The Bolinao language or Binubolinao is a Central Luzon language spoken primarily in the municipalities of Bolinao and Anda, Pangasinan in the Philippines. It has approximately 50,000 speakers,[2] making it the second most widely spoken Sambalic language. Most Bolinao speakers can speak Pangasinan and/or Ilocano. Ethnologue reports 510 monolinguals for this language.[3]

Bolinao
Bino-Bolinao, Binubolinao, Binubulinao, Boliano, Bolinao Sambal, Bolinao Zambal, Bulinaw, Sambal Bolinao
Binu-Bolinao
Native toPhilippines
RegionBolinao and Anda, Pangasinan
EthnicityBolinao people
Native speakers
51,000 (2007 census)[1]
Latin (Filipino alphabet)
Historically Baybayin
Official status
Regulated byKomisyon sa Wikang Filipino
Language codes
ISO 639-3smk
Glottologboli1256
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Phonology

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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

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Bolinao has five vowels. They are:

There are six main diphthongs: /aɪ/, /əɪ/, /oɪ/, /uɪ/, /aʊ/, and /iʊ/.

Consonants

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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.

Bolinao consonants
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 ɾ
Approximant j w
Lateral l (ly) /ʎ/

Language comparison

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A common proverb[4] from Filipino hero Jose Rizal in English, "He who does not acknowledge his beginnings will not reach his destination," is translated into Bolinao, followed by the provincial language Pangasinan, the regional language Ilocano, and the original in Tagalog for comparison:

Bolinao Si'ya a kai tanda' nin lumingap sa pinangibwatan na, kai ya makarate' sa keen na.
Pangasinan Say toon agga onlingao ed pinanlapuan to, agga makasabi'd laen to.
Ilocano Ti tao nga saan na ammo tumaliaw iti naggapuanna ket saan nga makadanon iti papananna.
Tagalog Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makararating sa paroroonan.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Bolinao at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Ethnologue (1990)
  3. ^ https://www.ethnologue.com/language/smk (subscription required)
  4. ^ "National Philippine Proverb in Various Philippine Languages". Carl Rubino's Homepage.

Persons, Gary. (1978). Bolinao: A Preliminary Phonemic Statement. Summer Institute of Linguistics.

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