| Central Bikol | |
| Nativename: | Bikol Sentral |
| States: | Philippines |
| Region: | Bicol |
| Ethnicity: | Bicolano |
| Speakers: | 2.5 million |
| Date: | 1990 census |
| Ref: | e18 |
| Speakers2: | 6th most spoken native language in the Philippines[1] |
| Familycolor: | Austronesian |
| Fam2: | Malayo-Polynesian |
| Fam3: | Philippine |
| Fam4: | Central Philippine |
| Fam5: | Bikol languages |
| Fam6: | Coastal Bikol |
| Script: | Latin (Bikol alphabet) Bikol Braille Historically Basahan |
| Minority: | Regional language in the Philippines |
| Agency: | Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino |
| Iso3: | bcl |
| Map: | Bikol_Sentral_language_map.png |
| Mapcaption: | Areas where Central Bicolano is spoken in the Philippines |
| Glotto: | cent2087 |
| Glottorefname: | Coastal-Naga Bikol |
| Notice: | IPA |
Central Bikol, commonly called Bikol Naga[2] or simply as Bikol, is an Austronesian language spoken by the Bicolanos, primarily in the Bicol Region of southern Luzon, Philippines. It is spoken in the northern and western part of Camarines Sur, second congressional district of Camarines Norte, eastern part of Albay, northeastern part of Sorsogon, San Pascual town in Masbate, and southwestern part of Catanduanes. Central Bikol speakers can be found in all provinces of Bicol and it is a majority language in Camarines Sur. The standard sprachraum form is based on the Canaman dialect.
Central Bikol features some vocabulary not found in other Bikol languages nor in other members of the Central Philippine language family like Tagalog and Cebuano. Examples are the words and, which are the same as the Kapampangan words meaning 'older' and 'foot, feet', respectively. The word ('night') is another example of this as it is different from the usual Bikol word but closer to the word of Kapampangan. There is no formal study on the relationship of the Central Luzon languages to Central Bikol but the latter has several words that are also found in the archaic form of Tagalog spoken in the Rizal and Quezon provinces that are believed to be the home of Central Luzon languages such as Kapampangan in Pampanga and southern Tarlac, and Sambalic languages in Zambales province.
Because of its broad geographic coverage as compared to other Bikol languages separated by islands and mountains, Central Bikol diverged into six dialects, which are still mutually comprehensible. The division of the language into different dialects is mainly because of the influence of other Bikol and non-Bikol languages surrounding the region.
The Canaman dialect, despite being used only by a small portion of the population in Camarines Sur, is the standard form of Central Bikol used in literature, Catholic religious rites and mass media. Naga City dialect is spoken in the first, second, third districts (except in Del Gallego, where residents are mostly Tagalog speakers), and in the western and eastern portions of the fourth district (Caramoan, Garchitorena, Presentacion, Siruma and Tinambac) of Camarines Sur. It is also spoken in San Pascual, Masbate (Burias Island) and the southwestern part of Catanduanes. The Partido dialect is spoken in the eastern part of Camarines Sur centered in the southern portion of the fourth districts (Goa, Lagonoy, Sagñay, San Jose, and Tigaon). The Tabaco-Legazpi-Sorsogon (TLS) dialect is spoken in the eastern coast of Albay and the northeastern part of Sorsogon. TLS is the dialect that has been most influenced by the Inland Bikol languages. The Daet dialect, on the other hand, is spoken in the second district of the province of Camarines Norte. The Virac dialect (or Viracnon language) is spoken around Virac, Catanduanes and surrounding towns on the southeastern part of the island of Catanduanes.
Like other Philippine languages, Bikol has a number of loanwords, largely Spanish ones as a result of Spanish rule in the Philippines. These include ('luck'), ('meat'), ('investigator'), ('liter'), ('but'), and ('crime'). Another source of loanwords in Bikol is Sanskrit, with examples including words like ('responsibility') and karma.
There are 16 consonants in the Bikol language: pronounced as //m, n, ŋ, p, t, k, ʔ, b, d, ɡ, s, h, l, w~ʋ, ɾ, j~ʝ//. Eight sounds are borrowed from loanwords: pronounced as //f, v, ɲ, tʃ, dʒ, ʃ, ʒ, ʎ//.
The sound system of the language according to Mintz in 1971[3] is as follows.
| Labial | (Denti-) Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | (pronounced as /ink/) | pronounced as /ink/ | |||
| Stop/ Affricate | voiceless | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | (pronounced as /ink/) | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |
| voiced | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | (pronounced as /ink/) | pronounced as /ink/ | |||
| Fricative | voiceless | (pronounced as /ink/) | pronounced as /ink/ | (pronounced as /ink/) | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
| voiced | (pronounced as /ink/) | (pronounced as /ink/) | |||||
| Lateral | pronounced as /ink/ | (pronounced as /ink/) | |||||
| Sonorant | pronounced as /ink/~pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/~pronounced as /ink/ | ||||
Native words exhibit a three-vowel system whose vowels can be noted as pronounced as //a, i, u//, with pronounced as //u// realized as pronounced as /[o]/ in the final syllable. Due to contact with Spanish, modern Central Bikol also has two marginal phonemes pronounced as //e, o// distinct from pronounced as //i, u//.
| Close | pronounced as /ink/ (i) | pronounced as /ink/ (u) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid | e (e) | o (o) | ||
| Open | pronounced as /ink/ (a) |
| Absolutive | Ergative | Oblique | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person singular | , | |||
| 2nd person singular | , | , | ||
| 3rd person singular | ||||
| 1st person plural inclusive | , | , | ||
| 1st person plural exclusive | , | , | ||
| 2nd person plural | ||||
| 3rd person plural |
Like many other Philippine languages, Bikol has a rich set of discourse particles.
There exist two types of numerals in Bikol: native Bikol and Spanish numerals. Generally, Bicolanos use the Spanish terms when referring to time, as in the phrase ('5 o'clock'). However, the native terms can be read in literary books. The Spanish numerals are often encountered in pricing.
The angry register of Bikol, also known natively as tamanggot or rapsak, is used when angry, shouting, or speaking in a high-pitched voice at someone. Some examples of the register include:
| Normal Bikol | Angry-register Bikol | English translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| rice (cooked) | |||
| rice (uncooked) | |||
| , | water | ||
| deaf | |||
| rain | |||
| typhoon/hurricane | |||
| , | female | ||
| male | |||
| , | , | clothes | |
| (Naga), (Legazpi) | house | ||
| , | fish | ||
| , | cat | ||
| , | (Naga), (Legazpi) | dog | |
| (Naga), (Legazpi) | (Naga) | carabao | |
| leave | |||
| (Naga), (Legazpi) | ,,,,, | eat | |
| (Naga), (Legazpi) | ,,, | drunk | |
| to speak | |||
| , | , | to hold, holding | |
| to see | |||
| ,, | foot | ||
| ear | |||
| (Naga), (Legazpi) | ,, | mouth | |
| hand | |||
| eye | |||
| head | |||
| (Naga), (Legazpi) | body | ||
| , | belly/stomach | ||
| shoe | |||
| fire | |||
| frying pan | |||
| shorts or underwear | |||
| salt | |||
| , | chicken |