PLEASE COMPLETE BOTH SECTIONS

Student details

Name and Student Number Jimmy G. Pedroza (15656126)

Course Master of Education

Unit details

Unit code 12377 Tutorial day Monday

Unit name Language Analysis and Language Tutorial time 10:00 12:00
learning

Unit lecturer or tutor Dr. Chris Conlan

Assignment details

Topi Analysis on Filipino Language Morphemes

Due date Word count 4893

Extension granted / No Yes Extension date ____________________

Is this a resubmission? / No Yes Resubmission ____________________

date

Declaration

I certify that the attached material is my original work. No other persons work or ideas have
been used without acknowledgement. Except where I have clearly stated that I have used some
of this material elsewhere, I have not presented this for assessment in another course or unit at
this or any other institution. I have retained a copy of this assignment. I have read and
understand the Curtin University of Technology document Academic Integrity at Curtin: Student
guidelines for avoiding plagiarism.

Name/Signature Jimmy G. Pedroza Date

 -1-

Analysis on Filipino Language Morphemes

Jimmy Geminez Pedroza

MAEd Student
Curtin University

Abstract

The study of language morphemes has always been considered as a good vehicle to
understand the complexities of languages across culture and the knowledge of this particular
area hastens the development of the communicative competence on the part of the language
learners. Many research studies conducted on morpheme analysis but there were only few
that focus on Filipino morphemes. Much of the studies on Filipino morphemes were done in
the context of proving some language theories. Some research studies on this area contained
some errors due to lack of knowledge in Filipino language phonology transcription. This
study focuses on the pragmatic analysis of how Filipino morphemes form and affect the roots
where they are being attached. The results of the research reveal the effects of some Filipino
morphemes on the roots they are being attached and the processes involved in affixation. It
also document the aesthetic connotation of some morphemes expressed in the form of
language politeness. Nevertheless, this study provides better understanding on Filipino
language morphology.

Keywords: Filipino, morphemes, affixes, affixation

Author: Jimmy Geminez Pedroza

Affiliation: Department of Education Mandaue City Division
Contact: 0412720983/ jimmyg_pedroza@yahoo.com

Background

The topographical structure of the Philippines which is archipelagic brought the existence of

several languages. According to Yap (2010), the Philippines has over 170 languages spread

across its 7100 islands. Every ethnic group have strong loyalty on their culture and also take

pride in using their native tongue. These attitudes of strong ethnocentric idealism sometimes

pose problems in the government initiative to unite its populace. Though, the resistance can

also be attributed to the past centralised form of governance that focused on developing major

cities and provinces; and situated all government agencies in greater Manila that made other

provinces and small islands political and developmental concerns barely heard and

addressed thus making them literally far from civilisation.

 -2-

This inter-island division that is caused by the two factors still exists even this time where the

government has fully understood the effects of centralisation. The government move to

narrow the cultural, ideological and inter-island gaps through distributing government

agencies across the different islands and making them accessible even to the remote areas

somehow alleviates the issue.

Another initiative of the government to bridge the encompassing cultural gap is through

instituting a national language. It was in 1936 the Philippine government established the

Surian ng Wikang Pambansa (Institute of National Language) and this was later change to

Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (Commission on Filipino Language). This agency was tasked

to look for a language that will become the language for all its populace in economic and

political undertakings and also for the purpose of breaking the language barrier among its

inhabitants. The agency selected Tagalog as the basis for the National Language. The factors

that are considered why Philippine National Language be based on Tagalog language system

are: the dominance of the Tagalog speakers, and it is the language spoken in the countrys

capital Manila which is the prominent centre of trade (Paz, 1996).

This initiative drew resistance from non-Tagalog critics in the Visayas, Mindanao and some

parts of Luzon. The critics standpoint was that the agencys decision to have the Tagalog as

the basis of the Philippine National Language is a wanton disregard of their contribution and

existence in the diverse but rich Philippine culture (Belvez, 2010; Paz, 1996; & Yap, 2010).

