The structure of Ibanag nominals

Shirley N. Dita
De La Salle University
Manila, The Philippines

Abstract. This paper takes off from Dita‟s (2011) discussion of Ibanag nominal
markers. Since a prototypical noun phrase contains a determiner and a head
noun, this paper describes the nouns in Ibanag. Using a 250,000-word religious
and literary Ibanag texts, the following properties of nominals have been
presented: number, gender, and morphological formation. There are two ways of
pluralization process in Ibanag: the use of the plural marker ira and reduplication.
Aside from the gender, the properties of common nouns, and the borrowed ones,
there are eight types of derived nouns discussed in this paper.

Keywords: nominals, Philippine language, Ibanag, reduplication, number of nouns.

1.0 Introduction

Ibanag belongs to the Ibanagic family of Cagayan Valley in Northern Cordillera,

Northern Luzon, Philippines. Spoken by approximately 500,000 inhabitants who come

mainly from Tuguegarao, Enrile, Piat, Iguig, Solana, Pamplona, and other neighboring

towns, Ibanag shares 69% of intelligibility with Itawit (Gordon, 2009).

In an earlier paper (Dita, 2011), I have described the syntax and the various

functions of the two most common nominal markers or determiners used in Ibanag: the

articles and the demonstratives. And since a prototypical noun phrase in Ibanag

contains a determiner and a head noun, this paper aims at describing the nouns in

Ibanag and their corresponding properties such as the number, gender, and their

morphological characteristics. Sample sentences are drawn from a 250,000-word

corpus of literary and religious Ibanag texts.

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2.0 Number of Nouns

There are two ways to encode plurality in Ibanag. One is by adding the plurality
marker ira to the lexical noun or noun phrase (NP), and the other is by reduplication.

2.1 The plurality marker ira

It should be noted that ira is not just a plural marker in Ibanag, it also refers to
third person plural pronoun, as in (1):

1) Nassingak=ku ira.
saw=ERG.1s1 ABS.3p
„I saw them.‟

Unlike Tagalog, where the plurality marker mga precedes the noun it refers to (e.g.,
mga prutas „fruits‟), ira is post-nominal, or after the noun phrase (NP), as in ta dulse of
(2A) and i abbing of (2B):

2) A. Sinni kiminan ta dulse ira taw?

who ate OBL candy PLU DEM.PROX
„Who ate the candies here?‟

B. I abbing ira.
DET child PLU
„The children.‟

Note that when ira is removed in both NPs, the meaning becomes singular. This
particular plurality marker can be used both in morphologically marked plural nouns, as
in totolay „people‟ in (3), an in unmarked ones, as in abbing „child‟ in (2B).

3) Naggafu ta tukâ yari totolay2 ira ta baryo.

caught OBL frog REC R-people PLU OBL barrio
„The people in the barrio caught (some) frog(s).‟

As can be deduced from the utterance above, the addition of ira appears to
strengthen the plurality of the already reduplicated noun, totolay.

1
For the list of symbols used in this paper, see Appendix.
2
For purposes of clarity, the italicized morpheme refers to the reduplication and is labelled as R.

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2.2 Reduplication

Reduplication is probably one of the distinguishing features any Philippine

language. The more common means of pluralizing nouns is through reduplication.
There are various types of reduplication in Ibanag that signal plurality. Table 1 presents
the forms with CV reduplication.

Table 1. CV Reduplication Pattern

Root Gloss Reduplicated Gloss

tolay „person‟ totolay „people‟
karruba „neighbor‟ kakarruba „neighbors‟
baryo „barrio‟ babaryo „barrios‟
tukâ „frog‟ tutukâ „frogs‟

The examples above show that the first syllable, which is made up of a

consonant (C) and a vowel (V), forms the CV reduplication pattern.

Another process of reduplication is that the initial CV is reduplicated and the

initial consonant geminates with the base word. Hence, the pattern becomes C1VC1.
Table 2 presents some Ibanag words of this pattern whereas sentence (4) contains two
plural nouns with CVC reduplication pattern.

Table 2. CVC Reduplication Pattern

Root Gloss Reduplicated Gloss
wagi „sibling‟ wawwagi „brothers/sisters‟
kayu „tree‟ kakkayu „trees‟
bagitolay „young man‟ babbagitolay „young men‟
maginganay „lady‟ mammaginganay „ladies‟
manû „chicken‟ mammanû „chickens‟

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4) I babbagitolay da ay napapatay ta gerra,
DET R- bachelor GEN.3p TL died OBL war

ay awan ngana tu mangikasal ta

TL NEG already DET to.marry OBL

mammaginganay da. (Salmo 78:63)

R- maiden GEN.3p

„Young men were killed in war, and young women had no one to marry.

