SALLE UNIVERSITY.

MANILA LIBRARY
\.·~
Pt:RIOOlCALS SECTION

~~
~-'PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF LINGUimCS
VoL 6, No. 2 (December 1975)

THE DIALECTS OF PANAY 1

Eliza U. Grillo
Central Philippine University, Iloilo City

1.0. Panay. The island under study is one of the main islands of the Philippine
archipelago, and the main island of the West Visayas, a political division in the center of
the Philippines. Panay has four of the five provinces of this western region. These are
Capiz and Aklan in the north, Antique in the west, and Iloilo in the east. This diviiion
of the island is partly dictated by the presence of mountain ranges that run in two
directions, practically into the sea. A long one that runs from north to south sets off
Antique from the other provinces. Another that runs to the east coast about two-thirds
of the way up !he island divides the Aklan~apiz region from Doilo. Of the two northern
provinces, Aklan is to the west; Capiz, to the east.
2.0. Assumptions of the Study. This description of the nature and spread of
speech in Panay is done from a particular perspective, with certain assumptions. These
assumptions are as follows:
2.1. The sound system, the syntax, the morphology, and the morphophonemics
of a language are, collectively, its core. Hence, any language shall be described primarily
in terms of features of these linguistic subsystems.
2.2. Every language has characteristic vocabulary (or words 'native' to it).
2.3. A live language is productive; that is, it is capable of adding to its body of
words others which may better express new experience.
2.4. A language may borrow from another.
2.5. The spreading (or shrinking) of a speech comnrunity is related to its
settlement history.
2.6. If two speech systems exlubit at least 60 per cent cognation and highly
similar grammars, these two are dialects of some language.
3.0. Research Procedures. Six steps were followed in this study:
3.1. Determining the Areas for Study. The most reliable basis for a study of
dialects, especially a comparative study, is data derived from infonnation about areas of
fundamental concern to native speakers. For this study, therefore, it was thought
profitable to ask for items about fourteen areas, to be specified below.
3.2. Making Up a Questionnaire. At the outset it was decided to control reference
by having pictorial aids. In part, then, the ordering of the items in the questionnaire was
dictated by what pictures were available.
The pictures that were compiled were obtained mostly from periodicals printed
and widely disseminated in the country. This was a precaution against any tendency to
use items that may be rare and would have little intelligibility to the general run of
informants and little comparative value for the research. As much as possible, pictures

1This is an excerpt from a larger report of research done under the sponsorship of the Fard
Foundation.

DE LA 'SAllE UNIVERs:rv
LIBRARIES
PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS

about a predetennined area mentioned in Section I were put together; however, the
composition of a chosen picture had, in some instances, modified the arrangement of
the items in the questionnaire.
The draft of the finished questionnaire was analyzed for coverage and was
considered ready for use when it was found to yield 498 items with the following
distribution:

a. Thehome
1. ·household effects
2. house and yard 49 items
3. family relationships 19 items
b. The farm
1. animals, domestic and other common ones 21 items
2. sundry items about fanning, plants, and tools 24 items
3. parts of plants 16 items
c. Time_and weather 27 items
d. Topographical features 15 items
e. Personal feelings and states; body positions 12 items
f. Parts of the human body 41 items
g. Parts of the body of lower animals 25 items
h. Directions 15 items
i. Descriptive features 49 items
j. Colors and figures 11 items
k. Actions 73 items
1. Numerals 24 items
m. Grammatical items
1. particles and articles 20 items
2. pronominal forms 25 items
n. Miscellaneous items 13 items
Total 498 items

3.3. Choosing the Informants. Informants about sixty years of age, natives of the
towns being studied, and whose parents were also natives were preferred.
3.4. Doing the Field Work. Shortly after starting field work, it was decided that a
sampling of the speech of towns some distance from each other was to be preferred to
the sampling of the speech of a string of neighboring towns. This decision permitted
analysis that began to reveal patterns of differences indicative of probable speech
distinctions, although at the time of this first sampling only about seven towns were
studied.
This type of v.ide-meshed survey was consequently continued, and twenty-two
towns in the island were thus surveyed. A word list that allowed comparison of items
for the same reference was drawn up for these first twenty-two towns.
3 .5. Analyzing and Revising. The questionnaire which was originally drafted to
elicit 498 items finally yielded about 815 items when actual interviewing yielded other
items besides.

2
 THE DIALECTS OF PANAY

A study of the word list thus solicited indicated how the towns of Panay may
~oup themselves into speech regions. On the basis of these indications, five versions of
the word list were made. Each of the lists was for a group of towns that may be closer
to each other in speech. These are usually neighboring towns contKlcted by
well-travelled roads. At the top of the list of towns, however, was put the last town in
the list of an adjacent group to serve as point of comparison from group to group.
The information obtained for the first twenty-two towns was then duly entered in
·the new listing. Thus, for every group of towns there was at least a point of reference.
The idea w~ to abandon the use of the original questionnaire in favor of direct
elicitation of items detailed in the word list. The new method, it was believed, would
allow such prompting as: "In (town), the term for this is ' '." Previous
experience had shown this to be time-saving and not necessarily inducive of doubtful
concurrence with the suggestion. The use of this new method with students pointed to
the wisdom of retaining the use of the picture albums.
Halfway through the analysis of these first data, it began to appear that there
seems to be one language in Panay with three dialects and an unknown number of
subdialects. It was felt that some other test than the ones for phonetics, lexical items,
and such grammatical items as particles, articles, and pronouns would establish the fact.
Consequently, a set of twenty communication situations were chosen which would elicit
morphological as well as syntactical structures that would sh.ow the relatedness of the
lects in Panay. Should they use the same morphological system in addition to other
evidence of relatedness, it could be concluded that there is one language in the island of
Panay, to be called Panayan Bisayan in counter-distinction to Cebuano Bisayan.
3.6. Determining the Dialects. Three sets of data were used for identifying
dialects: phonetic, grammatical, and lexical. Preliminary analysis sh.owed that a set of
minimal triads could widely classify all the types of speech in the island. These were
therefore used to identify the extent of the major dialect areas.
3.6.1. A region that used /r/ where others would use /1/ or [1] was considered
Hinaray-a territory. If this peculiar use of /r/ was accompanied with the . use of the
tense, unrounded back vowel /ti/, the speech was considered of the 'deep' type . The
occurrence of any one of these two features identified other subtypes of Hinaray-a.
3.6.2. Deep Aklanon was identified by the use of the lateral fricative [A.] in
certain predictable environments to be explained in a later section. Any departure from
a consistent use of this feature was considered as evidence of other subtypes.
3.6.3. Deep Hiligaynon is characterized by the use of (1) where the two other
dialects would use either /r/ or [1] . Its intrusion into another dialect was taken to mark
the appearance of a subtype of that dialect.
3.6.4. There are sets of vocabulary items that are concomitant with distinctive
phonetic features of dialects. The extension of the use of a bundle of such lexical items
beyond its own dialect area was used as evidence of more splintering of larger cdalect
areas already identified by phonetic criteria. These bundles of words identified (sub·)
sub-subdialects in Panay.
3.6.5. Thus, major dialects and their subtypes were identified on basic phonetic
criteria. Lexical criteria and the degree of intermingling of phonetic features mainly
decided whatever lesser splinter lect should be recognized.