Thus, in 1959 the Tagalog-based National Language was renamed into Pilipino. After the

downfall of the dictatorial government, a new constitution arises and it changed the

Philippine National Language into Filipino from Pilipino. This is embodied in Article XIV

section 6 of 1987 Philippine constitution (Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, n.d.). The reasons
 -3-

behind of the changes of the name of the Philippine National language are to suppress

resistance that become detrimental in the imposition of the national language as part of the

school curriculum, and to acknowledge the linguistic contributions of other major and

language minorities across the archipelago (Paz, 1996; & Yap, 2010).

Filipino not Tagalog

Until this time, many people from other countries as well as some Filipinos believe that the

Philippine National Language is Tagalog. This is because the difference between the Filipino

language and Tagalog language is indistinguishable. Being not aware of the linguistic

diversity of the Philippines, one can say that every other languages spoken in the country has

different semantics, syntax and morphology. Yet, various linguistic studies conducted in

different parts of the Philippine islands suggest that they are all related to each other and

shared common language elements (Paz, 1996).

There are two major reasons why Philippine National Language should be Filipino not

Tagalog as stressed by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (Commission on Filipino

Language) and other Filipino language scholars. These are the political and linguistics

dimensions. Tagalog refers to the people and the language of ethnic group inhabiting Region

IV and the Tagalog provinces like Bulacan, Bataan, Nueva Ecija and Zambales which belong

to Region III (Yap, 2010). The Philippines has 17 regions, thus, it is not right to use it as

language marker to describe the entire country. As mentioned earlier that every ethnic group

have strong loyalty on their culture and take pride in using their native tongue, these create

political division and resistance on the institutionalisation of Tagalog as Philippine National

Language. Considering the fact that one of the reasons why Tagalog was chosen as the basis

for the national language is that it is spoken in the capital and prominent trade zone of the

country which is Manila. However, it is also worthwhile to consider that Manila alone is
 -4-

composed of various ethnic groups and languages brought about by the influx of settlers from

other regions who migrated in the city for various economic, educational, and employment

considerations. Thus, the language within the capital city is greatly influenced by languages

of other major and language minorities. Then, it can be argued that Tagalog language

nowadays is not purely the language spoken by the Tagalog ethnic groups in the past.

Nevertheless, Tagalog is not a has it all language. Some free and bound morphemes used to

describe a phenomenon, reality, substance and etc. have to be borrowed from other ethnic and

foreign languages. In national language context, the modern deemed Tagalog speakers

interchangeably use various morphemes taken from other Philippine languages to express

their ideas and thoughts. The role of other Philippine languages is to meet the lexical gap of

the Tagalog language. For instance, the word asawa, this word can be vague since this word

refers to both husband and wife in Tagalog language but in Visayan language it just means

wife. For this reason the morpheme bana and asawa which in Visayan language context

means husband and wife respectively are quite appropriate to be used to have a distinction of

meaning and gender. The morphemes asawa and bana, and other morphemes from other

Philippine languages are currently used in Filipino utterance.

The government move that changed the Philippine National Language to Filipino is a

remarkable initiative to unite its people. Considering the reasons presented, the move is then

justified. Moreover, the Commission on Filipino Language (Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino)

and other Filipino linguists claim that Filipino language evolved and taken from various

languages across the archipelago is arguably undeniable due to the fact that other Philippine

languages supplement the lexical gap of the language that serve as the basis of the Philippine

national language. Furthermore, this initiative establishes a sense of ownership of the

promulgated national language among all the different Philippine ethnic groups spread across
 -5-

its territory, and it is by this idea, division and resistance of implementing the use of the

national language through its inclusion in its educational curriculum are alleviated. Thus, it is

hoped that all Filipino language critics will embrace the idea, and asserts the importance of

having Filipino as the Philippine National Language which plays the vital role in uniting and

bridging the language barriers among its entire populace.

Previous Studies in Filipino Morphology

Filipino language has been studied in different countries. In fact, in 1965 the first Ph.D. thesis

in its morphological word structure was defended by a Russian linguist Vlademir Makarenko.

Another papers that studied the language are the 1966 Classification of the Parts of Speech

in Modern Tagalog by Podrerezskey, and 1967 Verb in Modern Tagalog: Problems of

Morphology by Shkarban. There were also numerous of textbooks on Filipino language

published. All this were done and published in Russia for the consumption of Russian

students who are studying Philippine Philology (Zabolotnaya, 2006). However, most of this

research studies and textbooks cannot be used in Philippine setting since they might be

written in Russian language. If it is difficult and odd for some Filipinos to speak the Filipino

language, using them become more difficult since the materials were probably written in

Russian language. Zabolotnaya (2006) reported also that there were studies on this area that

were not published due to some errors that abound in them.

