Taru en, Thalu en: Phonological and Lexical Variations of Two Subanen Dialects
Title:
Taru en, Thalu en: Phonological and Lexical Variations of Two Subanen Dialects
Keywords:
subanen, dialects, phonological variations, lexical variationsAbstract:
There are 171 languages spoken in the Philippines; Subanen is one of these but is considered a minor language due to few number of speakers (Blust, 1992). According to him, there are four dialects of the Subanen language. These are: Central Subanen, Southern Subanen, Western Subanen, and Northern Subanen. More than twenty years later this grouping is expanded by Lobel (2013) from four to eight, but this study tries to compare only two (2) of these Subanen dialects prominently spoken in Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay namely Southern and Salug/Godod, also called by the locals as Sibugaynon and Salug, respectively. In comparing the two dialects, this study aims to determine the lexical and phonological similarities and differences of Sibugaynon and Salug dialects and find out what phonetic environments motivate phonological variations.
This study used the quantitative-descriptive research design. The research instrument utilized is the 200 word-list by Morris Swadesh. There were at least four (4) informants per dialect (Kumau, 1996) using key informant interview (KII) but the validation of data was through focus group discussion (FGD) of at least 10 people. The study was conducted in barangays Simbol and Sanghanan, Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay.
Result showed that the two dialects share 79% percent of the words, categorized as true cognates, meaning the words are exactly the same for both or at least have the same roots. It has 6% probable cognates. These are words that share at least 30% of the roots. Finally, it has 15% non-cognates or words that do not share the same roots.
The words were categorized according to the part of speech that they belong to and showed that words for adverb and preposition are 100% the same, followed by noun sharing 92% of its words. Verb has the lowest similarity at 69%.
Both dialects utilize four vowels /a, i, u, e/. From these, Sibugaynons form 10 sounds while Salug has nine (9) sounds. Salug lacks the /e/ for vowel sound, only found out to be present in the word mitem (black). For the Sibugaynons, this is pronounced as /met?m/. It is not clear though whether /e/ is an allophone of the sound /?/ or a simplification of the diphthong /a?/. Another notable feature of the vowel sound is the presence of the schwa /?/, which is very prominent and can occur in initial and medial positions, but not in final position.
For the consonant, Sibugaynon has 15 sounds as opposed to Salug which has only 14, lacking the /h/ sound. For the /r/ sound, it is pronounced as a trill, not as an approximant or a flap. The presence of the glottal /?/ sound is mostly found in the final position like /g?mbata?/ (child), but can also occur in the medial position like /ja?a/ (you). For orthography purposes, Subanen words can start with a vowel, but not the vowel sound. Instead, all words that start with a vowel begins with a glottal /?/; hence the word endi (no) may start with the vowel *e but is transcribed as /??nd?/.
A closer examination revealed seven (7) phonological variations between the two dialects. First, Salug Subanens mostly use /r/ in their words while Sibugaynons use /l/ like in the words taru and thalu (say), rugong and lugong (thunder). This does not show clear pattern, but mostly occur in the beginning and middle of the word. This variation may be caused by the influence of neighboring languages like Tausug and Bisaya, who themselves are using /l/ instead of /r/.
Second, Sibugaynons replace the /k/ sound with an /h/ such as rekud and lehud (back), kitu and hitu (that). This happens in /k/ sound found in the middle of the syllable. The only exception is the word ‘that’, with the /h/ replacing the /k/ in the beginning of the word. Sibugaynon sound is undergoing consonant weakening and is changing from the velar /k/ to glottal /h/.
Third, Sibugyanons aspirate their voiceless stops /p, t, k/ especially if they occur in a stressed syllable preceding a vowel sound like thulan (bone) and thali (rope). This feature is unique to Sibugaynons as Salug Subanens never had this occurrence in their language. An exception is the word khelonan (all), which is stressed in the second syllable but is still aspirated in the initial sound.
