🗺️ 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)
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