CONTEXTUALIZING CEBUANONG BISAYA AMONG DAPITANONS:

AN ANALYSIS OF USAGE AND VERNACULARIZATION

Naomie B. Daguinotas
Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology
Tibanga, Iligan, Lanao del Norte

Abstract

To uphold nationalism and sense of cultural identity, there is a need to carry out the
duties and responsibilities toward responsible citizenry. The constituents should be
decisive in attaining success in language preservation, and espouse means in
safeguarding cultural heritage. The conduct of this study is to determine the language
use, to analyze the reasons of language usage, and to distinguish how the language
operates as a vernacular. This is made possible through survey and key informant
interviews with Dapitanon students of Jose Rizal Memorial State University, School
Year 2018-2019.

The study is anchored on the theory of Chomsky on Linguistic Competence which

defines the system of rules that governs an individual’s tacit understanding of what is
acceptable and what is not in the language they speak. He purported that an individual’s
competence is defined by the grammar, or set of rules, that is represented mentally and
manifested by their understanding of acceptable usage in a given linguistic idiom. 

Data revealed that the respondents failed to use the lexicons appropriately when
requested to answer the statements crafted by the researcher based on Godin’s (2009)
identified Cebuanong Bisaya lexical items. Respondents revealed that they barely use
some terms during interaction as the terms do not exist in their vernacular at all, and
they verified the use of English terms as alternative to the unfamiliar Cebuano terms in
some communicative situations.

Incorrect/inappropriate usage of the language is attributable to the practices their elders

have at home, as well as the language attitudes of people around them. The language
is used since their younger days while they are still acquiring the first language, and
they establish the same language in their consciousness. The words that they are using
are rooted from their consciousness. This means further that they fully adapt the
language they picked from their precedence while still young without establishing
awareness on the origin of the utterance. These words existed and had been already in
place long before they were born.

Children of today’s generation should be educated in the language of their home for
them to do better in the later years of their education and to empower them to be
producers and consumers of knowledge and critical thinkers who make wise and
informed decisions.

Keywords: mother tongue, MTB-MLE, nationalism, cultural heritage, language

Introduction

For culture building, the learning of the local speech should be given so much attention.
Although, grammar structure of the Cebuano (also Bisaya) language is very confusing,
there is a need for the speech community to learn how to use the language they
commonly speak to promote nationalism. In the past, focusing on the native tongue of
the learners is not what the government is yearning, but to prepare them for the world
outside their localities, which is why Filipinos find it easy to adapt once they are there.
Brought by the K to 12 program, the teaching of mother tongue is at the center of the
educational system today especially in the primary grades. However, learners are
bombarded with terms that seem to be unknown in the current time while some of the
young Cebuano speakers who are more exposed to other languages such as English
do not understand the speech of their elders and their teachers who used old Cebuano
terms.

Cebuano is already a well-developed language because of its sophisticated grammar

and extensive vocabulary. However, initiatives for its intellectualization are neglected by
the speech community such as, but not limited to consistent inclusion of local
knowledge in the towns, and symbols of the barrios in the school system for cultural
preservation. Even though the Philippines is no longer a colony of foreign countries, but
the minds of the Filipinos and the intellect of the younger generation is still corrupted
and very much colonized by foreign elements.

A solution for this issue is the introduction of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual

Education (MTB-MLE) specifically in Kindergarten, Grades 1, 2 and 3. It is provides
schooling which begins in the mother tongue and transitions to additional languages
particularly Filipino and English meant to address the high functional illiteracy of
Filipinos where language plays a significant factor. It encourages active participation by
children in the learning process because they understand what is being discussed and
what is being asked of them. They can immediately use their mother tongue to construct
and explain their world, articulate their thoughts and add new concepts to what they
already know.

The offering of the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) in the

primary schools in Dapitan City is without a doubt an avenue toward the
intellectualization of Cebuanong Bisaya even though, it could not be intellectual
because of its confusing meaning and intention, the reason why only very few use the
Cebuanong Bisaya in an intellectualized discussion, and utilized instead as a colloquial
language in any communicative events.

This paper tries to enrich and deepen the knowledge of languages and various linguistic
phenomena in Cebuano Bisaya which according to Tanangkingsing (2009) has not kept
up with such pace in research as fewer studies are done on Cebuano. It is a given that
one biggest role of the Cebuanong Bisaya is the preservation of culture which is
necessary to the nation’s future. The utilization of the Cebuano language serves as a
measure to avoid extinction which would eventually lead to dying culture and identity as
Molina (cited in Avila, 2018) said that there will be a high death toll of languages unless
urgent measures are adopted to preserve them. In order not extinguish the Cebuanong
Bisaya, this should be used not only as an oral expression, but as a printed one, or in
written forms accessible by the generations to come.

In this study, the researcher attempts to uncover the way students use the Cebuanong
Bisaya in context to confirm how solid the Cebuanong Bisaya foundation is among the K
to 12 graduates, now in first year college level. This study hopes to contextualize the
Cebuanong Bisaya among Dapitanon freshmen students officially enrolled in Jose Rizal
Memorial State University Dapitan Campus, School Year 2018-2019. The result serves
as an idea of crafting and compiling jokes written in Cebuanong Bisaya featuring the
terms incorrectly used that will eventually become part of the MTB-MLE learning-
teaching repertoire all for the revival of the native tongue which will actually enrich
Dapitanon culture as part and parcel of the Philippine culture as a whole.

Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

The study is anchored on the theory of Chomsky on Linguistic Competence which

defines the system of rules that governs an individual’s tacit understanding of what is
acceptable and what is not in the language they speak. He purported that an individual’s
competence is defined by the grammar, or set of rules, that is represented mentally and
manifested by their understanding of acceptable usage in a given linguistic
idiom. Competence thus implies an unconscious knowledge of the rules for converting
deep structure into surface structure.

Accordingly, linguistic competence is not an evaluative term. Rather, it refers to the

innate linguistic knowledge that allows a person to match sounds and meanings. To
distinguish competence from performance, in Aspects of the Theory of Syntax (1965),
Chomsky wrote, "We thus make a fundamental distinction between competence (the
speaker-hearer's knowledge of his language) and performance (the actual use of
language in concrete situations)."

The local language as mother tongue represents the values, cultures, and dreams of
the Filipino people, a role which English, being a foreign and colonial language, and
other languages, presumably could not assume. In any particular community, the
existence of the culture is always supported by the human specific means of
communication, and language goes beyond than what the uttered utterances can hold.
It does not end at the sense or the usage of words linked to a culture as words
themselves represent history, beliefs, and inherited culture. Language and culture then
are deeply rooted and maintained interconnection to preserve cultural ties. As a primary
vehicle of communication, language helps in shaping both personality and culture.

The critical period hypothesis also plays a big part in this study. It states that the first
few years of life is the crucial time in which an individual can acquire a first language if
presented with adequate stimuli. If language input does not occur until after this time,
the individual will never achieve a full command of language especially grammatical
systems. Hence, the learners as participants of the study if do not perform well in the
given exercises, they would be assumed to have poorly acquired the first language as
they failed to establish a strong foundation within the time frame or a critical period due
to inconsistent speech input.

The study is confined in two variables, namely: Cebuanong Bisaya as an independent

variable and language usage as a dependent variable. These two worked together to
characterize the language as used by Dapitanons in every day interaction.

Literature and Studies

Language is an expression that serves as a yardstick to discriminate the identity of

someone using it. Language then is not at all times a tool for unity, but sometimes a tool
of ascendance observable among people belonging to the same linguistic group. This
suggests that language lays down more ways to further divide people. As it facilitates
self-expression and freedom in the different communicative scenarios, the responsibility
of each is to pick the language of choice very cautiously. Language has its noble
purposes like facilitating the exchange of ideas, allowing the flourishing of culture and the
like, and not to degrade fellow humans.

Just like other languages, Cebuano language had also been ridiculed. Pilita Corrales
was featured in a documentary show, Pipol when she came back from Australia to
Manila in 1963, she only knew how to speak Cebuano, English and Spanish. Aside from
hosting a Spanish-language radio show called ‘La taverna’, she also acted in Manila
Grand Opera shows. This point in time may have been the start of her burden of being
ridiculed for being a Cebuano speaker and for not knowing how to speak Tagalog. In her
own words, she said, “I couldn’t speak Tagalog, only Bisaya, of course. That’s when they
found out and made me like a comedienne.” Since then, never-ending disgrace has
been placed on the shoulders of the next generation of Cebuano speakers.

Today, the Cebuano (also Bisaya) language continues to grow. In fact, Tompson (2013)
estimated that there are 15.8 million people in the Philippines who speak Cebuano as
their first language. It is the second most spoken language in the Philippines
after Tagalog. Cebuano is used as the medium of instruction in Grades I and II.  It is
already a well-developed language because of its sophisticated grammar and extensive
vocabulary.

However, initiatives for its intellectualization are neglected by the speech community
such as, but not limited to consistent inclusion of local knowledge in the towns, and
symbols of the barrios in the school system for cultural preservation. Even though the
Philippines is no longer a colony of foreign countries, but the minds of the Filipinos and
the intellect of the younger generation is still corrupted and very much colonized by
foreign elements.

Bisaya is a language spoken by the non-Muslim population of Mindanao, but according

to Rubrico (2008), Cebuano is Bisaya, and Bisaya is Cebuano, only people from
Mindanao shy away from calling their language Cebuano as they are not natives of
Cebu, and call Cebuano, Bisaya instead. It is in this notion that the researcher merged
Cebuanong Bisaya all together as a dialect spoken in Dapitan City.

Admittedly, Metila, Pradilla and Williams (2016) said that one of the changes in Basic
Education Curriculum brought about by the new K to 12 program is the introduction of
Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) specifically in Kindergarten,
Grades 1, 2 and 3. MTB-MLE which is implemented starting school year 2012-2013
refers to “first-language-first” education that is, schooling which begins in the mother
tongue and transitions to additional languages particularly Filipino and English. The
program is meant to address the high functional illiteracy of Filipinos where language
plays a significant factor. Since the child’s own language enables him/her to express
him/herself easily, then, there is no fear of making mistakes. It encourages active
participation by children in the learning process because they understand what is being
discussed and what is being asked of them. They can immediately use their mother
tongue to construct and explain their world, articulate their thoughts and add new
concepts to what they already know.

