Masbatenyo Phonology

Phonological Sketch

Phonological Sketch

1 . The Orthography

The 22 symbols in the practical Masbatenyo alphabet used in this dictionary are
as follows:

A B D E G H I K L M N NG O P R S T U W Y, [-] and [^] (symbols for glottal
stop) and ['] which symbolizes stress or accent.

The symbol [^] represents the concurrence of stress and glottal stop on the same
syllable. Though stress or accent is symbolized in this dictionary, it is not marked in
Masbatenyo texts or in the practical orthography.

1.1. Vowels

The vowels are displayed in Table 1. Note that the vowels are placed in the Table
according to where they are pronounced in the mouth.

Table 1: Vowels of Masbatenyo

Front

Central

Back

High

i

u

Mid

e

o

Low

a

['] (Accent)

The two vowels [e] and [o] are distinctive only in loan words from Spanish or
English. Otherwise they are variants of /i/ and /u/ respectively.

1.2. Consonants

The consonants are displayed in Table 2 according to how and where they are
pronounced in the mouth.

Table 2: Consonants of Masbatenyo

Bilabial

Alveolar

Palatal

Velar

Glottal

Stops:
voiceless

P

t

k

(-;)

voiced

b

d

g

Fricatives

s

h

Nasals

m

n

ng

Lateral

1

Flapped

r

Semivowels

w

y

In this dictionary, glottal stop, symbolized as (-) or C) in Table 2, is not
symbolized in word-initial position. That gives some words the appearance of being

Phonological Sketch 5

vowel -initial, e.g. unom 's\x\ abot ^arrive', itsa *throw*. The glottal appears when the
words are affixed by a consonant-final prefix, e.g. abot 'arrive*, nag-abot 'arrived*. It is
symbolized by [-] when it is a member of a consonant cluster in the middle of words,
and by a grave accent ['] on a vowel with a following glottal stop. In the practical
orthography used for texts, neither word-initial nor word-fmal glottal stop is
symbolized.

The digraph [ng] represents the velar nasal as in English words *ring', *sing',
'bring'. The [r] is flapped like the *dd' in the English word 'ladder'.

2. Problems

2.1. Writing Loan Words

Nine consonants, C CH F J N Q V X Z, do not occur in native words but are
needed for the writing of proper noun loan words from Spanish and English which
have not been fully assimilated into Masbatenyo, e.g. Javier, Quezon, Roxas.

Assimilated loan words are respelled using normal Masbatenyo letters. Thus the
borrowed consonants listed in the left column of Table 3 are assigned the
Masbatenyo equivalents listed on the right.

Table 3: Masbatenyo equivalents of borrowed consonants

Borrowed letters

Masbatenyo letters

c when followed by o, u or a

it

c when followed by i or e

5

ch

ts

f

P

j (in Spanish)

h

n

y or ly

n

ny

q

k

V

b

JC

ks

z

s

Only three vowels occur in native Masbatenyo words. They are the high front
vowel i, the low central vowel a and the high back vowel u. However, there is
variation between i and e on one hand and between o and u on the other in the
pronunciation of individual speakers.

6 Phonological Sketch

2.2. Writing the Vowels i and e

The practical orthography or alphabet used in this dictionary uses only i for the
high front vowel in native Masbatenyo words. However, both i and c are used as
needed in borrowed words. If alternate pronunciations are common, the alternate
form is listed with a cross reference to the main entry of the word.

Example: priparar [priparar]. v. prepare. See main entry: preparar.

2.3. Writing the Vowels u and o

To handle the variation between the sounds u and o, the practical orthography
used here follows the spelling system of the national language, Filipino. Thus, u is
written in non-final syllables and o in final syllables. The one exception to this rule is
that the word for 'if is spelled kun.

Example: budbod *sprinkle'

2.4. Writing Vowel Clusters

There is a possibility of confusing the pronunciation of vowel clusters in
Masbatenyo. This arises because glottal stop is not written in the practical
orthography when it occurs between two vowels. Thus, for example, ayo 'request' +
-on, Objective voice affix, becomes ayuon, with an unwritten glottal stop pronounced
between the two vowels /-no-/.

