Bisayan languages

The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a group of Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, and are part of the Central Philippine languages.

People mainly speak these languages in the Visayas region. They are also spoken in parts of the Bicol Region, islands south of Luzon like Romblon, and in many parts of Mindanao and Sulu. Some people in Metro Manila speak a Bisayan language, too.

There are over 30 languages in the Bisayan family. The most widely spoken is Cebuano. Many people use it in Central Visayas, parts of Eastern Visayas, and much of Mindanao.

Other important Bisayan languages include Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), spoken in Western Visayas and Soccsksargen, and Waray-Waray, spoken in Eastern Visayas.

Long ago, before colonization, many Visayan peoples used the badlit script. It looked similar to the Tagalog baybayin.

Nomenclature

Native speakers of Bisayan languages, such as Cebuano, Hiligaynon, and Waray, often call their language Bisaya or Binisaya, meaning "Bisayan language." But this name can be confusing. Different Bisayan languages can sound very different and might not be understood by speakers of other Bisayan languages.

Some Bisayan languages spoken outside the Visayas region, like Cuyonon, Surigaonon, Butuanon, and Tausug, usually refer to Visayan as either Cebuano or Hiligaynon. We do not know exactly where the word Bisaya came from. There is an ethnic group in Malaysia and Brunei with the same name, but they are different from ethnic groups in the Philippines or those in Borneo.

Evidence

David Zorc found special sounds that help us know the Bisayan languages belong together. Some sounds changed over time. For example, sounds like "*lC" and "*Cl" often became "*Cl". Here, "C" means any sound except *h, *q, or *l. Another change happened with sounds like "*qC" and "*Cq". Most of these changed to "*Cq".

The language Tausug separated early and may have missed some of these changes. So did some Bikol languages.

These sound patterns help scientists learn how Bisayan languages grew and connect to each other.

Internal classification

David Zorc grouped the Bisayan languages into five main parts: South, Cebuan, Central, Banton, and West. These languages are more like a dialect continuum than separate languages.

The South Bisayan languages changed first, then Cebuan, and then the others. The area of Romblon has many Bisayan languages spoken there. There are 36 different kinds, including Cebuano, Waray, Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), and Aklanon/Inakeanon, spoken in the Visayas and parts of Mindanao.

Names and locations

Linguists listed the names and places where Bisayan languages are spoken. Three new languages, Karolanos, Magahat, and Kabalian, were found but not on the list. People speak these languages mostly in the Visayas area of the Philippines and also in some nearby places.

Comparisons

The Bisayan languages, also called Visayan languages, are spoken mainly in the Visayas region of the Philippines. They are closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages. All of these belong to the Central Philippine languages family.

People speak these languages in the Visayas, parts of the Bicol Region, some islands south of Luzon like Romblon, and many areas in Mindanao including Sulu.

Scholars have studied how these languages work with words for people and things. This helps us learn how the Bisayan languages are related to each other and to other Philippine languages.

Main article: Visayan languages

Reconstruction

David Zorc studied the ancient sounds of the Proto-Bisayan language. He discovered that it had 15 different consonants and 4 vowels. He also examined how the sounds were stressed and lengthened in words.