The sounds in the Cuyonon language can, for the most part, be written quite
simply, and (in contrast to the English language!) in ways that are easy to read.
Here is a start at describing this system. We recognize that there will be areas
we have not addressed, and so we solicit your questions and comments.
Remember that we are writing our own language, Cuyonon, not Tagalog, or
English, or Hiligaynon, or Spanish. So we must think in terms of the Cuyonon
language itself, and not utilize patterns we have seen in other languages unless
they fit the structure and sound system of Cuyonon.
simply, and (in contrast to the English language!) in ways that are easy to read.
Here is a start at describing this system. We recognize that there will be areas
we have not addressed, and so we solicit your questions and comments.
Remember that we are writing our own language, Cuyonon, not Tagalog, or
English, or Hiligaynon, or Spanish. So we must think in terms of the Cuyonon
language itself, and not utilize patterns we have seen in other languages unless
they fit the structure and sound system of Cuyonon.
| Dear Cuyonon speaker and writer: |
| WRITING CUYONON Pagsorolaten i' Cuyonon |
| copyright 2008 ESTER PONCE DE LEON TIMBANCAYA ELPHICK & VIRGINIA HOWARD SOHN |
Various constructions - Sometimes it is hard to know
whether a construction is one word, two words, or three
words. The following are examples:
1. Ka as a link following a two-syllable word, such as apat,
the ka will stand alone. The word saka is a contraction of
isara ka, and should be spelled as one word:
apat ka tao
saka tao
saka bilog
sitinta ka manga mimbro
sampolo mi darwa ka manga bata
2. Ka as an intensifier. This is written as a separate word:
dorong ka tinlo
ang ka postora
3. Ka- as a prefix in combination with the –an suffix must be
written as one word:
katinloan
kabaelan
4. Mara-: We attach this to the following root:
marasano
maratingway
5. Ni or i should be written as they are spoken.The ni or i
is written separately:
ang istoria ni lola
ang istoria i lola
6. Taga: separate the word taga from the following word,
except when it is part of the name of something:
taga digi
taga bokid
taga o'bong
taga Canipo
tagalongon - poisonous crab (one word)
7. Masig-: this is a prefix, as follows:
masigkatao
masigkakristiano
masigkaen
8. Manig-: this should be attached:
manigobra
manigpangisda
9. Tag-: attach tag- to the following word, unless followed
by a modifier:
tagmamaintek
tagororan
tagpapantek
tagbalay
tag saka sintabos
tag saka bilog
10. Pari-, para- reflexive prefixes (something one does to or
for oneself) must be attached to the verb:
parimokos
parigos
paribanaw
paramos
whether a construction is one word, two words, or three
words. The following are examples:
1. Ka as a link following a two-syllable word, such as apat,
the ka will stand alone. The word saka is a contraction of
isara ka, and should be spelled as one word:
apat ka tao
saka tao
saka bilog
sitinta ka manga mimbro
sampolo mi darwa ka manga bata
2. Ka as an intensifier. This is written as a separate word:
dorong ka tinlo
ang ka postora
3. Ka- as a prefix in combination with the –an suffix must be
written as one word:
katinloan
kabaelan
4. Mara-: We attach this to the following root:
marasano
maratingway
5. Ni or i should be written as they are spoken.The ni or i
is written separately:
ang istoria ni lola
