Nos Don Severino Piczon y Quinto,

PRESBITERO PROVISOR VICARIO GENERAL Y GOBERNADOR ECLESIASTICO DEL OBISPADO DE CEBU S.V.

Por el tenor de las presentes y por lo que á nos toca, damos licencia para que pueda imprimirse y publicarse la Gramática Anglo-Visaya escrita por el R.P.Fr. Pedro Gimenez, Recoleto, atento á que según lo manifestado por el M.R. Vicario Provincial de la órden, ha sido censurada por dos Religiosos de la misma, que la han juzgado digna de que se dé á la estampa, no conteniendo cosa alguna contraria á la fé y buenas costumbres, y mandamos que se inserte este nuestro permiso al principio de cada ejemplar.

Dadas en Cebú, firmadas de nuestra mano, selladas con el de nuestro oficio y refrendadas por el infrascrito Secretario de Gobierno á treinta de Enero de mil novecientos cuatro.

SEVERINO PICZON.

(Hay un sello) (Hay una rúbrica)

Por mandado de SS. el Sr. Gobernador Eclesiástico.

JUAN P. GORORDO (Hay una rúbrica.) [4]

Preface

In presenting this English-Bisaya Grammar I do not pretend to be considered an author, my only aspiration is to be useful to my American brethren in the priesthood, in order that they in turn, may be so to the Bisaya people. The priest for the Bisaya people must be one who will devote all his attention to them, live among them, study their ways, their character, their tendencies, and therefore, the study of their dialect is absolutely necessary to him, since they, for the most part, do not know how to speak either Spanish or English. In preparing this compilation I have used every effort to do it as well as possible, but I am only a pupil in both the English and Bisaya languages, and I believe, the work is not as perfect as would be desired, but I indulge a hope that the kindness of my readers will excuse my faults. [5]

Bisaya Alphabet.

The letters made use of in the Bisaya alphabet, are twenty in number as follows:

The vowels are A, E, I, O, U, and Y at the end of a word. The vowels are never silent, except U in the syllables que, qui, the sound of which corresponds to that heard in the English words Kedge, Keep, Key.

[7]

Of the article.

1.a The article in the Bisaya dialect is divided into determinate and indeterminate and of the proper names.

2.a The determinate article is ang for singular, and ang mga or sa mga according to the cases for plural.

3.a The indeterminate article is usa, one for the singular; and uban, pila or mapila, some for the plural.

4.a The article of the proper names is si for both masculine and feminine.

Declension of the Articles.

DEFINITE ARTICLE.

SINGULAR.

PLURAL.

INDEFINITE ARTICLE.

SINGULAR

[8]

PLURAL.

Some wish, while others do not—ang uban bu-ut, ang uban dili—Some of the trees, which are there—Pipila sa mga cahuy dihá.

The Article of the Proper Names

SINGULAR.

Remark l.a The article of the proper names is used also to point out a person and his companions, as:

2.a This article serves also to express kindness or love: as.—My Mother, Si nanay.—My father, Si tatay.—The female child, Si inday—The parish Priest, Si amoy—My eldest sister, Si manang.

3.a The English compounded words, wooden, golden etc. change the affix en into nga, as:—The wooden cross, Ang cruz nga cahoy—The golden ring, Ang singsing nga bulauan.

4.a When we point out the destination of a thing, it is employed the article sa—Thus: The water vat, Ang tadyao sa tubig.—The bottle of wine, Ang botella sa vino.

5.a When it refers to the property of any one, it is as follows.—John's hat, Ang calo ni Juan.

6.a The article sa is employed, when the [9]thing it refers to is determinate, but when it is indeterminate, the article ug must be used, as: Bring the money, Magdala ca sa sapi. Give me money, Taga-an mo acó ug salapi.

PLURAL.

1.a The plural is formed in Bisaya by placing mga after the article ang or sa.

Declension.

2.a When the possessive case is placed before the name, it must be placed between ang and mga, thus—My friends, ang acong mga higala—Your shoes, ang imong mga sapin.

3.a Rem. The Bisaya article like the English, does not distinguish the gender, but there are two ways of distinguishing the masculine and feminine in this dialect: 1. By using different words: Ex, ang bana, the husband; ang asaua, the wife; ang amahan, the father: ang inahan, the mother. 2. By the suffixes lalaqui and babaye; Ex. ang iro nga lalaqui, the dog, ang iro nga babaye, she dog; ang bata nga lalaqui, the boy; ang bata nga babaye, the girl.

