Waray-Waray language - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Wáray-Wáray or Samarnon is a language spoken in the provinces of Samar

Samar

Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...

, Northern Samar

Northern Samar

Northern Samar is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catarman and is located at the northern portion of the island of Samar. Bordering the province to the south are the provinces of Samar and Eastern Samar...

, Eastern Samar

Eastern Samar

Eastern Samar is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Borongan.-Location:...

, and in some parts of the Leyte and Biliran

Biliran

In 1945 liberated by the Philippine Commonwealth forces of the 9th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army was landed in Biliran with the local guerrilla forces by the attack of the Japanese troops from the island during the Battle of Biliran during World War II.-Conversion:On April...

in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. The name comes from the word often heard by non-speakers, "waray" (meaning "none", "nothing" or "not"), in the same way that Cebuanos are known in Leyte as "mga Kana" (after the oft-heard word "kana", meaning "that", among people speaking the Cebuano language

Cebuano language

Cebuano, referred to by most of its speakers as Bisaya , is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 20 million people mostly in the Central Visayas. It is the most widely spoken of the languages within the so-named Bisayan subgroup and is closely related to other Filipino...

).

The Waray-Waray language spoken by the Waray people of Samar island and in most parts of Leyte and in some parts of Biliran island shows dialectal variations. Dialects are spoken in some parts of Masbate

Masbate

Masbate is an island province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region. Its capital is Masbate City and consists of three major islands: Masbate, Ticao and Burias.-History:...

, particularly on the island of Ticao which is adjacent to Samar island.

Waray-Waray Sorsogon and Masbate Sorsogon are grouped into the Waray-Waray language. Waray-Waray Sorsogon and Masbate Sorsogon are called by the untrained as Bisakol

Bisakol

Bisakol refers to the transitional languages in the Central Philippine language family, between Visayan languages and Bikol languages...

because they are intermediate between the Visayan and Bicolano languages, however, all of these are just variants of the Waray-Waray language.

Pronouns

	Absolutive	Ergative	Oblique
1st person singular	ako, ak	nakon, nak, ko	akon, ak
2nd person singular	ikaw, ka	nimo, nin, mo	imo, im
3rd person singular	hiya	niya	iya
1st person plural inclusive	kita, kit, kirita	naton	aton, at
1st person plural exclusive	kami	namon	amon
2nd person plural	kamo, kam	niyo	iyo
3rd person plural	hira	nira	ira

The Waray copula

Waray-waray, like other Philippine languages, does not have any exact equivalent to the English linking verb be. In Tagalog

Tagalog language

Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...

, for example, the phrase "Siya ay maganda" (She is beautiful) contains the word ay which, contrary to popular belief, does not function as an attributive copula predicating maganda (beautiful) to its subject and topic Siya (he or she). The function of Tagalog's ay is rather a marker of sentence inversion, which is regarded as a literary form but somewhat less common in spoken Tagalog. The same phrase may be spoken as Maganda siya, which has the same meaning.

The Waray-waray language in comparison would express "She is beautiful" only as "Mahosay hiya" or sometimes "Mahosay iton hiya" (iton functioning as a definite article of hiya, she), since Waray doesn't have a present-tense copula or even an inversion marker. As in other Philippine languages, attributive statements are usually represented in predicate-initial form and have no copula at all. Take for example the ordinary English sentence "This is a dog" as translated to Waray:

Ayam ini.

The predicate Ayam (dog) is placed before the subject ini (this); no copula is present. Another example:

Amo ito an balay han Winaray o Binisaya nga Lineyte-Samarnon nga Wikipedia.

Asya it an balay han Winaray o Binisaya nga Lineyte-Samarnon nga Wikipedia.

In English: "This is the Waray/Leyte-Samar Visayan Wikipedia". The predicate Amo ini is roughly translated as "This here" but the rest of the sentence then jumps to its subject, marked by the particle an. It is grammatically impossible to invert a sentence like this into a subject-head form without importing the actual Tagalog inversion marker ay, a growing trend among younger people in Leyte. The word amo is used only in Leyte Waray-Waray. In Samar, asya (this) is used.

