Hiligaynon language

Hiligaynon, also often called Ilonggo or Binisayâ/Bisayâ nga Hiniligaynon/Inilonggo, is a regional language spoken by about 9.1 million people in the Philippines. Most speakers live on Panay Island, in Negros Occidental, and in Soccsksargen. It is the second-most widely spoken language in the Visayas and is part of the Bisayan languages.

This language belongs to the larger group of Austronesian languages and is more distantly related to other Philippine languages. Though it has one of the largest groups of native speakers in the Philippines, it was not formally taught in schools until 2012. Hiligaynon has the ISO 639-2 three-letter code hil, but it does not have an ISO 639-1 two-letter code.

The language is mainly spoken in regions such as Western Visayas, including Iloilo, Capiz, and Guimaras, as well as Negros Island Region and Soccsksargen. It is also used by speakers of other languages like Kinaray-a, Cebuano, and Ilocano who live in these areas. Even though many people speak Hiligaynon, it is sometimes hard to find ways to learn it online because it is not well-documented.

Nomenclature

See also: Visayans

The Hiligaynon language is also called Ilonggo or Ilongo, because it began in Iloilo. Some people who speak the language but live outside Iloilo think that calling it Ilonggo is not right. They believe that the word Ilonggo should only describe the culture and language of the people who live in Iloilo. This disagreement about the name includes both language experts and everyday speakers.

History

Early Spanish explorers in the Philippines noticed that the name for this language started with people living along the coasts, called Ilawod, in Iloilo on Panay Island. They were named Yligueynes by one explorer, Miguel de Loarca, and later called Hiligaynon.

The word Hiligaynon comes from ilig, meaning "to go downstream," and describes a river in Iloilo. Another group, called Kinaray-a by Spanish colonizers, lived in the highlands and were known as Karay-a, meaning "highlanders."

Dialects

Hiligaynon, like many languages in the Philippines, hasn't had much study on its different forms. The standard form, used in the area around Iloilo, has a rich and old vocabulary. In contrast, the version spoken in busy Metro Iloilo is simpler and more modern.

For example, in the city version, the word for "to wander" or "to stroll" is lágaw, which most speakers use. But in the standard form, people more often say dayán, a word not used much elsewhere. Another example is amó iní, meaning "this is it" in standard Hiligaynon, which becomes 'mó'ní in the city version.

Other well-known forms of Hiligaynon include Bacolodnon Hiligaynon (spoken around Metro Bacolod), Negrense Hiligaynon (from Negros Occidental with three smaller versions), Guimaras Hiligaynon, and Mindanao Hiligaynon (which has words from Cebuano and other languages because many people from places like Bohol and Siquijor moved there).

Some speakers also think that Kinaray-a and Capiznon are types of Hiligaynon. But experts say Kinaray-a is a different Western Bisayan language, and Capiznon is a Central Bisayan language that is close to Hiligaynon.

Phonology

Consonants

The sounds [d] and [ɾ] used to change depending on the word but now they stay the same in Hiligaynon. For example, the word patawaron means "to forgive" and comes from patawad, meaning "forgiveness". But you will not hear patawadon. Similarly, tagadiín means "from where" and comes from diín, meaning "where", but you will not hear tagariín.

Vowels

Hiligaynon has four main vowel sounds: /a/, /i ~ ɛ/, /o ~ ʊ/, and /u/. The sounds [i] and [ɛ] are both written as i. [i] is used at the beginning and middle of words and sometimes at the end, while [ɛ] is used only at the end of syllables. The sounds [ʊ] and [o] are also written the same way. [ʊ] is used at the start of a syllable, and [o] is used at the end.

Writing system

Hiligaynon is written using the Latin script. In the past, it followed Spanish spelling rules, but today there is no official way to write it, so writers may use different styles. Many younger people now write Hiligaynon using the spelling rules of Filipino.

One big difference between old Spanish-style writing and modern Filipino-style writing is the use of letters. In the old style, "c" and "qu" were used for the sound /k/, but now "k" is used instead. Also, the letter "w" was not used, and "u" was used in some places instead.

The basic alphabet has 20 letters, with both uppercase and lowercase forms.

Alphabet

Additional symbols

The apostrophe ⟨'⟩ and hyphen ⟨-⟩ are also used in Hiligaynon writing and can be thought of as special letters.

The hyphen is used to show a pause in words, like in san-o 'when' and gab-e 'evening; night'. It is also used in words that repeat, like adlaw-adlaw 'daily, every day', from adlaw 'day, sun'. This marking is not used in repeating words that are not used alone, like in pispis 'bird'.

Hyphens are also used in words that have the sounds /g/ and /ŋ/ together, to keep the letters separate with the group NG. For example, in the word gin-gaan 'was given'; without the hyphen, it would be read incorrectly as gingaan.

Some English letters may also be used in words borrowed from other languages.

Grammar

Determiners

Hiligaynon has three types of case markers: absolutive, ergative, and oblique. These markers are divided into personal, which deal with names of people, and impersonal, which deal with everything else. They are also divided into singular and plural types. The plural impersonal case markers are just the singular impersonal case markers plus mga, a word that means "many".

The case markers do not decide which noun is the subject and which is the object. Instead, the verb’s ending decides this. But the noun marked with ang is always the main topic of the sentence.

Personal pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns

There are also two special words, karí, meaning "come here", and kadto, meaning "go there".

Copula

Hiligaynon does not use the word ay like Tagalog does to connect sentences. Instead, sentences are written without any special connecting word.

For example:

• Si Leni matahum or Gwapa si Leni means "Leni is beautiful."