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PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS

4.0. Number of Languages in Panay. The first question that this study can readily
answer is: How many language~ are spoken in Panay? The answer to this is determined
in terms of two criteria: sixty per cent cognation and highly similar grammatical
systems (Thomas and Gieser 1973:67). And the answer is that there is·one language
spoken in Panay, henceforth to be called Panayan Bisayan. 2
5.0. Grammatical Evidence of Relatedness. That the different subtypes of
Panayan Bisayan have highly similar grammars is easily proved by comparing the
responses of informants to twenty communication situations posed to them. From their
sentences twenty-one morphological structures, both inflectional and derivational, were
extracted. These proved to be of identical shape morphemically, the allomorphs
differing only in cases involving the use of phonetic altemants which characterize
dialects. Table 1 presents samples of the communities studied. Two communities were
chosen from each of the three provinces of Aldan, Capiz, and Antique. Because of its
diversity and larger area, Iloilo contributed three samples. All these communities are
quite some distance from each other. Thus it can be claimed that the grammars extant
in the island have been fairly sampled.
5.1. Actual words that exemplify these grammatical features are given in Table 2.
The manifestations of the features being exemplified are italicized.
6.0. Evidence from Cognation. As to cognation, 3 a study of paired samplings of
communities revealed that it can be as high as 90-95 per cent for neighboring
communities with some difference in speech, 85.5 per cent for two distant communities
speaking the same dialect, and even as high as 77 per cent for two communities which
are some distance from each other and are suspected to speak different dialects.
Cognation studies of this type which have been made are reported in Table 3.
7 .0. Three Sound Systems Compared. Since the main consideration in drawing up
the dialect map of Panay was phonetic, a comparison of the extant sound systems in the
island is necessary background to the study.
7.1. Briefly, all the dialects have 16 consonants: p, t, k, ?; b, d, g; w, s, h; m, n, 11;
y, r, l. Aklanon and Hiligaynon have a three-vowel system: an unrounded front vowel
/i/, a low central one /a/, and a rounded back one /u/. Deep Hinaray-a has a four-vowel
system; in addition to the ones just cited, it adds a fourth: a tense, unrounded back
vowel /a/.
7 .2. The significant suprasegrnentals of the dialects are yet to be definitely
described, although there is evidence of differences in accent and pitch patterns which
distinguish dialectS.
7.3. The only difference between the segmental systems of Hiligaynon and
Aklanon is that Aklanon has two allophones for /I/: [l] and J,!] , whose occurrence is
conditioned by certain phonetic environments. like Hiligaynon, Hinaray-a has only one
allophone for /I/: PJ .

2'This answer can at best be only tentative for as long as the comparative study of Philippine
languages around Panay does not produce definitive statements about their interrelationships.
3 A relationship due to a common origin. To determine the degree of this relatedness, cognates
(i.e. words which show evidence of having sprung from a common source) are identified. The
percentage of cognation would be derived by dividing the number of cognates by the total number
of word pairs studied.

4
 TABLE 1
A COMPARISON OF CERTAIN GRAMMATICAL FEATURES
OF A SAMPLE OF COMMUNITIES IN PANAY

Glou Batul, Aldan Llbacao, Aid. Dumarao, Caplz Pontevedra, Capiz DIH>, Antique Lau ...an, Antique Dumangu, lloilo Carles, llollo Cabat uan, lloilo

1. native of .. . tag... taga- taga- taga- taga- taga- tap- taga- taga-
2. durative, actor focus (g) a- (g) ... (g) ... (g) ... (g) a- (g) ... (g) ... (g) a-
verlHlerlving prefix (g) ·-
3. pa- P• pa- pa- pa- pa- p ... p ... p ...
4. actor foeus, plural
action (N-+C)* (N-+c) (N-+c) (N-+C) (N-+C) (N-+c) (N-+c) (N-+c) (N-+c)
s. projected action m• m ... ma- ma- Ml· m ... ma- ma- m•
6. completed action n ... na- na- na- na- na- na- na- na-
7. actor focu s, point
event g- g- g- g- g- g- g- g- g-
8. capability ka- t ... k ... k ... ka- ka- k ... ka- t ...
9. type of occupation maNY-•• maNY- maNY- maNY- maNY- maNY- maNY- maNY- maNY-
10. attempted action curu-••• euru - Culu - Culu - cUtu- euru - Culu - Culu - Curu -
11. causative pa - pa - pi - pa- pa - pa- pa- pa- pa-
12. caused actor, projected
action pa - -on pa - -on pa- -on pa- -on pi- -on pa - -en pa- -on pa- -on pa- en
n. caused actor focus,
completed action,
actor reminiscent glnpi- ginpa - glnpi - glnpi- ginpa'. ' ginpa- glnpa - ginpi - glnpi-
14. action done severally -vr -vr- -VI- -VI- -Yr- -Yr- -VI- -VI- -Yr-
15. beneficiary focus ,
completed action,
actor reminiscent gin- -an gin- -an gin- -an gin- -an gin- -an gin- -an gin- -an gin- -an gin- -an
16. goal focw,
completed action,
actor remin!Jcent gin- gin- gin- gin- gin- gin- gin- gin- gin-
17. Instrument for .. . lnog- lnog- inog- lnog- inog- lnog- inog- lnog- lnog-
18. imminent (projected)
action, actor focw manog- manog- manog- manog- manog- rnanog- manog- manog- manog-
19. hnperative mood,

20.
goal focus
imperative mood,
-a ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
beneftcluy focw -I -I -i -I -I -i -i -i -I
21. customary beneftcluy -vi- -an -vi- -an -VI- -an -VI- -an -Yr- -an -Yr- -an -VI- -an -YI- -an -Yr- ·an

•Nualizatlon (N) of the Initial conoonant (C) of the baae woru.. .. y •the reduplication of the ,first vowel of the baae word. •••c • the rodupllcatlon of the first consonant of the baae word
 TABLE 2
WORDS• MANIFESTING THE USE OF CERTAIN GRAMMATICAL
FEATURES, IN FOUR WIDELY-SPACED COMMUNITIES

