Transcript #1: CEBUANO ALPHABET AND PRONUNCIATION

#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, english, 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
tin - 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
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 - 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