There is no direct way to say "to be" in Hiligaynon. But the prefixes mangin- and nangin- can be used to mean "will be" and "became".

The Spanish word estar, meaning "to be", is also used in Hiligaynon. It is pronounced istar and means "to live in" a place.

For example:

• Nagaistar ako sa tabuk suba. means "I live in the other side of the river."

Existential

To show that something exists, the word may is used.

For example:

• May idô (a)ko means "I have a dog."

Hiligaynon linkers

When an adjective describes a noun, the word nga connects them.

For example:

• Ido nga itom means "black dog".

Sometimes, if the word before nga ends in a vowel, the letter N, or a glottal stop, nga can be shortened to -ng.

The word ka is used when a number describes a noun.

For example:

• Anum ka ido means "six dogs".

Interrogative pronouns

Hiligaynon has special words to ask questions. These include diin (where), san-o (when), sin-o (who), nga-a (why), kamusta (how), ano (what), and pila (how much/how many).

For example:

• Diin ka na subong? means "Where are you now?"
• San-o inâ? means "When is that?"
• Sin-o imo abyan? means "Who is your friend?"
• Nga-a indi ka magkadto? means "Why won’t you go?"
• Kamusta ang tindahan? means "How is the store?"
• Ano ang imo ginabasa? means "What are you reading?"
• Pila ang gaupod sa imo? means "How many are with you?"

Verbs

Focus

In Hiligaynon, the way a sentence is built can change its meaning. This is called focus. In English, we change our voice to emphasize a word. But in Hiligaynon, special word endings and particles show the focus.

For example:

• Nagakawat ang lalaki sang bugas sa tinda para sa iya utod.* means "The man is stealing rice from the market for his sister."
• Ginakawat sang lalaki ang bugas sa tinda para sa iya utod.* means "The man is stealing rice from the market for his sister."

Reduplication

Hiligaynon, like other Philippine languages, repeats parts of words to change their meaning. This is called reduplication. Repeating a word can show that something is not finished or not serious.

For example:

• balay-bálay means "toy-house" or "playhouse".
• maestra-maestra means "make-believe teacher".

Repeating a verb can show that an action is happening without a clear purpose or end.

For example:

• Nag-a-hìbî-híbî ang bátâ. means "The child has been crying and crying."
• Nag-a-tinlò-tinlò akó sang lamésa means "I’m just cleaning off the table (casually)."

Repeating an adjective can show that a quality is changing slowly or not fully achieved.

For example:

• Iní nga kwárto ma-dulùm-dulúm sang sa sinâ means "This room is darker than that one."

Vocabulary

Hiligaynon has many words that came from Spanish. These include everyday words like santo meaning 'saint', berde meaning 'green', antes meaning 'before', and pero meaning 'but'.

The language also uses Spanish words for things like barko for 'ship', sapatos for 'shoes', kutsilyo for 'knife', and kamiseta for 'shirt'. Spanish verbs are used in their simple form, such as edukar for 'to educate' and kantar for 'to sing'. This is similar to how other languages like Cebuano and Tagalog also use Spanish words.

Examples

Just like other Philippine languages that are influenced by Spanish, Hiligaynon uses two systems of numbers, one from its original roots and one from Spanish.

The names of the days of the week come from Spanish.

The Lord's Prayer

Amay namon, nga yara ka sa mga langit
Pagdayawon ang imo ngalan
Umabot sa amon ang imo ginharian
Matuman ang imo boot
Diri sa duta siling sang sa langit
Hatagan mo kami niyan sing kan-on namon
Sa matag-adlaw
Kag patawaron mo kami sa mga sala namon
Siling nga ginapatawad namon ang nakasala sa amon
Kag dili mo kami ipagpadaog sa mga panulay
Hinunuo luwason mo kami sa kalaot
Amen.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Ang Kalibutánon nga Pahayag sang mga Kinamaatárung sang Katáwhan)

Ang tanán nga táwo ginbún-ag nga hílway kag may pag-alalangay sa dungóg kag kinamatárong.
Silá ginhatágan sing pagpamat-ud kag balatyágon kag nagakadápat nga magbinuligáy sa kahulugan sang pag-inuturáy.

Translation:

Every person is born free and equal with honor and rights.
They are given reason and conscience and they must always trust each other for the spirit of brotherhood.

Notable Hiligaynon writers

Further information: Hiligaynon literature

Many people have helped share the Hiligaynon language through their writing.

• Peter Solis Nery is a well-known writer and poet who was born in Dumangas.
• Antonio Ledesma Jayme was a lawyer and leader who lived in Bacolod and was born in Jaro.
• Graciano López Jaena was a writer and speaker from Iloilo, famous for his work in La Solidaridad and Fray Botod. He was born in Jaro.
• Flavio Zaragoza y Cano was called the "Prince of Visayan poets" and was born in Janipaan, Cabatuan.
• Conrado Saquian Norada was a lawyer and leader from Miag-ao.
• Ramon Muzones was a writer and lawyer who received the National Artist of the Philippines award. He was also born in Miag-ao.
• Magdalena Jalandoni was a writer and strong voice for women’s rights, born in Jaro.
• Angel Magahum Sr. was a writer and made the song Iloilo ang Banwa Ko, which many love. He was born in Molo.
• Valente Cristobal was a playwright from Polo, now Valenzuela City.
• Elizabeth Batiduan Navarro writes dramas for radio programs on Bombo Radyo Philippines.
• Genevieve L. Asenjo is a poet and writer who works with many languages, including Hiligaynon. Her book Lumbay ng Dila won an award.