&tan, Ak/an Pontevedra, Capiz f».o, Antique DumlUlgos, Boi/o

1. t""1-Aklan tqa-Pontevedn tqu-Da-o tllftl- DutnangaJ

2. ,.,~· ppafjiJda? ppaTjisda? gapal'jiJda'
3. PP"lilda' ppa!jisda? ppaT!isda? ppaTlisda?
4. gapaTlisda' ppaTjisda• ppaTjisda? ga plll)isda'
s. maTjl!da? ma!Jisda' ma!Jisda' ma!Jisda?
6. naTjisda? llllljisda? lllll)isda' llllljisda?
7. ~Tjisda? nqpaTjisda? nagpaTjisda• nagplll)isda?
8. .tapaTjisda? .tapaTjisda? .tapal'lisda' .tapaTjisda?
9. 1'lllf1h1iJda? ""1l'/h1ilda?
~··
1Plfll1h'1sda'
10. pulup&Tjisda? pulupaflUd.a' purupafliJds? pulup&Tjisda?
11. gilllpapaTjisda• ginpapaTjisda? ginal>apaTjisda' ginpdplll)isda?
12. papaTjisda• on papaTJisda'on paplll)iscla•on PllPallisda' on
i3. ,tnoapaTJisda' rinpaplll)isda' &iJlpapaTjisda? linPcipallisda'
14.
~' nqpala1jisda• nagpal'llTlisda' nagpa/lll)isda?
IS. tintaw-an finha..-On gintaw-an tinhata,.n
16. tinta-o finhatag ginta-o &inha tag
17. i""8SuJat inu,fsulat inu,fsulat i""8Sulat
18. momqsuat mo""8Suiat ma""8Sulat lllllnU,fSulat
19. dal'a daJ?a dat'a daPa
20. daPi dal'li dat'i daPi
21. tataw'an talap•an taraw'an talap•an

-Tiie four base words used in the table are (after No. 1): lstJa? 'fish'; fll-<)-hlltq'to give' ;
iu/tlrtulat 'to write'; dala"'llllra"1illla 'to take, carry'.

TABLE 3
DEGRF.E OF COGNATION BE'IWEEN lHIRTEEN PAIRS OF
COMMUNITIES INPANAY

Items with
Tota/No. of noncognate
ToWIU Bdng Compared Items with Prrcmtage
tl!Tml of Cognation
Faired Tenns
No.
"
1. Baluan, lloilo & 729 39 5 95
Ptes. Roxas, Capiz
2. Lepnes & Pavia, lloilo 729 73 10 90
3. Jamindan & Tapaz, Capiz 682 84 12 88
4. Batan & Buruanga, Aldan 714 92 13 87
5. Buruanga & Kalibo, Aldan 707 93 13 87
6. Roxas City & Tapaz, Capiz 703 103 14.5 85.5
7. Roxas City & Jamindan, Capiz 688 100 14.5 85.5
8. Jarnindan, Capiz &
Lepne., lloilo 697 112 16 84
9. J arnindan, Capiz &
Pavia, lloilo 694 120 17 83
lOa. Libertad & Anini-y, Antique• 508 60 12 88
!Ob. Pandan & Da-o, Antique
11. Ptes. Roxas, Capiz &
Pavia, lloilo 726 108 15 85
12. Tapu, Capiz &
Buruanp, Ak1an 701 119 17 83
13a. Roxas City &
Anini-y, Antique• 540 124 23 77
13b. Roxu City &
D.a, Antique 165 36 22 78

•The1e towns being part of the first survey, the futing for them wu not extensive; hence, information
tiom them was complemented by information Irom the towns adjacent to each of them.
 THE DIALECTS OF PANAY

7.4. The fourth vowel in Hinaray-a, the unrounded back vowel (also called the
pepet vowel in linguistic literature), must be considered a phoneme, and not a variant of
/u/, because no conditioning can be determined for its predictable occurrence in
preference to /u/. On the contrary, two minimal pairs have been found showing contrast
between /u/ and./w/ on the one hand (bwlag 'to separate a couple' vs. bulag 'blind') and
1
/i/ and /w/ on the other (kidit 'small' vs. TaitdNt 'starting fire').
7.5. All the vowels in the three sound systems, however, have tense and lax
allophones which freely interchange, although an accented vowel frequently becomes
tense. Also, a speaker under tension is more likely to use the tense allophones.
7.6. As to the articulation of the consonants, Hinaray-a speakers have been
observed to articulate stops rather strongly. In fact, this is a secondary feature of Deep
Hinaray-a.

8.0. Distinctive Phonetic Features in the Dialects. It is obvious from the

comparison of the phonology of the three known speech systems that their distinctions
lie in the use of m in Aklanon and its absence in the two others, and the use of a fourth
vowel, /11t/, in Hinaray-a in addition to the three that the others also have.
8.1. The initial data obtained from field work yielded some minimal triads which
identify dialects. The Hinaray-a words exhibited the /r/ reflex; the Aklanon, the [J]
reflex; and the Hiligaynon, the /1/ reflex. Ten such triads were used to determine the
distribution of the three major dialects. These ten were:

Gloss Hiligaynon / 1/4 Aklanon [J] Hinaray-a Jr/

rain ulan ul.an uran
ugly maJaw? ay maJaw?ay maraw?ay
to go under sulay sulay suray
the rain
to shrink kolo? koto~ kere'J
island pulo? puJo? puro?
name 71alan 11atan 17aran
the eldest kamagula71an kamaguJ311an kamagur311nan
young un-
married woman dalaga dataga daraga
pit of the
stomach soloksolok soJoksoJokan soroksorok
sleep tulog tul.og turog

8.2. Other criteria had been used, but these tended to identify splinter sections in
each main system. A discu~ion of their use in the study is given elsewhere in this report.
These others are other phonetic features, vocabulary held in common by contiguous
communities, and even coinage.

4Examples here and elsewhere are in phonetic transcription; thus, the allophones of the back
~owel are given.

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PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS

9 .0. The Use of /li/ as a Test for Hinaray-a. In addition to the criterion just used,
another phonological test is the use of /li/ in Hinaray-a in words which have /u/ in
Hiligaynon and Aklanon. Some other triads which exhibit this distinction are :

Gloss Hiligaynon /u/ Aklanon /u/ Hinaray-a /isf 5

1. six an um an?om an'dffi
2. milled rice bu gas bugas bligas
3. sow (pig) nay on nay on nay en
4. to shrink kolo kolo? kere?
5. floor salog sa/.og saleg

9 .1. Hinaray-a which exhibits both /r/ and /li/ reflexes is here called Deep
Hinaray-a in contradistinction to the other types which retain either one of the two
features. (See Fig. 1.)
9.2. Dumalagnon (21£). In the central region, Dumalagnon has grown from the
influence of Capiz Hiligaynon on Hinaray-a. The preference of Capiz Hiligaynon for fl/
in positions where Hinaray-a uses /r/, in many more instances than in Iloilo Hiligaynon,6
is reflected in this subdialect. Dumalagnon is a type of Hinaray-a because it has retained
the pepet vowel and even extended its use. In addition, it has retained many distinctive
Hinaray-a words.
9.2.1. The few distinguishing Hinaray-a words which have retained the /r/ reflex
are darawa 'two', torodo? ' index finger', and kararoton 'root crops'. On the other hand,
the Deep Hinaray-a (gi:rek] 'fme hair on rice plants' has become (gillik]. Other forms
which have lost the /r/ reflex are:
Dumalagnon Gloss Jn other dialects
gatilindeg 'all standing' gatirindeg
bologto? 'siblings' borogto?
dalaga 'unmarried woman' daraga
ilek 'arm pit' irek
kel.e? 'to shrink' kere?