Another attempt in decoding the Filipino morphology was done and presented in a linguistics

class. But, it was haphazardly done. For example the root work lakad (walk) and kandila

(candle) were written such these laakad and kandiilah, then by affixing the prefix pag

the words become paglalaakad and pagkakandiilah (Winter, 2011). Due to phonological

error in transcribing the root morphemes, the new words which are the product of affixation
 -6-

and the root themselves cannot be considered lexically a Filipino vocabulary nor can be

found in Filipino dictionary.

There are other various studies as well that look into Filipino morphology in the context of

proving some linguistic theories. Rackowski (1999) studies the language aspectual

reduplicant positioning and disproved the applicability of standard Optimality Theory to

account such language phenomenon. He concluded that the language reduplication is a case

of morphological variation in which one morpheme has the ability to be spelled out in several

different positions (p. 29). Another study conducted by Rackowski and Richards (2005)

seeks to discover language artefacts that support Chomskys theory on phase theory of

movement. It is worthwhile to note that this study make use of other languages like German

though the title itself clearly manifests a case study on the Tagalog language.

The literatures suggest that there are only few research studies that look into the pragmatic

use of some Filipino morphemes particularly the affixes. Some of them are defective due to

some error in phonological transcription of Filipino morphemes. For these reasons, the need

to conduct a research on Filipino morphemes is necessary. This will add to the existing

corpse of research studies on Filipino language morphology.

The Study

This research aims to examine the Filipino language morphology particularly the affixes.

Specifically, this will try to satisfy the following objectives: (i) analyse how words in Filipino

are formed, (ii) examine the aesthetic value or connotation of some Filipino morphemes, and

(iii) examine how Filipino morphemes affect or change the meaning of the word. This study

will significantly benefit the Filipino learners to further their understanding on the

morphology of their language that may facilitate in learning it and it will also help them
 -7-

appreciate the aesthetic connotation of some morphemes that will aid them to connect and

understand their cultural and social heritage. This will also benefit the Filipino language

teachers in a manner that this will further their knowledge on how Filipino words are form

and serve as teaching resources in teaching Filipino morphology. To the global language

learning community, this will inform them how Filipino words are form and make them

aware of the socio-cultural connotation of some morphemes in Filipino language that may

become of help if they wanted to learn and consequently use the language.

This research utilises the exploratory-interpretative paradigm of research to satisfy the

objectives (Davies & Elder, 2004). This is a non-experimental design, so the data are

collected and interpreted qualitatively. The source of the data is a Filipino short story Ang

Buhay ni Neneng written by Harvey Lyca Alcansis, a Filipino writer. This story is published

in a website that documented the 2008 Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature,

a prestigious Philippine award giving body for Filipino writers. The story contains copious

morphemes that are commonly used in daily conversation using the Filipino language. This is

the main reason why it is chosen as the source of the data that will be interpreted

qualitatively.

All of the morphemes in the story that serve as the variables for the research are coded and

consequently translated into English in the analysis and discussion area of the research to

increase the readability of the research and to have them understood by non-Filipino

researchers and readers. The coded morphemes that are taken out from the story are dissected

in such their roots and affixes will be separated from each other. The affixes are examined

through qualitative descriptions and this will subsequently bring us to address the objective of

this research.
 -8-

Filipino Morphemes Analysis and Discussion

Morphology deals with word structure and the process on how words in particular language

are made up and its goal is to get better understanding on how language of a particular group

or society is formed (Conlan, 2001). The smallest meaning unit in a particular language is

called morphemes in which affixes are part of it. Affixes are bound morphemes that are

attached to a root word to form another word that are derivational or inflectional of the root

and the process is called affixation. These morphemes affect the meaning of the word where

it is being attached. In most languages particularly English language, they are attached before

or after a root word but in some other languages, affixes are placed within the root word

(Gibbon, 2006). The process is governed and largely dependent on certain language rules on

affixation. Filipino language is one of those languages that possess three kinds of affixes: the

prefixes, infixes, and suffixes.