There are also vowel clusters which do not have a glottal stop between them.
So, for example, tao 'person*, sia *it, he, she', bobai 'female'. These types of vowel
clusters typically have a high vowel as one member of the cluster. Therefore to avoid
confusion in the pronunciation of these clusters, the semivowel counterpart of the
high vowel involved is written between the two vowels. Thus, for example:

tao

is written

tawo

sia

is written

siya

babai

is written

babayi

2.5. Contrastive Accent

There is a meaningful contrastive accent in Masbatenyo. Accent, or stress, is
manifested as length on the vowel nucleus of open syllables, but in closed syllables,
prominence usually consists of voice emphasis, or loudness. A pitch difference is not
consistent. Accent is written as [T before the vowel to be stressed in the following
examples, but is not written in literature outside the dictionary. Compare the
following pairs, for example:

kita [k'ita"] 'see*

kita [kit 'a] 'we inclusive'

Phonological Sketch 7

ubos [ 'ubos] ^depleted'

ubos [ub'os] *lower area*

2,6. New Consonant Clusters

In native words, there are few syllable-initial consonant clusters and no word-
medial consonant clusters of more than two consonants. Most of the syllable-initial
consonant clusters have been introduced into Masbatenyo by loan words from
Spanish and English.

2.6.1. Syllable-initial Consonant Clusters

The syllable-initial consonant clusters are combinations which have various
consonants as the first member but for the second member are restricted to either l, r,
wory.

Those having I as the second member are:

pUblkUgl
Those having r as the second member are:

br, dr, gr, fcr, tr
Those clusters having w as the second member are:

bw, gWj kwy pw, sw
Those clusters having y as the second member are:

by, py, dy, ry, my, sy,

2.6.2. Medial Three-member Consonant Clusters

There are a few three-member consonant clusters which have been introduced
by borrowed words.

ntr myintras 'while'

spl esplikar 'explain'

nts plantsa 'press clothes'

2.6.3. Affricates in Borrowed Words

Borrowed words containing affricates are usually reinterpreted using
Masbatenyo phonemes.

The voiceless alveopalatal affricate ch is reinterpreted as the consonant cluster ts.

Example: icha (Sp.) 'throw' is written and pronounced itsa.
The voiced alveo-palatal affricate; is reinterpreted as the consonant cluster dy.

Example: jeep (Eng.) is pronounced and written dyip.

Phonological Sketch

3, Morphophonemic Changes in Masbatenyo

Under certain conditions the joining of words or parts of words in Masbatenyo
speech precipitates changes in the sounds at the borders where they meet. The types
of changes are consonant addition, assimilation, loss of sounds, metathesis, accent
shift, and combinations of these. Changes occur both within words and across word
boundaries.

3.1. Consonant Addition

When vowel-final stems are suffixed with vowel-initial suffixes, an h is
appended to the stem before the suffix is attached. Examples:

asikaso 'take care of someone* + -a = asikasuha

intindi 'understand' + -an^ intindihan

3.2. Changes Due to Assimilation

The process of assimilation in Masbatenyo involves primarUy the nasal

phonemes.

3.2.1. Assimilation of Morphemes Ending with ng

Prefixes ending in ng assimilate to the point of articulation of the following
stem-initial consonant. In the following examples the glottal stop is written as q to
give it a visible symbol.

-ng + b- -> -wb' -ng-^ g'^ -ngg-

-ng -\- d- -^ -nd- -ng + q- -> -ngq-

-ng -\- I- —> -nl-

Examples:

nagpang H- batuta -» nagpambatuta *was clubbed'

pang + gasto — ^ panggasto 'expense'

nagapang -H lambat -> nagapanLambat 'is netting for fish'

The examples show how the nasal -ng changes, but the consonants which cause
assimilation are more numerous than just those in the examples: -ng assimilates to -m
before any bilabial consonant (p, b, m, w), to -n before alveolar consonants {t, d, s, n,
Z), and remains -ng before velar and glottal consonants (k, g, ng, h).