When the noun begins with a vowel, on the other hand, the initial VC is
reduplicated. Some vowel-initial nouns form their plural by reduplicating the initial VCV.
Some examples are presented below.

Table 3. VC/VCV Reduplication Pattern

Root Gloss Reduplicated Gloss

abbing „child‟ ab-abbing „children‟
ana „offsping‟ an-ana „offsprings‟
atawa „spouse‟ ata-atawa „spouses‟

ikan „fish‟ ika-ikan „fishes‟

Another reduplicant shape is the C1V1C2V1 . This can also be called „almost full‟
reduplication. Often, only the final C is not included in the reduplicant shape. Also,
these are usually hyphenated. Note that in the reduplicated first two syllables, the
second vowel takes from the first vowel. Some examples are presented in the table
below and a sample sentence follows.

Table 4. C1V1C2V1 Reduplication Pattern

Root Gloss Reduplicated Gloss

vukig „land‟ vuku-vukig „lands
nasion „country‟ nasa-nasion „countries‟

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dasal „prayer‟ dasa-dasal „prayers‟
kurug „true‟ kuru-kurug „truth‟

5) Ollu ta ngamin, ikiddo‟ gafu tu metavvung ta Dios

first OBL all ask=ERG.1s then DET offered OBL God

i kiddi-kiddaw, dasa-dasal, pakimemallo anna

DET R-ask R- prayer request and

pabbala-balo para ngamin na totolay. (1Timeteo 2:1)

N-R- thank for all LIG people

„First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, requests, and

thanksgivings be offered to God for all the people.‟ (1Timothy 2:1)

Similarly, if the base word contains CVCCV shape, then the reduplicated part is
also CVCCV. Just like the previous pattern, the second V takes from the first V. Some
examples are presented below.

Table 5. The CVCCV Reduplication Pattern

Root Gloss Reduplicated Gloss
tavvung „offer‟ tavva-tavvung „offerings‟
gannug „things‟ ganna-gannug „things‟
laddug „lie‟ ladda-laddug „lies‟
tazzi „condemnation‟ tazza-tazzi „condemnation‟

6) . . . megafu ta netura i ngaga-ngagan=nu ta

. . . because OBL written DET R-name=GEN.3p OBL

langi (Lucas 10:20)

heaven

„.. .because your names are written in heaven.‟ (Luke 10:20)

Finally, full reduplication is also another way of pluralizing Ibanag nouns. It was
observed that the entire word is reduplicated if the noun is short or disyllabic only. This

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kind of noun pluralization, especially for disyllabic words, is also evident in Malay
(Nadarajan, 2006).

Table 6. Full reduplication pattern

Root Gloss Reduplicated Gloss
ili „town‟ ili-ili „towns‟
mula „plant‟ mula-mula „plants‟
pangua „deed‟ pangua-pangua „deeds‟
mula „plant‟ mula-mula „plants
kutu „louse‟ kutu-kutu „lice‟

7) I dagi-raging na naggatag ta mula-mula nu

DET R- cry OBL gather DET R- plant GEN.2p

ay nakadde ngana ta Dios. (Santiago 5:4)

TL reached already OBL God

„The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears
of God.‟ (James 5:4)

In some cases, the r and z are utilized to avoid repetition of consonant sounds.
In the case of daddam „grief‟, the supposed reduplicated shape takes on the CVCCV of
the root and the initial C in the root is changed to r thus forming dada-raddam „griefs‟
for pural. As for riga „difficulty‟, the initial C in the reduplicated shape is changed to z
thus forming ziga-riga „difficulties‟. It should be noted, however, that these rules do not
apply to all d- or r-initial words.

3. Gender of nouns

Nouns that are gender-specific are usually Spanish loan words. Just like in Ilocano,
which is heavy on Spanish loan nouns (cf. Rubino, 1997), the masculine gender ends
with o while the feminine gender with a.

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Table 7. Gender of Nouns

Masculine Gloss Feminine Gloss

mestru „male teacher‟ mestra „female teacher‟
basurero „garbage man‟ basurera „garbage woman‟
milionaryo „male millionaire‟ milionarya „female millionaire‟
chismoso „male rumor monger‟ chismosa „female rumor monger‟
abugadu „male lawyer‟ abugada „female lawyer‟

There are also lexical items in Ibanag that do not contain any morphological
affinity with their counterparts. Hence, they are encoded differently.