In Filipino language, affixes are morphemes that most of the time cannot stand by itself

without being attached to a word. Though, they represent a particular meaning yet they need

a body where they can cling upon, alter and influence its meaning. In this part, we will

examine and analyse some of the Filipino affixes that are commonly used in Filipino

utterances and daily conversation which are also contained in the short story Ang Buhay ni

Neneng (see the copy of the story at the appendix).

Table I: Filipino Prefixes

Filipino Word English Translation Prefix Root word English Translation

[1]
madilim Darkness ma dilim Dark
[2]
umalingaw- echoed um alingawngaw Echo
ngaw
[29]
umalis left alis leave; remove
[5]
panganganak giving birth pang anak son/daughter
[8]
narinig Heard na dinig Hear
[9]
taga-baryo villager taga baryo Village
[10]
pagmamahal holding dear; to love pag mahal dear, love
 -9-

[11]inaruga Cared in aruga Care

[14]
mag-asawa Couple mag asawa husband/wife
[22]
pala-away Quarrelsome pala away Quarrel
[45]
iabot be handed; to hand or i abot Reach
to deliver
[44]
paki-abot please hand or deliver paki abot Reach
[15]
kanila belongs to them ka nila Them
[7]
alas-diyes 10:00 pm alas diyes (Spanish) Ten

The table shows various Filipino words that are dissected in such way that each root is

separated from the morphemes attached to it. In this, we look into how these morphemes

which are the prefixes affect the meaning of the root word. Ma in madilim (darkness)

signifies a certain quality of something which is dilim (dark). The prefix ma when used to

construct adjectives, means having a certain quality (eg. [16]malusog , healthy; magaslaw

flirtatiousness; malikot, fidgety, unruly). In some cases ma is used to signify having a lot

of something, for instance the Filipino word madami (many), and masaya (joyful). The

prefix ma is perhaps the most commonly used Filipino adjective affix. Pala is another

adjective prefix. The word [22]pala-away is a Visayan adjective which is adopted in Filipino

language. [22]Pala-away is synonymous to the Tagalog word basaguliro. Pala means

frequent or having the quality of something (ex. palautang, frequently asked for credit).

Nevertheless, the prefix alas is also an adjective affix and it signifies time. This prefix is

commonly used by other languages within the Philippines and is always followed by Spanish

cardinal numbers from 1 to 12. The affix alas becomes ala when it modifies the first

Spanish cardinal number (ala-ona, 1:00 AM/PM; alas-dos, 2:00 AM/PM; alas-tres, 3:00

AM/PM;)This is one of the Spanish influences over the Filipino language.

Some prefixes serve as verb affix. The prefix um, na, i, in, and paki are usually used

as verb affixes. Um, na and in signify past action and the verb formed by affixing those

affix is equivalent to the past tense of the verb in English language. The prefixes um, and

in precede a base form of a verb that starts with a vowel sounds like [11] aruga, iwan, and
 - 10 -

uwi. However, um and in are used differently, the former is used in active sentences or

in ang phrase (Umalis ang bata sa upuan; The child left from the chair.) and the latter in

passive sentences or in ng phrase (Inalis ng bata ang upuan; The chair was removed by the

child.). The prefix na, on the other hand, is used in verbs which have consonant initial

syllable like [8]dinig (hear) and takot (frightened). This prefix also signifies an action that

took place already. However, the prefixes i, mag and paki are used in directing someone

to do something and their uses will be discuss together with some other affixes in the later

part of this discourse.

The prefixes pang, taga, ka, mag, at pag are used to form nouns. These prefixes vary

in their uses. Pang is affixed to a verb to form a noun (pang + ahit (v. shave) = shaver) or to

a noun to form another noun related to the root [[5]pang (repetition) + anak (child), to give

birth]. Sometimes, this prefix changes to pam or pan when it follows a verb with initial

phoneme like b (pambura, eraser); d (pandikit, sticker, glue); t (pantakip, material use to

cover a pot or something); and p (pampalo [pamalo], bat, cudgel). The taga is used to point

where the person comes from (taga-Australia, a person from Australia). The affix ka is used

to show shared aspects or things ([15]kanila, belongs to them), commonality between objects

(ka + trabaho (work), colleague or co-worker). The affix pag is usually followed by

repeating the first syllable of the word it is being affixed. Usually the words formed by

affixing it function like the English gerunds and infinitives (e.g. Ang pag-aahit ng bigote ay

kailangan gawing kaugalian, Shaving of moustache should be done regularly). The prefix

mag on the other hand, means two persons or things having something in common as

expressed by the root ([14]mag-asawa, couple), and when used to modify a verb it also

denotes to do the thing expressed by the root (magdala, to bring).

