Cuyonon is a regional Bisayan language spoken on the coast of Palawan and the Cuyo Islands in the Philippines.Palawan Tourism Council. Accessed August 28, 2008. Cuyonon had been the lingua franca (language used for communication) of the province of Palawan until recently when migration flow into the region rapidly increased. Forty-three percent of the total population of Palawan during the late 1980s spoke and used Cuyonon as a language. Later studies showed a significant decrease in the number of speakers due to an increase of Tagalog-speaking immigrants from Luzon.
The Cuyonon language is classified by the Summer Institute of Linguistics as belonging to the Central Philippine, Western Bisayan, Kuyan subgroup. The largest number of speakers lives in the Cuyo Group of Islands, which is located between northern Palawan and Panay Island.
Phonology
Consonants LabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottalPlosiveFricativeNasalTap/FlapApproximant
Vowels FrontCentral Back Close Mid Open Unlike most Philippine languages, Cuyonon only includes one close vowel. The close vowel only occurs in loanwords from Spanish, either directly or through Tagalog.
Simple greetings Good afternoon – Good evening/night – How are you? – I'm fine/good and you? – By the grace of God, I'm well.– Thank you – Where are you going? – What are you doing? – Oh, nothing in particular. – Please come in. – Long time no see. –
Common expressions
Cuyonon Kinaray-a Tagalog English Good morning Good noon Good afternoon Good dusk Good evening Good day Tomorrow Sunday Month Year Thanks a lot I love you I hate you Yes No Let's go Industrious Happy Delicious Strong Boastful Dumb Crazy Deaf Brave Slow Flirtatious Demon Dirt Difficult Afraid Male Female Older brother Older sister You are beautiful You are manly You are kind Take care Play Dog Cat Rat Ant Spirit Smoke Water Up Down Money Coins Market
Parts of the body
Cuyonon Kinaray-a Tagalog English Head Eye Hair Nose Ear Lip Mouth Tooth Cheek Forehead
References
External links Cuyonon Language and Culture Project, cuyonon.org Linguistic map of the Philippines Linguistic map of the Philippines Linguistic map of the Philippines