Table 8. Masculine-Feminine Dichotomy

Masculine Gloss Feminine Gloss

bagitolay „young man‟ maginganay „young woman‟
yama „father‟ yena „mother‟
lakay „old man‟ bako „old woman‟
kayung „brother-in-law‟ asipag „sister-in-law‟
kabalyu3 „horse‟ egua „female horse‟
lalung „rooster‟ upa „hen‟
daffug „male carabao‟ abbay „female carabao‟

When the gender is not encoded by the lexical item, a modifying phrase nga
lalaki „who is male‟ or nga babay „who is female‟ is then provided to express masculinity
or femininity, respectively. Other gender-distinguished nouns are explained in Dita
(2010).

3
Kabalyu and egua are both Spanish loan words which reflect no morphological affinity in the dichotomy.

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 kapitta nga lalaki - „cousin who is male‟
kapitta nga babay - „cousin who is female‟
wagi na lalaki - „male sibling‟
wagi na babay - „female sibling‟
kadduba nga lalaki - „male neighbor‟
kadduba nga babay - „female neighbor‟

4. Morphological formation of nouns

There are various affixes in Ibanag that derive nouns from verbs, adjectives,
numerals, or any lexical category. Nouns are classified here as bare and derived.

4.1 Bare Nouns

Bare nouns refer to those unaffixed lexical items that semantically refer to names
of people, things, places, or objects. Bare nouns are further classified into proper and
common.

4.1.1 Proper Nouns

Proper nouns are either personal names of people or terms that refer to people.
Under this category are three sub-types which can all be used as vocatives: the
personal nouns, kinship terms, and title terms.

4.1.1.1 Personal nouns

Personal nouns refer to the specific names of particular individuals. These nouns
can be used as vocatives, as in (8), or as the head of a personal NP, as in (9). When
used as the latter, personal nouns are accompanied with a personal determiner, si or ni
or their plural counterpart da.

8) Eduardo, sonu anni kamu manaw?

Eduardo when what ABS.2s leave
„Eduardo, when will you leave?‟

9) Egga ta balay=mi si Ana.

EXI OBL house=GEN.1pe PERS Ana
„Ana is in our house.‟

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4.1.1.2 Kinship terms

Kinship terms are also regarded as personal nouns. Often, they appear in
genitive form and are preceded by a personal determiner. Interestingly, even the
seasoned speakers of Ibanag do not recall having a term of their own for auntie and
uncle.
asipag - „sister-in-law‟
kayung - „brother-in-law‟
katugangan - „parent-in-law‟
manugang - „child-in-law‟
kakay - „grandfather‟
kake - „grandmother‟
uncle - „uncle‟
auntie - „auntie‟

10) Kavuluk=ku i atawa=k ta umma.

companion=ERG.1s DET spouse=GEN.1s OBL morning
„I was with my husband/wife this morning‟

4.1.1.3 Title terms

Title terms are used to show respect and politeness. When these terms appear
with proper names, they constitute a nominal compound as in (11);

11) Minay ta balay si Kakay Kaning.

came OBL house PERS grandfather Kaning
„Grandpa Kaning came to the house.‟

On a sociolinguistic note, Yafu „God‟ is used as a title term to those they revere
much, such as the religious or, at times, political figures they respect very much. Yafu
is then labeled as HON which means „honorific‟ when used as a title term, as in (12).

12) Arayyu i inangayan na i Yafu padi.

Far DET went.to ABS.3s DET HON priest
„The priest went to a far place.‟

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4.1.2 Common nouns

Unaffixed nouns that are categorized as common fall under this broad category.
Unlike proper nouns, which are specific, common nouns refer to more general terms.
Items that belong to this class are further subdivided below.

4.1.2.1 Concrete inanimate nouns

These nouns include landscape terms, instruments, item for wear, among others.
Below are few examples of this class.

Table 9. List of Concrete Inanimate Nouns

afî „fire‟ atô „roof‟

atû „smoke‟ baláy „house‟
paddák „wind‟ sinnúng „clothes‟
danúm „water‟ takáy „vehicle‟
kunám „cloud‟ ikán „viand‟
bukúlok „mountain‟ sapátu „shoe‟
bannág „river‟ lamésa „table‟
langî „sky‟ bángku „chair‟
bilág „sun‟ kátre „bed‟
urán „rain‟ galû „rope‟
kila-kilá „lightning‟ asúkar „sugar‟

Note that some words here are Spanish-loaned, such as lamesa ‟table‟, and

some exhibit reduplication, as in kila-kila „lightning‟, but do not necessarily express

plurality.