 - 11 -

Table II: Filipino Infixes

Filipino Word English Translation Infix Root word English Translation

[3]
kinaya Came within ability; in Kaya Ability
made it
[25]
lumaki, Grew Um Laki Size

In Filipino language, there are only two used infixes. Both infix in and um are affixed to a

verb and they signify past action. It is also worth to note that if the first syllable of the verb

where these infixes being affixed is repeated, the meaning of the word changed. For example,

-um-+ laki = [25]lumaki, (grew) and lumalaki (is growing) are in different tenses. The infix

in is usually used within the verbs that start with b (binato, hit something with a stone or

any material), k ([3]kinaya, came within ability), and w (winagayway, raised or waved). On

the other hand, the infix um is used to signify past action and is commonly affixed to verbs

that start with l ([25]lumaki, grew), p (pumunta, went) and t (tumakbo, ran).

Table III: Filipino Suffixes

Filipino Word English Translation Suffix Root word English Translation

[23]
iyakin cry-baby in Iyak Cry
[49]
hati-an to share an Hati divide, split

Table III contains Filipino commonly used suffixes. In and an vary in the way they are

being used. The suffix in when affixed to a word makes it as an adjective ([23]iyakin, cry-

baby, mahiyain, shy person) or a passive verb (eg. putulin, to cut, tanungin, to ask). When it

is used to make adjective, it bears a meaning of has the tendency to while when used as

verb affix it means to do what is expressed by the root to a person or thing. On the other

hand, suffix an is a noun forming affix, though it function as well as passive verb affix. For

instance, the words sangla (v) becomes sanglaan/pawnshop (n), and hati (v) becomes [49]hati-

an / to share (v). This suffix when used as noun affix means a place where the root word is
 - 12 -

performed, while used as verb affix it means to do what is expressed by the root to a person

or thing.

Both suffixes take h when paired to a word with syllabic tail like tindahan/ shop or store,

and intindihin /to understand. Another feature with these suffixes is when they are affixed to

a word which ends with d, the -d changes to r (e. g. tawad tawaran, to

haggle); lakad lakarin, to walk). Also, when these suffixes used in forming

transient derivative of a word, they carry some irregular modifications of a certain root. These

are few examples of this occurrence:

Bigay (give) bigyan (to give, instead of bigayan)

Asin (salt) asnan (to apply salt, instead of asinan)
Hingi (ask) hingin (to ask, instead of hingiin)

Table IV: Filipino Affix in Tandem

Filipino Word English Translation Prefix Root word English Translation

[19]
nakakalimutan Habitual act of Nakakaan Limot Forget
forgetting
[28]
pagka-iyakin Being a cry-baby Pagkain Iyak Cry
[38]
pinigilan Stopped; held -inan Pigil Stop
[42]
nilagyan Filled Nian Lagay Place; put

Some words in Filipino are made by adding two affixes in a morpheme. The tandem of the

two affixes creates another word which is different but related term to the root or it is a

derivative of the root. As observed, there are only two ways to apply tandem of affixes in

Filipino language, it is either by using prefix-suffix or infix-suffix. Unlike in English

language that allows more than two morphemes affixed to a root like pro-anticommunism

(pro, anti, and ism); Filipino language is quite restrictive when it comes to affixation. It only

allows not more than two affixes to interact with a particular morpheme. There are few of

affixes in tandem used in Filipino language, but in this essay, it only accounts the tandem

occurred in the selection.