The offering of the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) which

involves the teaching using the local mother tongue in the primary schools in Dapitan
City is without a doubt an avenue toward the intellectualization of Cebuanong Bisaya
however, it could not be intellectual because of its confusing meaning and intention, the
reason why only very few use the Cebuanong Bisaya in an intellectualized discussion,
and utilized instead as a colloquial language in any communicative events.

Endriga (2010) in her paper ‘The Dialectology of Cebuano’ revealed Dapitan City as a
generation of Cebuano speakers in northern Mindanao, and they call themselves
Bisaya and not Cebuano and their language Binisaya, however many are surprised to
learn that what they are speaking is really Cebuano. According to the 2000 Census,
Bisaya/Binisaya is spoken by 8% of the population. Some observers in Dipolog note
that there is a language called Bisaya which is closely related to Cebuano.

Godin (2009) defined the difference between Binisaya and Bisaya. According to him,
Bisaya refers to a person, a native or ‘lumad’ speaking the language while Binisaya is
the language itself spoken by Bisaya (people) which serves as a cover term for different
languages in the Visayas and their dialects in Mindanao and also some languages in
Mindanao. However, Dr. Jessie Grace Rubrico, a linguist claimed that Bisaya is also a
language spoken by Bisaya, just like Filipino, the people; and Filipino, the language.

This study subscribed to the notion of Rubrico (2008) to make the use of Bisaya as a
language in this study more definite, although interchangeable. In summary, Cebuano
and Binisaya as a language and Cebuano and Bisaya as a people are interchangeable.
This is certainly a result of confusion arising from not understanding that native
speakers use Cebuano and Binisaya interchangeably. Dr. Jes Tirol, an expert on
Cebuano as cited in Endriga (2010) said that all these are just different dialects of
Cebuano because they have the same grammar with the exception of some different
lexicon.
In an article, Tan (2011) urges new graduates to go back and read the Spanish Jesuit
Ignacio Francisco Alzina, whose “Historia de las islas e indios de Bisayas” (History of
the Islands and Indios of the Visayas) was first published in 1668, and of which
the English translation has been published as well over the last 10 years by the UST
Press. It has three volumes of fascinating materials about the Visayas, describing its
rich natural resources, as well as the culture. That early, Alzina already noted that the
“Bisaya” were not just in the Visayas but also in Mindanao and Luzon—suggesting that
early Philippine culture was strongly Bisaya. To the north, he mentioned the gold mines
of Paracale, Camarines Sur, which belonged to the “Bisayan natives.” To the south,
there were the mines of Caraga (in Alzina’s time, the provinces of Surigao and Agusan)
also described as belonging to the Bisaya. This Caraga region impressed the Spaniards
because of its gold reserves and the gold craftsmanship.

Medilo (2018) documented the experiences of ten teachers in MTB-MLE in Southern

Leyte, Philippines by determining the meaning of teaching in MTB-MLE as far as the
teachers are concerned including the successes and problems in implementation. The
ten selected teachers of MTB-MLE in Southern Leyte, Philippines were asked to share
their experiences in MTB-MLE teaching through questionnaires, personal interview, and
text messaging. The data gathered generated five themes, which included more than
one vernacular as a medium of instruction in communication development, commitment
to being globally competitive, limited applicability due to the superiority of English and
insufficient materials, burdened by the complexity of the vernacular, and optimistic to
accept the responsibility. Medilo concluded that the MTB-MLE curriculum is a welcomed
addition to the ever challenging tasks of the teachers. Also, the teachers understood
their roles and had seen the challenge given by the addition of MTB-MLE in the
curriculum but accepted the challenge by realizing their importance to the success of
the MTB-MLE.

Statement of the Problem

A rampant inappropriate use of the Cebuanong Bisaya terms is an implication of the
poor acquisition of the first language by students. This immaturity leads to the wrongly
used terminologies of the mother tongue which could be blamed to the environment
itself. The incompetence of a learner on the first language use is biologically linked to
age as there is an ideal time window to acquire language in a linguistically rich
environment, after which further language acquisition becomes much more difficult and
effortful.

This study analyzed the use of Cebuanong Bisaya among Dapitanon freshmen students
of Jose Rizal Memorial State University of the Main Campus, School Year 2018-2019.
The contextualization of the language use served as an avenue of crafting jokes
featuring the incorrectly used Cebuanong Bisaya terms which to be proposed for use in
the teaching of MTB-MLE in Dapitan City schools.

The study sought to answer the following questions:

 1. What is the percentage of the terminologies the respondents fail to use
correctly/appropriately; and incorrectly/inappropriately?
2. How do the terminologies operate in everyday interaction?
3. Why do they employ the identified terms inappropriately?

Methodology

The study is descriptive in nature. Quantitative technique was used to get the number of
participants who used the identified Cebuanong Bisaya terminologies inappropriately.
Qualitative technique plays a significant part in the study as it describes the
phenomenon that exists in Dapitan City. Key informant interviews had been done to
elicit data from the Dapitanon students who are in close proximity with the researcher.

As for the respondents who were on vacation for a long holiday, the researcher
communicated with them online. She inquired whether they are available for the
administration of the study. Upon getting the approval of the respondents (her students),
she then sent them her instructions. After getting their readiness, the researcher then
sent the questionnaire via Messenger. Data gathered were tallied, and subjected to
frequency count. Percent was obtained to describe their language use.

