The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-19
SPEECH OF THE VISAYANS.
o,,IECTS IN THE SOUTHERN
PHILIPPINE GROUP.
p,nercnces Between the People and the
Tagslogs OF Luzon-Pecu!iar Harsh
ass o, Their LanEuaEe-Puzzles for
,he Beginner-The Nisayan Poetry.

ID, territory, TIE Phlllpplnes, ne VIII nnu
os,tain sharp division between the north
and the southern islands. The south
.n ISLANDS. except the Jolo group, are all
.nsd Njsayas, or in the dialect Of the
,,,,rv Cabisayan The islands COM
ing the group are: Panay. Cebu, the
pomrlon group. Bohol. Leyte, Samar,
N,.hate. Paragua and Mindanao. with all
u cir adaccn, smaller islands.
rho Iisavans are a taller, lighter-com-
,,c,oned race tina the Tagalogs Of Luzon
snd the adjacent islands or any Of the
,aces of the principal island Of the archi-
,,slaeo. In character they are simpler.
ess warlike, but perhaps more tenacious,
not so forld in their speech and perhaps
los. accustomed to the amenities OF socia
life.
In Cabisayan every mans house Is his
.s.,e and that OF his friends and very
nearly that Of any one else who cares to
,ome in mans business is also that Of
spy one who happens to be in his immedi-
ate vicinity.
In all this territory there rules one general
dialect or language. II Is not so we'll
MANNED dramatically as the Tagalog
How could il be- with the inhabitants, the
,peakcrs of the tongue. all living on rather
small Islands, separated from one another
bv the lack of transportation, by the char
sceristc dislike Of change, by the poverty
of the people'
OF them all the only branch that wanders
Is that Of Bohol, a curious hunched-up sort
Of body of land near Cebu. This island
lack, almost altogether the staple product
of the archipelago, abaca, but is rich in
t. al l..
and animals, pigs, horses, cows and chick
ems
The people are industrious and 80 enter
prsing in their way that they have gained
the name Of the Chinese of the Philippines
Their bancas are to be seen everywhere
where there is a chance to turn an honest
penny by selling something or getting a
job at work of any sort. In any town in
Nisayas If you want a carpenter, a smith
Of any sort or workman you generally
have to hunt up the Boholanos.
The result is that in most of the commercial
and working terms Bohol and its tongue
lead the procession. II is harsher than
that OF the rest of the islands except Samar
It also has many different expressions, as
for instance -diotay" is the term for little
small all over the islands, but 'gagmay,'
the Boholano term, is also well known, al
though it always marks a man as a Boho-
hno.
This difference in the use OF words Is also
e. he seen in the limits Of one province alone.
In the Province Of Misamis, which is not
very much scattered, there are differences
without any cause az well as others that
ran he readily explained.
For instance, in the cholera season the
Provincial Board Of Health sent out circu-
lars in relation to the cure and treatment
of hat pest. The word palma was used
as 10 disinfect with smoke or acid.
In the island of Camiguin the Cagayanos
we're obliged to explain that word In that
pa, ocular use. By it they understood a
sort Of general cleaning up by waving
something around.
In other cases the difference between
the dialects Of Iligan, the army reserva-
ton, and other points along the coast Is
explained by the mixing Of the words and
language of the so-called Moros. who are
in reality nothing but a more recently
arrived branch of the Malay race. which
has a sort Of hybrid Mohammedan doctrine,
principally seen in their aversion to eating
pork.
There also remains in various parts a
.emblance Of the old language Of the earli-
ast inhabitants. or mountaineers as they
are called, or Montanescos or BoQuidnon.
This language remains in the little island
OF Camigun where IL is spoken in the family,
although in commerce and general BUSH
ness the Visayan Cebu Is used.
This Camiguino is harsh, hard tongue
TO santrOl and when the people are speak
ing one would imagine that there was
about to be precipitated a row or fight.
Il seems impossible for them TO control
the high accents.
In the other parts Of the vsayan speech
there are also variations. Negros has it's
peculiar way OF talking. lloilo its, and
Sanar its particular accent, pronunciation
and terms.
In the southern part the Sugbuanon or
Nisayan of Cebu, IL considered the most
polite and highest, although there are those
VINO oppose this elevation. In Misamis
We look upon Cagayan. the capital, a. the
source of good language. almost better
than Cebu.
There the women have a particularly
gracious manner Of speaking. They vary
the tongue and give il pretty cadence
and melowness by the use of the L.
'Dagan" to run, IL thus 'Dalagan' and
The Improvement Is evident to anyone.
The use of this Il" and its possibilities
can not be exaggerated. From coarse
grun,ing succession Of sounds il will change
conversation TO q mellow, sweet, cadenced
rhythm Of utterances that is charming even
one does not know the language.
There is no "" in the language. The
teachers have found this out. The best
educated Visayan. IL he gets little care
les or there has been a slight superiority
Of tuba in the company will also mark this
POPULARITY. Fl" and p" will puzzle any
one who talks Spanish with a Visayan
and will reuse all sorts OF thoughts in the
mind Of one who is trying TO teach. They |
sen To bc interchangeable TO tho Visayan |
liT, |
little above mention was made of a |
feeling against the undue pretensions |
Of Cebu as TO the leadership in visayan !
pure and simple. This Is exemplied
IN an incident that furnished the usual |
round of discussing the failings Of news
papers, which il no less prevalent here ]
than in the country districts Of America. |
u also illustrates the journalistic -know-
mad
nero is a certain justice Of the peace.
justly famous for his ability TO settle things |
gu night without expense to litigants. He |
settled one case and one of the parties.
out oi gratitude to him wrote n communica-
t un to Arg Suad, a Visayan paper In Cebu.
ne sad -Puyoc-puyoc' which here means
!. ~ quiet things down by gently managing
tne combatants.
%" editor never had seen such n word. |
and 50, regarding the matter as any other