Hiligaynon Language Guide

Official language in
Philippines
Script
Latin

Where it's spoken

Cecile Motus's textbook Hiligaynon Lessons, a training text written with the help of a Peace Corps contract, says that Hiligaynon is one of the eight major languages of the Philippines. Quoting a paper by Ernesto Constantino, it describes the language as the dominant language in Capiz, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Romblon, and in some towns in Cotabato, Occidental Mindoro, and Oriental Mindoro.

The Philippine Constitution makes Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English the official languages for purposes of communication and instruction, and the regional languages the auxiliary official languages in the regions. The Unicode CLDR data records Hiligaynon as an official regional language in the Philippines. A study of mother-tongue education says that eight of the indigenous languages of the Philippines are categorized as major regional languages because they have the greatest number of speakers, and it lists Hiligaynon (Ilonggo) among them.

This app's cards name the language Hiligaynon, as in Indi ako makahambal sang Hiligaynon ("I can't speak Hiligaynon").

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Script & pronunciation

The Unicode CLDR data lists Latin as the script of Hiligaynon. This app writes Hiligaynon in Latin letters without accent marks, and none of its Hiligaynon cards carries a separate romanization.

Motus's dictionary says that Hiligaynon has only three native vowels, a, i and u, and that o is not phonemic but occurs as an allophone of u, so that "I, me" may be pronounced akú or akó. This app's card for "I / me" writes Ako. The same dictionary says that its spelling is more phonetic than the spelling of published Hiligaynon materials. In the dictionary, púnu' means "tree, trunk, leader", while punú means "full to capacity". The dictionary marks stress with an acute accent and says that stress is phonemic, whereas this app's cards do not mark stress. The card for Palihog ("Please") notes that older dictionaries spell the word palihug, while the current spelling is palihog.

The dictionary marks the glottal stop with an apostrophe, only inside and at the end of words, and it lists the word for "who" as sín'u. This app's cards write the glottal stop with a hyphen, as in Sin-o? ("Who?"). The card for Maayong gab-i ("Good evening") notes that the glottal stop is written with a hyphen, and Motus's lessons write the same greeting as Ma'ayung gab'i.

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Grammar essentials

Hiligaynon Lessons explains that a simple sentence has two major parts, a topic and a comment. The topic is what is being talked about; it can be the actor or the object of the sentence, and it can be a noun preceded by ang (before common nouns) or si (before personal names), a deictic, or a nominal pronoun. The textbook gives Matahum si Maria and Si Maria matahum as two orders of the same statement, "Maria is pretty", and says that the order of topic and comment does not affect the meaning. This app's card Ang akon ngalan amo si ___ ("My name is ___") has ang before a common noun phrase and si before a personal name.

Motus's dictionary says that nominal pronouns take the place of ang-phrases, while source pronouns take the place of sang-phrases. It lists ikáw ~ ka as "you" (singular) and says that verbs are inflected for focus, aspect and mode. In its example Nagbakál ang báta' sang dúlsi ("The child bought some candy"), the verb comes first. The textbook also distinguishes two words for "we": kita includes the listener and kami excludes the listener. This app's card Mag-upod kita ("Let's go together") uses kita, and the card Puwede bala kami magbulig bilang isa ka grupo? ("Can we help as a group?") uses kami. The card for Ikaw ("You") notes that the short form ka is also common inside a sentence, and the card for Kamusta ka? says that ka follows the first word.

Motus's dictionary says that modification is usually marked with the particle nga, and that the numeral modification marker is ka. The card Tag-pila ang isa ka gab-i para sa duha ka tawo? ("How much is one night for two people?") has ka between each number and its noun. The card for Maayong aga ("Good morning") notes that the linker nga contracts to -ng in Maayong.

The textbook gives indi' and wala' as the negative words, meaning "no" or "none". It gives Indi' doktor sya as "He is not a doctor", and Wala', wala' sya sing karnero as "No, he doesn't have a sheep". It also says that sing and sang are dialect variants, and this app's cards use both: Wala ako sing allergy ("I have no allergies") and Indi ako makahambal sang Hiligaynon ("I can't speak Hiligaynon"). The card for Indi ("No") notes that non-existence uses a different word, wala. In Indi ako makakaon sang baboy ("I can't eat pork"), indi comes before the verb.

The textbook describes bala as a question particle that most often expresses surprise or asks for confirmation. The card Puwede bala ako makapangayo sang imo numero? ("May I ask for your number?") uses bala. Motus's dictionary lists the question words anú ("what"), sín'u ("who"), sán'u ("when") and di'ín ("where"). The card Ano ang imo ngalan? ("What is your name?") begins with ano, and the card Diin ang elevator? ("Where is the elevator?") begins with diin.

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Politeness & etiquette

Hiligaynon Lessons has a cultural note saying that status difference is not marked by polite forms in Hiligaynon, and that formality of speech indicates what is formal. The notes on two of this app's cards, Kamusta ka? and Salamat gid ("Thank you very much"), say not to add the Tagalog politeness particle po.

The textbook says that the word palihug gives a tone of polite request or mild command, and that anay is one of the "patience particles", fillers that give a tone of politeness, and that it is used to mean "please" in the lesson where it is introduced. This app's cards spell the first word palihog, as in Palihog anay ("Excuse me") and Palihog ilisi ang habol kag unlan. ("Please change the blanket and pillow.").

The textbook also describes respect forms that have no English equivalent: manung and manang are used for people addressed who are older in chronological age than the speaker. In one of its dialogues, a speaker greets an old man with Ma'ayung hapun, Tiyu', and the textbook notes that Tiyu' is a respect form used to address older men.

The app's greetings name the time of day: Maayong aga ("Good morning"), Maayong udto ("Good noon"), Maayong hapon ("Good afternoon") and Maayong gab-i ("Good evening"). Motus's dictionary lists kamústa ("How are you?") and salámat ("Thank you.") among its idioms. The card Salamat gid describes gid as adding emphasis, and the card for Nagadawat bala kamo sang QR? notes that kamo is "you" in the plural or polite sense. Motus's dictionary lists kamú as "you" (plural).

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