Findings
In item 1 ‘_____ nga pagbati o gugma’ with the choices ‘putli’ and ‘ulay’, the college
freshmen students as respondents answered ‘putli’ which is 93.75% appropriate
answer, and 6.25% answered ‘ulay’ which signifies an inappropriate answer.
Furthermore, in item 2, ‘_____ nga lasang o yuta’ with the same choices (‘putli’ and
‘ulay’), the students answered ‘ulay’ which is equivalent to 87.50% appropriate answer
and 12.50% of the students answered it inappropriately.

Both terms (putli, ulay) share the same meaning (pure, virgin). Although synonymous,
‘putli’ and ‘ulay’ should not be used interchangeably as ‘putli’ is intangible while ‘ulay’ is
tangible. Intangible adjectives cannot be touched physically, nor measured, and difficult
to describe or explain contrary to tangible adjectives. Simply put, ‘putli’ should be used
with abstract things, and ‘ulay’ with concrete things.

In the Holy Bible, it says: ‘Kay ginapangabughoan ko kamo sa pangabugho nga iya sa
Dios, kay ginapakasal ko kami sa usa ka bana, aron ikatugyan ko kamo nga usa ka
ulay nga putli kang Cristo’ in which ‘ulay’ pertains to the woman and ‘putli’ to the innate
characteristic of the woman.

As shown, there is a big difference on the appropriateness and inappropriateness

percentage of the language which means this concept is perfectly learned by the
participants. They hold a strong repertoire of the language because of the influence of
the church where priests commonly used both terms during the homily and reading of
the bible during the mass. The terms also appear in the novenas which the family used
to have before sleeping. This could mean that the participants are religious Dapitanons,
and their upbringing is evident in their appropriate use of church terms in Cebuanong
Bisaya.

In item 3, ‘Gitulon ko lang ang mapait nga _____ sa ubos kong kahimtang’ in which
‘tamay’ is the appropriate term instead of ‘yubit’ to complete the thought of the
sentence, 37.50% got the appropriate answer (tamay) while 62.50% got the
inappropriate answer (yubit). In item 4, ‘Gidawat ko ang mga _____ sa akong
panagway’, the choices ‘yubit’ and ‘tamay’ were also provided. The respondents
constituting 31.25% answered ‘yubit’ which is an appropriate answer while 68.75%
answered ‘tamay’ which is an inappropriate answer.

Sadly, more than half of the participants do not get the appropriate answer in the two
items which means scorn or mockery. They interchangeably used ‘tamay’ and ‘yubit’. In
Cebuanong Bisaya, ‘tamay’ is appropriately used when talking about the situation of a
person while ‘yubit’ is appropriately used to refer to the inconsistent physical attribute or
the appearance of the person. According to the participants, they do not know the
proper way of using ‘tamay’ and ‘yubit’ in context. This is due to the fact that they
seldom hear the words in their everyday interaction which could mean they never inflect
mockery to their peers, or to the people around them or maybe they do, but are
unaware of the action, and they never experience the words ‘tamay’ and ‘yubit’ often.
They said instead of using any of the term, they use ‘saway’ to mean both.
In item 5, ‘Si Magdalena ____ sa iyang bana’ with the choices ‘nagbudhi’ and ‘nagluib’.
The participants who answered ‘nagluib’ constituted 68.75% while 31.25% answered
‘nagbudhi’. In item 6, ‘Ang sekreto ni Juan gipanabi ni Pedro kang Luis nga kaaway ni
Juan’ comes with the choices ‘pagbudhi’ and ‘pagluib’. The participants appropriately
answered ‘pagbudhi’ constituting 87.50% while 12.50% answered ‘pagluib’ which is
inappropriate answer.

Again, ‘nagbudhi’ and ‘nagluib’ mean the same thing. The first term has the root word
‘budhi’ and the second term, ‘luib’. The two are appended with the aspectual affix ‘nag-‘
short for ‘naga-‘ indicating a perfective action, an aspect that denotes action or state
that has begun and completed. It could not be argued that the two are identical however
they differ in the context of use. In situations where the fidelity of the wife to her
husband, or vice versa is put to questioned, the term ‘luib’ is appropriate to mean
unfaithfulness as in the dictionary, it comes with an example ‘faithfulness in marriage’,
otherwise, ‘budhi’ is used, to question the loyalty of a friend or a confidant to mean
betrayal as in ‘betrayal to Patrick by telling the secret to the other party’.

When asked why they were able to identify the appropriate term, the participants as key
informants unanimously said that the terms are biblical. They even associated the
words to Judas Iscariot when he kissed Jesus in the Gethsemane that night as a sign of
betrayal. The third sex fondly joke to a counterpart using ‘nagluib’ to mean turning the
face on to someone else’s’ like in the utterance, ‘nagluib na jud kas atong relasyon’.

Respondents explained that both terms are past tenses. Meaning, they know the
structure of their mother tongue. The researcher observed that the participants either go
back to their first language to understand the sentence, or relate the situation to
experiences and sometimes their schema depending on which is favorably helpful in
facilitating their comprehension.

