Blaan language
Blaan, also known as Bilaan, is an Austronesian language of the southern Philippines, similar to Tboli.
| Blaan | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Philippines |
| Region | Mindanao |
| Ethnicity | Blaan |
Native speakers | 240,000 (2000–2007)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:bpr – Koronadal Blaan (Tagalagad)bps – Sarangani Blaan (Tumanao) |
| Glottolog | blaa1241 |
There are two major varieties of Blaan.
- Koronadal Blaan (Tagalagad)
- Sarangani Blaan (Tumanao)
Distribution
According to the Ethnologue, Koronadal Blaan is spoken in:
- eastern South Cotabato Province
- Sarangani Province
- Sultan Kudarat Province (Lutayan area)
- Davao Occidental Province
Sarangani Blaan is spoken in:
- almost the entire area of Sarangani Province
- South Cotabato Province (General Santos and north)
- Davao Occidental Province (language area across from Sarangani Province's northern border)
History
Blaan belongs to the Bilic microgroup of the Philippine language subgroup, along with Giangan Manobo, Tiruray, and Tboli.[2]
Phonology
Blaan has fifteen consonant and seven vowel phonemes.[3] Unlike most other Philippine languages and Austronesian languages in general, Blaan (as its related language Tboli, permits a variety of consonant clusters at the onset of a syllable. This is evident in the name of the language, /bla'an/. This contraction of the original schwa sound exists in other Austronesian languages (such as Javanese, a major language of Java in Indonesia), but is rarely seen outside of the Bilic group within the Philippines.
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | b | t d | k g | ʔ | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
| Fricative | f | s | h | |||
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Approximant | w | j |
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid-high | ɛ | ||
| Mid | ə | ||
| Mid-low | ɔ | ||
| Low | a | ɑ |
Syntax
Blaan uses word order to indicate the thematic roles of nominal elements in the sentence.[4]
Kamfe
AV.catch
kuku
cat
ungeh.
rat
'The cat catches the rat'
Similar to other Philippine-type Austronesian languages, Blaan uses verbal morphology to indicate voice (or focus, as it is usually called in the literature).[5] Here are some examples of voice/focus types in Blaan: Agent voice/focus (-m-)
Magin
AV.accompany
nga
child
do.
me
'The child accompanies me.'
Patient voice/focus (-n-)
Nebe
PV.bring
libun
girl
ale.
them
'The girl brings them.'
Vocabulary[6]
| English | Blaan |
|---|---|
| chicken | anuk |
| flower | bulek |
| horse | kuda |
| corn | agul |
| needle | dalum |
| basket | been |
| broom | fune |
| rat | unge |
| money | filak |
| goat | uhe |
| scissors | gunting |
| mat | igem |
| clouds | labun |
| fish | nalaf |
| eye | mata |
| pestle | sung |
| leaf | doon |
| bone | tulan |
| lamp | salo |
| snake | ulad |
| crow | wak |
| foot | bli |
| mother | ye |
| father | ma |
References
- Koronadal Blaan (Tagalagad) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Sarangani Blaan (Tumanao) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) - Blust, Robert (1991). "The Greater Central Philippines Hypothesis". Oceanic Linguistics. 30 (2): 73–129. doi:10.2307/3623084. JSTOR 3623084.
- Dean, J. & Dean, G. (1955). The phonemes of Bilaan. Philippine Journal of Science, 84(3), 311-322.
- McLachlin, B. & Blackburn, B. (1968). Verbal clauses of Sarangani Blaan. Asian Studies, 6(1), 108-128.
- Dean, James C. (1958). Some principal relations in Bilaan. Oceania Linguistic Monographs, Studies in Philippine Linguistics by the Summer Institute of Linguistics (Pacific Branch), University of Sydney, Australia.
- "ABKD" (PDF).