Despite the debate regarding the Waray copula, it would be safe to treat structures like magin (to be), an magin/an magigin (will be or will become), and an nagin (became) as the English treat linking verbs:

Makuri magin estudyante. ([It's] hard to be a student.)

Ako it magigin presidente! (I shall be the president!)

Ako an nagin presidente. (I became the president.)

Existential

WARAY	TAGALOG	ENGLISH
may-ada	meron/mayroon	there is
wara/waray	wala	none

Modal

Waray	Tagalog	English
puyde/sadangyo	maaari/pwede	may/can
diri puyde		may not / cannot
Pahudma	Pahiram/hiram	May I borrow?
Pakita-a	Patingin	May I see?

Interrogative Words

Waray of Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...

(Winaray nga pan Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...

)

Waray	Tagalog	English
hin-o	sino	who
kay-ano	bakit	why
diin	saan	where
kanay	kanino	whose
pa-o-nanho	paano	how
san-o	kailan	when
nano	ano	what

Waray of Samar
Samar
Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...

(Winaray nga pan Samar
Samar
Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...

)

WARAY	TAGALOG	ENGLISH
hin-o	sino	who
kay-nano	bakit	why
diin	saan	where
kankanay	kanino	whose
guin-aano/na-ano	paano	how
san-o	kailan	when
nano	ano	what

Orthography issues

While the now-defunct Sanghiran San Binisaya ha Samar ug Leyte (Academy of the Visayan Language of Samar and Leyte) formulated and recommended a standard orthography, this was never widely disseminated and therefore as of present there is still no commonly accepted official orthography. In effect, there may exist two spellings of the same word (usually limited to differences in vowels only), such as

diri or dire ("no")
hira or hier ("them")
maupay or mabaysay ("good")
guinhatag or ginhatag ("gave")
direcho or diritso ("straight [ahead]")
ciudad or syudad ("city")
espejo or espeho ("mirror")

Usage

Waray-Waray is one of the ten officially recognized regional languages in the Philippines and used in local government. It is spoken throughout its islands, especially in the Eastern Visayas region. But it is also spoken in some parts of Mindanao, Masbate, Sorsogon and Metro Manila where Warays have migrated. There is also a small number of Filipinos abroad, especially in the United States, who speak this language. Waray-Waray is widely used in media, especially in radio and television. One good example of this is the regional version of the Philippine news program TV Patrol for Eastern Visayas, TV Patrol Tacloban

TV Patrol Tacloban

TV Patrol Tacloban is the local news rogram of the ABS-CBN Regional Network Group in Tacloban City and in Eastern Visayas.It is aired live daily from the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center-Tacloban at 5:25 PM, from Monday to Friday and ends at 5:55 PM....

, which broadcasts in Waray-Waray. There is also a regional cable channel that broadcasts its programs in Waray-Waray, the An Aton Channel operated by DYVL. However print media in this language are rare because most regional newspapers are published in English. The language is also used in the eucharistic celebrations or Holy Masses in the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

in the region. Bibles published in Waray-Waray are also available. Waray-Waray songs are widely appreciated and can be heard in the radio. In 1993, the LDS Church or Mormonism published a selected Waray-Waray edition of the Book of Mormon entitled "An Libro ni Mormon". Today, many Waray aficionados advocate wider use of this language.

Sounds

The Waray language has sixteen consonants: /p, t, k, b, d, ɡ, m, n, ŋ, s, h, w, l, ɾ, j/. There are three main vowels: a [a], i [ɛ ~ i], and u [o ~ ʊ]. [i ~ ɛ] and [ʊ ~ o] sound the same, but [o] is still an allophone of [ʊ] in final syllables. But they now have separate sounds for each. Consonants /d/ and /ɾ/ were once allophones but cannot interchange, like palaron (to be lucky) [from palad, palm (one's luck is seen on his palm in fortune-telling) but not paladon and tagadiín (from where) [from diín, where] but not tagariín.

Numbers

Native numbers are used for numbers one through ten. From eleven onwards, Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

numbers are exclusively used in Waray-Waray today, their native counterparts being obsolete for the majority of native speakers (except for gatus for hundred and yukot for thousand). Some, especially among the elderly, are spoken alongside the Spanish counterparts.

