Encyclopedia
The Proto-Philippine language is a reconstructed ancestral proto-language of the Philippine languages, a proposed subgroup of the Austronesian languages which includes all languages within the Philippines (except for the Sama–Bajaw languages) as well as those within the northern portions of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Proto-Philippine is not directly attested to in any written work, but linguistic reconstruction by the comparative method has found regular similarities among languages that cannot be explained by coincidence or word-borrowing.
- philippines
- proto-philippine
- austronesian
1. Classification
There have been three initial proposals in delineating the southern boundaries of the Philippine group: Northern Borneo in Malaysia, southern Philippines (encompassing southern Luzon all the way to Mindanao and the Sulu Sea area), and northern Sulawesi in Indonesia.[1] The earliest boundary was proposed by Esser (1938) between the Gorontalo languages and the Tomini languages of Sulawesi. While it was later found decades after (Himmelmann, 1990) that there are shared innovations between Philippine and Tomini languages, there are still uncertainties as to whether the latter do validly form one genetic group, or should be relegated as a mere geographic unit.[2] Meanwhile, Charles (1974) in particular proposed that languages in Sabah and of northern Sarawak are descendants of this Proto-Philippines,[3] which has subsequently garnered counter-evidences (Blust, 1974; Reid, 1982; Zorc, 1986). Lastly, there have been several proposals establishing southern Philippines as the boundary (Thomas & Healey, 1962; Dyen, 1965; Zorc, 1977; 1986) with the "Macro Meso-Philippine" and "Sangiric" as two primary branches.[4] Walton (1979) and McFarland (1980) included the Sama-Bajau group as the third branch, but such has been later disputed as entirely separate directly under Malayo-Polynesian.[5]
2. Features
Due to issues in the validity of a Philippine genetic group, and thus the existence of an ancestral Proto-Philippines language, most of its features particularly its phonology remain as proposals.
2.1. Phonology
Llamzon's reconstruction
Llamzon's (1975) proposed phonology of Proto-Philippines was derived from earlier reconstructions of Dempwolff's (1934-1938) works by Dyen (1947; 1951; 1953a; 1953b; 1953c). Used in this reconstruction were nine languages—Tagalog, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Bikol (Central?), Ilokano, Ibanag, Ifugao, and Kankanaey—with the rationale that the aforementioned have "relatively better structural description and vocabularies" than other related and geographically contiguous languages at that time.[6] While his analysis focused on attested Proto-Austronesian phonemes which were retained in this Proto-Philippines, features that were lost or merged were not highlighted.
| Labial | Dental/Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unvoiced | Voiced | Unvoiced | Voiced | Voiced | Voiced | Unvoiced | Voiced | Unvoiced | Unvoiced | |
| Nasal | *m | *n | *ng /ŋ/ | *q /ʔ/ | ||||||
| Stop | *p | *b | *t | *d /d/ | *D /ɖ/ | *j /ɟ/ | *k /k/ | *g /ɡ/ | ||
| Affricate | *Z /ɟʝ/ | |||||||||
| Fricative | *s | *h /h/ | ||||||||
| Flap/Tap | *r /ɾ/ | |||||||||
| Trill | *R134 /ʀ/ | |||||||||
| Approximant | *w /w/ | *l | *y /j/ | |||||||
Proto-phonemes *Z and *D were restricted to medial positions, and were not retained in any of the languages.
The proto-phonemes *j and *R are not preserved as such in any Philippine language: *j became either *g or *d (e.g. *púsəj became Ilocano púsəg, Tagalog púsod), whereas *R shifted to *r (e.g. in Ilokano), *l (e.g. in Pangasinan), *g (e.g. in Tagalog) or *y (e.g. in Kapampangan).[1][6]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | *i | *u | |
| Mid | *ə | ||
| Open | *a |
Proto-Philippines schwa *ə often merged with other vowels (e.g. /u/ in Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray; /a/ in Ibanag, /i/ in Tagalog), but is retained in a diverse range of Philippine languages (e.g. Gaddang, Kinaray-a, Maranao, Maguindanao, Rinconada Bikol, Palawano), and in southern dialects of Ilokano.
