Central Bikol

Central Bikol, commonly called Bikol Naga or simply Bikol, is an Austronesian language spoken by the Bicolanos, primarily in the Bicol Region of southern Luzon, Philippines. It is spoken in the northern and western part of Camarines Sur, the second congressional district of Camarines Norte, the eastern part of Albay, the northeastern part of Sorsogon, San Pascual town in Masbate, and the southwestern part of Catanduanes. Central Bikol speakers can be found in all provinces of Bicol, and it is a majority language in Camarines Sur. The standard sprachraum form is based on the Canaman dialect. The language has also speakers outside their native regional homeland, especially in Metro Manila, Mindoro, Palawan, and Mindanao
Central Bikol features some vocabulary not found in other Bikol languages nor in other members of the Central Philippine language family like Tagalog and Cebuano. Examples are the words matua and bitis, which are the same as the Kapampangan words meaning 'older' and 'foot, feet', respectively. The word banggi is another example of this as it is different from the usual Bikol word gab-i but closer to the word bengi of Kapampangan. There is no formal study on the relationship of the Central [Luzon languages] to Central Bikol but the latter has several words that are also found in the archaic form of Tagalog spoken in the Rizal and Quezon provinces that are believed to be the home of Central Luzon languages such as Kapampangan in Pampanga and southern Tarlac, and Sambalic languages in Zambales province.

Central Bikol dialects

Because of its broad geographic coverage as compared with other Bikol languages separated by islands and mountains, Central Bikol diverged into six dialects, which are still mutually comprehensible. The division of the language into different dialects is mainly because of the influence of other Bikol and non-Bikol languages surrounding the region.
The Canaman dialect, despite being used by only a small portion of the population in Camarines Sur, is the standard form of Central Bikol used in literature, Catholic religious rites and mass media. Naga City dialect is spoken in the first, second, and third districts, and in the western and eastern portions of the fourth district of Camarines Sur. It is also spoken in San Pascual, Masbate and the southwestern part of Catanduanes. The Partido dialect is spoken in the eastern part of Camarines Sur centered in the southern portion of the fourth districts. The Tabaco-Legazpi-Sorsogon dialect is spoken in the eastern coast of Albay and the northeastern part of Sorsogon. TLS is the dialect that has been most influenced by the Inland Bikol languages. The Daet dialect, on the other hand, is spoken in the second district of the province of Camarines Norte. The Virac dialect is spoken around Virac, Catanduanes and surrounding towns on the southeastern part of the island of Catanduanes.

Dialectal comparison of Central Bikol

The following table shows the sentence "Why did Pedro's bird not fly even though there is no lock to the cage?" translated to different dialects of Central Bikol along with some other languages in the region.

Canaman dialect	Naga City dialect	Partido dialect	Tabaco - Legazpi - Sorsogon dialect	Virac dialect	Daet dialect	Rinconada Bikol language	Sorsoganon language
Tàdaw ta dai luminayog an gamgam ni Pedro dawà na dai nin kandado an hawla?	Tâno daw ta dai naglayog an gamgam ni Pedro dawà na mayò nin kandado si hawla?	Hadáw ta ê naglayog an gamgam ni Pedro maski na mayò nin kandado su hawla?	Natà daw ta dai naglayog an bayong ni Pedro maski na warâ ki kandado su hawla?	Ngatà daw ta dài nagḽayog an gamgam ni Pedro maski na daing kandado su hawla?	Bakin daw kaya dai naglupad ang/a/ka ibon ni Pedro maski na mayong kandado si hawla?	Ta'onō/Ŋātâ raw ta diri naglayog adtoŋ bayoŋ ni Pedro dāwâ na ədâ ka kandado su awlā?	Nakay daw kay diri naglupad an tamsi ni Pedro maski na warâ san kandado su hawla?

Like other Philippine languages, Bikol has a number of loanwords, largely Spanish ones as a result of History of [the Philippines (1565–1898)|Spanish rule] in the Philippines. These include swerte, karne, imbestigador, litro, pero, and krimen. Another source of loanwords in Bikol is Sanskrit, with examples including words like bahala and karma.