9.3. I..emerinhon(21e). On the Iloilo side, four other subdialects of Hinaray-a

have arisen between Deep Hinaray-a territory and the Hiligaynon-speaking coastal area.
To the north, like some spearhead deep into Hiligaynon territory, is the subdialect
which is characterized by the loss of the pepet vowel and the use of /r/ and /1/ in free
variation in lexical items that form minimal triads.
9 .3.1. The hub of this area is Lemery, a town ringed in by some low mountains, a
part of the range that runs across the middle of the island, from west to east. Actually,
Lemery is the rearguard of Hinaray-a against the 'assault' of the more prestigious
Hiligaynon; and its speech shows that Hinaray-a is losing in a long drawn-out battle.

5Examples here and elsewhere are in phonetic transcription; thus, the allophones of the back
vowel are given.
6For example, Iloilo Hiligaynon has sirik 'dorsal fin' and baroron 'to coil' against Capiz
Hiligaynon's silik and bali?okon.

8
 THE DIALECTS OF PANAY

9.3.2. So, in this town, one could expect to hear:

padalawat "'padarawat 'to sell rice'

dulu17gan ~~ tali17a 'ear'
kolo11 'pigpen'
tiyan "' bus017 'abdomen'
dalaga "' daraga 'unmarried woman'

9.3.3. But Hinaray-a has been supplanted by Hiligaynon in such basic items as
'dog' (ido ? ), 'second' (ikaduha), 'one' (isa) , 'feet' (ti?il), 'a big one' (daku' ),
'tomorrow' (buwas ).
9 .4. Central Iloilo Hinaray-a (2 1b ). At the center of this diverse linguistic area and
to the west of the Lemery area is a long strip whose speech is characterized by the
relatively free alternation of /.y/ and /u/ arid the retention of the characteristic use of
/r/. This strip runs south and includes the towns through which the only railway in the
island passes. Starting from Santa Barbara, the dialect is spoken up to Passi at the
boundary between Capiz and Iloilo.
It is also interesting to note that the terminals of the railroad are two very
important Hiligaynon communities: Iloilo City and Roxas City, both former capitals of
their respective provinces.
9 .4.1. It is evident that the alternation of the rounded back vowel and the pepet
is due to the confluence of Hiligaynon and Hinaray-a along this important trans-
portation artery. The confluence is further established by roads that parallel the railway
line.
In its own way , this phenomenon also attests to the growing influence of
Hiligaynon on Hinaray-a speakers. This dominance is confirmed by a one-sided
bilingualism: Hinaray-a speakers, for fear of being branded as 'mountain people' (which
is tantamount to being considerd backward), have tried to attain facility in the use of
Hiligaynon; Hiligaynon speakers on the other hand, except, perhaps , those who are
students of language, hardly bother to learn Hinaray-a.
9.4.2 . Some items that exhibit this characteristic alternation are begas "' bugas
'milled rice,' nayen "'nayon 'sow (pig)' atup "'atup 'roof, salttg "'salug 'floor', /(18g,..,,
/i'>og 'neck', gir8k "'girok 'fme hair on rice plants'.
9.5. Pototanon (21c). A third subdialect of Hinaray-a is in a pocket that cuts
across the long strip aforementioned. The hub of this subdialect is Pototan. Its main
distinction is that the Hiligaynon use of /u/ has intruded into the usage of /a/. This
characteristic is not to be confused with the free alternation of these two sounds in
characterizing words. Instead, Pototanon, in the main, uses /"11/; however, many of the
characterizing words now have the /u/ sound. Some examples are :

Pototanon Deep Hinaray-a Gloss

anum anl:llll 'six'
butlak batlak '(sun) to rise'
awot awet 'hard'
ho?od he?ed 'yes'
ron -don ren-den 'already'

9
 31-o. @
0
®

Figure 1
'!be D:!AJ.ects of Pan~

(For legend, please

refer to ·the following page.)

10
 THE DIALECTS OF PANAY

Legend for Figure 1

The Dialects of Panay

0000 Boundary of Hiligaynon (10)

11 Deep Ilonggo
11-a Zarraganhon
11-b Saranhon
11-c Batadnon
11-d Carlesnon

-1ilL Boundary of Ilonggo and Capiznon

12 Central (Deep) Capiznon
12-a Panaynon
12-b Sigmahanon
12-<: Daohanon
12-d Cuarterohanon
12-e Dumaraonon

13 Nabasnon

Boundary of Hinaray-a (20)

21 Central Deep Iloilo Hinaray-a
21-a Coastal Deep Iloilo Hinaray-a
21-b Central Iloilo Hinaray-a
21-c Pototanon
21-d East Coast Iloilo Hinaray-a
21-e Lemerinhon
21-f Dumalagnon

0-0-0-0- Boundary of Antique and Iloilo Hinaray-a

22 (Deep} Antique Hinaray-a

23 (Deep) Aldan Hinaray-a

Boundary of Aklanon (36)

31-a Eastern Deep Aklanon

31-b Western Deep Aklanon
31-c Malaynon (Deep Aklanon)
31-d Sapi-anon (Deep Aklanon)
32 Mambusaonon
33 Jamindanon
34 Buruanganhon

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PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF LINGUISTIC1l

