Cebuano
🗺️ Cebuano
Overview
- Language family: Austronesian → Malayo-Polynesian
- Region: Visayas and Mindanao; dialects include Boholano, Leyte Cebuano but now adays it is spreading in Manial area and across the country
- Number of speakers: (approximately 80%)
- Status: widely spoken
- Alternate names/spellings: Bisaya
Phonology
Consonants
b k d g h l m n ng p r s t w y
Vowels
a e i o u
Notable Features
- (Unique sounds, tone, stress, vowel harmony, etc.)
Grammar
🗺️ Word order
Default word order: Verb–Subject–Object (VSO) (like Tagalog).
Example: Mikaon ang bata ug mangga. → “The child ate a mango.” (lit. Ate the child mango)
Word order is flexible, but particles and case markers (ang, ug, sa) determine the roles of words more than position.
🗺️ Pronouns
Cebuano pronouns are case-marked and distinguish inclusive vs. exclusive “we”.
| Person | Nominative (subject) | Genitive (possessor/agent) | Oblique (object, direction) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg | ako / ko | ako / ko | kanako / nako |
| 2nd sg | ikaw / ka | imo / nimo | kanimo / nimo |
| 3rd sg | siya | iya / niya | kaniya / niya |
| 1st pl excl. | kami | amo / namo | kanamo / namo |
| 1st pl incl. | kita | ato / nato | kanato / nato |
| 2nd pl | kamo | inyo / ninyo | kaninyo / ninyo |
| 3rd pl | sila | ila / nila | kanila / nila |
- Differences from Tagalog:
Cebuano often uses ako/ko, ikaw/ka interchangeably depending on position.
kita (inclusive “we”), kami (exclusive “we”), same as Tagalog tayo/kami.
🗺️ Verb system
Like Tagalog, Cebuano verbs use aspect (not strict tense) and voice/focus, marked by affixes.
Aspects (completed, incompleted, contemplated)
kaon (root = eat)
mikaon/ni-kaon → ate (completed)
nangaon/nagakaon → eating (incompleted/ongoing)
mokaon/makaon → will eat (contemplated/future)
🗺️ Voices / Focus system
Actor-focus: Mikaon ang bata ug mangga. (The child ate mango)
Object-focus: Gikaon sa bata ang mangga. (The mango was eaten by the child)
Locative-focus: Kaonan sa bata ang kusina. (The kitchen will be eaten in by the child = The child will eat in the kitchen)
🗺️ Affixes
mo-/mi-/mag- (actor focus): mokaon (will eat), miinom (drank)
-on (object focus): kaonon (to be eaten)
i- (instrumental focus): ikaon (to use for eating)
ma-/maka- (ability, involuntary, state): makakaon (can eat), matulog (to sleep)
🗺️ Mood
Indicative, imperative, potential (pwede, makaya = can, able).
Negation: dili (not, for verbs/adjectives), wala (none/there is not).
Vocabulary
Core Words
| English | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| Water | Tubig |
| Sun | Adlaw |
| Mother | Mama |
| House | Balay |
Numbers
- 1 = uno
- 2 = dos
- 3 = tres
- 4 = kwatro
- 5 = cinco
- 6 = siyes
- 7 = syete
- 8 = otso
- 9 = nuybe
- 10 = dyes
Sample Text
Example Sentence
- Cebuano: (Insert example sentence here)
- Translation: (Provide English or national language translation)
Examples
| English | Cebuano |
|---|---|
| Good morning/afternoon/evening. | Maayong buntag/hapon/gabii. |
| Good morning, too. | Maayong buntag sab/pud. |
| Where are you going? | Asa ka paingon?/Asa ka padulong? |
| Just there. | Naa ra diha. |
Longer Text
(Insert folk tale, poem, or dialogue if available.)
Related Dialects
References
- (Books, articles, dictionaries, or online resources)
- (Add Template:Cite web or Template:Cite book templates if available on your wiki)
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