In item 7, ‘Dili si Salome ang ____ nga nagmatuto kang Ruth’, and in item 8 ‘Palihog
tug-ani ako sa _____.’, respondents were given the choices ‘tinuod’ and ‘matuod’. It was
revealed that the participants were confused on the use of the two choices in fact they
interchangeably used ‘tinuod’ and ‘matuod’ in items 7 and 8. This was evidenced with
the resulting percent of 62.50 (item 7) and 68.75 (item 8) inappropriate answers. The
percent of 37.50 (item 7) and 31.25 (item 8) respondents who got inappropriate answers
revealed that the participants failed to appropriately use the terms.

Due to the synonymy of the two terminologies, as shown, participants failed to correctly
provide the appropriate answers. However, the slight difference of the two should not be
overlooked as ‘matuod’ is used to mean ‘truth’; ‘tinuod’ is ‘true’. This is somehow
misleading as ‘true’ is an adjective and ‘truth’ is a noun, and in the sentences, ‘truth’
should be supplied on the blanks. For the learners who are proficient in English, and
can easily shift from their mother language to the English language, the two sentences
are very much confusing to them the reason why they fall short on the correct usage of
the words.

In item 9, ‘Siya usa ka _____ sa Barangay Linabo ning siyudad.’ with the given choice
‘molupyo’ and ‘lumulupyo’, 87.50% of the participants answered ‘lumulupyo’ which is the
exact term to be used, however, 12.50% answered ‘molupyo’ which is an incorrect term.

Significantly, respondents distinguished the appropriate term to be supplied on the

blank which means they perfectly grasped the mother tongue they randomly picked
from the people around them. While there are some who are still confused, it could be
seen that most of them captured the correct form of the noun ‘lumulupyo’ (resident). The
participants who revealed the wrong answer must be unconscious of the acceptable
form of the word and unmindful of the structure despite their being native speakers of
the language.

Linguistically speaking, they are less aware of the affixation process and the
Cebuanong Bisaya affixes which are the basic features of their own native tongue. The
participants mostly likely observed that their elders used either ‘mulupyo’, or ‘molupyo’
when speaking which is actually acceptable, but if the same terms are used in the
written conventions, there the crime occurs. In ‘molupyo’, the ‘mo-’ prefix is used to
show action in short duration opposite to ‘mag-‘ which shows action for longer duration
also ‘mopuyo’ while ‘mulupyo’ is the shortened ‘lumulupyo’; unacceptable in formal
written conventions.

Obviously, if ‘molupyo’ is used to fill in the blank, the verb is used, which is incorrect as
the blank looked for a noun to mean ‘resident’. On the other hand, ‘mulupyo’ as
mentioned earlier is a shortcut of ‘lumulupyo’. Dapitanons are fond of creating shortcuts
to pronounce the words conveniently such as, but not limited to ‘gai’ instead of ‘tagai’,
‘ta’ instead of ‘adto na ta’. As shown, syllables are omitted to quickly utter the words,
just like ‘mulupyo’ instead of ‘lumulupyo in which the syllable ‘lu’ is omitted and left
unpronounced.

The rampant use of ‘molupyo’ in local newspapers that circulate in Dapitan City greatly
affects the use of the term among participants. They strongly claimed that almost all
local newspapers use ‘molupyo’. In Mindanao Times, ‘molupyo’ is used: ‘… ang mga
molupyo sa maong dakbayang mga Muslim...; Sunstar ‘… molupyo sa Governor
Generoso ang minahan nga misulod…’ and Philstar ‘…molupyo sa usa ka lungsod
nitiyabaw nga way nakahatag niya og tambal’. According to them, how will they learn if
the press themselves employ the wrong term.

In item 10 (____ kaayo nang tawhana, dili mapahitas-on), and item 11’ (____ siya
kay dali siyang mahiubos), participants were given the choices ‘mahiubsanon’ and
‘mapahiubsanon’; and ‘mahiubsanon’ and ‘mapahiubsanon’, respectively. It was shown
that only 12.50% got it right, while 87.50% incurred an inappropriate use of the word
‘mapaubsanon’, instead they use ‘mapahiubsanon’ which is the incorrect form of the
first. On the other hand, when the participants were surveyed as to the correct term to
be used in item 11, 75% of the participants positively answered ‘mahiubsanon’ instead
of ‘mapahiubsanon’ which is the incorrect term to be used constituting 25%.

While the participants are not that problematic in item 11 as shown, the participants are
really confused with the term ‘mapahiubsanon’ and ‘mahiubsanon’ which are given as
choices in item 10. The participants lose the logic and failed to exhibit a command of the
language. They are less aware of the construction of the terminology. ‘Mapahiubsanon’
is a product of creativity and a lack of knowledge on the concept of inflectional
morphology. The term is out of place as it is just a manufactured product without due
meaning and bear no significance. The careless affixation of the roots ‘paubos’ and
‘hiubos’ leads to confusion and grammatical inconsistency in the lens of Cebuanong
Bisaya.

Morphologically speaking, ‘maha-‘ indicates in most cases reflex action, or unexpected

occurrence like in ‘mahalukso’ (jump reflexively) and ‘mahi-‘ is its variation in ‘mahilukso’
which means the same; usually, ‘mahi-‘ indicates unexpected happening. ‘Mapa-‘
denotes where something may possibly go like in ‘mapabalay’ (to the house), or
denotes to whose ownership comething will belong in ‘mapaimo’ (will be yours).
Inserting ‘-pa-‘ between ‘ma-‘ and the first syllable of the root, and adding ‘-on’ to the
last are formed adjectives of quality such as in ‘mapaubsanon’.

