Blaan language
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Blaan | |
---|---|
Native to | Philippines |
Region | Mindanao |
Ethnicity | Blaan |
Native speakers | 240,000 (2000–2007)[1] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | Either:bpr – Koronadal Blaan (Tagalagad)bps – Sarangani Blaan (Tumanao) |
Glottolog | blaa1241 |
Blaan,also known asBilaan,is anAustronesian languageof the southern Philippines spoken by anindigenous ethnic group of the same namewho inhabited many areas ofSoccksargenandDavao Occidental.
Classification
[edit]Blaan belongs to the Bilic microgroup of thePhilippine languagesubgroup, along with GianganManobo,Tiruray,andTboli.[2]
Distribution
[edit]There are two major varieties of Blaan: Koronadal Blaan (Tagalagad) and Sarangani Blaan (Tumanao).
According to theEthnologue,[specify]Koronadal Blaan is spoken in:
- easternSouth Cotabato Province
- Sarangani Province
- Sultan Kudarat Province(Lutayanarea)
- Davao Occidental Province
Sarangani Blaan is spoken in:
- almost the entire area ofSarangani Province
- South Cotabato Province(General Santosand north)
- Davao Occidental Province(language area across fromSarangani Province's northern border)
Phonology
[edit]Blaan has fifteen consonant and seven vowel phonemes.[3]Unlike most other Philippine languages and Austronesian languages in general, Blaan (as its related languageTboli,permits a variety of consonant clusters at the onset of a syllable. This is evident in the name of the language,/bla'an/.This contraction of the original schwa sound exists in other Austronesian languages (such asJavanese,a major language ofJavainIndonesia), but is rarely seen outside of theBilicgroup within the Philippines.[citation needed]
Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
Plosive | voiceless | t | k | ʔ | ||
voiced | b | d | ɡ | |||
Fricative | f | s | h | |||
Approximant | w | l | j |
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
High | i | u | |
Mid | ɛ | ə | ɔ |
Low | a | ɑ |
/i,ɛ/are also heard as[ɪ,e]./ə/can also be heard as[ɨ,ʌ]within syllables.[citation needed]
Syntax
[edit]Blaan uses word order to indicate the thematic roles of nominal elements in the sentence.[4]
Kamfe
AV.catch
kuku
cat
ungeh.
rat
'The cat catches the rat'
Similar to other Philippine-type Austronesian languages, Blaan uses verbal morphology to indicate voice (or focus, as it is usually called in the literature).[5]Here are some examples of voice/focus types in Blaan:
Agent voice/focus (-m-)
Magin
AV.accompany
nga
child
do.
me
'The child accompanies me.'
Patient voice/focus (-n-)
Nebe
PV.bring
libun
girl
ale.
them
'The girl brings them.'
Vocabulary
[edit]English | Blaan |
---|---|
chicken | anuk |
flower | bulek |
horse | kura |
corn | agul |
needle | dalum |
basket | been |
broom | fune |
rat | unge |
money | filak |
goat | uhe |
scissors | gunting |
mat | igem |
clouds | labun |
fish | nalaf |
eye | mata |
pestle | sung |
leaf | doon |
bone | tulan |
lamp | salo |
snake | ulad |
crow | wak |
foot | bli |
mother | ye |
father | ma |
References
[edit]- ^Koronadal Blaan (Tagalagad)atEthnologue(18th ed., 2015)(subscription required)
Sarangani Blaan (Tumanao)atEthnologue(18th ed., 2015)(subscription required) - ^Blust, Robert (1991). "The Greater Central Philippines Hypothesis".Oceanic Linguistics.30(2): 73–129.doi:10.2307/3623084.JSTOR3623084.
- ^Dean, J.; Dean, G. (1955)."The Phonemes of Bilaan"(PDF).Philippine Journal of Science.84(3): 311–322.
- ^McLachlin, B.; Blackburn, B. (1968)."Verbal Clauses of Sarangani Blaan"(PDF).Asian Studies.6(1): 108–128. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 29 June 2021.
- ^Dean, James C. (1958). "Some Principal Grammatical Relations in Bilaan". In Healey, Alan (ed.).Studies in Philippine Linguistics by the Summer Institute of Linguistics (Pacific Branch).Oceania Linguistic Monographs, No. 3. Sydney: University of Sydney. pp. 59–64.
- ^"ABKD"(PDF)– via sil.org.[better source needed]