# Proto-Philippine language

The Proto-Philippine language is a reconstructed ancestral proto-language of the Philippine languages, a proposed subgroup of the Austronesian languages which includes all languages within the Philippines (except for the Sama–Bajaw languages) as well as those within the northern portions of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Proto-Philippine is not directly attested to in any written work, but linguistic reconstruction by the comparative method has found regular similarities among languages that cannot be explained by coincidence or word-borrowing.

## Classification

There have been three initial proposals in delineating the southern boundaries of the Philippine group: Northern Borneo in Malaysia, southern Philippines (encompassing southern Luzon all the way to Mindanao and the Sulu Sea area), and northern Sulawesi in Indonesia. The earliest boundary was proposed by Esser (1938) between the Gorontalo languages and the Tomini languages of Sulawesi. While it was later found decades after (Himmelmann, 1990) that there are shared innovations between Philippine and Tomini languages, there are still uncertainties as to whether the latter do validly form one genetic group, or should be relegated as a mere geographic unit. Meanwhile, Charles (1974) in particular proposed that languages in Sabah and of northern Sarawak are descendants of this Proto-Philippine, which has subsequently garnered counter-evidences (Blust, 1974; Reid, 1982; Zorc, 1986). Lastly, there have been several proposals establishing southern Philippines as the boundary (Thomas & Healey, 1962; Dyen, 1965; Zorc, 1977; 1986) with the "Macro Meso-Philippine" and "Sangiric" as two primary branches. Walton (1979) and McFarland (1980) included the Sama-Bajau group as the third branch, but such has been later disputed as entirely separate directly under Malayo-Polynesian.

## Features

Due to issues in the validity of a Philippine genetic group, and thus the existence of an ancestral Proto-Philippine language, most of its features particularly its phonology remain as proposals.

### Phonology
#### Llamzon's reconstruction

Llamzon's (1975) proposed phonology of Proto-Philippine was derived from earlier reconstructions of Dempwolff's (1934-1938) works by Dyen (1947; 1951; 1953a; 1953b; 1953c). Used in this reconstruction were nine languages—Tagalog, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Bikol (Central?), Ilokano, Ibanag, Ifugao, and Kankanaey—with the rationale that the aforementioned have "relatively better structural description and vocabularies" than other related and geographically contiguous languages at that time. While his analysis focused on attested Proto-Austronesian phonemes which were retained in this Proto-Philippine, features that were lost or merged were not highlighted.
Proto-Philippine consonants by Llamzon (1975) :
| | Labial | Labial | Dental/Alveolar | Dental/Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Velar | Uvular | Glottal |
| | Unvoiced | Voiced | Unvoiced | Voiced | Voiced | Voiced | Unvoiced | Voiced | Unvoiced | Unvoiced |
| Nasal | | *m /m/ | *n /n/ | | | | | *ng /ŋ/ | | |
| Stop | *p /p/ | *b /b/ | *t /t/ | *d /d/ | *D /ɖ/ | *j /ɟ/ | *k /k/ | *g /ɡ/ | | *q /ʔ/ |
| Affricate | | | | | | *Z /ɟʝ/ | | | | |
| Fricative | | | *s /s/ | | | | | | | *h /h/ |
| Flap/Tap | | | | *r /ɾ/ | | | | | | |
| Trill | | | | | | | | | *R$_{134}$ /ʀ/ | |
| Approximant | | *w /w/ | | *l /l/ | | *y /j/ | | | | |
Proto-phonemes *Z and *D were restricted to medial positions, and were not retained in any of the languages.
The proto-phonemes *j and *R are not preserved as such in any Philippine language: *j became either *g or *d (e.g. *púsəj became Ilocano púsəg, Tagalog púsod), whereas *R shifted to *r (e.g. in Ilokano), *l (e.g. in Pangasinan), *g (e.g. in Tagalog) or *y (e.g. in Kapampangan).
PPh vowels by Llamzon (1975) :
| | Front | Central | Back |
| Close | *i /i/ | | *u /u/ |
| Mid | | *ə /ə/ | |
| Open | | *a /a/ | |
Proto-Philippine's schwa *ə often merged with other vowels (e.g. /u/ in Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray; /a/ in Ibanag, /i/ in Tagalog), but is retained in a diverse range of Philippine languages (e.g. Gaddang, Kinaray-a, Maranao, Maguindanao, Rinconada Bikol, Palawano), and in southern dialects of Ilokano.
Proto-Philippine diphthongs by Llamzon (1975) :
| *ay | *uy | *aw | *iw |