Examples of the article.

Joseph's soul, ang calag ni José—John's ground. ang yuta ni Juan, or ang can Juan nga yuta—Who is at Peter's house, ang sa can Pedro nga balay, or ang sa balay ni Pedro—Bring the rice: Magdala ca ug bugas—My mother and sister are at John's cottage, Si nanay ug si inday tua sa camalig ni Juan—My brothers are rich, Ang acong mga igso-on salapia-non [10]man—Are you Peter's father?, Icao ba ang amahan ni Pedro?—I am, Acó man—Who is the owner? ¿Quinsa ba ang tagia?—Where is your son?, Hain ba ang imong anac?—He is at the cockfight, Tua sia sa bulangan—Has he much money?, Daghan ba ang iang salapi?—He has but a few coins, Pipila lamang ca dacó—Let us go. Tala na quitá—Good by. Ari na came—That man is a drunkard. Palahubóg man canang tao—He is a drinker, but not a drunkard. Palainom man sia, apan dili palahubóg—Where is my father?, ¿Hain ba ang acong amahan?—Here he is; Ania dinhi—Who are those men?, ¿Quinsa ba canang mga tao?—They are my friends. Mao ang acong mga higala.

Exercise I.

Have you the bread?—Yes, sir, I have the bread: Have you your bread?—I have my bread.—Have you the salt?—I have the salt—Have you my salt?—I have your salt.—Have you the soap?—I have the soap—Which (onsa nga) soap have you?—I have your soap—Which shirt have you?—I have my shirt, (ang acong sinina)?—Have you much money?—I have much money—Where is your sister?—She is at the garden (tanaman sa mga bulac)—Where is your father?—He is here.

Of the nouns.

Supposing the pupil knows the classification of the nouns into proper, common or appellative &., we shall occupy ourselves with their formation, being as it is, so much diverse and usual.

A great number of nouns and verbs are compounded in Bisaya by means of roots and particles. [11]

The root is the word which contains in itself the signification of the thing, but can not express it without any other word, which we call a particle, to which the root must be united.

1.a With the particle ca at the beginning of the root, and an after, are formed collective nouns, and nouns of place, as:—Grove, cacahoyan—Banana plantation, casagingan.

2.a With the particle ca before, are formed the nouns of quality, as:—Whiteness,—Ang caputi.

3.a By placing the particle pagca before the roots, are formed the abstract nouns, and those pointing out the essence of the things, as:

4.a With the particle isigca before the root, are formed correlative nouns, placing the possessive pronoun in genitive case, as:

5.a With the particles mag and man are formed substantive and adjective nouns, duplicating the first syllable of the roots, thus:

6. With the particle pala before, are formed several substantives, as:

[12]

7.a With tag before the root, are formed nouns expressing the owner of a thing, as:

8.a Putting this same particle before the words signifying the seasons of the year or the atmospherical changes, points out the time of these changes: and placing it before words signifying the farming-works, it shows the time of those operations. In some provinces are used also in this same sense, the particles tig and tin, thus:

9.a The particle taga before the nouns of countries or nations, serves to ask some one about his town, as:

10.a Taga signifies also until, and points out the end of the action, as:

11.a By means of the articles pag and pagca are formed the verbal substantives. Ex:

[13]

12.a Placing the particle tagi before the root it points out permanency on a place, as:

Declension of the common nouns.

SINGULAR.

PLURAL

Practical examples

[14]

Exercise II.

Good morning, how are you?—Very well, I thank you—Where are you from?—I am from Spain—Of which town?—From Conago—Who (quinsa) has my book?—I have it—Who is that young Lady?—She is Miss Kate—Where is my trunk (caban)?—The servant has it—Have you my fine glasses?—I have them—Have you the fine horses of my neighbours?—I have not them—Who are you?—I am John—Are you Peter's father?—I am.

Of the cardinal numbers.

The father Encina divides the numbers into primitives, ordinals, distributives and vicenales.

The primitive numerals are those which serve to count, and are the followings:

Remarks:

1.a The English forms “a hundred, a thousand”, are rendered into Bisaya by usa ca gatus, usa ca libo. Expressions like “eighteen hundred” must be translated as:—one thousand eight hundred, ex: The year 1898.—Usa ca libo ualo ca gatus casiaman ug usa.