 - 13 -

Table IV gives us some pair of morphemes attached to a root. The prefix nakaka(able to, to

cause) and suffix an (noun or passive verb forming suffix) have different effects to the root

but when this two affixes go together it means to cause something expressed by the root or

habitual act expressed by its root, so in the case of [19]nakakalimutan (nakaka+ root + an) it

denotes habitually or always forgetting thing/s. The tandem of prefix pagka (the act of

having done the action expressed by its root) and suffix in (has the tendency or quality to)

signifies quality of a person or a thing as expressed by the root. The word [28]pagka-iyakin

means the quality of being a cry-baby. Affix formation nakaka+ root + an, and pagka +

root + an are noun forming tandem of affixes.

The combination of infix in and suffix an as it occurred in the word [38]pinigilan conveys

having done what is expressed by the root, so the word means stopped. One should

remember that infix in signify past tense of the root. Likewise, the tandem of prefix ni and

suffix an ([42]nilagyan ) bears the same denotation with the tandem of infix in and suffix

an. These two tandems of affixes are verb forming.

Affixes Connotation

In Filipino language po and opo are usually used to convey respect. Aside from these two

morphemes that signify language politeness, affixes function as well like these two words.

Consider these sentences.

[44]
1. Paki-abot sa akin ang tinapay. (Please, hand me the bread.)
[45]
2. Iabot mo ang tinapay sa kapatid mo. (Hand the bread to your

sister/brother.)

3. Mag-abot ka ng tinapay sa kapatid mo. (Hand bread to your sister/brother.)

4. Abutan mo siya ng tinapay. (Hand her/him the bread.)

 - 14 -

5. Abutin mo ang tinapay na nakalagay sa buslo. (Reach the bread in the

basket.)

The affixes i, mag, an, and in give a signal for a command statement. As in the case

used in the example, the morpheme mo, ka, and ninyo or kayo (pl.) which is tantamount

to the second person pronoun you, should precede with the verb as it is translated into

English, thus the sentence should go this way, You, hand the bread to your sister/brother.,

but this is not the usual case in English command statement, thus they are being dropped as

they are translated to English statements. However, the following affixes vary in the sentence

construct. When using the affix i to signify a sentence as command, the speaker should use

the pronoun mo(singular) or ninyo(plural) after the verb where it is being affixed then

followed by the ang phrase. Suffixes an and in on the other hand, follow sentence

construct as the prefix i, yet, it should be noted that verb with affix in should be followed

with the object of the action plus its location/purpose of the action after the pronoun mo or

ninyo; while word with suffix an should be followed by pronoun mo or ninyo plus the

noun or pronoun that benefits the action plus the ng phrase. On the other hand, the word

with prefix mag should be followed by the pronoun ka (singular) or kayo (plural) then

with or without the ng phase which is usually followed by the noun or pronoun that benefits

the action. All these prefixes when used to signify a command statement should only be used

when you are asking someone at your level of age, status (job position) or you are being in a

close relationship. It is impolite to use them when asking favour from old person/s or

someone who is in higher rank.

The prefix paki is the safest prefix to be used when asking someone for a favour, or

requesting someone to do you something. The prefix paki is equivalent to the English word

please. Though it is usually used in asking an older person/s or person/s in the higher rank to

do you a favour, but, there is no restriction when to use this request marker regardless of the
 - 15 -

age and position gap between the speaker and the person/s where the request is intended to

because this morpheme bears an inherent degree of politeness.

Another affix that has aesthetic connotation is the prefix ka. The prefix ka as presented

and discussed in table 3 is used to show shared aspects or commonality between objects.

Moreover, when it is affixed directly to a proper noun like [54]Ka-Erning, it carries a certain

degree of respect to a person. This means that Erning is a person treasured, respected, and

honoured by the community for some valuable contribution or because of his good deeds to

his fellows.

Conclusion

Filipino language morphology has several affixes that can be classified as noun, adjective and

verb forming affixes. Some affixes have aesthetic connotation which are inherent in them that

make the utterance polite. We cannot say that these language features are unique from other

languages; in fact, Conlan (1996) noted that the study of language politeness in different

language context was prevalent several years ago. Several linguistic researchers like

Jakobson, Fant and Halle (1952); and Greenberg (1963) as cited by Paz (1996) claimed that

languages shared common elements and showed in their research studies the existence of

language universality.

