#1: CEBUANO ALPHABET
AND PRONUNCIATION
BY THE END OF THIS LESSON YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
- Pronounce the letters in the Cebuano alphabet
- Read and write Cebuano words
THE CEBUANO ALPHABET (ABAKADA)
• Abakada (alphabet). The abakada or
the Cebuano alphabet consists of
twenty letters in the following
sequence:
• a, b, k, d, e, g, h, i, l, m, n, ng, o, o, r, s, t,
u, w and y
• Note that k follows b and ng (new and
different letter!) follows n.
Cebuano vowels.
•
•
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Cebuano vowels are a, e, i, o and u.
The Cebuano vowel sounds are slightly different than
English vowel sounds.
The closest sounds to the five vowel sounds of
Cebuano are:
a as in far, father (ah, like ‘‘Ah ha! Eureka!’’)
e as in end, bed (eh, like an old man saying ‘‘Eh
sonney!’’)
i as in eve, marine (ee, like ‘‘Eek, it’s an eel!)
o as in obey, hope (oh, like ‘‘Oh my goodness!’’)
u as in food, moon (ooh or ew, like seeing a painful
football injury)
Cebuano consonants.
• The consonants are pronounced with the
sound of a at the end:
• Ba, Ka, Da, Ga, Ha, La, Ma, Na, Nga, Pa,
Ra, Sa, Ta, Wa and Ya
The consonant Ng (spelled nga).
• The ng sound is different to most English speakers
because to them, the `n` and `g` are two different
letters. The Cebuano letter ng is one consonant and
has neither the `n` nor the `g` sound. It is
pronounced in the same syllable.
• It is pronounced by saying an ‘‘nga’’ sound from the
back of the throat, while leaving the tongue on the
bottom of the mouth. Avoid the temptation to have
the tongue touch the top row of teeth.
• The initial nga sound can be practiced by selecting a
phrase with the correct sound (say -- sing a song).
Then leave off the initial consonants (say –ing a –ong).
Keep practicing until it comes with ease.
CEBUANO LANGUAGE OBJECTIVE #1
CEBUANO ALPHABET AND PRONUNCIATION
(SYL)
• The pronunciation of ng at the end of words is fairly simple, as
in the English word sing or lung, but its pronunciation within a
word is a little more challenging.
• Most English words with internal `n` and `g` consonants usually
have the `n` and `g` separated into two different syllables (ex.
Man-ger, en-gine, en-glish, or man-go).
• In English the `ng` combination is only found in the middle or
end of words. In Cebuano, the consonant ng may appear at the
beginning, middle, or end of words (such at ngalan, paingon, or
ang).
• The closest English words with the inside ng sound are longing,
singing, or hanger (pronounced with the `g` sound).
Spanish adopted letters.
• There are letters not found in the Cebuano alphabet used in the
language because of foreign languages. The following letters are
taken from the Spanish alphabet:
• ch sounds more like `sh`, as in the Spanish name Chavez.
• j sounds more like `h`, as in the Spanish name Jose.
• ll sounds like `lly`, as in the Spanish name Padilla
• n sounds like `ny`, as in the English canyon.
• rr rolling r sound
• x sounds like `h`, as in the Spanish name Roxas
English adopted letters.
• The following are English adopted
letters:
c, ch, f, j, q, v, x and z
Other adopted letters.
• ts
- this sounds like the `ts` in the
English hats
Dipthongs.
The Cebuano dipthongs are complex sounds that are
combinations of simple vowel sounds and semi-vowels.
• iy - as in pew diyutay (small amount)
• ey - as in bait reyna (queen)
• ay - as in hi balay (house)
• aw - as in brow adlaw (day)
• oy - as in boy baboy (pig)
Other complex sounds are:
• dy - as `j` in dyip (jeep)
• sy - as `sh` in misyon (mission)
CEBUANO LANGUAGE OBJECTIVE #1
CEBUANO ALPHABET AND PRONUNCIATION
(SYL)
READING AND WRITING CEBUANO WORDS
• There are two skills involved in learning and becoming functional
in a foreign language:
1) Reading written language and pronouncing it
correctly, and
2) Writing the words your hear correctly.
• A few ideas and a simple three step rule can help you develop
both skills in Visayan.
Cebuano syllables.
• Cebuano is not a truly-written language, which means that
generally, a Cebuano word is spelled just as it is pronounced.
• Each syllable and vowel is pronounced separately and distinctly.
One Cebuano syllable will consist of either a vowel (V), a vowel
with a consonant (CV) / (VC), or a vowel between two consonants
(CVC). This makes reading in Cebuano much easier than English
because the words can be easily broken into syllables.
CVC-CV-CVC VC CV-CV-CV VC VC-CVC CV CVC-CV-CVC
Nag - pa - lit
ang
la - la - ki
og
ga - tas
sa
- da - han.
(The boy bough milk at the store.)
CV-VC-CV CV CV-CV CV CV-CV-CV-CVC VC-CV
Mo - ad - to
ba
si - ya
sa
Pi - li - pi - nas
(Will he/she go to the Philippines tomorrow?)
tin
ug - ma?
The three-step rule.
• A simple three-step process can help you read new
words.
• First, focus on the vowels in the new word (every
syllables has one vowel). Thus, a word with three
vowels (ex. merkado) also has three syllables (mer-kado). The vowels form the skeleton of the word.
• Second, connect the vowels to the consonants and fill
the flesh on the skeleton.
• Finally, dress the word by adding correct stress and
intonation.
Stress.
• Stress in Cebuano roots is usually placed on the next-to-last
syllable, though this is not always the case. Knowledge of where
to place a stress usually requires experience with the word.
Many words have a different meaning when the stress is
shifted.
• STRESS ON FIRST SYLLABLE:
hapon - afternoon
basa - to read
kita - we (incl.)
• STRESS ON SECOND SYLLABLE:
Hapon - Japan
basa - wet
kita - to see
CEBUANO LANGUAGE OBJECTIVE #1
CEBUANO ALPHABET AND PRONUNCIATION
(SYL)
•
Intonation.
Like in English, generally raise your tone for questions and requests, let your
tone fall or level off for statements, commands, and responses, and suspend your
tone for series and non-final phrases.
•
Glottal catch.
The glottal catch or the abrupt changes in the duration of syllables can also
change the meaning of some words. The glottal catch is an abrupt closing of the
throat. Thus, the last sound in the syllables is cut short. This occurs almost
exclusively when the word ends in a vowel.
•
CATCH ON FIRST SYLLABLE: :
sala - living room
wala - left
basa - to read
•
CATCH ON SECOND SYLLABLE
sala - sin
wala - no; none
basa - wet
*Note: The glottal stop, for all intents and purposes, acts as a silent ‘‘t’’ consonant.
PRONUNCIATION PRACTICE
Practice pronunciation by reading aloud
the following Cebuano words:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cebuano - Cebuano
dili - not, no (future)
kauban - companion
Pilipinas - Philippines
salamat - thank you
babaye - female
• misyonaryo - missionary
ebanghelyo - gospel
Ingles - English
wala - one; no (past)
lalaki - male
misyon - mission
walay sapayan - you're
welcome
oo - yes