ang istoria i lola
6. Taga: separate the word taga from the following word,
except when it is part of the name of something:
taga digi
taga bokid
taga o'bong
taga Canipo
tagalongon - poisonous crab (one word)
7. Masig-: this is a prefix, as follows:
masigkatao
masigkakristiano
masigkaen
8. Manig-: this should be attached:
manigobra
manigpangisda
9. Tag-: attach tag- to the following word, unless followed
by a modifier:
tagmamaintek
tagororan
tagpapantek
tagbalay
tag saka sintabos
tag saka bilog
10. Pari-, para- reflexive prefixes (something one does to or
for oneself) must be attached to the verb:
parimokos
parigos
paribanaw
paramos
11. Months, days of the week: there are no native words but
these Spanish loan words must be written according to
Cuyonon pronunciation:
Iniro Lonis
Pibriro Martis
Marso Mirkolis
Abril Hoibis
Mayo Birnis
Honio Sabado
Holio Dominggo
Agosto
Siptimbri
Oktobri
Nobimbri
Disimbri
12. Numbers (Spanish loan words in Cuyonon spelling):
ono onsi
dos dosi
tris trisi
koatro katorsi
singko kinsi
sais disisais
syiti ` disisyiti
otso disiotso
noibi disinoibi
dyis bainti
trainta traintay ono
koarinta koarintay ono
singkointa singkointay ono
sisinta sisintay ono
sitinta sitintay ono
otsinta otsintay ono
nobinta nobintay ono
sinto dos syintos
mil milion
13. Numbers (Cuyonon):
isara
darwa
tatlo
apat
lima
anem
pito
walo
siam
sampolo
sampolo ig isara
sampolo ig darwa
sampolo ig tatlo
sampolo ig apat
sampolo ig lima
sampolo ig anem
sampolo ig pito
sampolo ig walo
sampolo ig siam
darwampolo
darwampolo ig isara
tatlompolo
tatlompolo ig isara
apat nga/ka polo
apat nga/ka polo ig isara
limampolo
limampolo ig isara
anem ka polo
anem ka polo ig isara
pitompolo
pitompolo ig isara
walompolo
walompolo ig isara
siam ka polo
siam ka polo ig isara
sanggatos
sanggatos ig/mi isara
darwa ka gatos
tatlo ka gatos
apat ka gatos
lima ka gatos
anem ka gatos
pito ka gatos
walo ka gatos
siam ka gatos
saka ribo
saka ribo ig/mi isara
milion
saka milion
(Note: ig, mi, and asta all mean “and” and can all be used in
numbers.)
these Spanish loan words must be written according to
Cuyonon pronunciation:
Iniro Lonis
Pibriro Martis
Marso Mirkolis
Abril Hoibis
Mayo Birnis
Honio Sabado
Holio Dominggo
Agosto
Siptimbri
Oktobri
Nobimbri
Disimbri
12. Numbers (Spanish loan words in Cuyonon spelling):
ono onsi
dos dosi
tris trisi
koatro katorsi
singko kinsi
sais disisais
syiti ` disisyiti
otso disiotso
noibi disinoibi
dyis bainti
trainta traintay ono
koarinta koarintay ono
singkointa singkointay ono
sisinta sisintay ono
sitinta sitintay ono
otsinta otsintay ono
nobinta nobintay ono
sinto dos syintos
mil milion
13. Numbers (Cuyonon):
isara
darwa
tatlo
apat
lima
anem
pito
walo
siam
sampolo
sampolo ig isara
sampolo ig darwa
sampolo ig tatlo
sampolo ig apat
sampolo ig lima
sampolo ig anem
sampolo ig pito
sampolo ig walo
sampolo ig siam
darwampolo
darwampolo ig isara
tatlompolo
tatlompolo ig isara
apat nga/ka polo
apat nga/ka polo ig isara
limampolo
limampolo ig isara
anem ka polo
anem ka polo ig isara
pitompolo
pitompolo ig isara
walompolo
walompolo ig isara
siam ka polo
siam ka polo ig isara
sanggatos
sanggatos ig/mi isara
darwa ka gatos
tatlo ka gatos
apat ka gatos
lima ka gatos
anem ka gatos
pito ka gatos
walo ka gatos
siam ka gatos
saka ribo
saka ribo ig/mi isara
milion
saka milion
(Note: ig, mi, and asta all mean “and” and can all be used in
numbers.)