2.a The unity begins by a consonant duplicates, the first syllable, when points out any quantity. The denaries are formed by putting before unity the particle ca and an after, as we have seen. Ca serves also to join the numbers to the nouns, thus: Usa cataoo.—Napolo ca pisos, upat ca adlao. [16]

Ordinal Numbers.

The month.—Ang bulan. The day.—Ang adlao. The week.—Ang semana.

What is the date to day.—¿Icapila quita caron?—To-day is the sixth of March of the year 1901.—Sa icaunum ca adlao sa bulan sa Marzo sa usa ca libo siam ca gatus ng usa ca tuig.

Days of the week

[17]

Months of the year.

(The months and the days of the week are taken from the Spanish language).

[18]

Partitive Numbers

The partitive numbers are formed by adding to the cardinals—ca bahin—thus:

Ex:

Distributive numbers

The distributive numbers are formed by putting tag or tinag before the cardinal numbers, thus:

Vicenal Numbers

The vicenal or proportional numbers, so called for explaining the proportion between two unities, one of which is contained in the other, are formed in Bisaya by putting the particle naca or maca before the cardinal numbers. Naca for past tense, and maca for the future: Thus:

Exercise III.

Where is my book!—Under the chair—Where is my hat?—It is on the table—Is it on the table?—No; it is upon the bed—Did you read the book?—I did not—How many books have you written?—I have written one—How many times have you read the letter?—Many times—How many times have you weeped?—Five times—How much is your daily wage?—Two dimes—How old are you?—I am twenty seven years old—How old is she?—She is not yet twenty years old—Have you burnt yourself?—Each man has his taste—Have you a mind to sleep?—No: I have a [20]mind to speak—Do you fear this man?—I don't fear him—At what o'clock do you go to bed?—I go to bed at sunset, and I get up at sunrise.

Of the pronouns.

The Bisaya pronouns are divided into personal, demonstrative, possessive and relative. The personal pronouns are:

Declension of the personal pronouns

First Person

(1) Quitá is used when the speaker excludes not those, to whom he is speaking, and camé when he does.

2d. Person

[21]

3d. Person

The pronoun Icao may be used indifferently before or after the verbs. The nominative case ca must be placed before the verbs in the negative and final sentences; in other cases, always after them.

Both singular and plural objective cases of the first, second and third persons begin by a vowel, are placed before the nouns and verbs, and those begin by a consonant must be put after them: thus:

[22]

Demonstrative pronouns.

Declension.

The demonstrative pronouns are used instead of repeating the substantives. They also serve for distinguishing between substantives exposed or understood; and when employed with substantives, for pointing out clearly the distinction between them.

Remark

Quini, refers to the persons or things nearest to the speaker: cana, to the persons or things nearest to the persons spoken to: cadto, is used to point out persons or things distant, both from the speaker and from the [23]person spoken to. It is also employed this pronoun, but in genitive case, when speaking of events long time ago past, as: In those days.—Niadtong mga tiempo.

The adverb caron, is employed also as a demonstrative pronoun: thus:

Possessive pronouns.

Are formed by the genitives of the personal pronouns, and are always joined to a noun before it, when begin by a vowel, and after, when by a consonant, Ex:

Relative pronouns.—Interrogative.

The relative—interrogative pronouns, are:

[24]

Remark

The particle ba, has not signification, but serves to point out the interrogative and dubitative sentences.

The relative pronouns simple, are translated into Bisaya by nga, as:

Exercise IV.

Where are you going?—I am going into the church—Have you this pen or that?—I have neither this nor that, but I have this other.

When did he arrive?—He arrived yesterday about this time—Where is she? She is at home—Do you speak Bisaya?—Not yet—I have bought the horse of which you spoke to me.

When did you buy it?—Yesterday—Where do you intend to take me to?—What is the date to day?—To day is the twenty first—I speak to those to whom you have spoken.

Where did you speak to them?—I spoke to them at the street. [25]

Of the adjective.

Remark: 1.a The Bisaya adjectives are formed by putting before the root the particle Ma as:

2.a Putting after these adjectives the syllables on, hon, an, han are formed the followings:

3.a By putting the particles on, hon, an, han, after the root, are formed adjectives signifying qualities both moral and physical: ex.

