| Batangas Tagalog | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in | Philippines |
| Region | Batangas |
| Language family |
Austronesian
|
| Writing system | Latin (Tagalog or Filipino alphabet); Historically Baybayin |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Linguist List | tgl-bag |
Batangas Tagalog, more properly Batangan, is a dialect of the Tagalog language spoken primarily in the province of Batangas, Philippines, as well as some parts of Quezon, Laguna, and Mindoro island. The dialect is distinctively characterized by a very strong accent and its vocabulary and grammar is more closely related to ancient or old-style Tagalog. It is not customary in colloquial Batangan to speak in Taglish or to infuse English terms as the custom is with Manila Tagalog.
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The most recognizable difference is the use of the passive past tense in place of the present progressive. In Manila, this is done by inserting the infix -um- after the first syllable then by repeating the first syllable. In the Batangan dialect however, this form is done by putting the prefix na- to the word.
| Standard | Batangan | Standard | Batangan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| root word | kain (to eat) | kain (to eat) | tawag (to call) | tawag (to call) |
| syllabication | ka-in | ka-in | ta-wag | ta-wag |
| conjugated | k-um-a-ka-in | na-ka-in | t-um-a-ta-wag | na-ta-wag |
| written variant | kumakain | nakain | tumatawag | natawag |
This conjugation of the verb is becomes funny because as what was mentioned above, this would mean the passive past to Manileños. When someone asks "Nasaan si Pedro?" (Where is Peter?), one would promptly answer 'Nakain ng isda!', which translates to "He's eating a fish!". However, to those unfamiliar with this kind of usage, the statement could easily be taken to mean "He was eaten by a fish!". However, a Batangueño can distinguish between the two seemingly identical forms.
Another undeniable character of the Batangan Tagalog is the use of the verb ending '-i' instead of '-an mo', especially in the command form. This only happens when the verb stands alone in a sentence or when the verb is the last word in the phrase. However, when another word is put after it, Batangueños would never to the use of the '-an' form.
Example 1:
However:
One could also notice the use of the absolute degree of an adjective, something that is not heard anywhere else. It is roughly the equivalent to the use of '-issimo' or '-issima' in Italian, something absent in the other Tagalog dialects. This is done by putting the pagka- in front of the word.
Example 1:
Example 2:
Another noticeable characteristic of the Batangan dialect is the retention of the dual number for pronouns, which refers to precisely two entities (as opposed to "plural", which can be two or more). Although this has not completely disappeared in some other areas, this form is almost never used in the Manila dialect.
Example 1:
Example 2:
Also, intonations more often than not tend to rise, especially to express extreme emotions.
Another noticeable difference is the usage of the closed syllable, a practice that has completely disappeared in the Manila dialect. The town of Tanauan is actually pronounced [tan-'a-wan] whereas it would be pronounced as [ta-'na-wan] by other Tagalog-speakers. This is also true with words like matamis, pronounced matam-is and a couple of other more words.
As mentioned above, Batangan is more closely related to the ancient Tagalog. Thus the merger of the phonemes [e] and [i] and the phonemes [o] and [u] are prevalent.
Something prevalent in Batangan that is lacking in other dialects is the sound [ei] and [ow]. However, unlike its English counterpart, these diphthongs are sounded mainly on the first vowel and very rapidly only on the second. This is very similar to the [e] in the Spanish word educación and the first [o] in the Italian word Antonio.
Locative adjectives are iré or aré (this) and rine or dine (here).
Vocabulary is also divergent. Batangueño has several translations for the word 'slip' (fall), depending upon -how- a person falls. He may have nádulas (simply slipped), nagtingkuró (lost his balance), or worse, nagsungabâ (fallen on his face.)
People from Manila may ask why a student comes home before the scheduled time, when the teachers have earlier announced that they would have to go to school. The student will just answer, May pasok, pero waláng klase. This simply means that the student would have to go to school to have his or her attendance checked, but there is really no class in session.
To the confusion of other Tagalog speakers, the Batangueños also use the phrase, 'Hindî pô akó nagyayabang!' to mean 'I am not telling a lie!', whereas Manileños would simply say 'Hindî pô akó nagsisinungaling!'. For them, the former statement means, 'I am not bragging!'
A panday is a handyman in Batangas whereas it means a smith in Manila. An apáw is "mute" ("overflow" in Manila (ápaw); mute is pipí). An exclamation of disbelief is 'anlaah!' which is roughly a shorter translation of walâ iyán (that's nothing/false) in Manila Tagalog.
The Batangas dialect is also known for the particle eh. While the incidence of its usage is noticeable throughout the province, some variations exists like ala eh. In reality, this particle has no meaning in itself, often added only for emphasis on certain statements. Its closest equivalent in English is sometimes the conversational context of "Well,...". In other cases however, it can show that the proceeding is the cause of something, much as the word kasi would be used.
Like most Southeast Asians and Filipinos, Batangueños use honorifics in order to convey respect, even to strangers. Honorific use features most heavily amongst the Batangueños as compared to other Tagalog-speakers.
Though it has largely disappeared in the Manila usage, the Batangueños still use the plural forms of the pronouns to show politeness. This is comparable to the use of the singular 'vous' in French, 'usted' in Spanish, and the singular 'Sie' in German. Normally, this is used to show respect to one who has authority either by age or by position.
However unlike the case of Romance languages, the Batangueños have a choice either to use to second-person plural or third-person plural to show this respect, similar to the Italian lei meaning "she" but used as "you" in formal/polite situations.
Generally, the second person plural is used to show respect to older people or to people in authority but still maintains close affinity to the speaker. This is mainly used with grandparents, friends of the parents, relatives who hold high position or your religious leader. This is comaparativer to the use of 'vosotros' in the Middle Ages.
For complete strangers, the third person plural is deemed appropriate.
Example 1:
Example 2:
The use of the plurals is not limited to those of lower ranks. Those of authority are also expected to use this pluralisation, this time by using the first person plural inclusive 'Tayo', which functions like the Royal We. The Batangueños use the inclusive form of the pronoun and not just the plural form.
This usage is very common for government officials or those who are deemed to handle an important preposition over a certain territory like a priest or a bishop.
This form is also used by doctors or nurses when talking to patients. Rarely will a doctor from the province ask some how is he feeling. Rather, he will ask them How are we feeling?'
And of course, one cannot belittle the use of 'pô' and 'opò' to show respect. However, Batangueños tend to replace this by 'hô' and 'ohò', a typical Batangueño morphophonemic change. Nevertheless, Batangueños also understand and appreciate the use of 'pô' and 'opò', the variant more common in other Tagalog regions.