Bolinao language
| Bolinao | ||
|---|---|---|
| Binu-Bolinao | ||
| Native to | Philippines | |
| Region | Bolinao, Anda | |
| Native speakers | 50,000 (1990) | |
| Language family | ||
| Official status | ||
| Regulated by | Commission on the Filipino Language | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-3 | smk | |
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The Bolinao language (Bolinao: Binu-Bolinao) is spoken primarily in the Pangasinense municipality of Anda and the town of Bolinao. It has approximately 50,000 speakers (Ethnologue 1990), making it the second most widely spoken Sambalic language.
Phonology
Bolinao has 21 phonemes: 16 consonants and five vowels. Syllable structure is relatively simple. Each syllable contains at least a consonant and a vowel.
Vowels
Bolinao has five vowels. They are:
- /a/ an open front unrounded vowel similar to English father
- /ə/ (written as <e>) a mid central vowel pronounced as in English telephone
- /i/ a close front unrounded vowel similar to English machine
- /o/ a close-mid back rounded vowel similar to English forty
- /u/ a close back rounded vowel similar to English flute
There are six main diphthongs: /aɪ/, /əɪ/, /oɪ/, /uɪ/, /aʊ/, and /iʊ/.
Consonants
Below is a chart of Bolinao consonants. All the stops are unaspirated. The velar nasal occurs in all positions including at the beginning of a word.
| Bilabial | Dental | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | (ny) /ɲ/ | ng /ŋ/ | ||
| Plosive | Voiceless | p | t | k | ’ /ʔ/ | |
| Voiced | b | d | g | |||
| Affricate | Voiceless | (ts) | (ty) /tʃ/ | |||
| Voiced | (dy) /dʒ/ | |||||
| Fricative | s | (sy) /ʃ/ | h | |||
| Flap | r | |||||
| Approximant | j | w | ||||
| Lateral | l | (ly) /ʎ/ | ||||
Language Comparison
A common proverb[1] from Philippine national hero Jose Rizal in English, “He who does not acknowledge his beginnings will not reach his destination,” is translated into Bolinao and followed by Pangasinan, the dominant indigenous language of Pangasinan province and the original in Tagalog for comparison:
| Bolinao | “Si [tawon] kai magtanda’ lumingap sa nangibwatan [na], kai ya mirate’ sa keen [na]. |
| Pangasinan | "Say toon agga onlingao ed pinanlapuan to, agga makasabi'd laen to." |
| Tagalog | “Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makararating sa paroroonan.” |
External links
- Binubolinao.net, website dedicated to the preservation of the Bolinao language, featuring a downloadable dictionary and introductory lessons
- Bolinao Business Directory, a website that features a Bolinao language translator
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