Bisayan language

[chimellie 25]

Do you guys find Bisayan language tough to learn ? I found it very very tough, I would like to be fluent but I am having a tough time learning it. My wife has been teaching me, sometimes I ask her why they use some word in certain way and she doesn't know why. Sometimes I ask her to translate a sentence and but she doesn't know, she says they don't say that in her language.

One time I asked her : you don't want to go to a movie tonight right ? She answerd Yes, but actually she meant No . Sometimes Yes means No in Bisayan..... LOL.....

I guess you have to live in Cebu and use the language everyday to be good at it.

How long have you been living in Cebu ? and are you fluent ? can you carry a conversation in Bisayan with your wife ?

 

Daghang salamat

Edited February 29, 2008 by chimellie

[chimellie 25]

Can someone move this thread to " Filipino Language " section please ? Sorry.

[Bob Ward 321]

As in English, many words have more than one meaning or pronunciation, but emphasizing the right syllable is the key. Two easy ones for me to use as examples are the common words salamat (thank you) and wala (either left or no/none).

 

Most Foreigners just say "sa la mot" evenly with no emphasis on any syllable. But if you try and speak it more appropriately, the locals will recognize your efforts and be willing to help you in many ways. So if you say it

"sa LAH mahht", emphasizing the second syllable and dragging out the last one a little, watch the reaction from the locals. They appreciate it!

 

Then there is wala, which is spelled the same for two different words. Used "wa LAHH", dragging out and emphasizing the last syllable means left, as in liko ta sa walla (we will turn to the left) or close to that! But if you say it "wa LA" with a sharp last syllable it means no or none> if you are asked if you have small change by the cashier, this reply signifies that you have no change!

 

Chemille, the issue with your movie question is contractions. I am very fond of using them and we had fits in the beginning. Once you throw in the contraction with a negative (don't containing not) the response from her is then reversed in order to answer correctly in English. We still have problems with that. In the same light, in English we can ask a question simply by voice inflection, they have a BIG issue with that since they are struggling just to get the single words at times. We speak WAY to fast for them most of the time. It goes both ways there though!

 

I am learning to pick up more and more Cebuano and surprise the locals many times. But speaking it is tougher because of sentence structure and proper pronunciation of the letters, both consonants and vowels. The proper way to say many words is very hard for us when we apply our soundings to their words. Sounds like baby talk to them! What I do speak, I have learned to speak it well and the reception from the people is fantastic!

 

Walay sapayan!

Edited February 29, 2008 by Bob Ward

[chimellie 25]

Bob, How long have you been living in Cebu ? How well do you understand when 2 Filipinos are speaking to each other ? and can you carry a conversation with them ?

[Bob Ward 321]

One year!

 

In all honesty, I can pick out 10-15% of the words most of the time. But if I know the subject at least, I can apply that along with voice inflection and body language to understand more of the conversation. Just like Americans speak quickly at times, it's ten fold for Cebuano and sounds like machine gun talk! Tagalog is spoken more softly and slowly though!

 

No, I am not able to hold a conversation at this juncture. I am still in basic conversational and directions mode.

Edited March 1, 2008 by Bob Ward

[til 23]

The Yes and No thing used to confuse me, until i discovered the logic.

If I say to my gf " You don't like to dive?" She says "Yes", meaning: "Yes your right, I don't like to dive".

So with the "yes" she is always confirming what I said. And "no" means I'm not right.

[chimellie 25]

About 4 years ago I met a Kano at the Virgin Beach Resort in Bogo, Cebu. He's married to a Pinay for about 30 years, this guy could speak Bisayan and Vietnamese fluently, he had a long conversation with my wife and his for a while, wow that blew my mind ! To me, if I were going to retire in Cebu, I should master this language to make life a little easier in Cebu.

 

5 weeks to go

[Lee 17,710]

About 4 years ago I met a Kano at the Virgin Beach Resort in Bogo, Cebu. He's married to a Pinay for about 30 years, this guy could speak Bisayan and Vietnamese fluently, he had a long conversation with my wife and his for a while, wow that blew my mind ! To me, if I were going to retire in Cebu, I should master this language to make life a little easier in Cebu.

 

5 weeks to go

 

 

I agree but it is harder as we get older to learn. I know and understand a lot of words but putting together sentences is not an option at this point and we have been married over 13 years and live part time in Cebu. Also I find it easier to understand than to speak it. I think younger people will have an easier time.

[PEARL OF CEBU 1]

Do you guys find Bisayan language tough to learn ? I found it very very tough, I would like to be fluent but I am having a tough time learning it. My wife has been teaching me, sometimes I ask her why they use some word in certain way and she doesn't know why. Sometimes I ask her to translate a sentence and but she doesn't know, she says they don't say that in her language.

One time I asked her : you don't want to go to a movie tonight right ? She answerd Yes, but actually she meant No . Sometimes Yes means No in Bisayan..... LOL.....

I guess you have to live in Cebu and use the language everyday to be good at it.

How long have you been living in Cebu ? and are you fluent ? can you carry a conversation in Bisayan with your wife ?

 

Daghang salamat

 

YOU DONT WANT TO GO TO A MOVIE TONIGHT RIGHT? SHE ANSWERED YES,BUT ACTUALLY SHE MEANT NO.SOMETIMES YES MEANS NO IN BISAYANLOL....