English	Native Waray-Waray	Borrowed from Spanish
One	Usa	Uno
Two	Duha	Dos
Three	Tuló	Tres
Four	Upat	Cuatro
Five	Limá	Cinco
Six	Unom	Saiz
Seven	Pitó	Siete
Eight	Waló	Ocho
Nine	Siyám	Nueve
Ten	Napúlô	Diez
Eleven	(Napúlô kag usá)	Onse
Twelve	(Napúlô kag duhá)	Duce
Thirteen	(Napúlô kag tulo)	Trece
Fourteen	(Napúlô kag upat)	Katorse
Fifteen	(Napúlô kag lima)	Kinse
Sixteen	(Napúlô kag unom)	Diez y Saiz
Seventeen	(Napúlô kag pito)	Diez y Siete
Eighteen	(Napúlô kag walo)	Diez y Ocho
Nineteen	(Napúlô kag siyam)	Diez y Nueve
Twenty	(Karuhaan)	Biente
Thirty	(Katloan)	Trenta
Forty	(Kap-atan)	Kwuarenta
Fifty	(Kalim-an)	Singkwenta
Sixty	(Kaunman)	Siesenta
Seventy	(Kapitoan)	Setenta
Eighty	(Kawaloan)	Ochienta
Ninety	(Kasiaman)	Nobenta
One Hundred	Usa ka Gatus	Cien
One Thousand	Usa ka Yukut	Mil
One Million	Usa ka Ribo	Milyon

Some common words and phrases

Below are examples of the Waray spoken in Metropolitan Tacloban and the nearby areas:

Good morning (noon/afternoon/evening): Maupay nga aga (udto/kulop/gab-i)
Good day: Maupay nga adlaw
Can you understand Waray?: Nakakaintindi/Nasabut ka/Nakaichindi ka hin Winaray? (hin or hito)
Thank you: Salamat
I love you: Hinihigugma ko ikaw or Ginhihigugma ko ikaw or Pina-ura ta ikaw
I don't care: "Baga saho" or "Waray ko labot" or baga labot ko
Where are you from? : Taga diin ka? or Taga nga-in ka? or Taga ha-in ka?
How much is this? : Tag pira ini?
I can't understand: Diri ako nakakaintindi/Nakaichindi or Di ak Naabat
I don't know: Diri ako maaram or Ambot
What: Ano
Who: Hin-o
Where: Hain
When (future): San-o
When (past): Kakan-o
Why: Kay-ano
How: Gin-aano?
Yes: Oo
No: Dire or Diri
There: Adto or Didto or Ngad-to
Here: Didi or Nganhi
Front or in front: Atubang or Atubangan
Night: Gab-i
Day: Adlaw
Nothing: Waray
Good: Maupay
Boy: Lalaki
Girl: Babayi
Gay/male homosexual Bayot
Lesbian: Tomboi/Lesbyana
Who are you?: Hin-o ka?
I'm a friend: Sangkay ak.
I'm lost here: Nawawara ak didi.
Maybe: Kunta or Bangin
how are you: Kumusta or Kumusta ka

Other common words

Beautiful - mahusay
Ugly - Mapurot/maraksut
Table - Lamesa
Spoon - kutsara
Fork - tinidor
Open - abre/abrido
Can opener - abridor/kankiri

Technical terms

Steel - puthaw
Car - awto / sarakyan / Kotchi
Airplane - edro / eroplano
Airport - paluparan / erport

Astronomical terms

Earth - kalibutan
Moon - bulan Indonesian - bulan
Sun - sudang
Star - bituon Indonesian - bintang

Natural terms

Wind - hangin Indonesian - angin
Fire - kalayo
Land - tuna Indonesian - tanah
Water - tubig
Nature - libong
Mountain - bukid Indonesian - bukit
Falls - bangon
Sea - dagat
High Seas - lawud
Ocean - kalawdan Indonesian = laut i.e. ka-laut-an
Island - puro/isla Indonesian - pulau
Archipelago - kapuruan Indonesian - kepulauan
River - salug tubig
Lake - danaw Indonesian - danau