Ambiguity in the utterance is due to incorrect utilization of affixes which is seen in the
case of ‘mapahiubsanon’, mapaubsanon’ and mahiubsanon. In Cebuanong Bisaya, the
prefix ‘mapa-‘ is used in anticipated actions while the prefix ‘mahi-‘ is used to denote
natural actions. In short, ‘mapaubsanon’ refers to a humble person, ‘mahiubsanon’
refers to a resentful person while ‘mapahiubsanon’ is an ill construction. In an interview,
participants claimed that the three are identical, a real picture of ignorance on their own
mother tongue which should be corrected as early as today.
In items 12 (____ man ang sundang?), 13 (____ ka paingon?), 14 (____ ka gikan?) and
15 (____ ka karon?), participants interchangeably used ‘hain’, ‘asa’ and ‘diin’ as
pronouns. This was evident when 62.50% of the participants revealed an appropriate
answer while 37.50% answered item 12 wrongly. Item 13 revealed 56.25% appropriate
answers and 43.75% inappropriate answers. Item 14 resulted to 62.50% appropriate
answers and 37.50% inappropriate answers. Item 15 revealed 43.75% appropriate
answers and 56.25% inappropriate answers.

When answers in item 12 were broken down, 62.5% answered ‘hain’ (appropriate), 25%
answered ‘asa’ (inappropriate) and 12.5% answered ‘diin’ (inappropriate). Responses
in item 13 were broken down as follows: 56.25% answered ‘asa’ (appropriate); 25%
answered ‘diin’ (inappropriate); and 18.75% answered ‘hain’ (inappropriate). Item 14
when broken down, 62.50% answered ‘diin’ which is an appropriate term to be used;
31.25% answered ‘asa’ which is an inappropriate term; and 6.25% answered ‘hain’
which is not appropriate. The distribution of the responses in item 15 is as follows:
43.75% answered ‘hain’ (inappropriate) and ‘asa’ (appropriate), respectively. It was
revealed further when responses were broken down that 12.5% answered ‘diin’ which is
inappropriate.

Inarguably, the participants do not know how to use the three adverbs ‘asa’, ‘hain’ and
‘diin’ which constitute the single word ‘where’. In English, the three words have one
equivalent ‘where’ in which the participants had made their preference to identify the
correct term to be applied. In Filipino, the three adverbs mean one word ‘saan’. In
Dapitan City, residents are familiar with only one term ‘asa’ when in fact, Cebuanong
Bisaya has two more ‘hain’ and ‘diin’ and one variation ‘dis-a’. The widespread of ‘asa’
in Dapitan City should not be disregarded. Participants who are forerunners of the
language should be aware of the correct usage of the three adverbs.

To inquire about the destination of a person going somewhere, ‘asa’ is appropriate;

when asking about the location of a thing or a person who is not there, ‘hain’ is fitting;
and when asking about where someone had gone to, ‘diin’ is the appropriate adverb.
However, participants do not agree as ‘asa’ for them is more convenient to use and not
awkward at all as they are used to it since young.

Mañus (2009) said that writers should be very careful and overtime watchful to protect
the language and to avoid spread of grammatical inconsistencies. Instead of helping to
intellectualize the language, the truest intent is defeated because of imprecision.
Ybañez (2009) in his article revealed that radio announcers are the prime movers of
grammatical inconsistencies.

To summarize, the following answers are provided in response to the questions posed:

Question 1 What is the percentage of the terminologies the respondents

fail to use correctly / appropriately; and incorrectly /
inappropriately?
Data revealed that lexicons ‘putli’ in item 1, ‘ulay’ in item 2, ‘nagluib’ in item 5, ‘pagbudhi’
in item 6, ‘lumulupyo’ in item 9, ‘mahiubsanon’ in item 11, ‘hain’ in item 12, ‘asa’ in item
13 and ‘diin’in item 14 are correctly and appropriately used by the participants when
they were requested to answer the statements crafted by the researcher based on
Godin’s (2009) identified Cebuanong Bisaya lexical items. Due to confusion, the
participants incorrectly and inappropriately employ the terminologies such as ‘tamay’ in
item 3, ‘yubit’ in item 4, ‘tinuod’ in item 8, ‘mapaubsanon’ in item 10 and ‘asa’ in item 15.

Table 1 Inventory of Terminologies Used by the Respondents

Item Appropriate/Correct Percent Inappropriate/Incorrect Percent
No. Lexicon Lexicon
1 putli 93.75 ulay 6.25
2 ulay 87.50 putli 12.50
3 tamay 37.50 yubit 62.50
4 yubit 31.25 tamay 68.75
5 nagluib 68.75 nagbudhi 31.25
6 pagbudhi 87.50 pagluib 12.50
7 tinuod 37.50 matuod 62.50
8 matuod 31.25 tinuod 68.75
9 lumulupyo 87.50 molupyo 12.50
10 mapaubsanon 12.50 mapahiubsanon 87.50
11 mahiubsanon 75.00 mapahiubsanon 25.00
12 hain 62.50 asa, diin 37.50
13 asa 56.25 hain, diin 43.75
14 diin 62.50 hain, asa 37.50
15 asa 43.75 hain, diin 56.25

Question 2 How do the terminologies operate in everyday interaction?