However there are some word roots which do not participate in these changes.
Examples:

pangbanlaw 'for rinsing'
pangtagbo 'for dripping'
nanglainlain 'various, different'

Phonological Sketch 9

nangdadakop *are catching'

Across word boundaries there is assimilation in speech of the final nasals in the
noun case marking particles an, saiiy and sin, and in the sequencing particles man and
naman. However, this assimilation is not written in the practical orthography.
Examples:

am pagsasakay is written anpagsasakay *the riding'
sam mataba is written san mataba 'of the fat ones'

madulom namang ngani is written madulom naman ngani *...then it was really
dark...'

3.2.2* Assimilation with Consonant Loss

In some words there is a combination of assimilation and consonant loss. This
happens in the following way. The final nasal consonant of the affix assimilates to
the initial consonant of the stem, then the stem consonant is deleted. Examples:

pang- + batyagon -» pamatyagon 'feelings'

nang- + bvhay — > namuhay 'lived'

nang- + kuha — ^ nanguha *got'

mang- + kita -> manffta 'to earn'

nang- + tukdo -^ nanukdo 'taught'

mang- + siguro — > maniguro 'be sure'
When a word-final nasal assimilates to another nasal across word boimdaries,
the geminate cluster of nasals is reduced to only one. However, the original nasals
are written. Examples:

an manga maati — > amanga maad 'the dirty ones'
Hugason mo na la, — > Hugasumon la, 'Just wash (it).'

3.3. Changes Due to Loss

When a vowel cluster results from the deletion of a glottal stop, the cluster is
usually reduced. Examples:

,„amo idto na maayo — > amidto na maayo '...that is that good...'

Certain words lose the vowel of the last syllable when suffixed but retain the
word-final consonant. Examples:

nalimot + -an -> nalimtan 'forgot'
nahangad + -an — > nahangdan 'looked up'

In a few words the loss of the vowel in the final syllable of the stem is coupled
with metathesis of the two consonants thus brought together. Examples:

10 Phonological Sketch

na- + sulod + -an — > nasudlan 'was entered'
kapawa + -an — > kapaw-an 'light'
ir- + inom + -on -^ irimnon 'a drink'
puno + -on — > pun-on 'to fill'

Following vowel-final words the particles an, na, and sa undergo a double
change. The vowel is lost and the consonant is attached to the preceding word.
Examples:

Amo na la ini. — > Amon la inL *It's just this.'

Nokita na dayon, -> Nakitan dayon. 'It was immediately seen.'

Hugason mo na la. — > Hugasumon la, 'Just wash (it).'

...nakakadi sa San Jacinto, — > ...nokakadis San Jacinto, '...were-able-to-come-

here to San Jacinto.'
Sin-o an malampaso? -^ Sin-on malampaso? 'Who will scrub the floor?'

The particles san and sin are often contracted to the immediately preceding
word if it ends in either a glottal or vowel. The glottal is first deleted and the first CV
of the particles are also deleted, then the remaining -n is attached to the preceding
word. Examples:

...minsan wara sin kwarta. — > ...minsan waran kworta, '...once without money.'
,,karaon kami san pangalasdosL -^ ,,,karaon kamin pangalasdosL '...we-excl ate

lunch.'
,,Aamo sin tawo, — > ...da/nofi tawo, '...many people.'

Some vowel-final words which add an [h] when suffixed, lose the final vowel
before the suffix is attached but retain the [hj. Examples:

dara 'carry' + -on -> darhon

dara 'carry' + -a ^ darha

nalaba 'laundered' -\- -an-^ nalabhan

3.4. Devoicing

There is an optional devoicing of vowels when they follow voiceless consonants.
The voice articulators are heard to move and the air stream is perceived to be
affected, but the particuleir sounds devoiced are identified primarily by recognition of
the lexical unit uttered. This devoicing is not written in the practical orthography
since it is an optional feature, but in the following examples the devoiced vowels are
written with capital letters. Examples:

...sin madakop sa a/con. — > ...sin madakOp sa akon. '...the one who will catch
me.'

Grammatical Sketch 1 1

„.igwa sin higand,., -> ...igwa sin higanti.., *. ..there was a giant../
kaugalian,,, — > kAugalian,,. *a habit...'

A MASBATENYO-ENGLISH

DICTIONARY

Compiled by
ELMER P. WOLFENDEN

With Language Consultants
MIRIAM V. BARLET

and

FELIXBERTO V. GRANADO, JR.

Linguistic Society of the Philippines

Manila, 2001