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4.1.2.2 Body-part nouns

Ibanag terms that are used to refer to body parts appear to be both native and
loan words, just like frente „forehead‟. Some of the examples are presented in the table
below. Sentence (13) highlights some body-part nouns in Ibanag.

Table 10. Body-part nouns

avû „hair‟ takki „foot‟

mata „eyes‟ lima „hand‟
muka „face‟ kuramay „fingers‟
ngipan „teeth‟ kavvu „armpit‟
bibik „lips‟ abaga „shoulders‟
kiray „eyebrow‟ futu „heart‟
simik „chin‟ uffu „legs‟
igung „nose‟ taggang „chest‟
kimma „eyelash‟ tulang „bone‟
ulu „head‟ agal „liver‟
muka „cheek‟ san „stomach‟
darulu „spine‟ frente „forehead‟

13) “Yafu, ari laman tu i takki gafu i baggawam=mu

Lord NEG only DET DET feet then DET wash=ERG.2s

nu ari i lima anna ulu paga,” kun=ni

but NEG DET hand and head also said= PERS

Pedro (Juan 13:9)

Peter

„Peter answered, “Lord, do not wash only my feet then, wash my hands
and head, too!”‟ (John 13:9)

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4.1.2.3 Animate non-human nouns

Also part of the class of common nouns are the terms referring to animals and
insects. In the case of some words, there is a distinction between the male and the
female, or between the mother and its young. Others, however, do not offer such a
distinction. Below is a list of some members of this group.

Table 11. Animate non-human Nouns

bávi „pig‟ ayóng „monkey‟

kitû „dog‟ pátu „duck‟
kazzîng „goat‟ lamû „mosquito‟
kitáw „cat‟ lángaw „fly‟
báka „cow‟ tuggî „worm‟
kabályu „horse‟ iráw „snake‟
nuáng „carabao‟ tukâ „frog‟
lálung „rooster‟ daggâ „turtle‟
úpa „hen‟ kimí „cockroach‟
balakák „rat‟ ánay „termites‟

4.2 Derived nouns

Ibanag has various derivational affixes for nouns. There are primarily two ways
of nominalization in Ibanag: by affixation and by putting determiners before the
nominalized item.

The following sections will discuss the different derivational affixes that can
nominalize a root, whether a base form of a verb, or even another noun.

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4.2.1 Abstract nouns

An abstract noun is a noun whose meaning is an abstract concept. Ibanag

abstract nouns may be formed by adding the prefix ka- to the root. The prefix ka- is
usually used with bare adjectives. The derived abstract noun thus refers to the state
denoted by the root.

Table 12. Abstract ka- Nouns

Root Gloss Abstract Nouns Gloss

atannang „tall‟ kaatannáng „tallness‟
alistu „fast‟ kaalistú „speed‟
kurúg „true‟ kakurúg „truth‟
arayú „far‟ kaarayú „farness‟
tabá „fat‟ katabá „fatness‟
póbre „poor‟ kapóbre „poorness‟
rikû „rich‟ karikû „richness‟

14) I Kapobre anna Kariku (Santiago 1:9-11)

DET N-poor and N- rich
„Poorness and Richness‟ (James 1:9-11)

Another abstract nominalizer is the prefix pag-. When this prefix is attached to
the root, it encodes the meaning of „state of being.‟ And as is the nature of Ibanag, the
first C in the base word assimilates with the last C in the prefix. Hence, daddam „grieve‟
when nominalized becomes paddaddam „grief‟, and not *pagdaddam. Below are some
of the examples of the derived abstract nouns.

Table 13. Abstract pag- Nouns

Root Gloss Abstract Nouns Gloss

ayâ „happy‟ pagayayâ „happiness‟

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daddám „grieve‟ paddaddám „grief‟
ziga-rigâ „difficulty‟ pazziga-rigâ „suffering‟
duma-rumá „different‟ padduma-rumá „difference‟
tólay „live‟ pattólay „life‟

15) Ta ngamin danuri i sigga-aya nga maginnennag

because all those DET joyfully REL waiting

ta panoli4 na.. . (2 Timoteo 4:8)