9.6. East Coast Iloilo Hinaray-a (21d). A fourth subdialect of Hinaray-a is in a

pocket breaking into Hiligaynon territory along the central eastern coast. This is
East-Coast-of-Iloilo Hinaray-a. It is characterized by the loss of /../ (and the use of /u/
in its stead).
The three towns that use the dialect are in the area to the east of Pototan: Barotac
Nuevo to the south of it, Anilao to the north, and Dingle to the west. The biggest and
longest river in Panay winds just below Barotac Nuevo on its way between Zarraga and
Leganes on one side and Dumangas on the other. To the north of Anilao lie the high
mountains that shelter the Hiligaynon towns of Banate and Barotac Viejo. Dingle is just
across the hills from Anilao. Although it is in the broad central plains of Iloilo, it is at
the rim of this, to the east; and although quite close to railway territory, it is not
reached by rail.
9.7. The extent of the usage of iJam 'I don't know' has much to say about the
early linguistic history of central Iloilo. It seems that the whole Hinaray-a region above
the Jalaud River, beginning at the coastal towns of Dumangas, Barotac Nuevo, and
Anilao, must have had more in common than the towns on the other side of this river.
This region of common interest is bounded by Pototan and Lambunao to the south.
Below them to the west Janiuay already uses ma?an of Deep Iloilo Hinaray-a. From
Dumangas itself down to Iloilo City the term used is the Hiligaynon ambut. Similarly,
the pocket of Lemery also has ambut and ilam fighting for dominance.
9.7.1. The evidence of at least insa 'why' and the whole pronominal system,
however, attests to the closeness to each other of the two main Iloilo Hinaray-a regions
delineated by ma ?an/ilam, and their collective distinctiveness from the Antique
varieties.
9 .7.2 . The tendency of early landseekers to settle on one side of a river is again
revealed by linguistic phenomena in the southern coast of Iloilo. The informant for
Oton, whose residence was close to the town plaza, said that just across the Batiano
River outside of the town proper Hiligaynon is the common dialect. Now the Batiano is
not much of a river ; it is more like a strongly-flowing big ditch. But Hinaray-a
settlement stopped at its western bank. It seems that when Hiligaynon folk came, they
settled the vicinity but spread up from the eastern bank of the Batiano to the western
bank of the Jalaud.
9.8. Deep Hinaray-a. If the basic considerations for the identification of Deep
Hinaray-a are the use of {the trilled) /r/ and the unrounded back vowel /1!/ in words that
exhibit other reflexes in other dialects, then its territory is wide, comprising the whole
province of Antique and the western half or so of Iloilo Province (which is adjacent to
Antique). This dialect {rather, subdialect) area is not homogeneous, however. Three
subdialects of Deep Hinaray-a may be distinguished.
9.8.1. Deep Iloilo Hinaray-a (21). In the central part of Iloilo Province, beginning
with the coastal towns to the east of Iloilo City, to the Antique border at the
southwestern tip of Panay , a type of Deep Hinaray-a is spoken that is distinct from the
Antique types. This subdialect is used up in the central mountain regions of Iloilo, to
the border towns of Tapaz in Capiz.
A body of basic vocabulary items which are common among the towns in this area
are unlike Antique Hinaray-a items for the same referents. Some of the most
distinguishing items found in the lists of this study are :

12
 THE DIALECTS OF PANAY

Central flouo term Antique term Gloss

hariged bahel '(one) big (thing)'
kayet iki? '(one) small (thing)'
magagmay marintek '(many) small (thing)'
sidlarian morud?an 'the east'
tunud saiep '(the sun) to set'
gawi? uyahen 'face'
kayet isot 'few'

9.8.1.1. Coastal Deep Iloilo Hinaray-a (21a). Probably, because of the movement
of people along and around the southern coasts of Iloilo and Antique, a sub-sub-
subdialect of Deep Hinaray-a is found in the coastal towns of Iloilo Provice to the south,
to be called Coastal Deep Iloilo Hinaray-a. This strip of linguistic area runs all the way
from San Joaquin to Oton, next door to Iloilo City. This type of Deep Iloilo Hinaray-a
has an overlay of distinctive terms. Some of these are :

Coastal Deep Iloilo Hinaray-a Central Deep

& Deep Antique Hinaray-a floilo Hinaray-a Gloss
andet insa 'why'
pe~a oyapes 'a big boil'
kasalpan katondan 'the west'
mariga (to Tigbauan) paho? 'mango'
isot gamay 'few'

9.9. Deep Aldan Hinaray-a (23). In another pocket with greater isolation, which is
influenced mainly by Aklanon (because this region is dependent on Aldan for
fulfillment of its basic n~eds), another sub-subdialect of Hinaray-a is found. This is to be
called Deep Aklan Hinaray-a. This pocket is in the north of Antique, at the neck of the
island.
In this 'deep' territory, both /r/ and /l!/ reflexes are found. However, the overlay
of Aklanon vocabulary is heavy. Of the total number of items included in the survey,
more than 11 per cent obviously were Aklanon words or were derived from them.
Many of the Aklanon words were reshaped to conform to Hinaray-a phonology. Those
which have been adopted without change are words that do not involve the reflex of the
rounded back vowel, for which Hinaray-a has the unrounded counterpart.
These are words like:

si1d 'foot/feet' in?aga 'tomorrow'

pano?ok 'loins' tariis 'to cry'
tiyan 'abdomen' gahaliri 'moving a house'
ma?istan 'small (thing)' sadya? 'pretty'

9.10.1. Some words that have /u/ and fn in Aklanon have been reshaped
according to Hinaray-a phonology. Some examples are given below:

13
PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS

DeepAklan Deep Antique Aklan

Hinaray-a Hinaray-a Form Gloss
gi?ek linas gi?ok 'to tluesh'
ipes buli? ipos 'rump'
galukon gabaroron galokon 'coiling'
sebat batlak sub at '(the sun) to rise'
gamabdes gabUS9f1 gamabdos 'pregnant'

9.10.2. The distinctive particles in the two dialects are :

Deep Aklanon
Hinaray-a Gloss Aklanon
a7l 'the' ru-du
kag 'and' ?ag
ta71"'it 'of ko"'it
ambay 'I don't know' ta?o
r0n-tl071 'already' Jon
he?ed 'yes' ho?o
wan haw? 'why' pam?an

10.0. The Distribution of Aklanon. Phonetically, the general area that is

designated as Aklanon territory can be divided into four sub-areas.
10.1. Deep Aklanon (31). Deep Aklanon is spoken over the breadth of the heart
of Aldan Province . The other subdialects are pockets of contact with surrounding
dialects . Deep Aklanon is characterized by the use of the fricative lateral[.!] at certain
predictable positions and the absence of the pepet vowel. The lateral fricative is an
allophone of the phoneme /1/, of which the other allophone is [l] . [1] is to be found in
the following environments :

1) adjacent to the front vowel, only of indigenous words;

2) after an alveolar consonant; and
3) in all positions in borrowed (usually Spanish) words.

In all other positions, 00 occurs. For example:

Words with[l] Words with [1]

lima 'five bujak 'flower'
tali71a 'ear(s)' isa,la 'one'
poltri 'poultry' Jawas 'body'
lolo 'grandfather' tak]ob 'cover
bunlaw 'to rinse' gaJ?um 'cloud'
boJboJ 'feather, fine hair'

10.1.2. Another distinguishing feature of Deep Aklanon which is shared by the

other subtypes is its treatment of a high front resonant adjacent to a high back resonant.

14
 THE DIALECTS OF PANAY

Whereas Hiligaynon and Hinaray-a are likely to make the front resonant the glide of the
diphthong /Yo/, or /oY /, Aklanon would make the back resonant the glide: fiw/ or /wi/.

