Blaan language

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Blaan
Native toPhilippines
RegionMindanao
EthnicityBlaan
Native speakers
240,000 (2000–2007)[1]
Language family
Austronesian
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
bpr – Koronadal Blaan (Tagalagad)
bps – Sarangani Blaan (Tumanao)
Glottologblaa1241

Blaan, also known as Bilaan, is an Austronesian language of the southern Philippines, similar to Tboli.

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.

Blaan consonants
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
Blaan vowels
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

Kamfe kuku ungeh.

AV.catch cat 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

Magin nga do.

AV.accompany child me

'The child accompanies me.'

Patient voice/focus (-n-)

Nebe

PV.bring

libun

girl

ale.

them

Nebe libun ale.

PV.bring girl them

'The girl brings them.'

Vocabulary[]

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

[6]

References[]

  1. ^ Koronadal Blaan (Tagalagad) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Sarangani Blaan (Tumanao) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ^ Blust, Robert (1991). "The Greater Central Philippines Hypothesis". Oceanic Linguistics. 30 (2): 73–129. doi:10.2307/3623084. JSTOR 3623084.
  3. ^ Dean, J.; Dean, G. (1955). "The Phonemes of Bilaan". Philippine Journal of Science. 84 (3): 311–322.
  4. ^ McLachlin, B.; Blackburn, B. (1968). "Verbal Clauses of Sarangani Blaan" (PDF). Asian Studies. 6 (1): 108–128.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "ABKD" (PDF) – via sil.org.


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