Duplication: when to use a hyphen or no
hyphen:
When an unduplicated syllable or syllables can stand alone
as a word, then a hyphen is used in the duplicated form
For example: panaw, "to walk," compared to panaw-panaw,
"to pace back and forth";
gorang, "to sit, older, mature," compared to
gorang-gorang, "elders, parents."
When the unduplicated syllable or syllables cannot stand
alone as a word, the duplicated form should not have a
hyphen.
For example, bitbit, "to carry something in one’s hand,"
because there is no word bit; and bariawbariaw, "a kind of
seaweed," because there is no word bariaw.
hyphen:
When an unduplicated syllable or syllables can stand alone
as a word, then a hyphen is used in the duplicated form
For example: panaw, "to walk," compared to panaw-panaw,
"to pace back and forth";
gorang, "to sit, older, mature," compared to
gorang-gorang, "elders, parents."
When the unduplicated syllable or syllables cannot stand
alone as a word, the duplicated form should not have a
hyphen.
For example, bitbit, "to carry something in one’s hand,"
because there is no word bit; and bariawbariaw, "a kind of
seaweed," because there is no word bariaw.
THE ALPHABET -
The Cuyonon alphabet has 20 letters:
a, b, d, e, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, ng, o, p, r, s, t, w, y
and ' (glottal stop written as an apostrophe).
Please note that ng is a single sound.
Consonants - Here are the 16 consonants, with examples:
b - baboy, babai, boawi, lobiok, koyab, boi
d - doto, kadkad, doadoa, Dios, dadi
g - gosto, dagat, goapo, bagiaw, libag
h - irihis, kahil, bihon, sotanghon
k - kawayan, bakawan, koago, bakia, apok
l - lalaki, balay, loaw-loaw, lieg, kodal
m - maslit, aromasit, malam, amianan, ilam
n - nana, ana, nanay, noibi, ponios, dan
ng - ngirit, boringisen, bong (remember,
ng is one sound and equals one consonant)
p - paray, apat, teptep, poas, mapiet, akep
r - rabotrabot, rokrok, tanggar, riabriab, barot, piar
s - sarok, boslit, ta’bas, soay, siansi, baras
t - todlo, litson, litsi, toak, tian, paret, toad
w - way-way, bo’wa, kawil, karabaw
y - yaya, ayamo, patay
' - (glottal stop – see notes below)
– be’ras, be’na, te’me
The Cuyonon alphabet has 20 letters:
a, b, d, e, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, ng, o, p, r, s, t, w, y
and ' (glottal stop written as an apostrophe).
Please note that ng is a single sound.
Consonants - Here are the 16 consonants, with examples:
b - baboy, babai, boawi, lobiok, koyab, boi
d - doto, kadkad, doadoa, Dios, dadi
g - gosto, dagat, goapo, bagiaw, libag
h - irihis, kahil, bihon, sotanghon
k - kawayan, bakawan, koago, bakia, apok
l - lalaki, balay, loaw-loaw, lieg, kodal
m - maslit, aromasit, malam, amianan, ilam
n - nana, ana, nanay, noibi, ponios, dan
ng - ngirit, boringisen, bong (remember,
ng is one sound and equals one consonant)
p - paray, apat, teptep, poas, mapiet, akep
r - rabotrabot, rokrok, tanggar, riabriab, barot, piar
s - sarok, boslit, ta’bas, soay, siansi, baras
t - todlo, litson, litsi, toak, tian, paret, toad
w - way-way, bo’wa, kawil, karabaw
y - yaya, ayamo, patay
' - (glottal stop – see notes below)
– be’ras, be’na, te’me
Types of Cuyonon Words
As in all languages, we find in Cuyonon action words (verbs), object and instrument words (nouns), actor words
(nouns, pronouns,), descriptives (adjectives, adverbs), etc. Verbs tend to be made up of root words (for example,
balik) and affixes that precede the verb (prefixes), follow the verb (suffixes), or are inserted within it (infixes).