Parts of the house

House - balay
Room - kwarto/sulod
Bedroom - sulod-katurugan
Kitchen - kusina
Outdoor Kitchen - abuhan
Dining Room - kaunan
Bathroom - kubeta/kasilyas/karigu-an
Living Room - sala

Members of the family

Parent - tigurang/kag-anak
Father - amay/tatay/papa
Mother - iroy/nanay/mama
Son/Daughter - anak
Brother - bugto nga lalaki
Sister - bugto nga babayi
Grandparent - apoy/lolo (male) / lola (female)
Cousin - patod
Nephew/Niece - umangkon
Son-in-Law/Daughter-in-Law - umagad
Brother-in-Law/Sister-in-Law - bayaw (male) / hipag (female)
Father-in-Law/Mother-in-Law - ugangan
Oldest Child - suhag
Youngest Child - pudo

Food

Bread - tinapay
Rice - kan-on "luto"
Viand - sura
Coffee - kape
Vinegar - suoy
Soy Sauce - toyo / Shoyu

Animals

Dog - ayam / inu/ido
Cat - uding / misai
Rat - yatut
Crocodile - buaya
Bird - tamsi
Snake - halas
Water buffalo - karabaw
Crab - masag
Lobster - tapusok
Goat - kanding
Horse - kabayo
Pig - baboy

Spanish

Abandonada (Spanish: Abandonado/a) – abandoned
Abaniko (Spanish: Abanico) – fan
Abriha (Spanish: Abrir, Filipino: Abrihin) – to open
Abrelata (Spanish: Abrelatas) – tin-opener/can opener
Abril (Spanish: Abril) – April
Abogado (Spanish: Abogado) – lawyer, attorney
Aborido (Spanish: Aburrido) – bored (used in Tagalog as 'anxious, confused')
Akasya (Spanish: Acacia) – acacia tree
Aksidente (Spanish: Accidente) – accident
Adurnuha (Spanish: Adornar, Filipino: Adurnuhan) – to decorate
Agrabiyado (Spanish: Agraviado) – being aggrieved
Aginaldo (Spanish: Aguinaldo) – Christmas gift
Agosto (Spanish: Agosto) – August
Ahensiya (Spanish: Agencia) – agency
Ahente (Spanish: Agente) – agent
Alahas (Spanish: Alhaja) – jewel
Alambre (Spanish: Alambre) – wire
Alkansiya (Spanish: Alcancía) – piggy bank
Alpilir (Spanish: Alfiler) – pin
Alsaha (Spanish: Alzar, Filipino: Alsahin)
Ambisyoso (Spanish: Ambicioso) – ambitious
Ambisyon (Spanish: Ambición) – ambition
Arbularyo (Spanish: Herbolario) - Medicine man (from "Herbo" -herb)
Arina (Spanish: Harina) – flour
Arkitekto (Spanish: Arquitecto) – architect
Armado (Spanish: Armado) – armed
Arnibal (Spanish: Almíbar) – syrup
Artista (Spanish: Artista) – artist (used in Waray Waray as 'actor/actress')
Ariyos (Spanish: Arreos) – tack (used in Waray Waray as 'earrings')
Asintado (Spanish: Asentado) – settled
Asero (Spanish: Acero) – steel
Asno (Spanish: Asno) – donkey
Asoge (Spanish: Azogue) – mercury
Asosasyon (Spanish: Asociación) – association
Asukar (Spanish: Azúcar) – sugar
Asul (Spanish: Azul) – blue
Asyatiko (Spanish: Asiatico) – Asian
Intyendeha (Spanish: Atender) – to attend to
Atrasado (Spanish: Atrasado) – overdue, slow (clock), backward (used in Waray Waray as 'late')
Ayuda (Spanish: Ayudar, Filipino: Ayudahan) – to help
Banyo/Kasilyas (Spanish: Baño) – bathroom, toilet
Baraha (Spanish: Baraja) – deck of playing cards
Baratilyo (Spanish: Baratillo) – flea market (used in Waray Waray as 'bargain sale')
Barato (Spanish: Barato) – cheap
Barbero (Spanish: Barbero) – barber
Barbula (Spanish: Válvula) – valve
Bareta (Spanish Bareta) – bar
Bagahe (Spanish: Bagaje) – baggage
Baho (Spanish : Vaho) – steam (used in Waray Waray as 'foul smell')
Bintana (Spanish: Ventana) – window
Bintilador (Spanish: Ventilador) – electric fan
Birhen (Spanish: Virgen) – virgin
Bisagra (Spanish: Bisagra) – hinge
Bisikleta (Spanish: Bicicleta) – bicycle
Bisitaha (Spanish: Visitar) – to visit
Botika/Botica/Parmasya/Farmacia - drugstore, pharmacy
Conbensido (Spanish: Convencido) - convinced
Demanda (Spanish: Demanda) – demand
Demokrasiya (Spanish: Democracia) – democracy
Demonyo (Spanish: Demonio) – demon, evil spirit
Dentista (Spanish: Dentista) – dentist
Departamento (Spanish: Departamento) – department, bureau
Depensa (Spanish: Defensa) – defense
Deposito (Spanish: Depósito) – depot (fuel), deposit (money)
Desisyon (Spanish: Decisión) – decision
Diyos/a (Spanish: Dios/a) – god/goddess
Doble (Spanish: Doble) – double
Doktor/a (Spanish: Doctor/a) – doctor
Don (Spanish: Don) – Mr. (used in Waray Waray to address a rich man)
Donya (Spanish: Doña) – Mrs. (used in Waray Waray to address a rich woman)
Dos (Spanish: Dos) – two
Dose (Spanish: Doce) – twelve
Dosena (Spanish: Docena) – dozen
Drama (Spanish: Drama) – drama
Droga (Spanish: Droga) – drugs
Hugador (Spanish: Jugador)- game (used in Waray Waray as 'gambler'
Huygo (Spanish: Juego)- game (used in Waray Waray as 'gambling'
Kabayo (Spanish: Caballo) – horse
Karsonsilyo/Carsoncillo (Spanish: Calzoncillo) – boxer shorts (used in Waray Waray as 'shorts')
Marigoso (Spanish: Amargoso) - bittermelon
Padi (Spanish: Padre) - father (used in Waray Waray as a title for a Roman Catholic priest)