Ak/anon Hiligaynon Hinaray-a Gloss

palagi:w palagyo palagyo 'to run away'
isi:w (piso?) (pise?) 'chick'
buwitan boloytan
kalaptan karaptan 'handle'

10.2. Mambusaonon (32). The subdialect spoken in Mambusao is characterized by

the palatalization of the fricative lateral. A consequent phenomenon that is frequently
observed is the umlauting of the vowel before it. This occurrence is not unknown in
Deep Aklanon, especially in words whose minimal counterpart in Hinaray-a have /r/
instead, as notice:

Hinaray-a Aklanon Gloss

isara isala, isya 'one'
darwa daywa 'two'
sarwal sal.wal, saywal 'trousers'

This tendency is best seen in the comparison between Mambusaonon and Deep Aklanon:

Mambusaonon Deep Aklanon Gloss

yon Jon 'already'
siyapo?an sa1apo? an 'having birth pains'
diyaga dalaga 'unmarried woman'
katyog katoJog 'asleep'
katyondan katu1undan 'the west'

Not all probable occurrences of 00 are palatalized, however, as evidenced by the

following examples from Mambusaonon:

palay 'rice'
da1u11gan 'ear'

10.3. Jarnindanon (33). The speech of Jarnindan, on the other hand, shows a free
interchange of [1] and [1] in words which, in Deep Aklanon, would have [1] . Hence,
the following may be expected to occur, according to 'what is· easiest on the tongue at
the time of speaking' (as the old folk would say):

dulu11gan dulu11gan 'ear'

bahoJ bahol 'big (one)'
dafagko? dalagko? 'big (ones)'
duma1aga dumalaga 'spring hen'
koJOT/ kolo11 'curly'
alum alum 'mole'
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PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS

10.4. Buruanganhon (34). The isolation of Buruanga is reflected in the

development of its speech: this- area shows signs of attrition in the use of the fricative
lateral. Many words in the list which, predictably, should have [l] now have [1] in
Buruanganhon. Some examples are given below :

Buruanganhon Deep Aklanon Gloss

balay balay 'house'
sala is ala 'one'
walo wato 'eight'
palay palay 'rice'
mahabol mahaboJ 'big (one)'

10.4 .1. Buruanganhon has tenns peculiar to its region for 4 7 of 150 items found
to be quite widespread among Aklanon speakers, but for which the other dialects have
their own distinctive counterpart. These peculiar features even include such grammatical
particles as deictics, an article, and interrogative expressions.
10.5. The town next to Buruanga, Malay, which shares its isolation, has adopted
just about the same peculiarities in vocabulary as Buruanga's and added a few of its
own. However, it has retained the sounds characteristic of Deep Aklanon. Hence, it, too,
must be considered another splinter, but one from Deep Aklanon itself. Malaynon {32),
then, is to be regarded as a sub-sub-dialect, of the subdialect called Deep Aklanon.
Buruanganhon itself is also a subdialect of Aklanon.
10.5.2. A comparison of the vocabulary features that these two areas share show
how much other dialects, especially Hinaray-a, have contributed to their development.

Buruanganhon Malay non Deep A klanon Gloss

tali11a tali11a dulu11gan 'ear'
ligaw ligaw hali77 'to move a house'
tig?ilinit tig?ilinit tigsililak 'dry season'
11a dia tan dia makaron 'now'
ma?ay011 aga mayad 11a aga mayad 11a agahon 'Good morning'
yan diyan rito ...... rikaro 'there (near)'
agto rogto idto 'there (far)'
an a11 ru-du 'the'

10.6. A second sub-subdialect of Deep Aklanon is in another pocket between

Mambusao and the coast, around the town of Sapi-an. Sapi-anon, like Buruanganhon,
has lost [¥] in certain Aklanon words, but has also replaced [l] with it in certain
Capiznon words. The first characteristic is eVidenced by words like lokon 'to coil',
palagi:w 'to run away', layo11an 'carrying pole', lm/ka' 'jackfruit', lagnat 'fever'.
The second is exemplified by such words as bafat?a11 'hip joint', diha/ 'to let the
tongue hang out', and safog 'cleaned split bamboo'.
In addition to these peculiarities, it has three others. First, it shares a sizeable
vocabulary with Capiznon. Second, it has siat ana 'she herself, etc.' where imawt ana is
commonly expected, and sandat anda 'they themselves' instead of sandat a.

16
 THE DIALECTS OF PANAY

11.0. Hiligaynon. Hiligaynon is the speech of the eastern coastal regions of Panay.
It is the narrow coast below the mountains and what was once swampland between the
Batiano River and the Iloilo River, and later of the Jalaud River, which were occupied
by Hiligaynon speakers.
In Capiz where the mountains recede into the (interior) border of the province
with Iloilo, the coastal plains are wider. Apparently, the Deep Hinaray-a speakers kept
to the highlands; thus, Hiligaynon spread over more coastal territory in Capiz.
11.1. The Subdialects of Hiligaynon. At least three Hiligaynon subdialects can be
identified: the Iloilo type (Ilonggo), the Capiz type (Capiznon), and the isolated
Nabasnon in Aklan. There are four sets of features that establish their distinctiveness.
The obvious difference in intonation patterns will not be discussed here.
Other phonetic features, morphology, and vocabulary, however, are sufficient to
establish identities. For one thing, Capiznon uses /1/ more extensively than Ilonggo does
in certain words. For example, Capiznon has bilaho 7 'com flower', ilas 'bristly
caterpillar', and silik 'dorsal fin', where Ilonggo has biraho, iras, and sirik. It could be
that the longer border of Capiznon with Aklanon and that of Ilonggo with Hinaray-a
have reinforced their respective preferences.
In addition, Capiznon is likely to use /r/ where Ilonggo uses /d/, as in iro? vs.
ido? 'dog'; koral vs. kudal 'fence'.
11.1.1. As to morphology, the two subtypes differ in one inflectional affixation
and three derivational ones. 'Reciprocal action' is exemplified in Capiznon by
sinumbagan 'box each other' but by sumbaganay in Ilonggo.
The Capiznon paf/la/aki 'committing adultery', pOf/awatan 'havin_g_ illicit relations',
and paT/inhason 'shellfish in general' are paf/inla/aki, pa'T/flwat, 8 and pakinhason, res-
pectively, in Ilonggo.
11.1.2. A long list of contrastive vocabulary distinguishes these two region8.
Where all, or nearly all, these contrasts appear, the speech will be called Deep Capiznon,
or Deep Ilonggo, accordingly. Some of these are:

Capiznon llonggo Gloss

kolikon kalokos 'roll up sleeves, etc.'
kutiba alukaba 'crab shell'
karuagan kalaha? 'frying pan'
mapawa? masanag 'bright (light)'
ma~ak mahiniT/ 'shiny (face)'
mad?ayad matahum 'pretty'
f/a man f/a?a 'why'
orok idik 'piglets'
puya bata? 'child'
patawa kadlaw 'laugh'

11.2.1. Deep Capiznon (12). Eight towns around Pilar Bay speak the dialect that
extensively shows the contrasts between Capiznon and Ilonggo. These towns are Pilar

7This is not to say that is the one term for this item. This may be said of the other examples.
8This word is used in llonggo to mean 'thieving' in general.

