

370

to die

pataj

mataj

mamataj

371

to dig

hkajn

kkkg

magkalt

372

to do

gawn

kwan

hmn

373

to drag

kaladkarn

kdsds

kaladkad

374

to drink

nmn

mnm

mnm

375

to drown

lnrn

malaggabban

malnd

376

to eat

kann

maan

mkan

377

to fall (drop)

hlg

matadag

mahlg

378

to fear

matakt

mattalaw

mahadlk

379

to fight

lumaban

lmaban

maawaj

380

to find

humanap

taflan

mata

381

to float

lumta

382

to flow

mags

mang

mags

383

to fly

lmpad

makkajag

mlpad

384

to forget

lmtn

malppanan

makalmt

385

to give

bgaj

maddan

mhatag

386

to go

pnta

ma

madt

387

to go down

baba

maggkag

mnag

388

to go in

pask

mattall

msld

389

to go out

labas

mallawan

mgawas

390

to go up

akjat

makkalantaj

msaka

391

to hang on, hook

sabt

mabbsn

mkapt

392

to hear

kng

maggna

mpamnaw

393

to hit

tamaan

palk

mdapat

394

to hold (in hand)

hawakan

manammt

mgnt

395

to hunt (game)

maas

maggaft

maas

396

to jump (esp. up)

tmaln

mappatt

mambak

397

to kill

patajn

mamataj

mpataj

398

to know (facts)

alamn

amm

mahbal

399

to laugh

tmawa

galak

mkatawa

something

nasahn

laglag

mlata

BOLLAS

35

400

to lie (on side)

hmga

dda

mhgda

401

to live

mabhaj

matlaj

mabh

402

to look

tmn

san

mtanaw

403

to love

mbg

maajat

mhggma

404

to moan

ml

makasag

agl

405

to open

bmkas

vkat

mabr

406

to play

maglar

gajam

mdla

407

to pound

baj
pkpk

pppk

pkpk

408

to pull

hla

ggn

bra

409

to push

tlak

tba

tkld

410

to put

lagaj

makwa

bta

411

to quarrel

awaj

gt

awaj

412

to rain

mlan

ran

lan

413

to return

bumalk

matl

balk

414

to rub

ksks

ksks

ksks

415

to run

takb

palaaw

dagan

416

to say

sab

makah

417

to scratch (itch)

kamt

kabba

katl

418

to see

kta

masta

kta

419

to sell

bl

malak

palt

420

to sew

tah

daht

tah

421

to shout

sgaw

kaaw

agt

422

to show

pakta

pasan

pakta

423

to shower

ambn

afafk

psk

424

to sing

awt
kanta

kann

kanta

425

to sink (intrans.)

lbg

malmag

lnd

426

to sit

mattttg

lkd

427

to sleep

tlg

makkatrg

tlg

428

to smell

amj

dag

smht

429

to speak

salta

rg

slt

430

to spit

dra

tpra

lwa

431

to split

hat

gadwa

ta

432

to squeeze

pga

pga

pga

433

to stab (or stick)

saksak

dddg

saksak

434

to stand

taj

tadag

tndg

435

to steal

nakaw

kkt

kawat

436

to string (as leis)

thg

daht

thg

tanawn
mahaln

BOLLAS

36

437

to suck

spsp

snsp

spsp

438

to swallow

lnk

sll

tln

439

to sweat

paws

lat

st

440

to swell

maga

lattag

hbag

441

to swim

laj

taffg

laj

442

to think

sp

pannt

hnahna

443

to throw

tapn

malappak

labaj

444

to tie

tal

galt

bgks

445

to vomit

maska

mta

ska

446

to walk

lakad

manalan

lakaw

447

to wash

hgas

mabbagg

hgas

448

to weave

hab

maddaht

habla

449

to wipe

pahd

maffnat

pahd

450

to wrap up

baltn

vkktan

pts

451

today

aj araw

saaw a algaw

kar adlaw

452

toe

dalr sa paa

taka

maa tdl

453

tomorrow

the following day

bkas

knabkasan

sn mma

gma

454

tooth (front)

pn (all tth)

pan

pn

455

torch, light

sl

af

sga

456

tree

pnkahj

kaj

kahj

457

trunk (of tree)

pn

kaj

pnan

458

turtle

pag

pag

pag

459

twins

kambal

kambal

kambal

460

two

dalawa

dwa

dha

461

ugly

pat

pat

pat

462

upper garment

bar

pa tm

pataas

463

upside down,

twad

balttag

twad

pataas

patn

pataas

stooping with the

hags

pnas

katawan

head forward

464

upward

465

urine

pasag

466

vagina

pkpk

ppt

pkpk

467

vegetables

glaj

glaj

glaj

468

voice

tng

bss

tg

469

war

dgmaan

gjra

gjra

paakjat

pk

BOLLAS

37

470

warm (weather)
warm and humid

mant

mapat

nt

maalnsaan

471

water

tbg

danm

tbg

472

water buffalo

kalabaw

nwa

karabaw

473

wave (as surf)

aln

arapa

bald

474

we (1 person, pl.)

kam

kam

kam

475

we (dual, pl.)

taj

tta

kta

476

weak

mahna

nakaf

hnaj

477

wet

basa

nabasa

basa

478

what

an

hanna

nsa

479

wheel

gl

plg

lgd

480

when

klan

sn hanna

kansa

481

where

saan

an na

aha

482

white

pt

fraw

pt

483

who

sn

nja

knsa

484

why

bakt

kaam

an

485

wide

malawak

alawa

dak / lag

486

wife

asawa

atawa

asawa

487

wind (breeze)

han

an

han

488

wine

alak

manm

bn

489

wing

pakpak

pajak

pakpak

490

wink

kndat

kndat

kndat

491

woman (female)

baba

babaj

baba

492

woods (forest)

gbat
kagbatan

kakajwan

kalasaan

st

nasan

majbahaj

kakahjan

493

woody tendril-

gg

494

worm

d
blat

lag

ld

495

wrong

mal

mal

mal

496

yawn

hkab

maawawag

majab

497

ye

kaj

kaj

kam

498

year

tan

dahn

tg

499

yesterday

kahapn

katt kab

gahapn

500

welcome

wala anman

awan naj

waj kas

bearing vine

bagn

BOLLAS

38

Appendix 2 - Informants profile

For Cebuano:
Name: Neil Mark Enriquez

Provincial Address: Iligan City, Lanao del Norte

Age: 23 years old
Contact number: 09273149930
Name: Erl Anthony Mendiola

Provincial Address: O2-D Baadero, Ozamis City, Purok 1, Misamis Occidental

Age: 23 years old

Contact number: 09071086524

For Itawis:
Name: Jane Frances Taguinod

Provincial Address: Tuguegarao City, Cagayan

Age: 18 years old

Contact number: 09261701732

BOLLAS

39