Nahuatl

Achuete (Nahuatl: Achiotl; Mexican Spanish: Achiote) – annatto seeds used to give food a reddish color
Kakao/Kakaw (Cacao) (Nahuatl: Cacahuatl) – cacao or cocoa
Sayote (Nahuatl: Chayotli; Mexican Spanish: Chayote) – a Mexican squash
Tiyangge (Nahuatl: Tianquiztli; Mexican Spanish: Tianguis) – seasonal markets
Tsokolate (Nahuatl: Xocolatl) – chocolate

Chinese

Bakya (Fukien Chinese) – native wooden sandals
Bihon – Vermicelli (made of rice flour)
Bitsin (Fukien Chinese: Bi chhin) – monosodium glutamate
Monosodium glutamate
Monosodium glutamate, also known as sodium glutamate or MSG, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, one of the most abundant naturally occurring non-essential amino acids....
Jueteng (Fukien Chinese) – illegal numbers game
Lumpia (Fukien Chinese) – spring rolls

English

Basket – basket
Basketbol – basketball
Basketbolan - basketball court
Baysikol - bicycle
Bilib - believe, envy
Bilyar - billiard
Bilyaran - billiard hall
Chiki – check
Dyip – jeep
Elementarya – elementary
Ekonomiks - economics
Eksport – export
Ekspres - express
Erkon - air con
Grado – grade
Groseri – grocery
Hayskul – High School
Iskor – score
Iskrin – screen
Ispiker - speaker
Keyk – cake
Kostumer/Kustomer – customer
Kompyuter – computer
Kondisyoner - conditioner
Kontrol - control
Krim - cream
Kukis - cookies
Lider – leader
Losyon - lotion
Manedyer – manager
Masol – muscle
Makroekonomiks - macroeconomics
Maikroekonomiks - microeconomics
Isparkol - sparkle
Traysikol - tricycle
Pidikab - pedicab

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.