This research further reveals that every affixes have different effects on the morphemes it is

attached with, although some functions almost alike with the other affixes. Also, it gives us

the idea that Filipino language is quite restrictive; in a manner that it does not allow more

than two affixes interacting with a particular morpheme. Thus, one should be cautious in

using them. For this reason, Filipino students and other Filipino language learners should

have thorough knowledge on how these morphemes work and change the meaning of the
 - 16 -

word it is being attached. Thorough knowledge on how to use these morphemes can be

attained through conscious consideration of how each morphemes function and this will make

them be able to communicate using the Filipino language effectively. As pointed out by

Conlan (2001) that being aware of how morphemes function is necessary to develop

competence in using the language communicatively.

Furthermore, this research implies that effective use of bound morphemes whether it is

inflectional or derivational requires deeper understanding on Filipino language affixation.

Whilst, one can barely find a single Filipino sentence that does not contain any morphemes

that undergo the process of affixation, since the affixes serve as important agents in forming

three of the fundamental parts of speech which are the noun, verb, and adjective.

Nevertheless, this research reveals that Filipino language affixes are agents that change the

meaning, tenses, and even dictate the Filipino language syntax and pragmatic use.

References:

Belvez, P. (2010). Development of Filipino, the national language of the Philippines.

Retrieved from: http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/articles-on-c-n-
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 - 18 -

Appendix A:

Ang Buhay ni Neneng

(ni Harvey Lyca Alcansis)

Isang gabing [1]madilim sa isang baryo [2]umalingaw-ngaw ang tinig ng isang inang buong

sikap na [3]kinaya ang sakit at hapding [4]nadarama, sa [5]panganganak sa kanyang

[6]
pangalawang sanggol. Eksaktong [7]alas-diyes ng gabi ay isa nanamang munting tinig ang
[8]
narinig ng mga [9]taga-baryo, ang tinig ng [10]kasisilang na batang sanggol na babae.

Buong [10]pagmamahal na [11]inaruga at [12]inalagaan ng [13]butihing [14]mag-asawa ang

[15]
kanilang [16]malusog na batang babae. [17]Pinalaki nila ito ng may takot sa Panginoon at
[18]
magandang asal, ngunit kung minsan ay [19]nakakalimutan ni Neneng ang [20]pagtitimpi,
kung kaya [21]napapasubo ito sa away.Si Neneng ay [22]pala-away ngunit [23]iyakin, kilala ito
sa baryo na [24]iyakin hanggang sa ito ay [25]lumaki, [26]iyakin parin ito. [27]Lumala pa ang
[28]
pagka-iyakin ni Neneng ng ang kanyang tatay ay [29]umalis at [30]pumunta sa
[31]
malaking ciudad dahil doon [32]na-destino sa trabaho. Hirap man sa buhay ang pamilya ay
[33]
naibigay parin ng mga magulang ni Neneng ang kanyang pangangailangan.

Isang [34]umaga, ng si Neneng ay [35]pagising palang para [36]maghanda sa [37]pagpasok ay

bigla lang siyang [38]pinigilan ng kanyang nanay, [39]nabigla si Neneng akala niya ay may

lakad sila ng Nanay

[40]
Naghanda si Nanay ng [41]mainit na tubig at [42]nilagyan ng konting kape at asukal, sabay
hapag sa dalawang piraso na tinapay.

Nanay: Hala sige at [43]kumain na kayo!

Neneng: Kuya, [44]paki-abot sa akin ang tinapay.

Nanay: Kuya, [45]iabot mo ang tinapay sa kapatid mo.

Kuya: Opo, Inay.

 - 19 -

[46]
Nakita nilang walang tinapay si nanay kaya, [47]naisipan ng [48]magkapatid na [49]hati-an
ang kanilang nanay, ngunit [50]pinaubaya nalang ng nanay ang lahat ng [51]pagkain sa
dalawa.

Kuya : Nay, kulang pa eh! [52]Nagugutom pa ako.

Neneng : Ako rin
Nanay : wala na tayong [53]pambili ng tinapay, di pa [54]nagpapadala ang tatay.

Neneng: Nay! Papel nalang kasi tatanggap naman si [55]Ka-Erning ng papel basta may lagda
ninyo (Obsioma, 2009).
(See the full text of the story at: http://maiklingkuwento.blogspot.com.au/2007/09/ang-
buhay-ni-neneng.html)