Respondents revealed that they unconsciously used the alternative words in their
everyday conversation except ‘yubit’ and ‘tamay’ which they barely use every day as the
terms do not exist in their vernacular at all. They verified the use of English terms like
‘virgin’ instead of ‘putli’ and ‘ulay’, ‘cheat’ instead of ‘luib’ and ‘budhi’, ‘real score’ instead
of ‘matuod’ and ‘tinuod’, and ‘mapahiubsanon’ to mean ‘humble’ and ‘resentful’, and
excessively used ‘asa’ to mean ‘where’ in all situations.

According to them, they are not that cautious when it comes to the mother tongue, for
as long as they are understood, communication is positively reinforced. It does not
matter which language is spoken to whom as long as they understand each other and
the message is relayed. Their teachers too are not conscious with mother tongue. In
addition, the students claimed that the knowledge in mother tongue is not important at
all as the language that would help them land a job is not Cebuan (Bisaya), but English,
even Filipino is of no use when they want to work in the international arena. When they
apply for a job, English is the language used, and so they do not care mother tongue at
all.
These claims practically are acceptable. As observed, when a person is not fluent and
proficient in speaking the second language, the person is labelled ‘dumb’ or ‘bulok’.
When it comes to metrics of intelligence, English works, but not mother tongue.
Speakers of the local language are despised by the speakers of other languages,
simply because Bisaya is seen as a language of the lowly, the sad thing everyone is
avoiding. Although, Cebuano is at the pedestal at present, still English is the language
of the people belonging to the upper class and Bisaya is the language of the lower
class.

They confirmed to work double time with their English language, and maybe some other
time with their local language. They are indeed grateful for the realizations of the correct
and appropriate usage of the Cebuanong Bisaya language. They promised to start
using the correct forms, but they did not promise to take further initiatives and move on
toward the discovery of new knowledge about the language as learning such is for them
incidental.

Table 2 Alternate Terminologies Used

Item Appropriate / Alternate Inappropriate/ Alternate
No. Correct Incorrect
Lexicon Lexicon
1 putli putli, ulay ulay ulay, putli
2 ulay ulay, putli putli putli, ulay
3 tamay saway yubit saway
4 yubit saway tamay saway
5 nagluib nagluib, nagbudhi nagbudhi nagbudhi, nagluib
6 pagbudhi pagbudhi, pagluib pagluib pagluib, pagbudhi
7 tinuod tinuod matuod tinuod
8 matuod tinuod tinuod tinuod
9 lumulupyo molupyo, lumulupyo molupyo molupyo, lumulupyo
10 mapaubsanon mapahiubsanon mapahiubsanon mapahiubsanon
11 mahiubsanon mapahiubsanon mapahiubsanon mapahiubsanon
12 hain asa asa, diin asa
13 asa asa hain, diin asa
14 diin asa hain, asa asa
15 asa asa hain, diin asa

Unarguably, the richness of the Bisaya language is manifested in the tongues of its
speakers. One or two English terms have a lot of equivalents in Bisaya. See for
example, the word ‘alsa’ means a situation of lifting or carrying a person or a thing.
English provides a very minimal synonym of the term, but Bisaya language does not
settle for just one or two word equivalents depending on the situation and concept of
lifting or carrying. When participants were asked about how the words are used, it was
found out that they are confused of the appropriate term to use in certain situations.
When carrying a person or a thing at the back, the term is ‘bala’; if the person is lifted or
carried on the nape, ‘sung-ay’ is the term; if a thing is carried by the head, the term is
‘lukdo’; if a thing or a person is carried using two hands and situated at the front of a
person carrying it, the term is ‘kugos or sapwang’; if a thing is carried using only a hand,
the term is ‘beking’; if a pair of water container or a pair of baggage is carried using a
durable stick to carry a pair, the term is ‘sinangay’; if a baggage is carried on the
shoulder, the term is ‘kabiba’; if a thing is carried in between the armpit, the term is
‘sipit’; if a person is carried and the feet are still in contact with the ground, the term is
‘sagakay’.

In this part, random students were interviewed about their understanding of the terms
introduced and asked about how the terms are used in the different concepts. After
soliciting ideas from the participants, it was found out that they were very much
confused about the terms used and others failed to notice the terms. They used ‘kugos’
instead of ‘sapwang’ to mean carrying something on the lap. Moreover, ‘hawid’ is used
instead of ‘beking’ when carrying something using a hand especially things with handles
that a hand can hold. They do not know ‘beking’ at all, although some admitted they
heard the item from their grandparents. According to them, they seldom use the term
‘beking’ (is it the same with ‘bekwing’?, they fondly said). When asked about the
appropriate term to be used when carrying a pair of container or baggage on the
shoulders, few participants claimed that they used the term ‘lukdo’ as ‘sinangay’ is not in
the vernacular; other participants did not comment at all and reacted ‘I do not know the
word’; a number of students said that the term they knew is ‘lukdo’ when carrying
something on the shoulder even carrying a pair. The Bisaya language did not reveal
‘kabiba’ at all. They barely know the term. The funny thing is the use of ‘sipit’. They said
‘sipit’ sounded ‘kupit’ to them. Their grandmother would put their purse in between
armpit, but the term is ‘ilok’ not ‘sipit’, and ‘giilok’, perfective, ‘ilokon’, contemplative.
‘Sagakay’ sounds very different to them. They knew ‘sabak’ as both sound almost the
same. The act of ‘sagakay’ to them is equivalent to ‘sabak’. Participants commented on
‘sagakay’ by saying, why not ‘guyod’ because when the feet are still touching the
ground and someone is carrying the person, the term is ‘guyod’.

