AmericanLola

Now we come to the third ‘focus’ in Cebuano grammar. I was taught to call this the “direction, place, beneficiary (victim)” focus. We can call it ‘direction’ focus for short.

So, if we go back to that bread we were buying at the store, we will now answer the question,
“Where did (will) you buy the bread?”

For this we use: gi+root+an for action begun, and root+an for action not begun.

Asa (where) ang (first class marker) imong (your: second class possessive pronoun) palitan (place to buy) sa (second class marker) pan (bread)?

SM ang akong gipalitan sa pan. (You could also use ‘og pan’ which is the third class marker.)

In real life, the answer would just be “SM,” but I am giving the whole answer so you can see the grammar behind it.

You may have already observed that ‘an’ or ‘han’ added to the end of words indicates a place.

Ask a friend to look at these words to tell you where to place the stress.

Tindahan = place to sell
Basketbolan= place to play basketball
Eskwelahan= school place
Karnehan= place to buy meat
Esnakan= snack place
Kan-anan= place to eat
Hapitanan= the place to stop by (sometimes the ‘an’ is repeated)
Tigomanan= gathering place
Tagbo-an= place to meet up with someone
Simbahan= place of worship
“Desgrasyahanan nga lugar”= place where accidents happen (accident prone zone)
Tago-anan= hiding place

Asa ang inyong gipuy-an sa Butuan? Where is the place you lived (are living) in Butuan?

This same construction is used when a person is the recipient of a good thing:

Gigantihan (was rewarded) siya (first class ‘he/she’) sa (second class marker) iyang (second class possessive pronoun: his/her) agalon (boss).

Giawardan siya sa scholarship.

Or the victim of something that happened:

Giligsan (was run over, literally ‘wheeled’ from the word ligid) ang (first class marker) iro (dog) sa (second class marker) trak (truck). I hate to confuse you, but people also say, “Naligsan ang iro sa trak.”

Gipaakan siya sa iro. = Was bitten he/she (by the) dog. The person bitten is the focused one.

Tua siya sa hospital kay gihulogan siya sa lubi! (He is in the hospital because he was hit by a falling coconut!) and again, people also can say, “…nahulogan siya sa lubi.”

One coconut tree is a ‘lubi’ but a coconut grove is a ‘kalubihan.’ Try these:

Kamanggahan
Kakapayasan
Kaumahan

Now that you are familiar with this construction, you will begin to hear it as you listen.

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Click here to give it a try!

I am sure you have noticed that the letters ‘b’ and ‘v’ can be used interchangeably. I remember meeting a man who told me, “My name is Nacio Villianueva, dat is ‘bee as in beak toe ree’”(victory) The letter ‘p’ is also often exchanged with the letter ‘f’ with some interesting results in English: “If you want to move that, you will need to use a pork lip.”

Which brings us to a big problem we English speakers have with ‘non-aspirated consonants.’ When we say the letters, ‘p’, ‘b’, ‘t’ and sometimes even ‘d.’ We do so with a puff of air. If you say the word ‘pig’ in front of a burning candle, the flame will move, and in some cases, be extinguished! But in Cebuano, and other Filipino languages, these sounds are made at the very front of the mouth and no air comes out with those sounds.

Hold your hand in front of your mouth and say, “Please pick up the pretty pig.” And how about, “Betty Botter bought some butter.” Not as much, but it’s there. And, “Terry, please tickle Tommy’s toes.” Okay, a lot of puffing air comes out with those sounds. Now try doing them in such a way that no air comes out. This takes some getting used to, but that is right way to make those sounds in Cebuano.

Try these Cebuano words either in front of a candle or with your hand in front of your mouth:

Palihog Tam-is Pakwan Didto Buntag Baybay Tago

Now that last word, ‘tago’ has a glottal stop at the end of it. I mentioned that there is almost always a glottal stop between vowel sounds (as in our expression “uh oh!”), but many words in Cebuano also end with a glottal stop. A glottal stop can make the difference between the meanings of two words, for example, ‘suka’ with a glottal stop, means vinegar, but ‘suka’ without a glottal stop means vomit. A mistake you do not want to make in a nice restaurant! Practice saying ‘suka’ with and without a glottal stop and have a Filipino friend listen to see if you’ve got it. Here are some more words ending in a glottal stop for you to try:

Tago Baba (both a’s have a glottal stop) Igo Hago Dugo Tiki Toko

Have fun!

This is mostly for those of you who really want to learn to speak and understand Cebuano, but it will also be a help to those who just want to know how to say a few things now and then. Learning a language is not easy. Since language learning was part of our job, a part that had to be done before we could get on with the ‘fun stuff,’ we were fairly motivated and plugged away at it. Language learning is easier for some. Just as some people are better at math, or music and others better at making or fixing things, so it is with language learning. It has nothing to do with intelligence, but rather with aptitude.