For example, nagabalik has the prefix naga-; balikan has the suffix –an; and baralik has the infix –ar-. Many
nouns are made up the same way. For example, pagbaraliken has the prefix pag-, the infix –ar-, and the suffix –
en. The affixes are always attached to the root word, not written separately.
Sometimes, too, the root is reduplicated, as in nagabalik-balik or agabalik-balik.
How do I know which to use – an O or a W? an I or a Y?
The choice between O and W, and between I and Y, depends on where they occur in a word. W and Y are called
semi-vowels, because sometimes they serve as consonants: (e.g., wala, to the left, left-handed; yaya, nanny).
Moreover, at the “edges” of syllables these sounds also act like consonants and are therefore also spelled with
W and Y – e.g., karabaw, bakaw, tatay, engey.
In the middle of syllables the sounds are vowels and are therefore spelled with O and I – e.g., rokrok, bitbit.
There are also many Cuyonon words in which the O or I sound follows a consonant, and is then followed by
another vowel. In these cases they are neither on the “edges” of syllables nor are they in the middle. These are
called “off-glides” because they “slide” off the first consonant, and they are spelled with O (as in boi, boin) and
with I (as in sipilio, siansi).
To understand why O and I should be used in these situations, form the future of the verbs boat and siak:
you will see that Cuyonons duplicate the first consonant and the first vowel and boat becomes boboaten,
and siak becomes sisiaken. If we were to use the W or Y, the future forms would be bwabwaten and
syasyaken, which are not Cuyonon words.
Glottal stop (')
This is a catch in the throat common in Cuyonon, causing a short break in the flow of speech. Cuyonon speakers
are often unaware of the glottal stop but they must become aware if they want to write their language accurately.
It can appear in the beginning of words that start with a vowel, in the middle of words, and at the end of words
after a vowel or a combination of vowels. When the glottal stop is indicated by a written symbol, that symbol
is the apostrophe (‘).
In isolation (that is, not in a phrase or sentence), the glottal stop before the initial vowel is pronounced, but in the
middle of a phrase it often is not. For example, the initial glottal stop is pronounced when the word ambeng is
used alone, but in the phrase ang ambeng digi sa balay the glottal stop is frequently dropped. Therefore, the
initial glottal stop is never written.
In the middle of words, the glottal stop usually occurs after a vowel and before a consonant or another vowel.
For example, be'ras, e’en. Sometimes the glottal stop substitutes for t or d in the middle of a word or phrase.
For instance, itlog becomes i'log, betken becomes be’ken, tolad i' dia becomes tola' dia, or even toa' dia.
In this in-between position the glottal stop must be written; e.g.,te’me, kira’bot.
At the end of words, glottal stops frequently occur; e.g., bai', great-grandmother. Note, however, that when the
ligature ng is added to such words, as in the phrase baing Maria, the glottal stop disappears. It also disappears
in the first half of a reduplication, as when bata’, child becomes bata-bata’, doll.
Thus, as with glottal stops at the beginning of words, glottal stops at the end of words appear and disappear.
Therefore we never write glottal stops at the end of words. (However, for purposes of illustration we have written
such stops in the previous and following paragraphs.)
Note, too, that Y and W never precede a final glottal stop but are replaced by I and O respectively. If, however,
there is no final glottal stop, W and Y are used. Thus, sipilio’, bao’, baw, bariawbariaw; babai’, boi’, engey,
Nanay. (Remember that these glottal stops would not normally be written.)
However, there is another important use of the glottal stop which must be discussed separately, as follows.
Glottal stop (') in the i’ ang construction.
It is hard to explain this without getting into the grammar of Cuyonon a bit, but to simplify what we mean here,
we are referring to the combination – i' ang. This is roughly the equivalent of ng in Tagalog, but unlike ng it
appears in different forms.
As a speaker of Cuyonon you will observe that there are three variations of this construction:
To indicate the agent of an action when the agent is not in focus. Ingbabakal i’ ang bata ang sapatos.