The data gathered on the contextual use of ‘carrying or lifting’ is actually fascinating.
Even participants would dare offer some alternative term equivalents synonymous to
the term provided by the researcher. Although participants failed to notice some of the
terminologies, it is fortunate though that the researcher learned some of the equivalent
terms from the participants.

From the random interview conducted, the researcher assumes that there are some
Bisaya terms that are no longer used by the youth in Dapitan because they are not
engaged in the activity or the act of doing it. The students coming from the rural parts of
Dapitan City are the only students familiar to the lexical items; terms like ‘bala’, ‘sung-
ay’, ‘lukdo’ and ‘beking’ see for example because they are doing that in their community.
Conversely, students from the urban setting are less familiar with the lexical items
simply because they are not doing that at all. Sometimes, they give the part of the body
involved in the action when doing the ‘carrying or lifting’ like instead of saying ‘sipit’,
‘ilok’ comes in as a substitute. Participants would provide a phrase to constitute a word
denoting an action, example ‘ibutang sa liog’ for ‘sung-ay’; ‘ibutang sa abaga’ for lukdo’,
and so on. The researcher however learned lexical items like ‘sakwat’, ‘aswat’,’bitbit’,
‘hawid’, ‘hawid’ and ‘gunit’ which is equivalent to ‘carrying or lifting’.

The Bisaya language is flourishing and it keeps to accommodate different varieties of its
kind and it continues to create another member of the family synonymous to the term
‘carrying’.

Question 3 Why do they employ the identified terms inappropriately?

The key informants reiterated that their incorrect/inappropriate usage of the language is
attributable to the practices their elders have at home, as well as the language attitudes
of people around them. The language is used since their younger days while they are
still acquiring the first language, and they establish the same language in their
consciousness. The words that they are using are rooted from their consciousness. This
means further that they fully adapt the language they picked from their precedence
while still young without establishing awareness on the origin of the utterance. These
words existed and had been already in place long before they were born. They said
even teachers do not have a good repertoire in teaching mother tongue hence mother
tongue in the elementary years is not strictly implemented in the MTB-MLE classroom.
The teaching of Sinugbuanon is not carried out by the teacher so well, as they are still
learning the mother tongue which they are not used to speak. During Mother Tongue
subject, the teachers alternately employ Filipino and English and less utilize mother
tongue.

Table 3 Reasons of Inappropriate/Incorrect Usage

No. Reasons
1 Parents use the incorrect/inappropriate language at home.
2 The language is used since their younger days.
3 They establish the kind of language they speak at present in their minds.
4 They are teased by their peers when using sophisticated Cebuano (Bisaya).
5 English and Filipino are the media of instruction.
6 Mother tongue in the elementary years is not strictly implemented.
7 Teachers do not have strong foundation in mother tongue.

Conclusion

The interview revealed that the words they used to speak seem to be right for them as a
lot of Dapitanon friends and peers including their parents speak the same language at
home. Meaning, the language usage of the participants is influenced by the people who
are with them as they grow which is supported with their testimony that they used to be
hearing those words spoken that way since their younger days. It can be deduced that
the words they are using rooted from their consciousness. This means further that they
fully adapt the language they picked from their precedence while still young without
establishing awareness on the origin of the utterance. These words existed and had
been already in place long before the young Dapitanon respondents were born.
According to Molina of Ethnic Groups of the Philippines cited in Avila (2018), there will
be a high death toll of languages unless urgent measures are adopted to preserve
them. The past few decades, the extinction of other indigenous languages is observed,
and many of the languages in the Philippines are now in the endangered list. In order
that the Cebuanong Bisaya will continue to exist, it should not only be used as an oral
expression, but a written language. The oral use of the language whether legislated, or
not is more often used for easier communication.
Today, an initial step toward intellectualization of the Cebuano Bisaya is undertaken.
The Lubas sa Dagang Binisaya (LUDABI) group conducted helpful initiatives to have
the Cebuano language enriched and preserved. Radio and television broadcast in
Cebuanong Binisaya, newspapers too published news in Cebuanong Binisaya, an
assurance that the use of the language will not be devastated.

References

Metila, R., Pradilla, L. A., & Williams, A. (2017). Investigating best practice in Mother
Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) in the Philippines. Australian
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Philippine Department of
 Education. Melbourne and Manila: Assessment, Curriculum and Technology
Research Centre (ACTRC).
Metila, R., Pradilla, L., & Williams, A. (2016). The challenge of implementing mother
tongue education in linguistically diverse contexts: The case of the
Philippines. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher. doi: 10.1007/s40299-016-
0310-5
Williams, A., Metila, R., Pradilla, L. A., & Digo, M. (2014). Investigating Best Practice in
MTB-MLE in the Philippines MTB-MLE: Phase 1 Progress Report. University of
the Philippines: Assessment, Curriculum and Technology Research Centre.
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