| Proto-Philippine diphthongs by Llamzon (1975) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| *ay | *uy | *aw | *iw |
Paz' reconstruction
Another notable proposal is by Paz (1981) who conducted a bottom-up approach by reconstructing using her own symbols.[7]
| Labial | Dental/Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unvoiced | Voiced | Unvoiced | Voiced | Voiced | Voiced | Unvoiced | Voiced | Unvoiced | |
| Nasal | m | n | N /ŋ/ | ? /ʔ/ | |||||
| Stop | p | b | t | d /d/ | ḍ /ɖ/ | g̯ /ɡʲ/ | k /k/ | g /ɡ/ | |
| Fricative | s | h /h/ | |||||||
| Trill | *r | ||||||||
| Approximant | w /w/ | l̩ /l̥/ | *l | y /j/ | |||||
Paz revisits two types of proto-Austronesian L as part of her reconstruction (l, l̥), which makes it distinct from other reconstructions.
| Height | Front | Central | Back | Stress | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | V: | |||||
| Mid | ə | |||||||
| Open | a | |||||||
In comparison to Llamzon, Paz presents five diphthongs instead.
| Proto-Philippine diphthongs by Paz (1981) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ay | uy | əy | aw | iw |
3. Lexicon
Below is a table comparing core vocabulary from modern Philippine languages in relation to the follow Proto-Philippine innovations. Note that the accented vowels (e.g. á) under Proto-Philippine indicate the stress, while q represents glottal stop.
| Proto-Philippine | Tagalog | Ilokano | Kapampangan | Visayan group | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *ásu | aso | aso | asu | dog | |
| *baláy | bahay | balay | bale | balay | house |
| *bábuy | baboy | baboy | babi | baboy | pig |
| *baqRu | bago | baro | bayu | bag-o | new |
| *báqi | babae | babai | babai | babayi bayi |
woman/female |
| *dəkət | dikit | dekket | dukut | adhesive/(to) stick | |
| *dáRaq | dara | daya | blood | ||
| *duRúq | dugo | dugo | |||
| *hajək | halik | agek | halok | (to) kiss | |
| *ŋájan | pangalan ngalan |
nagan | ngalan | pangalan ngalan ngaran |
name |
| *danúm | danum | danum | water | ||
| *túbiR | tubig | tubi tubig |
|||
| *laŋúy | langoy | langoy | langoy | (to) swim | |
| *táu | tao | tao | tau | tawo | human |
Below are selected animal and plant names in Proto-Philippine from the Austronesian Comparative Dictionary.[8]
3.1. Animal Names
-
No. Common name Scientific name Proto-Philippine 9207 fish sp., slipmouth Leiognathus sp. *sapsáp 10806 kind of mackerel Rastrelliger spp. *tuliŋan 10964 a sea fish, the rudderfish Kyphosus cinerascens *hilek 1631 anchovy Stolephorus spp. *bulínaw 12682 milkfish Chanos chanos *baŋús 11877 parrot fish Scarus spp. *mulmúl 9819 kind of water bird, the Oriental darter Anhinga melanogaster *kasíli 10671 a bird and its call, probably the tailor bird Orthotomus atrogularis *tiwtiw 11077 coconut crab Birgus latro *tatus 12348 large marine mollusk Turbo marmoratus *RaRaŋ
3.2. Plant Names
-
No. Common name Scientific name Proto-Philippine 9369 a flowering plant Ixora spp. *santán 9568 a fruit tree, the pomelo Citrus decumana *suháq 2940 a leguminous shrub Leucaena glauca *ipil ipil 8957 a palm Corypha spp. *silaR 12394 a plant Acalypha spp. *abilus 10807 a plant Astronia spp., Melastomataceae *tuŋaw₂ 11068 a plant Glochidion spp. *anam 9810 a plant Impatiens balsamina *kamantigi 6876 a plant Lunasia amara *paqit-an 10007 a plant Sesbania grandiflora *katúday 9565 a plant Solanum spp. *sili-sili 10064 a plant in the banana family Musa textilis? *qaRutay 12593 a plant with medicinal value, probably Blumea spp. *qalibun 11080 a shrub or tree Melanolepis multiglandulosa *álem 9651 a shrub, the Jew's mallow Corchorus spp., fam. Malvaceae *salúyut 12668 a small tree with leaves used as medicine Citrus aurantifolia *dayap 10265 a tall tree Parkia spp. *kúpaŋ 7998 a tree Acalypha amentacea *beRus 12362 a tree Diospyros sp. *kanadem 947 a tree Diospyros spp. *talaŋ₁ 9647 a tree Erythrina spp. *sabaŋ₂ 10966 a tree Ficus sp. *lab(e)nuR 10563 a tree Ficus sp. *tebéR 