#### Paz' reconstruction

Another notable proposal is by Paz (1981) who conducted a bottom-up approach by reconstructing using her own symbols.
Proto-Philippine consonants by Paz (1981) :
| | Labial | Labial | Dental/Alveolar | Dental/Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Velar | Glottal |
| | Unvoiced | Voiced | Unvoiced | Voiced | Voiced | Voiced | Unvoiced | Voiced | Unvoiced |
| Nasal | | m /m/ | n /n/ | | | | | N /ŋ/ | |
| Stop | p /p/ | b /b/ | t /t/ | d /d/ | ḍ /ɖ/ | g̯ /ɡʲ/ | k /k/ | g /ɡ/ | ? /ʔ/ |
| Fricative | | | s /s/ | | | | | | h /h/ |
| Trill | | | *r /r/ | | | | | | |
| Approximant | | w /w/ | l̩ /l̥/ | *l /l/ | | y /j/ | | | |
Paz revisits two types of proto-Austronesian L as part of her reconstruction (l, l̥), which makes it distinct from other reconstructions.
Proto-Philippine vowels by Paz (1981) :
| Height | Height | Front | Front | Central | Central | Back | Back | Stress |
| Close | Close | i | i | | | u | u | Vː |
| Mid | Mid | | | ə | ə | | | | Vː |
| Open | Open | | | a | a | | | | Vː |
In comparison to Llamzon, Paz presents five diphthongs instead.
Proto-Philippine diphthongs by Paz (1981) :
| ay | uy | əy | aw | iw |

## Lexicon

Below is a table comparing core vocabulary from modern Philippine languages in relation to the follow Proto-Philippine innovations. Note that the accented vowels (e.g. á) under Proto-Philippine indicate the stress, while q represents glottal stop.
| Proto-Philippine | Tagalog | Ilokano | Kapampangan | Maguindanaon | Visayan group | Gloss |
| *ásu | aso | aso | asu | asu | | dog |
| *baláy | bahay | balay | bale | waláy | baláy | house |
| *bábuy | baboy | baboy | babi | babuy | baboy | pig |
| *baqRu | bago | baro | bayu | bagu | bag-o | new |
| *báqi | babae | babai | babai | babay | babayi bayi | woman/female |
| *dəkət | dikít | dekket | | deket | dukót | adhesive/(to) stick |
| *dáRaq | | dara | daya | dara | | blood |
| *duRúq | dugô | | | lugu | dugô | blood |
| *hajək | halík | agek | | alek | halók | (to) kiss |
| *ŋájan | pangalan ngalan | nagan | ngalan | ngala ngalan | pangalan ngalan ngaran | name |
| *danúm | | danum | danum | | | water |
| *túbiR | tubig | | | | tubig | water |
| *laŋúy | langóy | langóy | | langúy | langóy | (to) swim |
| *táu | tao | tao | tau | taw | tawo | human |
Below are selected animal and plant names in Proto-Philippine from the Austronesian Comparative Dictionary.

### Animal names

    No.Common nameScientific nameProto-Philippine 9207fish sp., slipmouthLeiognathus sp.*sapsáp 10806kind of mackerelRastrelliger spp.*tuliŋan 10964a sea fish, the rudderfishKyphosus cinerascens*hilek 1631anchovyStolephorus spp.*bulínaw 12682milkfishChanos chanos*baŋús 11877parrot fishScarus spp.*mulmúl 9819kind of water bird, the Oriental darterAnhinga melanogaster*kasíli 10671a bird and its call, probably the tailor birdOrthotomus atrogularis*tiwtiw 11077coconut crabBirgus latro*tatus 12348large marine molluskTurbo marmoratus*RaRaŋ