OBL coming.back GEN.3s

„Because all those are joyfully waiting for his coming back. . .‟

4.1.2 Locative nouns

The suffix –an is probably the most versatile locative nominalizer in Ibanag. This
suffix, along with various prefixes, when attached to the base word, refers to a place
associated by the action encoded by the root word.
The first set of circumfix is the nominalizer (p)ag- and the locative -an. Ibanag
appears to have simplified the pag nominalizer to ag. For instance, idda means „lie
down‟ for both Ilocano and Ibanag. The derived locative noun equivalent in Ilocano is
pagiddaan whereas Ibanag has aggiddan. The nominalization process in Ibanag shows
the doubling of the last C in the prefix and the dropping of the p. Additionally, the last V
in the root word assimilates with the V in the suffix. Consider the following examples:

Table 14. Locative pag- -an Nouns

Root Gloss Locative Nouns Gloss

idda „lie down‟ aggiddan „place for lying‟

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In this particular example, the derived word panoli „coming back‟ is apparently a product of
economization where the root toli „return‟ is prefixed with the nominalizer pag and the perfective infix –in-
is inserted in the prefix thus producing pinag. The supposed pinagtoli is apparently simplified or reduced
to panoli.

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karera „race‟ akkareran „place for racing‟
lutu „cook‟ allutuan „place for cooking‟
babbal „wash‟ abbabbalan „place of washing‟
bavi „pig‟ abavian „place of pigs‟
turug „sleep‟ akkaturugan „place of sleeping‟
giling „grind‟ aggilingan „place of grinding‟
takay „ride‟ attakayan „place for riding‟
sermon „sermon‟ assermonan „pulpit‟

16) Massirimmu tam ta attulluan.

Meet up ABS.1pi OBL LOC-sending.off-LOC

„We will see each other at the pier.‟

The second way of deriving locative nouns is through the circumfix ka- -an. The
derived form refers to a place in which the root word is of excessive quantity, which is
supposed to be the patient or the theme referred to. It is also possible to reduplicate the
initial CVC of the base to indicate plurality.

Table 15. Locative ka- an Nouns

Root Gloss Locative Nouns Gloss

lanut „vine‟ kalanutan „full of vines‟
batu „stone‟ kabatuan „full of stones‟
kayu „tree‟ kakayuan „full of trees‟
pinya „pineapple‟ kapinyaan „full of pineapples‟
kaddo „grass‟ kakaddoan „full of grass‟

17) Nappaladio ira ta kakaykayuan.

ran PLU OBL LOC-R-tree-LOC
„They ran to the woods.‟

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 The third way is through the circumfix pag- -an. The derived locative expresses
that the action encoded by the root takes place in the derived noun. Some examples
are listed in the table below.

Table 16. Locative ka- -an Nouns

Root Gloss Abstract Nouns Gloss

gayam „play‟ paggayaman „playground‟
agdian „to live in‟ paddianan „place to live in‟
gafu „come from‟ paggafuan „place of origin‟
lutu „cook‟ pallutuan „place for cooking‟
zigu „bathe‟ pazzigutan „place for bathing‟
ornu „bake‟ pagornuan „bakery‟

18) Sitaw i pazzigutan tam?

where DET LOC-bathing-LOC GEN.2pi
„Where are we going to take a bath?‟

4.2.3 Comitative nouns

Comitative nouns refer to individuals in whose company something is done.

These nouns are formed by adding the prefix ka- with the root, which in turn, refers to
the shared entity. The basis of association could be: (a) an activity; (b) a place,
occupation, or origin; (c) a quality; (d) group membership; (e) spatial relation. Examples
are given in the table below.

Table 17. Comitative Nouns

a. uvovug „speak‟ ka-uvovug „someone you speak with‟

gayam „play‟ kaggayam „playmate‟
b. eskwela „school‟ ka-eskwela „schoolmate‟

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 opisina „office‟ ka-opisina „officemate‟
c. takki „feet‟ katakki „of the same feet size‟
boses „voice‟ kaboses „of the same voice quality‟
d. partido „party (political)‟ kapartido „running mate in a party‟
relihiyon „religion‟ karelihiyon „of the same religious sect‟
e. biko „side‟ kabiko „seated beside‟
batug „same line‟ kabatug „of the same line‟

19) Kapartido’ yari kauvovug ku.

COM-party=GEN.1s REC COM- speak GEN.1s
„The one I was speaking with is my party mate.‟

4.2.4 Reciprocal nouns

Reciprocal nouns refer to a construction expressing the action or state of being of

two individuals or entities to each other. When the prefix mag- is attached to a nominal
referring to a person, it expresses kinship, either by consanguinity or affinity. And in
keeping with the consonant doubling phenomenon in Ibanag, the last C in the prefix
assimilates with the first C of the root word thereby producing consonant doubling.
Consequently, the stress is now shifted, from the first syllable of the root word to the
prefix. Note that the relationship expressed in the derivations could either be from the
same generation or from older and younger generation.

