Karay-a language

The Karay-a language (, or ; ) is an Austronesian regional language in the Philippines spoken by the Karay-a people, mainly in Antique.

It is one of the Bisayan languages, along with Aklanon/Malaynon, Capiznon, Cebuano, and Hiligaynon.

History

Kinaray-a, Kinaray-a Bukidnon, or Hiniraya, possibly deriving from "Iraya." It was the primary language spoken by the majority of the Panay people whom the first Spanish colonizers encountered upon their arrival and subsequent settlement in Ogtong (now Oton, Iloilo) between the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This was before the linguistic evolution that eventually led to the Hiligaynon language of Iloilo gaining dominance as the common language over Kinaray-a on the island. However, in modern times, Kinaray-a remains in use as a primary language in the province of Antique and the western part of Iloilo province.

Geographical distribution

Kinaray-a is spoken mainly in Antique. It is also spoken in Iloilo province as a primary language in the city of Passi, in the municipalities of Alimodian, San Joaquin, Lambunao, Calinog, Leon, Miag-ao, Pavia, Badiangan, San Miguel, Guimbal, San Enrique, Tigbauan, Igbaras, Leganes, Pototan, Bingawan, San Rafael, Mina, Zarraga, Oton, Santa Barbara, Cabatuan, Janiuay, Maasin, New Lucena, Dueñas, Dingle, and Tubungan, and certain villages in Palawan and Mindanao – especially in the Soccsksargen region (particularly the province of Sultan Kudarat) by citizens who trace their roots to Antique or to Karay-a-speaking areas of Panay island. Inhabitants of most towns across the latter areas speak Kinaray-a while Hiligaynon is predominant around coastal areas particularly in Iloilo. It is also spoken in Iloilo City by a minority, particularly in the Arevalo district and few parts of southern Mindoro and parts Capiz and Aklan provinces, as well as Guimaras and some parts of Negros Occidental.

Dialects

There has not been much linguistic study on the dialects of Kinaray-a. Speakers both of Kinaray-a and Hiligaynon would however admit to hearing the differences in the ways by which Kinaray-a speakers from different towns speak. Differences in vocabulary can also observed between and among the dialects.

The differences and the degrees by which the dialects differ from each other depend largely on the area's proximity to another different language-speaking area. Thus, in Antique, there are, on the northern parts, varieties that are similar to Aklanon, the language of Aklan, its neighbor on the north. On the south, in Iloilo towns on the other hand, the dialects closely resemble that of the standard Kinaray-a spoken in San Jose de Buenavista, lowland Sibalom and Hamtic. A distinct dialect of Karay-a is spoken in central Iloilo where a lot of Hiligaynon loanwords are used and some Kinaray-a words are pronounced harder as in or ('here') of southern Iloilo and San José de Buenavista area as compared to of Janiuay, Santa Barbara, and nearby towns. Two highly accented dialects of Kinaray-a can be heard in Anini-y and Tobias Fornier in Antique and San Joaquin, Leon, and Tubungan in Iloilo.

Some dialects differ only on consonant preference like ''y'' vs ''h''. e.g. ('girl') or ''l'' vs ''r'' e.g. . Some have distinct differences like ('ugly') and ('defective').

Intelligibility with Hiligaynon

Due to geographic proximity and mass media Kinaray-a-speakers can understand Hiligaynon (also known as Ilonggo) speakers. However, only Hiligaynon speakers who reside in Kinaray-a-speaking areas can understand the language. Those who come from other areas, like Iloilo City and Negros Island, have difficulty in understanding the language, if they can at all.

It is a misconception among some Hiligaynon speakers that Kinaray-a is a dialect of Hiligaynon; the reality is that the two belong to two different, but related, branches of the Bisayan languages.

However, most Karay-a also know Hiligaynon as their second language. To some extent, an intermediate dialect of Hiligaynon and Kinaray-a is spoken in Mindanao, mainly in Sultan Kudarat province.

Phonology

Vowels

The phonemes and are used mostly in non-Karay-a words and were formerly allophonic with and , respectively. The phonemes and may also be pronounced as and . Among some speakers, may be pronounced as , such as when is uttered as instead of as .

Consonants

Orthography

There are two official orthographic conventions currently in use: a four-vowel-grapheme system released by the in 2016 in coordination with the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF), and a six-vowel-grapheme system recommended by the KWF in 2018. The latter builds on Brigadier General 's introduction of a separate letter for through the publication of ''Karay-a Rice Tradition Revisited'', but using in 's place. Karay-a writings predating Pangantihon's innovation had not graphemically distinguished between and . In 2018, the KWF elaborated,

Vowels

The 2018 Pangantihon–KWF orthography provides for six vowel letters: , , (previously ), , and . They do not form diphthongs with each other and always indicate a separate syllable: there are as many vowels as there are syllables. Informal writing, however, contravenes this orthographic rule such as, for example, when words such as , , , , and are written as *, *, *, *, * and *.

, referred to as and which Pangantihon had originally written as , represents , a phoneme that occurs natively in Karay-a and in some other languages spoken in the Philippines such as Ivadoy, Maranao and Pangasinan. is also used for integrated words of relatively recent foreign origin.

Separate glyphs for and were introduced with the arrival of the Spaniards; namely and .

Consonants

In line with the KWF's 2018 recommendation, the alphabet has 23 consonant letters: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . Of the above, , , and are used only in names and unintegrated loan words.

The digraph constitutes a single letter and represents the phoneme . In the old orthography, which followed the Spanish norms set forth by the Real Academia Española, this phoneme was represented by , the tilde stretching over both letters in order to distinguish it from and , which represented the Spanish and , respectively.

In contrast to , the digraph , which represents , is not counted as a distinct letter.

Grammar

Nouns

Pronouns

Numbers

Common expressions

Saying (literally 'Where are you going?') is a common way to greet people. The question does not need to be answered directly. The usual answer is an action like (literally 'to buy something on the market') instead of (literally, 'to the market'.)

* Are you eating well? –
* Good. –
* How are you feeling? – or: (What do you feel?)
* I don't know. – / (or simply: – informal, usually an annoyed expression)
* Let's go! – (usually for hurrying up companions)
* Come together. –
* Why? – (or: )''/'' (informal)
* I love you. –
* My love/sweetheart. –
* What is your name? –
* Good morning! –
* Good afternoon! –
* Good evening! –
* That one. – (Or simply: )(or: )''/''
* How much? –
* Yes. – (Ho-ud)/
* No. – ()''/''
* Because. –
* Because of you. – or
* About you. – or
* You know. – (or: )
* Hurry! – () or ()
* Again. – (or: ('again') ''/'' (command to repeat).)
* Do you speak English? – or
* It is fun to live. –
*Happy –
*Thank you –

See also

* Language shift
* Hiligaynon
* Language revitalization

Notes

References

External links

Taramdan sa Lantipulong Kinaray·a
guide to grammar (Antiqueño dialect)
Marayum Dictionary

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinaraya Language
Visayan languages
Languages of Antique (province)
Languages of Iloilo
Languages of Aklan
Languages of Capiz
Languages of Guimaras
Languages of Negros Occidental