CEBUANO LANGUAGE OBJECTIVE #1
CEBUANO ALPHABET AND PRONUNCIATION
(SYL)
#1: CEBUANO ALPHABET AND PRONUNCIATION
OBJECTIVE FIGURE 1
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. 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 itcomes with ease.
CEBUANO LANGUAGE OBJECTIVE #1
CEBUANO ALPHABET AND PRONU NCIATION
(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
j
ll
n
rr
x
sounds more like `sh`, as in the Spanish name Chavez.
sounds more like `h`, as in the Spanish name Jose.
sounds like `lly`, as in the Spanish name Padilla
sounds like `ny`, as in the English canyon.
rolling r sound
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
Nag - pa - lit
CV-VC-CV
Mo - ad - to
VC
ang
CV-CV-CV VC
VC-CVC
la - la - ki
og
ga - tas
(The boy bought milk at the store.)
CV
sa
CVC-CV-CVC
in - da - han.
CV
CV-CV
CV
CV-CV-CV-CVC VC-CV
ba
si - ya
sa
Pi - li - pi - nas
ug - ma?
(Will he/she go to the Philippines tomorrow?)
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-ka-do). 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
ebanghelyo
dili
Ingles
kauban
wala
Pilipinas
lalaki
salamat
misyon
babaye
walay sapayan
misyonaryo
oo
- Cebuano
- gospel
- not, no (future)
- English
- companion
- one; no (past)
- Philippines
- male
- thank you
- mission
- female
- you're welcome
- missionary
- yes