Table 18. Reciprocal Nouns

Root Gloss Reciprocal Nouns Gloss
yamâ „father‟ mayyama „father and child‟
yenâ „mother‟ mayyena „mother and child‟
kapittâ „cousin‟ makkapitta „cousins‟
wagî „sibling‟ mawwagi „brothers/sisters‟
kófun „friend‟ makkofun „friends‟

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 20) Makkofun i mawwagi ira.
RECI.friend DET RECI.sibling PLU
„The siblings are friends.‟

When the initial CV of the root is reduplicated, it means that the reciprocity is
more than two.

21) Makkokofun ngamin ira totolay tari.

RECI- R-friend all PLU R-person there
„The people there are all friends.‟

The r phenomenon in Ibanag is also seen as a variant in the plural forms of nouns, as

in (22), where the root wagi „sibling‟ becomes mawwaragi „siblings‟, (and not

*mawwawagi ) in the plural.

22) Mawwaragi kanu i nobyo na turi.

REC- R(PLU)- sibling HRSY DET boyfriend GEN.3s DIST
„Her boyfriends then were brothers.‟

It is also possible that the prefix mag- is attached to a comitative noun. This
expresses that the two who have blood relationship also share some characteristics.

23) Ari tam laman makkadagun, makka-boses

NEG ABS.1pi only RECI-COM-age RECI-COM- voice

tam paga.
ABS.1pi also

„We are not only of the same age but also of the same voice.‟

24) Mannobio kanu yari makkadduba ta zita.

RECI-boyfriend HRSY DEM RECI-neighbor OBL south
„The neighbors in the south are apparently boyfriends.‟

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4.2.5 Ownership and relative location

The prefix makin- (cf. Ilocano akin-) encodes both ownership and relative
location. The derived noun refers to the owner of the entity or the relative location
encoded by the root. When attached to a C-initial monosyllabic root, the initial
consonant of the root geminates with the prefix, as in makikua „owner‟. No gemmination
occurs though when the root is either di- or polysyllabic. When attached to a V-initial
root, the derived word is hyphenated, as can be seen by the examples in the table
below.

Table 19. Ownership Nouns

Root Gloss Ownership Nouns Gloss

kua „own‟ makikkua „owner‟
takay „car‟ makintakay „owner of the car‟
sinnun „clothes‟ makinsinnun „owner of the clothes‟
tienda „store‟ makintienda „owner of the store‟
atubang „chair‟ makin-atubang „owner of the seat‟

25) Yayya i makintakay ta BMW ta lawan.

ABS.3s DET OWN-car OBL BMW OBL outside
„S/he is the owner of the BMW outside.‟

The same prefix is used to refer to the relative location of an entity. When the
prefix makin- is attached to a locative or a lexical item referring to a location, it means
the jurisdiction or area of responsibility. Some examples are presented below.

Table 20. Ownership-Locative Nouns

batug „line‟ makinbatug „the one of the same line‟

likuk „back‟ makinlikuk „the one at the back ‟
arubang „front‟ makin-arubang „owner of the front part‟

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 26) Yari makinlikuk i makinkua taw nga balay.
MED OWN-back DET OWN-own DEM LIG house
„The owner of this house is the one at the back.‟

4.2.6 Origin nouns

The prefix taga- encodes origin of different nature. This nominal prefix is shared
by the majority of Philippine languages (cf. Rubino, 1997; Schachter & Otañes, 1972).
First, it designates the place of origin of a person. In this case, the specific name of
place is attached to the prefix. This means that the person hails from this place. Some
examples are listed below.

Table 21. Origin-Location Nouns

Origin Nouns Gloss

taga- Tuguegarao „from the province of Tuguegarao‟
taga- America „from the country of America‟
taga- Atulayan „from the barrio of Atulayan‟
taga- Mindanao „from the islands of Mindanao

27) Ari nga nafuraw i taga-Cagayan ira.

NEG LIG white DET ORI- Cagayan PLU
„Those from Cagayan are not white(-skinned).‟

Second, the prefix taga- designates the location of a person. It means that he or
she lives or comes from the place or such a location. Note that the locative nouns in
this case may not be a specific name of place. Some examples are provided below.