Just as someone with a medium level of aptitude can learn to sing, especially if exposed to music early in life, a person with medium aptitude for languages can learn well, especially if he has learned or been exposed to other languages earlier in life. Give it your best shot.

Here are some tips to maximize your efforts.

1. Carry a small notebook and pen to write down words and phrases you hear. You can later show (or read) these notes to someone who can tell you what they mean.
2. Pay attention! Force yourself to listen to at least 10 minutes of a conversation you cannot understand. Listen to the sounds, watch faces, see if you can pick up anything you understand (words in English) that gives you a context for meaning. Take notes: write down any words you hear repeated several times, write out phrases you hear.
3. Listen to Cebuano radio drama several times a week, have someone tell you what is going on.
4. Go to church and listen to the sermon or homily in Cebuano, taking down repeated words and phrases for at least 10 minutes.
5. Find someone to meet with you several times a week to go over your notes, correct your pronunciation, and tell you stories in Cebuano from which you will take more notes and ask questions. DO NOT ask this person to explain the grammar (they do not know it), or translate written sentences from English (you will get a direct translation that will bear little resemblance to how people speak).
6. Mark you notes so that they show both glottal stops and stress for the words you are learning.
7. Collect words- make your own small dictionary. Try to use new words at least three times.
8. When you learn a sentence, try substituting new words (nouns, verbs) or changing the tense. See what works.
9. Get a small tape recorder and tape someone telling a story, or ask someone to have their relative (someone who speaks clearly and has most of their teeth) tell a family story in Cebuano. Listen to this story, work on it with your language helper, take notes, and milk it for all it’s worth. You will learn a lot, and your ‘ear’ for the language will improve.

As you do this for a while, you will be getting more context from Cebuano words you know, but the temptation is then to stop paying attention! Your brain will be satisfied to hear only words it knows. Force yourself to listen for words you do not know, and write them down!

It is hard for us, as adults, to spend a lot of time on something we aren’t very good at, and it is hard for us to be learners, on a lower level than the little kids around us! And people laugh! I would say that most of the laughter is good natured and friendly, and sometime we make really funny mistakes! Here are a few to give you some laughs with friends:

A missionary wanted to address the group on Sunday before preaching in English and said, “Maayong Buntag sa tanas!” Another time, this same guy said, “Maayong buntag, mga igsoon ug mga ilaga!”

One fellow complained to his language coach that, “Dako ang mga buslot sa escreen, ug gipaakan kami sa manok!”

And many of the funniest ones are ‘bastos.’ A general rule of thumb is to avoid using any personal pronouns in the same sentence with the word ‘itlog.’ ‘Nuf said.

Well, today we will tackle what I was taught to call ‘object focus.’ This is the “I will buy BREAD at the store,” answering the question, “WHAT did you buy at the store?”

But first I need to clarify something else, and that is ‘tense.’ I know all this talk about grammar makes everyone tense, but I am referring to how we show the past, present and future of an action. In English we say, “He bought,” “He is buying,” and “He will buy.” Three tenses is what we are used to. But in Cebuano, there are only two! They are ‘action begun’ and ‘action not begun.’ Something that happened in the past or is happening right now looks the same. In our actor focus, which we looked at in our first lesson, this would be ‘nag’ or ‘ni’ added to the front of a word. For an action that will happen, we use ‘mag’ or ‘mo.’

That was actor focus. Now for object focus we either add ‘on’ to the end of the word (suffix) if this thing will happen or we add ‘gi’ to the front of it (affix), if it has happened or is happening now.

Gipalit nako (2nd class personal pronoun) ANG pan sa (3rd class) tindahan.

The verb with ‘gi’ shows we have an action that happened or is happening; the second class personal pronoun, ‘nako’ shows we are the ones acting, and the first class marker ’ang’ points to ‘pan’, which is what we are buying and is thus marked as the important thing in this sentence, then finally ‘sa’ near the end marks the store as where this is taking place.

Paliton nako ang pan sa tindahan. = Same sentence but the action is not yet begun.

Okay, here are a few sentences for you to try out on someone:

Paliton nako kini. (To the tindera, when you have chosen and are holding or pointing to your intended purchase.)

Gipalit nako ang T-shirt sa SM.

Gipalit na ba nimo ang lechon Manok?

Unsa ang (Unsay) imong gipalit sa SM?

Kini ang akong gipalit! Nindot, dili ba?

Okay, let’s try that with a different root word: buhat (do).

Unsa ANG (Unsay) imong (2nd) gibuhat gahapon? (WHAT did you do yesterday?)

Unsa ANG (Unsay) imong (2nd) buhaton ugma? (WHAT will you do tomorrow)

Daghan ANG akong (2nd) gibuhat gahapon!

Okay, that’s enough for now! Try to use some of these sentences and get a feel for how to use this ‘object’ focus. It is used all the time, even more than actor focus. My next post will give you some language learning tips.