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PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS

(at the western border between Capiz and Iloilo), Pres. Roxas, Pontevedra, Panay,
Roxas City, and Ivisan - all along the coast; and inland, Panit-an and Ma?ayon.
11.2.1.1. The speech of the township of Panay, however, exhibits phonetic
peculiarities which demand its being recognized as a sub-sub-subdialect (of Deep
Capiznon). These phonetic features seem to be reflexes developed from the vestiges of
Aklan speech, which must have been spoken up to that point in Capiz in the past.9 This
splinter lect shall be called Panaynon. Three developments are represented by the
following typical items:
Aklanon Capiznon Panayanon Gloss
1. puJa pula puwa: 'red'
talum talum tawi:tm 'sharp'
2. balagbag balagbag ba: :gbag 'bamboo shoots'
maduJum madulum madu:m 'dark'
3. bUT70J bm7ol bu17tty 'deaf

11.2.2. Sigmahanon (12b ). Sigmahanon, like Deep Capiznon, is a sub-subdialect of

(Capiznon) Hiligaynon. Its hub is Sigma. The towns adjacent .to Sigma to the west are
Sapi-an and Mambusao, both Aklanon towns, though politically attached to Capiz. So,
linguistically speaking, Sigma is at the border, and crossroads, between Aklan and Capiz.
Thls strategic location is reflected even in its phonology and grammar.
11.2.2.1. A peculiar Sigmahanon reflex is the treatment of the historical [f] in
certain words, represented by :

Sigmahanon Aklanon Gloss

pa:y palay 'rice (plant or grain)'
saog sa1og 'floor'
tirluwan ti17ulan 'rainy season'
katowog katoJog 'asleep'
subwak subJak '(sun) to shine'
bawo balo 'widow(er)'

11.2.2.2. Inmost other cases, the [f] became resonant (/If).

11.2 .2 .3. In grammar, the lack of dominance of any one dialect is revealed by the
use of the Aklanon it and the Hiligaynon sa17 'of together, and of the Hiligaynon si/a
'they' and sia 'he'/she' in a basically non-Hiligaynon pronominal system.
11.2.3. Da-ohanon (12c). The speech ofDa-o may be considered a sub-subdialect.
Unlike Sigmahanon, Da-ohanon has some more evidence of the influence of the
Aklanon m. The data has bufak 'flower', padafawat 'to sell rice', tafodtod 'spine', pufa
'red' , and sakit o/o 'headache'. Otherwise, its phonology is basically Hiligaynon.
11.2.3.1. But for the use of Hiligaynon critical sounds, the Da-ohanon pronominal
system is basically Antique Hinaray-a in form. The one aberrant form sia tana shows its

9 A historical fact that is of some consequence here is the establishment of the first Spanish.
settlement of Capiz in Panay . It was the first capital. The first legendary Malayan settlement was at
the mouth of the Alclan River, almost at the opposite end of the island's northern side.

18
 THE DIALECTS OF PANAY

relationship to the growing identity of a central Capiz larger community, whose

characteristics are described elsewhere.
11.2.3.2. As for its vocabulary, Da-0hanon is predominantly Capiznon, exhi-
biting as it does the most distinctive Capiznon words, as well as having a very large
portion of words held in common by all Hiligaynon speakers, and about half as much
held in commoo by Aklanon and Capiznon speakers. It has a noticeable number of
Aklanon terms, much less of Ilonggo, and traces of Hinaray-a.
11.2.4. Cuarterohanon (12d). Cuartero, a town at the heart of Panay, is situated
in a basin that opens into Aldan, Capiz, and Iloilo. Both railroad and highway pass the
edge of the town. Because of this accessibility from ma.."ly directions, and iis being
halfway from all directions of hard travel, it has been subject to many linguistic
influences.
Cuarterohanon, the speech of the township, is a sub-subdialect {of Capiznon). It
shows evidence of heavy borrowing from Hinaray-a, the most important being the
morphemic shape of its pronominal system, its genitive forms (ka - it), its
demonstratives (dia 'this' day?a 'that, near', to ya 'that, far'). Furthermore, both the
Capiznon and the Ilonggo forms for 'reciprocal action' are used here.
11.2.4.1. A study of the list of items obtained from the town shows that all the
major dialects have strongly contributed to Cuarterohanon. Hiligaynon terms comprise
about 47 per cent of the total list of distinctive words. About a third are contributed by
the other dialects, and about 17 per cent are peculiar to Cuarterohanon and its
immediate vicinity.
11.2.5. Dumaraonon ( l 2e ). Dumaraonon must also be considered a sub-subdialect
of the Capiznon type. Although adjacent to Cuartero, the township's greater proximity
to, and long border with, Hinaray-a speaking regions figures quite prominently in its
speech. The test proposed for Deep Capiznon is not fully met by Dumaraonon. On the
other hand, the incidence of the use of Hinaray-a words and Ilonggo words has risen to
about double that in Cuartero speech, but the contribution of Aklanon has diminished.
11.2.5.1. Many of the peculiarities in grammar an~ vocabulary cited for Cuartero,
however. are also shared by Dumaraonon. For example, they share the same genitive
and ·deictic systems. Dumaraonon also shares the jargon of the central Capiz larger
community.
11.2.5.2. Some of the peculiarities of this lect need to be pointed out:
alib011?an 'roof ridge', libWaT/fln 'mouth of the river', ma?id/ak 'shiny (face)', subog
'basket', dondon 'now', and insa T/fl 'why'.
11.3. Ilonggo. Five types of Ilonggo may be distinguished, according to the
degree with which the le ct exhibits the characteristics posited for Deep Ilonggo ( 11 ).
11.3 .1. Deep Ilonggo is spoken in four pockets strung along the Iloilo coast to the
east. One is the small area between the Batiano River, to the eastern side of Oton
and the delta of the Jalaud River, at the boundary of Leganes. This comprises Iloilo City
and Leganes.
Another pocket, most probably established through frequent contact with the
region first mentioned above, is the town proper of Dmnangas, although some trace of
Hinaray-a does surface here. It is to be noted that people .in the farmlands outside of the
town proper speak another type of Ilonggo. This is to be explained by the fact that