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Table 22. Origin Nouns

Root Gloss Origin Nouns Gloss

bukulok „mountain‟ taga-bukulok „from the mountains‟
utun „upper floor‟ taga-utun „from the upper floors‟
arubang „front‟ taga-arubang „from the front‟
ili „town‟ taga-ili „from the town‟
zigattu „east‟ taga-zigatu „from the east‟
sigaran „north‟ taga-sigaran „from the north‟

28) Maski taga-anni kamu, taga-zigattu onu taga-taggapan. . .

even ORI-what ABS.2p ORI- east or ORI- west
„Wherever you come from, from the east or from the west. . .‟

4.2.7 Instigator nouns

The prefix para- derives instigator nouns. If the prefix is attached to the base
form of a verb, it means that a person is designated or employed to perform the action
encoded by the base word. Since the counterpart of this prefix in Tagalog is taga-, it is
possible to utilize either of the prefixes and the meaning is still the same.

Table 23. Instigator Nouns

Root Gloss Instigator Nouns Gloss

gatang „to buy‟ para-gatang „buyer‟
tura „to write‟ para-tura „writer‟
lutu „to cook‟ para-lutu „cook‟
kansiyon „to sing‟ para-kansion „singer‟
tuddu „to teach‟ para-tuddu „teacher/tutor‟
babbal „to wash‟ para-babbal „launder‟

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 29) Manga‟ kamu ta taga-munisipyo nga
get ERG.2p OBL ORI- municipal hall LIG

para-pirma ta dokumento.
INS- sign OBL document

„(You) get someone from the municipal hall as (the) signer of document .‟

Likewise, the prefix maC-, where C refers to the initial C of the root, when
attached to the root, refers to a person associated with the action encoded by the root.
When the root refers to an object, the addition of the prefix man- means that the person
has fondness to the object. These are called designation nouns here.

Table 24. Designation Nouns

Root Gloss Designation Gloss

Nouns
dekô „glutinous rice‟ manneko „one who cooks glutinous rice‟
tabakú „cigar‟ mannabaku „one who smokes cigar‟
sugal „gamble‟ mannugal „gambler‟
ilut „massage‟ mangngilut „one who massages‟

When the root is a verb, the infix -in- is inserted in the prefix maC- thereby
producing minaC- . This also refers to a person associated with the action encoded by the
root or denotes fondness of something. These are called association nouns here.

Table 25. Association Nouns

Root Gloss Association Nouns Gloss

takaw „to steal‟ minattakaw „thief‟
bayle „to dance‟ minabbaylê „fond of dancing‟
pastor „shepherd‟ minappastor „fond of herding‟
lafug „joke‟ minakkilaffug „fond of joking‟
tagaruli „sin minattagaruli „sinner‟

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 30) I tolay nga minakkilaffug, mammallag ka sa
DET person REL ASSO- joke trust ABS.2s OBL.3s

anne ta ari matannug. (P)

than DET NEG noisy

„He who jokes around can be better trusted than he who is serious.‟

4.2.8 Instrumental nominals

Instrumental nominals refer to objects used for a particular function. There are
two ways to encode this type of noun. One is by prefixing the vowel a- to the root word.
The initial consonant of the base word is reduplicated, as in the examples given below.

Table 26. Instrumental ag- Nouns

Root Gloss Instrumental Gloss

Nouns
takkuwel „pole‟ attakkuwel „pole for picking fruit‟
bara „bar‟ abbara „door, window bar‟
malebay „trap‟ ammalebay „trap for wild chickens‟

31) Manga‟ kamu labbi i attakkuwel tari.

get ERG.2p first DET INST-pole there
„(You) get first a pole (for picking) there.‟

Another way of forming instrumental nominals is by prefixing paC- to the base

form of the verb. This denotes the instrument utilized in carrying out the action. Some
examples are given in the table below.

Table 27. Instrumental pang- Nouns

tura „write‟ pattura „writing instrument:pen‟

lakak „walk‟ pallakak „used for walking‟

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lutu „cook‟ pallutu „used for cooking‟
zigu „bathe‟ pazzigu „used for bathing‟
vura „erase‟ pavvura „eraser‟
bayle „dance‟ pabbayle „used for dancing‟

32) Gatto tu pazzigu na prinsesa ira.

milk DET INST-bathe DET princess PLU
„Milk is what princesses use for bathing.‟

33) Awap=paga tu pattura anna pavvura’.