Phonology

Consonants

There are 16 consonants in the Bikol language:. Eight sounds are borrowed from loanwords:.
The sound system of the language according to Mintz in 1971 is as follows.

Vowels

Native words exhibit a three-vowel system whose vowels can be noted as, with realized as in the final syllable. Due to contact with Spanish, modern Central Bikol also has two marginal phonemes distinct from.

	Front	Central	Back
Close
Mid	e		o
Open

Grammar

	Absolutive	Ergative	Oblique
1st person singular	ako	ko	sakuya, sakô
2nd person singular	ika, ka	mo	saimo, sìmo
3rd person singular	siya	niya	saiya
1st person plural inclusive	kita	niato, ta	satuya, satô
1st person plural exclusive	kami	niamo, mi	samuya, samô
2nd person plural	kamo	nindo	saindo
3rd person plural	sinda	ninda	sainda

Particles

Like many other Philippine languages, Bikol has a rich set of discourse particles.

bagá – used for emphasis determined by context
bayâ – giving a chance to someone; polite insisting
daa – quoting information from a secondary source
pati - emphasizing the condition that intensifies the difficulties.
daw – interrogative particle
dawà/maski - although
dángan - then
garó – likeness or similitude. English: 'It looks like, it's as if'.
gáyo – 'exactly'
daing gáyo – 'not exactly, not really'
gayód – 'maybe, could be'
giráray/liwát – 'again'
kutâ – 'I hope
lámang, lang/saná – 'only, just'
lugód – hoping that something will happen, or expressing surrender/assent
man – 'also' or 'ever'
malà - 1. relenting or agreeing 2. one is yielding 3. stating what actually happened
mûna/ngûna – 'first' or 'yet'
na – 'now' or 'already'
naman – 'again'
nanggád – 'really, truly, absolutely'
niyako – 'I said'
nganì – expresses fate or a plea for others not to insist
ngántig – indicates to a person what they should say to another
ngápit – 'in the future', 'later'
ngayá – expresses a hypothetical event/situation
pa – 'still'
palán – expresses surprise or sudden realization
tabì – politeness marker; po in some Bikol dialects due to the influence of Tagalog.
harambili – 'lest'.
túlos – 'immediately, right away'
talagá – 'really', 'truly'
Numbers

Numerals

There exist two types of numerals in Bikol: native Bikol and Spanish numerals. Generally, Bicolanos use the Spanish terms when referring to time, as in the phrase a las singko. However, the native terms can be read in literary books. The Spanish numerals are often encountered in pricing.

Angry speech register

The angry register of Bikol, also known natively as tamanggot or rapsak, is used when angry, shouting, or speaking in a high-pitched voice at someone. Some examples of the register include:

Normal Bikol	Angry-register Bikol	English translation
malutò	malustod	rice
bagas	lasgas	rice
tubig	tamìlig, tùlig	water
bungog	lusngog	deaf
uran	bagrat	rain
bagyo	alimagyo	typhoon/hurricane
babayi	babaknit, siknit	female
lalaki	lalaknit	male
bado, gubing	lasdô, gubnit	clothes
harong, balay	langag	house
sira	sigtok, buragtok	fish
ikos	kasmag, kurakod	cat
ayam, idò	dayô, gadyâ	dog
damulag, karabaw	gadyâ	carabao
humali	wumara	leave
magkakan/kumakan, magkaon/kumaon	hablô, humablô, habluon, sibà, sumibà, sumibsib	eat
burat, buyong	lasngag, lusrat, lusyong, bultok	drunk
taram	tabil	to speak
kapot, kapotan	kamlô, kamlùon	to hold, holding
hiling	butlâ	to see
bitis	singkil, samail, siki	foot
talinga	talingugngog	ear
ngusò, ngimot	ngurapak, ngaspak, ngislo	mouth
kamot	kamulmog	hand
mata	malsok	eye
payo	alintak	head
hawak, lawas	kabangkayan	body
tulak	tindos, lasdak	belly/stomach
sapatos	sapagtok	shoe
kalayo	kalasbot	fire
kawali	kawalwag	frying pan
sarwal	sarigwal	shorts or underwear
asin	tasik	salt
manok	maldos, malpak	chicken

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