19
PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS

communication between the two pockets was established over sea routes and hardly by.
land.
A third pocket is Banate, a town in a cove below the rising coastal mountains of
Barotac Viejo. This is a fishing town established on a very narrow strip of land.
A fourth pocket is composed of three towns clustered around a point
three-fourths of the way up the coast of Iloilo. These three towns are Ajuy, San
Diouio, and Concepcion.
As_ in the case of Deep Capiznon, the speech of t!lese towns shows some
traces of other dialects, usually either Hinaray-a or Capiznon, or both. But, again, the
test is whether they have the features specified at the beginning.
11.3.2. Another subdialect, to be called Zarraganhon (lla), is spoken around
Zarraga and the outlying barrios of Durnangas. It is characterized by marked retention
of Hinaray-a vocabulary and some use of the Hinaray-a pronominal system. Had this
region had more incidence of use of other Hinaray-a grammatical sub-systems, it could
have been included with East Coast Iloilo Hinaray-a.
11.3.3. Another subtype, which may be called Saranhon (1 lb), is spoken in Sara
and Barotac Viejo. This subtype is characterized by the presence of vestiges ofHinaray-a
and .the influx of some Capiznon vocabulary. These retentions and borrowing are not of
marked degree, however.
11.3.4. Batadnon (11 c). The speech of the town of Ba tad, in northern Iloilo, is
the fourth subdialect of Ilonggo. It is characterized by extensive alternation between
Ilonggo and either Hinaray-a or Capiznon. In addition, it has holdovers from Hinaray-a
.and intrusions from Capiznon and even Aklanon.
11.3 .5. The last subtype of Ilonggo iS spoken at the northern tip of the province,
by the three towns of Carles, Balasan, and Estancia. Carles may be considered the hub
of this region, so the dialect is here called Carlesnon (1 ld).
11.3 .5 .1. There is a noticeable trace of Hinaray-a in these towns. Another strong
characteristic of this region is the more pronounced contribution of Capiznon
vocabulary, either in alternation with Ilonggo, or in preference to it. About 35 per cent
of the distinctive words in Carles, 19 per cent in Balasan, and 20 per cent in Estancia are
such words.
11.4. Nabasnon (13). The province of Aklan has an anomalous pocket at its neck
in the northwest. This is occupied by Nahas, the settlement by the mountain pass
between Antique and Aklan. For a town in its geographical position, itc; speech exhibits
an eclecticism that encompas.c;es more variety than expected. This intrusion into
Aklanon territory isolates the Aklanon towns of Malay and Buruanga from the main
Aklanon territory.
11.4.1. Although wedged in between Aklanon towns, Nabasnon has not adopted
the [f] of Aklanon. On the contrary, when latter-day commerce with other Aklan towns
began to be reflected in its borrowings, the following Aklanon words in its vocabulary
lost their fricative laterals: bahol 'big (one)', lokon 'coil', and magulaT/ 'old'.
11.4.1.1. In addition, the Panayan Bisayan infix -uL-, whose reflex in Aklanon
is -ul- and in Hinaray-a, -ur-, gets the Hiligaynon -ul- in Nabasnon. Thus, what is
Aklanon bob07'1Qn has become bolobonan in Nabasnon; and what is Hinaray-a
magborogto~ is magbulugto? in Nabasnon.

20
 THE DIALECTS OF PANAY

11.4.1.2. Nabasnon does not have the pepet vowel. In fact, obvious borrowings
from Hinaray-a, which had the pepet originally, have rounded vowels instead. Thus:
Hinaray-a Nabasnon Gloss
ti71uranen ti71uranon 'rainy season'
ren ron 'already'
sel&d solod 'tuber'
kanamen, etc. kanamon, etc. 'to us (exclusive), etc.'

11.4 .1.3. Because of all this collective peculiarity, Nabasnon is here considered as
some version of Hiligaynon. This, Capiznon, and Ilonggo are the three subdialects of
Hiligaynon in Panay.
12.0. Classification of Panayan 'Dialects'. The whole language situation in Panay
may now be thus outlined:

Panayan Bnayan

I. Aklanon
A. Deep Aklanon
1. Central Deep Aklanon
2. Malaynon
3. Sapi-anon
B. Mambusaonon
C. Jamindanon
D. Buruanganhon

II. Hiligaynon
A. Capiznon
1. Deep Capiznon
a. Central Deep Capiznon
b. Panaynon
2. Sigmahanon
3. Da-ohanon
4. Cuarterohanon
5. Dumaraonon
B. Ilonggo
1. Deep llonggo
2. Zarraganhon
3. Saranhon
4. Batadnon
5. Carlesnon
C. Nabasnon

III. Hinaray-a
A. Deep Hinaray-a
1. Deep Antique Hinaray-a
2. Deep Aklan Hinaray-a 21
PmLIPPINE JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS

3. Deep Iloilo Hinaray-a

a. Central Deep Iloilo Hinaray-a
b. Coastal Deep Iloilo Hinaray-a
B. Dwnalagnon
C. Lernerinhon
D. Central lloilo Hinaray-a
E. Pototanon
F. East Coast Iloilo Hinaray-a

12.1. Sources ofLinguiStic Complexity. Looking back over the whole attempt to
isolate and describe each distinctive speech form in Panay, one is almost forced to
consider every town a dialect area by itself, for practically every town exhibits different
se1ections and extent of adoption of words from each of the major dialects.
12.1.1. Otrer linguistic phenomena that occur when different lects come in
contact further complicate matters. When two contrasting words arrive in one
settlement, confusion in the use of two equally strong altemants seemed to have forced
the speakers to create a blend out of the two.
12.1.2. Another possibility that has so far been given scant attention is the
phenomenon of specialization of meanings. 11lis means that two competing words are
both adopted, but they divide the field of meanings between them; for example, in
Dumangas, niyog refers to the fruit of the coconut tree; lubi, to the tree itself. There
are similar data from at least 16 other towns.
12.1.3. Not to be overlooked is the fact that there also is hardly a town that does
not exhibit some word(s) peculiar to itself.
12.2. In Fine. This much evidence attests to the mobility of people in Panay, a
mobility that has established both land and sea routes and has taken travelers over the
length and breadth of the island. The blends and the individual coinages also attest to
long periods of settling down with neighbors who may have come from other places and
originally spoke some other dialect(s).
In short, the highly-checkered dialect situation in Panay is the result of tensions
between the compulsion to move about and the desire to 'take root', among peoples
who were of different origins but were not really historically alien to each other. The
early settlers, wherever they were originally situated, moved out of settlements to look
for more advantageous locations for living - and then settled down.

REFERENCES

THOMAS, DAYID and RICHARD GIESER. 1973. A decimal classification for Philip-
pine languages. Parangal kay Cecilio Lopez, ed. by Andrew B. Gonzalez, FSC,
64- 70. Quezon City: Linguistic Society of the Philippines.

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