Klata language explained

Klata
Also Known As:Giangan
Region:Mindanao
States:Philippines
Speakers:55,000
Date:1990 census
Ref:e18
Familycolor:Austronesian
Fam2:Malayo-Polynesian
Fam3:Philippine?
Fam4:South Mindanao
Iso3:bgi
Glotto:gian1241
Glottorefname:Giangan

Klata (also known as Clata, Giangan, Bagobo, Jangan) is an Austronesian language of the southern Philippines. It is spoken on the eastern slopes of Mount Apo in Davao del Sur Province, as well as in Davao City (Ethnologue) in an area stretching from Catalunan to Calinan.

The nearby Tagabawa language is also known as Bagobo, and is not to be confused with Giangan.

Classification

Klata is usually classified as one of the South Mindanao languages. Zorc (2019) proposes that it is not included among the South Mindanao languages, but only more distantly related to them within a wider subgroup of the Philippine languages which he calls "Southern Philippine".[1]

Distribution

Traditional Klata (Giangan) population centers included the following barangays (see also Districts of Davao City).[2] [3]

It is also spoken in Biao Joaquin, Calinan District[4] and in various parts of Baguio District.[5]

The Lipadas River separated the traditional Tagabawa and Clata territories, while the Talomo River (Ikawayanlinan) was the boundary separating the Tagabawas, Clatas, and Obos. The Davao River separated the traditional Bagobo and Clata territories.

Phonology

Klata has a five-vowel system consisting of the vowels pronounced as //a, ɛ, ɔ, i, u//. It also has consonantal geminates. Consonantal phonemes are pronounced as //p, b, t, d, k, ɡ, ʔ, m, n, ŋ, s, h, l, j, w//. pronounced as /[ɾ]/ sometimes occurs as phonemic, but is mostly heard as an allophone of pronounced as //d//. [6]

Vowels

!!Front!Back
Closeiu
Open-midɛɔ
Opena

Consonants

!Bilabial!Alveolar/Palatal!Velar!Glottal
PlosiveVoicelessptkʔ
Voicedbdg
Nasalmnŋ
Fricative/Tapsɾh
Lateral aproximantl
Approximantwj(w)

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Klata/Giangan: A New Southern Philippine Subgroup. Zorc. R. David. Current Studies in Philippine Linguistics. Special Publication No. 16. 2019. 33–52. 2672-295X.
  2. Web site: August 29, 2015 . Davao City: Facts and Statistics . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160429162442/http://davaohistoryph.blogspot.com/2014/09/chapter-1-davao-city-facts-and.html . April 29, 2016 . Davao: History, Culture, Politics, Economy and Progress.
  3. Web site: August 22, 2012 . 10 Tribes of Davao City – Clata part (4–10) . April 22, 2018 . Davao Delights.
  4. Web site: Bravo . Neilwin Joseph L. . September 19, 2018 . TRMH holds EECOP Medical Mission 2018 . Edge Davao.
  5. News: Perez . Ace June Rell S. . September 5, 2017 . In Search of the Last Bagobo Klata Weaver . SunStar Philippines . July 28, 2020.
  6. Estrera. Edward. Bagobo-Klata Phonology. Alves. Mark. Sidwell. Paul. Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society: Papers from the 30th Conference of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society (2021). 15. 3. 2022-01-28. 1836-6821. 2022-02-14. 10.5281/zenodo.5780339. 283–323.