### Plant names

    No.Common nameScientific nameProto-Philippine 9369a flowering plantIxora spp.*santán 9568a fruit tree, the pomeloCitrus decumana*suháq 2940a leguminous shrubLeucaena glauca*ipil ipil 8957a palmCorypha spp.*silaR 12394a plantAcalypha spp.*abilus 10807a plantAstronia spp., Melastomataceae*tuŋaw₂ 11068a plantGlochidion spp.*anam 9810a plantImpatiens balsamina*kamantigi 6876a plantLunasia amara*paqit-an 10007a plantSesbania grandiflora*katúday 9565a plantSolanum spp.*sili-sili 10064a plant in the banana familyMusa textilis?*qaRutay 12593a plant with medicinal value, probablyBlumea spp.*qalibun 11080a shrub or treeMelanolepis multiglandulosa*álem 9651a shrub, the Jew's mallowCorchorus spp., fam. Malvaceae*salúyut 12668a small tree with leaves used as medicineCitrus aurantifolia*dayap 10265a tall treeParkia spp.*kúpaŋ 7998a treeAcalypha amentacea*beRus 12362a treeDiospyros sp.*kanadem 947a treeDiospyros spp.*talaŋ₁ 9647a treeErythrina spp.*sabaŋ₂ 10966a treeFicus sp.*lab(e)nuR 10563a treeFicus sp.*tebéR 11024a treeGanua obovatifolia, Sapotaceae*piaŋa 608a treeLagerstroemia speciosa*banabá 11756a treeMallotus lackeyi*lamay 12325a treeMyristica spp.*lagu₂ 9093a treePlanchonella obovata*banisah 9092a treePongamia spp.*bani₂ 10722a treePrunus sp.*taŋa₄ 12392a treeShorea polysperma*taŋíliq 11555a tree and its fruit, the Java plumSyzygium cumini*luŋ(e)búy 12198a tree with bark that can be used as a shampooGanophyllum falcatum*gúguq 12228a tree with edible fruitDiplodiscus paniculatus*baRubu 1208a tree;Macaranga tanarius*binuŋa 12434a vineCaesalpinia bonduc*kabit₃ 10233a vine with gourd or cucumber-like fruitLuffa sp.?*kabatíti 11595a vine with red flower clusters, the Chinese honeysuckleQuisqualis indica*taluluŋ 12477an edible plant, swamp cabbageIpomoea aquatica*taŋkuŋ 11071beautyberryCallicarpa spp.*anayup 11088creeping vine that grows on sandy beaches, the beach morning gloryIpomoea pes-caprae*balinu 11148hairy eggplantSolanum ferox*basula 10234kind of aromatic herbPogostemon cablin*kab(e)liŋ 9922kind of ebony or persimmon tree with fruits that are pounded and used to stupefy fishDiospyros spp.*kanúmay 10312kind of edible squash or gourdLagenaria leucantha*tabayaR 11075kind of tall grassThemeda gigantea*taŋ(e)laj 9750kind of wild lemon tree, possiblyCitrus hystrix*kabuRaw 9806large forest tree with edible brown, hairy fruitsDiospyros discolor*kamaguŋ 10412lesser yamDioscorea sp.*tugíq 10885lima beanPhaseolus lunatus*patániq 2Manila hempMusa textilis*abaká 11872mountain appleEugenia spp.*makúpa 12657native spinachAmaranthus spp.*kulitis 11653Philippine cedar treeCedrela sp.*kalantas 10749plant with leaves used as a vegetableTalinum paniculatum or Talinum triangulare*talínum 1854silk cotton treeCeiba pentandra*buybuy 11145small treeMorinda citrifolia?*apatut 12468taroColocasia esculenta*gabi 10978the almasiga treeAgathis celebica*gala 11073the castor bean plantRicinus communis*katana 10163the horseradish treeMoringa oleifera*maruŋgay 12753the Philippine mahoganyShorea or Hopea sp.*yakál 9615the sappan treeCaesalpinia sappan*sibukaw 12361the seeded breadfruit treeArtocarpus camansi*kamansi 12253the seeded breadfruit treeArtocarpus camansi*kamansiq 10762tree with bright yellow fruit that has dry fleshLucuma nervosa*tisaq 8970wild palm tree with fruit similar to areca nutHeterospathe elata*sagisí