11024 a tree Ganua obovatifolia, Sapotaceae *piaŋa 608 a tree Lagerstroemia speciosa *banabá 11756 a tree Mallotus lackeyi *lamay 12325 a tree Myristica spp. *lagu₂ 9093 a tree Planchonella obovata *banisah 9092 a tree Pongamia spp. *bani₂ 10722 a tree Prunus sp. *taŋa₄ 12392 a tree Shorea polysperma *taŋíliq 11555 a tree and its fruit, the Java plum Syzygium cumini *luŋ(e)búy 12198 a tree with bark that can be used as a shampoo Ganophyllum falcatum *gúguq 12228 a tree with edible fruit Diplodiscus paniculatus *baRubu 1208 a tree; Macaranga tanarius *binuŋa 12434 a vine Caesalpinia bonduc *kabit₃ 10233 a vine with gourd or cucumber-like fruit Luffa sp.? *kabatíti 11595 a vine with red flower clusters, the Chinese honeysuckle Quisqualis indica *taluluŋ 12477 an edible plant, swamp cabbage Ipomoea aquatica *taŋkuŋ 11071 beautyberry Callicarpa spp. *anayup 11088 creeping vine that grows on sandy beaches, the beach morning glory Ipomoea pes-caprae *balinu 11148 hairy eggplant Solanum ferox *basula 10234 kind of aromatic herb Pogostemon cablin *kab(e)liŋ 9922 kind of ebony or persimmon tree with fruits that are pounded and used to stupefy fish Diospyros spp. *kanúmay 10312 kind of edible squash or gourd Lagenaria leucantha *tabayaR 11075 kind of tall grass Themeda gigantea *taŋ(e)laj 9750 kind of wild lemon tree, possibly Citrus hystrix *kabuRaw 9806 large forest tree with edible brown, hairy fruits Diospyros discolor *kamaguŋ 10412 lesser yam Dioscorea sp. *tugíq 10885 lima bean Phaseolus lunatus *patániq 2 Manila hemp Musa textilis *abaká 11872 mountain apple Eugenia spp. *makúpa 12657 native spinach Amaranthus spp. *kulitis 11653 Philippine cedar tree Cedrela sp. *kalantas 10749 plant with leaves used as a vegetable Talinum paniculatum or Talinum triangulare *talínum 1854 silk cotton tree Ceiba pentandra *buybuy 11145 small tree Morinda citrifolia? *apatut 12468 taro Colocasia esculenta *gabi 10978 the almasiga tree Agathis celebica *gala 11073 the castor bean plant Ricinus communis *katana 10163 the horseradish tree Moringa oleifera *maruŋgay 12753 the Philippine mahogany Shorea or Hopea sp. *yakál 9615 the sappan tree Caesalpinia sappan *sibukaw 12361 the seeded breadfruit tree Artocarpus camansi *kamansi 12253 the seeded breadfruit tree Artocarpus camansi *kamansiq 10762 tree with bright yellow fruit that has dry flesh Lucuma nervosa *tisaq 8970 wild palm tree with fruit similar to areca nut Heterospathe elata *sagisí
The content is sourced from: https://handwiki.org/wiki/Social:Proto-Philippine
References
- Blust, Robert (1991). "The Greater Central Philippines hypothesis". Oceanic Linguistics 30 (2): 73–129. doi:10.2307/3623084. https://dx.doi.org/10.2307%2F3623084
- Himmelmann, Nikolaus (1990). "Sourcebook on Tomini-Tolitoli languages". Typescript (Department of Linguistics, University of Köln): 336.
- Charles, Matthew (1974). "Problems in the reconstruction of Proto-Philippine phonology and the subgrouping of the Philippine languages". Oceanic Linguistics 13: 457–509.
- Dyen, Isidore (1965). "Language distribution and migration theory". Language 32: 611–626.
- Zorc, R.D. (1986). "The genetic relationships of Philippine languages." In Geraghty, P., Carrington, L. and Wurm, S.A. editors, FOCAL II: Papers from the Fourth International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics. C-94:147-173. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1986.
- Llamzon, Teodoro A. "Proto-Philippine Phonology." In: Archipel, volume 9, 1975. pp. 29-42. http://www.persee.fr/doc/arch_0044-8613_1975_num_9_1_1214
- Paz, Consuelo (1981). A reconstruction of Proto-Philippine phonemes and morphemes. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Linguistic Circle.
- Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen (April 25, 2020). "Austronesian Comparative Dictionary, web edition". https://www.trussel2.com/acd/acd-pl_pph.htm. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