NEG.EXI=still DET INST-write and INST-erase=GEN.1s
„I still don‟t have pen and eraser.‟

5. Borrowed Nouns

Since Ibanag is highly influenced by other contact languages, its lexicon also
reveals numerous borrowed words. Most of the borrowed words come from Spanish,
others from Itawes, Ilocano or even Tagalog. The Holy Bible of Ibanag exhibits
numerous Spanish loaned words. Older generation Ibanag speakers still use these
borrowed words. The younger generation, on the other hand, tend to borrow more from
Tagalog or from Ilocano. Some of the common borrowed nouns in Ibanag are
presented in the table below.

Table 28. Borrowed Nouns

Borrowed Nouns Gloss Borrowed Nouns Gloss

pabbawtizo „baptism‟ probinsiya „province‟
bendisyon „blessing‟ apostol „apostle‟
pruweba „proof‟ tiyempo „time‟
espiritu „spirit‟ serbisyo „service‟
gubernador „governor‟ seremoniya „ceremony‟

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 34) Ari tam nga mammakatalo ta panuttul ta
NEG ABS.2pi LIG trust OBL external OBL

seremoniya (Filipos 3:3)

ceremony

„We do not put any trust in external ceremonies.‟ (Phillip 3:3)

6. Conclusion

In this paper, I have presented the different properties of nouns in Ibanag. First,
the number marking of nouns is explained which consists of two processes of marking
plurality, the particle ira and reduplication. Following this are the various reduplicant
shapes that form plural nouns. There are various reduplicant shapes presented to
illustrate the derivation of nouns. The gender of Ibanagnouns is also discussed.
To explain the morphological characteristics of nouns, the various derivational
affixes are exemplified. The derived nouns consist of the following: abstract, locative,
comitative, reciprocal, ownership, origin, instigator, and designation nouns. Various
examples are given to show the derivation processes. Also, accompanying utterances
are provided to illustrate the syntactic properties of these nouns. And since Ibanag
draws quite a few from Spanish loanwords, examples of these are also included in this
paper.
Morphosyntactically, nouns in Ibanag, are names of persons, places, animals,
things, events, or ideas which can be pluralized through some reduplication process or
through the particle ira. Additionally, these items can be prefixed, suffixed, circumfixed,
or infixed to form other categories of nouns which can function as agents, patients,
themes, or locatives in a sentence.
This paper has so far discussed one important lexical category in Ibanag, that is,
nouns. It is recommended that further studies be conducted on some aspects of the
language. As for the reduplication feature of the language, an exhaustive study just like
Lopez‟s (1950) would be interesting. The nominalization process of verbal phrases is
another area worth investigating.

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References

Dita, S. N. (2010). A reference grammar of Ibanag. Saarbrücken, Germany: Lambert

Academic Publishing.

Dita, S. N. (2011). Ibanag nominal marking system. In S.N. Dita (Ed.), Issues
and trends in Applied Linguistics in the Philippines: A decade in
retrospect (pp. 152-165). Manila, the Philippines: Vibal Publishing.

Lewis, M. P. (Ed.). (2009). Ethnologue: Languages of the world: Sixteenth edition.

Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/
Lopez, C. (1950). Reduplication in Tagalog. In B. tot de Taal (Ed.), Land- en
Volkenkunde 106, 151-312.

Nadarajan, S. (2006). A cross-linguistic study of reduplication. Arizona Working Papers

in SLAT, 13, 39-53.

Reid, L. & Liao, H. (2004). A brief syntactic typology of Philippine languages. Language
and Linguistics 5 (2), 433-490.

Rubino, C. R. G. (1997). A reference grammar of Ilocano. Ph.D. dissertation, University

of California, Santa Barbara.

Schachter, P. & Otanes, F. (1972). Tagalog reference grammar. Berkeley: University

of California Press.

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Appendix

1 - 1st person
2 - 2nd person
3 - 3rd person
ABS - absolutive case
ASSO - association
BEN - benefactive
COM - comitative
COMP - complementizer
DEF - definite
DEM - demonstrative
DET - determiner
DIS - distal
ERG - ergative
EXI - existential
HRSY - hearsay
IMP - imperfective
INS - instigator
INST - instrument
GEN - genitive
LIG - ligature
LOC - locative
MED - medial
NEG - negative
NOM - nominalizer
OBL - oblique
OWN - ownership
PAR - particle
PERS - personal
PLU - plural marker
PROX - proximal
R - reduplication
REC - recent
RECI - reciprocal
REL - relativizer
TL - topic linker
p - plural
s - singular
(P) - proverb

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