Karay-a language

Kinaray-a is spoken mainly in Antique. It is also spoken in Iloilo province mainly in the city of Passi, in the municipalities of Alimodian, San Joaquin, Lambunao, Calinog, Leon, Miag-ao, Pavia, Badiangan, San Miguel, Guimbal, San Enrique, Tigbauan, Igbaras, Leganes, Pototan, Bingawan, San Rafael, Mina, Zarraga, Oton, Santa Barbara, Cabatuan, Janiuay, Maasin, New Lucena, Dueñas, Dingle, and Tubungan, the south of Capiz such as Tapaz, Jamindan, Dumalag, and Dumarao, and certain villages in Mindanao – especially in the SOCCSKSARGEN region by citizens who trace their roots to Antique or to Karay-a-speaking areas of inland Iloilo and Capiz (particularly the province of Sultan Kudarat). Inhabitants of most towns across the latter areas speak Kinaray-a while Hiligaynon is predominant around coastal areas particularly in Iloilo. It is also spoken in Iloilo City by a minority and parts of Aklan province, as well as Guimaras.

Due to geographic proximity and mass media Kinaray-a-speakers can understand Hiligaynon (also known as Ilonggo) speakers. However, only Hiligaynon speakers who reside in Kinaray-a-speaking areas can understand the language. Those who come from other areas, like Negros islanders, have difficulty in understanding the language, only if they can at all.

It is a misconception among some Hiligaynon speakers that Kinaray-a is a dialect of Hiligaynon; the reality is that the two belong to two different, but related, branches of the Bisayan languages.

However, some Karay-a also know Hiligaynon as their second language. To some extent, there is an intermediate dialect of Hiligaynon and Kinaray-a being spoken in Mindanao, mainly in Sultan Kudarat province.

There has not been any actual linguistic study on the dialects of Kinaray-a. Speakers both of Kinaray-a and Hiligaynon would however admit to hearing the differences in the ways by which Kinaray-a speakers from different towns speak. Differences in vocabulary can also observed between and among the dialects.

The differences and the degrees by which the dialects differ from each other depend largely on the area's proximity to another different language-speaking area. Thus, in Antique, there are, on the northern parts, varieties that are similar to Aklanon, the language of Aklan, its neighbor on the north. On the south, in Iloilo towns on the other hand, the dialects closely resemble that of the standard Kinaray-a spoken in San Jose de Buenavista, lowland Sibalom and Hamtic. A distinct dialect of Kinaray-a is spoken in central Iloilo where a lot of Hiligaynon loanwords are used and some Kinaray-a words are pronounced harder as in "rigya" or "ja" (here) of southern Iloilo and San Jose de Buenavista area as compared to "giya" of Janiuay, Santa Barbara, and nearby towns. Two highly accented dialects of Kinaray-a can be heard in Anini-y and Dao in Antique and San Joaquin, Leon, and Tubungan in Iloilo.

With "/ə/" as a vowel and the vowels "/e/" and "/u/" introduced by influence of the Spanish language, the following are the Kinaray-a letters in their suggested alphabetical order: Aa, Bb, Kk, Dd, Ee, Gg, Hh, Ii, Ll, Mm, Nn, NG ng, Oo, Əə, Pp, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Ww, and Yy.

The suggested alphabetical order follows that of the Roman alphabet. Philippine indigenous scripts presumably including Kinaray-a are syllabic. There is no record on the order of precedence of the syllables. Even the Tagalog Baybayin that the Spaniards used in writing the first book published in the Philippines, did not define the order of precedence of the syllabic script. It was only when the alphabet was Romanized that the alphabetical order was established.

The Karay-a language has the schwa sound, traditionally represented with the letter ə, but the Ortograpíyang Pambansâ (National Orthography), released in 2014 by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, instead requires it to be written with ë.

Saying "Diin kaw maagto?" (Literally, Where are you going?) is common way to greet people. You don't need to answer the question directly. The usual answer is an action like "Maninda." (Literally, To buy something on the market.) instead of "Sa tinda." (Literally, To the market.)

• Are you eating well? - Mayad man pangaën mo?
• Good. - Mayad.
• How are you feeling? - Musta bay pamatyagan mo? or: Ano bay pamatyag mo? (What do you feel?)
• I don't know. - Wara takën kamaan./ Waay takën kamaan (Or simply: Maan a./ Ambay a./ Ilam a. - informal, usually an annoyed expression)
• Let's go! - Panaw/Halin ta rën!/Dali rën! (usually for hurrying up companions)
• Come together. - Iririmaw kita./ imaw kita./ Iribhanay kita./ Iririmaw tatən
• Why? - Manhaw/Wanhaw? (or: Andët haw/aw?)/ Insa haw?/ Insaw?(informal)
• I love you. - Ginagugma ta (i)kaw./ palangga ta (i)kaw.
• My love/sweetheart. - Palangga ko.
• What is your name? - Ano ngaran mo?
• Good morning! - Mayad nga aga!
• Good afternoon! - Mayad nga hapon!
• Good evening! - Mayad nga gabiʔi!
• That one. - Amo kara. (Or simply: Ra/Ra ay.)(or: Amo ran)/ Amo ka di-a.
• How much? - Tag pira?
• Yes. - hə-əd.(Ho-ud)/ (h)ə-əd
• No. - Bukut./Bëkët.(Bëkën)/Indi
• Because. - Bangëd.
• Because of you. - Bangëd kanimo or Tëngëd kanimo.
• About you. - Nahanungëd kanimo or Parti kanimo.
• You know. - Man-an mo. (or: Man-an mo man.)
• Hurry! - Dasiga! (lit. Fast!) or Dali-a! (lit. Hurry!)
• Again. - Liwan/Liwat/Riwan/Liwan. (or: Uman (Again) / Umana (Command to repeat).)
• Do you speak English? - Kamaan kaw maghambal kang Inglis? or Kama-an kaw mag-Inglis?
• It is fun to live. - Sadya mabuhi/Sadya ang mabuhi.
• Sadya. - Happy

• Language shift
• Languages of the Philippines
• Filipino
• Cebuano
• Kapampangan
• Chabacano
• Pangasinan
• Bikol
• Ilokano
• Hiligaynon
• Waray-Waray

Karay-a language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator

• Bansa.org Kinaray-a Dictionary
• Kinaray-a
• Kinaray-a Dictionary: Preserving the Kinaray-a Language