(Ang sapatos is in focus and i’ ang bata is not.)
To indicate the object of an action when the object is not in focus. Here, i' appears without ang.
Nagbakal ang malam i’ sapatos. (i’ sapatos is not in focus.)
To indicate possession. Ang balay i’ ang manggaden mabael.
Sometimes i’ ang is contracted. The i is dropped and the glottal stop is saved and attached to the following
ang, which is written as ‘ang; for example, when indicating possession, ang pangamoyo 'ang Gino. (Note that
we might have said, ang pangamoyo i' ang Gino: the i was left out, but the glottal stop is retained.)
The ang is also absent in certain circumstances. We have already noted this above, for example, in reference
to an object not in focus. The ang is also absent before an infinitive or gerund (that is, a verb used as a noun);
for example, Ang manga tao agimpisa ren i' karaen, or Akatapos sanda ren i’ saraot.
In summary, this combination of particles is spelled i' ang. While in some circumstances i or ang is absent, the
glottal stop is never dropped and must be written as an apostrophe.
Manga - This word should be spelled out (not spelled mga as in Tagalog).
Writing verb tenses:
Root beginning with consonant Root beginning with vowel
Infinitive - magbakal magadal
Imperative - pagbakal pagadal
Completed - nagbakal or agbakal nagadal or agadal
Continuous - nagabakal or agabakal nagaadal or agaadal
Anticipated - magabakal or mabakal magaadal or maadal
Words with final vowels
Many Cuyonon words end in a vowel followed by a glottal stop, such as: bata', ara', tio'. We don’t write the glottal
stop.
Some words, however, end in vowels without the glottal stop in both spoken and written form. Here are some
examples:
Question words - kano, inoro, ano, samaoro, marasano, sino
Demonstratives - digi, didi, daya, doto, dotia, dia, dato, etc.
Conjunctions - aimoro, piro
Links - ka, (apat ka. . . ), ra
Pronouns - ako, tana, kita, sanda, kami, ko, mo, na, kanimo, kanana,
Markers - sa, ni, si
Prepositions - sa
Possessives - ana, imo, indo, anda
Words borrowed from other languages – Paragua, radio, goapo, noibi, poira
Other words - o, doro, kono, dadi
Proper names
These tend to retain their Spanish or English spelling, including the Spanish and English pronunciation of the
letter e which in Cuyonon, of course, has a different sound. Examples:
Angel, Felipe, Carmen, Padilla, Peter, Maria, De la Torre, Gomez, Smith
As in all languages, we find in Cuyonon action words (verbs), object and instrument words (nouns), actor words
(nouns, pronouns,), descriptives (adjectives, adverbs), etc. Verbs tend to be made up of root words (for example,
balik) and affixes that precede the verb (prefixes), follow the verb (suffixes), or are inserted within it (infixes).
For example, nagabalik has the prefix naga-; balikan has the suffix –an; and baralik has the infix –ar-. Many
nouns are made up the same way. For example, pagbaraliken has the prefix pag-, the infix –ar-, and the suffix –
en. The affixes are always attached to the root word, not written separately.
Sometimes, too, the root is reduplicated, as in nagabalik-balik or agabalik-balik.
How do I know which to use – an O or a W? an I or a Y?
The choice between O and W, and between I and Y, depends on where they occur in a word. W and Y are called
semi-vowels, because sometimes they serve as consonants: (e.g., wala, to the left, left-handed; yaya, nanny).
Moreover, at the “edges” of syllables these sounds also act like consonants and are therefore also spelled with
W and Y – e.g., karabaw, bakaw, tatay, engey.
In the middle of syllables the sounds are vowels and are therefore spelled with O and I – e.g., rokrok, bitbit.