 

I have read before and just have the chance to air my idea about that statement stated above,coz i just registered awhile ago..Sometimes if the person did not really get what you said or what you tried to tell her,they just say yes just to shorten the communication (who knows the reasons),but of course the word RIGHT AT THE END OF YOUR STATEMENT SOMETIMES CONFUSED a human having different inborn language than yours.See, you said dont want to go,its i negative thing and at the end the word RIGHT is a possitive thing,,, just a thought coz i experienced that too,,,,YES MEANS NO.....

[PEARL OF CEBU 1]

Do you guys find Bisayan language tough to learn ? I found it very very tough, I would like to be fluent but I am having a tough time learning it. My wife has been teaching me, sometimes I ask her why they use some word in certain way and she doesn't know why. Sometimes I ask her to translate a sentence and but she doesn't know, she says they don't say that in her language.

One time I asked her : you don't want to go to a movie tonight right ? She answerd Yes, but actually she meant No . Sometimes Yes means No in Bisayan..... LOL.....

I guess you have to live in Cebu and use the language everyday to be good at it.

How long have you been living in Cebu ? and are you fluent ? can you carry a conversation in Bisayan with your wife ?

 

Daghang salamat

 

YOU DONT WANT TO GO TO A MOVIE TONIGHT RIGHT? SHE ANSWERED YES,BUT ACTUALLY SHE MEANT NO.SOMETIMES YES MEANS NO IN BISAYANLOL....

 

I have read before and just have the chance to air my idea about that statement stated above,coz i just registered awhile ago..Sometimes if the person did not really get what you said or what you tried to tell her,they just say yes just to shorten the communication (who knows the reasons),but of course the word RIGHT AT THE END OF YOUR STATEMENT SOMETIMES CONFUSED a human having different inborn language than yours.See, you said dont want to go,its i negative thing and at the end the word RIGHT is a possitive thing,,, just a thought coz i experienced that too,,,,YES MEANS NO.....

 

PUT EVERYTHING INTO PRACTICE MAKES EVERYTHING IF NOT PERFECT,WELL ALMOST PERFECT. I learned how to speak Mandarin,its the hardest language but until now i still knew how,though not fluent...

[broden 57,109]

I agree but it is harder as we get older to learn. I know and understand a lot of words but putting together sentences is not an option at this point and we have been married over 13 years and live part time in Cebu. Also I find it easier to understand than to speak it. I think younger people will have an easier time.

 

 

i agree with you there ,as far as easier to understand then to speak .. when my wife is on the phone or face to face speaking cebuano or tagalog i can generally keep up with what is going on .. can't take part .. but i'm not left totally out in the rain .. my wife gets a kick out of it cause i've actually corrected her mid conversation with other people on some point or another .. and the other person usually just isn't sure what to make of that

 

you pick up alot more then you yourself even realize .. at least the understanding part .. then you also have unconscious cues like inflection and body language

[broden 57,109]

PUT EVERYTHING INTO PRACTICE MAKES EVERYTHING IF NOT PERFECT,WELL ALMOST PERFECT. I learned how to speak Mandarin,its the hardest language but until now i still knew how,though not fluent...

 

ohh mandarin ... i love their oranges

[Don. 606]

Visayan uses many Spanish words. Having studied Spanish for 2 years in the states, I can understand some Visayan.

 

I have been able to combine the Spanish that I already knew, with some Visayan that I have learned over the years, but I am still not fluent.

 

One trick that I learned if I know the locals are talking about me is to politely turn to them and say "unsa man ?" (what is it ?) and they very quickly stop talking because they do not know if I am fluent or not.

 

If you ride a jeepney , many times you will hear "Kano kuripot, or Kano barrato"

(Cheap or thrifty American) so, I just politely ask "unsa man ? and then they become shy

and stop talking about me. (backbiting).

 

Sometimes it can be great to understand Visayan, but then it can also be a liability if you hear them insulting you or your female companion.

 

I was admitted to Chang Hua hospital a few years ago, and the female helper refused to push my wheelchair commenting in Visayan that I was too fat, and that a male helper should

push my wheelchair. I only weigh 160 pounds, less than many Filipinos.

 

Typically, if I am with a Filipina, I just pretend that I did not hear or understand the insults or

comments and I keep walking.

 

Also, if you do loose your temper, and you feel as though you must say something, then say it in English. Filipinos typically respond ok to criticisms or comments in English.

 

The most fun is with cashiers and waitresses, I will try to converse only in Visayan, and my little knowledge of the language, plus my bad pronunciations keep them laughing and smiling.

 

If you scold or insult them in Visayan, you better run, because they will be fighting mad.

[Daisy 443]

I was admitted to Chang Hua hospital a few years ago, and the female helper refused to push my wheelchair commenting in Visayan that I was too fat, and that a male helper should

push my wheelchair. I only weigh 160 pounds, less than many Filipinos.

 

 

Mostly, for Filipinos, talking about weight or how fat or skinny you are is not an insult...it's just a normal way of describing a person. My Filipino friend, now living in US and a citizen told me otherwise....Is it true?

[Lee 17,710]

Here is an interesting site I found with a lot of Cebuano words and phrases that helps me to learn the language.

 

http://www.wayblima.com/cebu-language.html