Fourth, what Salug Subanens pronounced as /d/ like seda (fish) becomes /r/ in Sibugaynons like sera. Somehow, this variation does not always appear in all Salug words which have /d/ sound. Upon closer examination, many words in both dialects are the same in the usage of /d/. For example the words don (leaf), danaw (lake), pigwidan (to hold), migeglud (to hide), seled (inside), and many others are the same for Salug and Sibugaynon in all positions—initial, medial, and final. In these cases, both dialects have the same /d/ sound. Sibugaynons still use pigwidan, not changing it to pigwiran, and endi, not changing it to enri, even if the /d/ is in the middle of the word.
Fifth, some adjectives have a contrastive use of /m/ in Salug and /b/ in Sibugaynon like metud and betud (correct), mindek and bendek (fear). This seems to only happen in the prefix of adjectives. This all happens in the word initial position, where /m/ is used in Salug, /b/ is the equivalent in Sibugaynon.
Sixth, there is a contrastive use of /g/ and /k/ fronting in Salug and /g/, /k/, and /d/ fronting in Sibugaynon. Both dialects use /g/ following nouns in voiced consonants like (g)balay (house) and vowels like (g)ama (father) while /k/ is used following voiceless consonants like (k)tubung (mouse). An innovation by the Sibugaynons is the use of /d/ in front of nouns starting with the alveolar lateral /l/ like the words (g)lig (neck) and (g)lisa (louse) in Salug, which become (d)lig and (d)lisa in Sibugaynon.
Seventh, metathesis happens in verbs when multiple infix is used. Salug uses infix –in- followed by –um- like in the word l(in)(um)ayog from the root word layog. On the other hand, Sibugaynons use the opposite order of the infixes by using –um- first, followed by the infix –in- like the word l(um)(in)ayog (to fly).
Overall, the environments that motivate these variations do not display clear patterns. For the use of /r/ and /l/, /k/ and /h/, and /d and /r/ variation can occur in the word initial and medial, but not in final position. The aspiration, on the other hand, only occurred in the voiceless stops /p, t, k/ of the Sibugaynon dialect. The variation the use of /m/ and /b only happened in adjectives. The use of /g/, /k/, and /d/ in front of words, especially nouns, also displays variation. The sound /g/ appeared before voiced consonants and vowels; /k/ appeared before voiceless consonants; and /d/ sound appeared before the alveolar /l/ sound in the Sibugaynon dialect. Finally, metathesis only happens in verbs with multiple infixes.
The Subanen language, with its eight dialects, is a complicated language to learn and a challenging language to study. Proto-Subanen shows that between the two dialects, Sibugaynon Subanens have more innovation and changes over time. The two dialects chosen for this study already show considerable differences both phonologically and lexically, but are still highly mutually intelligible.
Finally, this study recommends the following: that another study on Subanen dialects be made, this time, not only focusing on lexical and phonological aspects, but making a cultural dictionary; since this study only includes segmental analysis of phonology, it is suggested that a study focusing on suprasegmental, including stress and intonation, be conducted; another recommendation is to include all Subanen dialects in a single study to confirm the general pattern presented by Lobel in 2013; it is also recommended that similar study should be done using other dialects, not Subanen; and finally, Subanen children who endeavor to understand their neighbors need to learn Subanen, Bisaya, Filipino, and finally, English before they can join the mainstream education. Hence, in the advent of K to 12, the government should support undertakings for Subanen children and other indigenous people such as making instructional materials to adapt mother tongue in the primary years of education.
Objectives:
1. Determine the lexical and phonological similarities and differences of Sibugaynon and Salug dialects.
2. Find out what phonetic environments motivate phonological variations.
Methods:
Quantitive-descriptive method
Findings and Results:
1. The two dialects share 79% percent of the words, categorized as true cognates, meaning the words are exactly the same for both or at least have the same roots.
Conclusion:
1. Proto-Subanen shows that between the two dialects, Sibugaynon Subanens have more innovation and changes over time.
2. The two dialects chosen for this study already show considerable differences both phonologically and lexically, but are still highly mutually intelligible.
This research is published at unpublished (1901, MSU- Naawan)