4.a With the particle ha before are formed adjectives of distance: by means of the particle hi are formed those pointing out frequency in the action: thus:

5.a Inserting la, li, lo, between the first two syllables of the root, and placing on, after the last are formed adjectives of quality, as:

6.a Are also formed adjectives of quality by putting mangi before the root, and an after, as:

[26]

7.a With the particle Maca, and duplicating the first syllable of the root are formed adjectives, as:

8.a With the particle ma before the root and inserting in between the first two syllables, and adding on to the last, are formed adjectives of quality, thus:

9.a Inserting pa between ma and the first syllable of the root, and adding on to the last, are formed adjectives of quality; and also by means of pa, before the root, as:

Ex:

Exercise V.

I see the children to whom you have given the books, and I have met also with the men to whom you have spoken. The wise men understand the high explanations. The merciful man helps to his neighbour—What have you to do?—I have to speak to the men—When have you to speak to them?—This evening—At what o'clock?—At half past eight—Have you my shirt or my sister's?—I have both—Have you the golden ribbons of my mother?—I have not them—Who has them?—My sister has them—Do you wish to go out?—I wish not to go out—Why?—Because I am sick. [27]

Diminutive adjectives.

l.a The diminutive adjectives not only express diminution, but also an accessory idea of either tenderness, love or contempt.

The diminutives are formed in Bisaya by means of the adjective diutay. When they have but two syllables, are formed by duplicating the root, and also, by placing the syllables la, li, lo, after the first letter of the root, Ex:

2.a The adjectives of ma, become diminutives by putting before, the particle malo, as:

3.a The same adjectives become diminutives by duplicating the root, as:

4.a Adding a, to the nouns, are formed diminutives expressing contempt or disregard, as:

5.a When this letter a is added, but not in contemptible sense, serves to point out that the subject or object is unknown to us, as:

[28]

Degrees of Comparison

The degrees of comparison are formed in Bisaya by adding to the superiority Lapi pa, to the equality ingon, and to the inferiority, as we have seen, Diutay pa.

Ex.

Ex:

Remarks l.a The comparative of inferiority is formed by translating the adverbs less by diutay, diriut pa, ingon nga, culang, and than, into sa.

Ex.

2.a The comparative of equality is formed by translating the adverbs as or so into magsama, and the second adverb as into ug, and both terms of comparison in nominative case, as:

Ex:

3.a The comparative of superiority is formed by translating more by labi pa, and than into sa; and also into dili, but in this case, both terms of comparison must be placed in nominative case, like in the comparatives of majority and of inferiority: Ex.

[30]

4.a The relation of majority more, may be also rendered by daghan pa, and than, by sa or dili.

Ex:

Exercise VI

I have as much money as you—Have you as many friends as I?—We have less money than they—This book is small, that is smaller, and that is the smallest of all—This hat is large, but that is larger—Is your hat as large as mine? It is larger than yours—Do your children write as much as we?—They write more than you—My father has more silver than gold—Your ring is not so nice as my mother's—Your father is less wise than mine—I have less rice than coffee—Do you read as often as I?—Do you listen to what your brother tell you?—Yes, I listen to it—God is the best Father.

Unitive particles.

Before coming to the end of this part of the nouns, we shall have a short speech about some ligaments, called unitive particles, which serve for uniting elegantly the nouns, pronouns and adjectives, and for joining together the sentences, and to give them a particular energy. These particles are the followings:

Nga.

l.a This particle (when it is not used as relative) serves to link the pronouns with the nouns and the adjectives. [31]

When the preceding word ends by a vowel the letter a of nga, must be suppressed, joining ng to the vowel, as:

2.a Serves also for joining both the sentences and verbs with the adverbs, ex:

Ug.

It is employed instead of the article in the objective cases of indefinite objects, and in compounded sentences when are employed instead of objective case. It serves also to link the cardinal numbers: Ex:

Ca.

This particle links the cardinal numbers with the nouns: Ex.

Ing.

Serves for joining the sentences and the objective [32]cases, when it is spoken in indeterminate sense.

Exercise VII.

You speak as much as I—They have not so many toys as books—Have you as many books as I?—I have fewer than you—Has our friend as many birds as chickens?—He has more of the former than of the latter—Are we right in speaking?—You are not wrong in speaking, but you are wrong in cutting my trees—Have you time to work?—1 have time, but not mind to work—Have you still a mind to buy any thing?—Yes, I have a mind to buy one more horse—Have you as much good as bad paper?—I have as much of the one as of the other—Have our neighbours as much honey as sugar?—They have more honey than sugar—Have your sons as many slippers as shirts?—They have more of the latter than of the former—I have a favour to beg of you.