There are also many Cuyonon words in which the O or I sound follows a consonant, and is then followed by
another vowel. In these cases they are neither on the “edges” of syllables nor are they in the middle. These are
called “off-glides” because they “slide” off the first consonant, and they are spelled with O (as in boi, boin) and
with I (as in sipilio, siansi).
To understand why O and I should be used in these situations, form the future of the verbs boat and siak:
you will see that Cuyonons duplicate the first consonant and the first vowel and boat becomes boboaten,
and siak becomes sisiaken. If we were to use the W or Y, the future forms would be bwabwaten and
syasyaken, which are not Cuyonon words.
Glottal stop (')
This is a catch in the throat common in Cuyonon, causing a short break in the flow of speech. Cuyonon speakers
are often unaware of the glottal stop but they must become aware if they want to write their language accurately.
It can appear in the beginning of words that start with a vowel, in the middle of words, and at the end of words
after a vowel or a combination of vowels. When the glottal stop is indicated by a written symbol, that symbol
is the apostrophe (‘).
In isolation (that is, not in a phrase or sentence), the glottal stop before the initial vowel is pronounced, but in the
middle of a phrase it often is not. For example, the initial glottal stop is pronounced when the word ambeng is
used alone, but in the phrase ang ambeng digi sa balay the glottal stop is frequently dropped. Therefore, the
initial glottal stop is never written.
In the middle of words, the glottal stop usually occurs after a vowel and before a consonant or another vowel.
For example, be'ras, e’en. Sometimes the glottal stop substitutes for t or d in the middle of a word or phrase.
For instance, itlog becomes i'log, betken becomes be’ken, tolad i' dia becomes tola' dia, or even toa' dia.
In this in-between position the glottal stop must be written; e.g.,te’me, kira’bot.
At the end of words, glottal stops frequently occur; e.g., bai', great-grandmother. Note, however, that when the
ligature ng is added to such words, as in the phrase baing Maria, the glottal stop disappears. It also disappears
in the first half of a reduplication, as when bata’, child becomes bata-bata’, doll.
Thus, as with glottal stops at the beginning of words, glottal stops at the end of words appear and disappear.
Therefore we never write glottal stops at the end of words. (However, for purposes of illustration we have written
such stops in the previous and following paragraphs.)
Note, too, that Y and W never precede a final glottal stop but are replaced by I and O respectively. If, however,
there is no final glottal stop, W and Y are used. Thus, sipilio’, bao’, baw, bariawbariaw; babai’, boi’, engey,
Nanay. (Remember that these glottal stops would not normally be written.)
However, there is another important use of the glottal stop which must be discussed separately, as follows.
Glottal stop (') in the i’ ang construction.
It is hard to explain this without getting into the grammar of Cuyonon a bit, but to simplify what we mean here,
we are referring to the combination – i' ang. This is roughly the equivalent of ng in Tagalog, but unlike ng it
appears in different forms.
As a speaker of Cuyonon you will observe that there are three variations of this construction:
To indicate the agent of an action when the agent is not in focus. Ingbabakal i’ ang bata ang sapatos.
(Ang sapatos is in focus and i’ ang bata is not.)
To indicate the object of an action when the object is not in focus. Here, i' appears without ang.
Nagbakal ang malam i’ sapatos. (i’ sapatos is not in focus.)
To indicate possession. Ang balay i’ ang manggaden mabael.
Sometimes i’ ang is contracted. The i is dropped and the glottal stop is saved and attached to the following
ang, which is written as ‘ang; for example, when indicating possession, ang pangamoyo 'ang Gino. (Note that
we might have said, ang pangamoyo i' ang Gino: the i was left out, but the glottal stop is retained.)
The ang is also absent in certain circumstances. We have already noted this above, for example, in reference
to an object not in focus. The ang is also absent before an infinitive or gerund (that is, a verb used as a noun);
for example, Ang manga tao agimpisa ren i' karaen, or Akatapos sanda ren i’ saraot.
In summary, this combination of particles is spelled i' ang. While in some circumstances i or ang is absent, the
glottal stop is never dropped and must be written as an apostrophe.
Manga - This word should be spelled out (not spelled mga as in Tagalog).
Writing verb tenses:
Root beginning with consonant Root beginning with vowel
Infinitive - magbakal magadal
Imperative - pagbakal pagadal
Completed - nagbakal or agbakal nagadal or agadal
Continuous - nagabakal or agabakal nagaadal or agaadal
Anticipated - magabakal or mabakal magaadal or maadal
Words with final vowels
Many Cuyonon words end in a vowel followed by a glottal stop, such as: bata', ara', tio'. We don’t write the glottal
stop.
Some words, however, end in vowels without the glottal stop in both spoken and written form. Here are some
examples:
Question words - kano, inoro, ano, samaoro, marasano, sino
Demonstratives - digi, didi, daya, doto, dotia, dia, dato, etc.
Conjunctions - aimoro, piro
Links - ka, (apat ka. . . ), ra
Pronouns - ako, tana, kita, sanda, kami, ko, mo, na, kanimo, kanana,
Markers - sa, ni, si
Prepositions - sa
Possessives - ana, imo, indo, anda
Words borrowed from other languages – Paragua, radio, goapo, noibi, poira
Other words - o, doro, kono, dadi
Proper names
These tend to retain their Spanish or English spelling, including the Spanish and English pronunciation of the
letter e which in Cuyonon, of course, has a different sound. Examples:
Angel, Felipe, Carmen, Padilla, Peter, Maria, De la Torre, Gomez, Smith
CONTACT US ESTER T. ELPHICK Cuyonon Language and Culture Project, Inc. 12 Yellow Yellow Circle Middletown, CT 06457 USA eelphick@cuyonon.org |
Vowels - Here are the 4 vowels, with examples:
a - mal, abaga
e - beken, em, petpet, beleg, e'en
i - sit, bitbit, siki
o - kotkot, onod, bok, oto
Vowel clusters - There are also clusters of vowels - that
is, two vowels found together.
aa - (this is only found in affixed forms
-affix is defined later) - nagaadal
ae - kaen, baeg, bael, laem
ai - babai, bait
ao - laod, bao, daon, kaoy, baog
ea - (only in affixed forms) - karakean, te'mea
ia - siak, biak, bagiaw, liaibi
ie - piet, lieg
io - tio, limpio, liolio
oa - boat, loa, boawi
oi - dispois, noibi, koilio, doindi
When a root word starting with a vowel, for example, ayad,
is given a prefix ending in the same vowel, such as ma-,
ka-, pa-, the first and second vowels are written as in
maayad, kaayadan, paayaden, and in many other words
as in kaapon, (yesterday, as opposed to kapon, which is
"capon" in English, referring to a castrated rooster). In
speech, the two identical vowels (aa) are pronounced as
one long vowel.
a - mal, abaga
e - beken, em, petpet, beleg, e'en
i - sit, bitbit, siki
o - kotkot, onod, bok, oto
Vowel clusters - There are also clusters of vowels - that
is, two vowels found together.
aa - (this is only found in affixed forms
-affix is defined later) - nagaadal
ae - kaen, baeg, bael, laem
ai - babai, bait
ao - laod, bao, daon, kaoy, baog
ea - (only in affixed forms) - karakean, te'mea
ia - siak, biak, bagiaw, liaibi
ie - piet, lieg
io - tio, limpio, liolio
oa - boat, loa, boawi
oi - dispois, noibi, koilio, doindi
When a root word starting with a vowel, for example, ayad,
is given a prefix ending in the same vowel, such as ma-,
ka-, pa-, the first and second vowels are written as in
maayad, kaayadan, paayaden, and in many other words
as in kaapon, (yesterday, as opposed to kapon, which is
"capon" in English, referring to a castrated rooster). In
speech, the two identical vowels (aa) are pronounced as
one long vowel.
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