Pangasinan (Pangasinense) is an Austronesian language, and one of the eight major languages of the Philippines. It is the primary and predominant language of the entire province of Pangasinan and northern Tarlac, on the northern part of Luzon's central plains geographic region, most of whom belong to the Pangasinan ethnic group. Pangasinan is also spoken in southwestern La Union, as well as in the municipalities of Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, and Zambales that border Pangasinan. A few Aeta groups and most Sambal in Central Luzon's northern part also understand and even speak Pangasinan as well.

Classification

The Pangasinan language belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian languages branch of the Austronesian languages family.

Pangasinan is similar to other closely related Philippine languages, Malay in Malaysia (as Malaysian), Indonesia (as Indonesian), Brunei, and Singapore, Hawaiian in Hawaii, Māori in New Zealand, and Malagasy in Madagascar.

While closely related to the languages of neighboring Benguet, Pangasinan is the sole member of the Pangasinic sub-branch. It is a sister language to the Nuclear Southern Cordilleran group.

The relationship within the Southern Cordilleran branch is structured as follows:

  • Pangasinic
  • Pangasinan
  • Nuclear Southern Cordilleran
  • Ibaloi
  • Karao
  • Iwak
  • Kallahan (including Keley-i, Kayapa, and Tinoc)

Geographic distribution

Pangasinan is the official language of the province of Pangasinan, located on the west central area of the island of Luzon along Lingayen Gulf. The people of Pangasinan are also referred to as Pangasinense. The province has a total population of 2,343,086 (2000), of which 2 million speak Pangasinan. As of 2020, Pangasinan is ranked tenth on the leading languages generally spoken at home in the Philippines with only 334,759 households still speaking the language. Pangasinan is spoken in other Pangasinan communities in the Philippines, mostly in the neighboring provinces of Benguet, La Union, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Zambales, and Nueva Vizcaya, and has varying speakers in Metro Manila, Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, Bulacan, Bataan, Pampanga, Aurora, Quezon, Cavite, Laguna, Mindoro, Palawan and Mindanao especially in Soccsksargen, Davao Region, Caraga, Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental.

History

Austronesian speakers settled in Maritime Southeast Asia during prehistoric times, perhaps more than 5,000 years ago. The indigenous speakers of Pangasinan are descendants of these settlers, who were probably part of a wave of prehistoric human migration that is widely believed to have originated from Southern China via Taiwan between 10 and 6 thousand years ago.

The word Pangasinan means 'land of salt' or 'place of salt-making'; it is derived from the root word , the word for 'salt' in Pangasinan. Pangasinan could also refer to a 'container of salt or salted products'; it refers to the ceramic jar for storage of salt or salted-products or its contents.

Literature

Written Pangasinan and oral literature in the language flourished during the Spanish and American period. Writers like Juan Saingan, Felipe Quintos, Narciso Corpus, Antonio Solis, Juan Villamil, Juan Mejía and María C. Magsano wrote and published in Pangasinan. Felipe Quintos, a Pangasinan officer of the Katipunan, wrote (), a history of the Katipunan revolutionary struggle in Pangasinan and surrounding provinces. Narciso Corpus and Antonio Solis co-wrote , a short love story. (Lingayen, Pangasinan: Gumawid Press, 1926)

Juan Villamil translated José Rizal's "Mi último adiós" in Pangasinan. Pablo Mejia edited , a news magazine, in the 1920s. He also wrote , a biography of Rizal. Magsano published , a literary magazine. Magsano also wrote , a romance novel. Pangasinan Courier published articles and literary works in Pangasinan. Pioneer Herald published , a literary supplement in Pangasinan. Many Christian publications in Pangasinan are widely available.

Many Pangasinan are multilingual and proficient in English, Filipino, and Ilocano. However, the spread and influence of the other languages is contributing to the decline of the Pangasinan language. Many Pangasinan people, especially the native speakers are promoting the use of Pangasinan in the print and broadcast media, Internet, local governments, courts, public facilities and schools in Pangasinan. In April 2006, the creation of Pangasinan Wikipedia was proposed, which the Wikimedia Foundation approved for publication on the Internet.

Phonology

Vowels

Pangasinan has the following vowel phonemes:

|-

! colspan="2" |

! Nominative

! Genitive

! Oblique

|-

! rowspan="2" | Common

! singular

|

|

|

|-

! plural

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|

|

|-

! rowspan="2" | Personal

! singular

| si (-y)

| ni (-y)

| ed, ed kyenen, ed kinen

|-

! plural

| si, di, sikara di, sara di

| da di, na sara di

| ed sikara di, ed kyen di, ed kindi

|}

Pronouns

Personal

{| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" colspan="3" |

! colspan="2" | Absolutive

! rowspan="2" | Ergative

! rowspan="2" | Oblique

|-

! Independent

! Enclitic

|-

! rowspan="4" | 1st person

! colspan="2" | singular

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! colspan="2" | dual

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|-

! rowspan="2" | plural

! inclusive

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! exclusive

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|-

! rowspan="2" | 2nd person

! colspan="2" | singular

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|-

! colspan="2" | plural

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! rowspan="2" | 3rd person

! colspan="2" | singular

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! colspan="2" | plural

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|}

Demonstrative

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Pangasinan Markers

|-

! rowspan="2" colspan="2" |

! colspan="2" | Nominative

! rowspan="2" | Genitive

! colspan="2" | Oblique

|-

! First series

! Second series

! First series

! Second series

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! rowspan="2" | Proximal

! singular

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! plural

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! rowspan="2" | Medial

! singular

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! plural

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! rowspan="2" | Distal

! singular

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|-

! plural

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|}

Noun affixes

Benton (1971) lists a number of affixes for nouns. Benton describes affixes in Pangasinan as either "nominal" (affixes attached directly to nouns) and "nominalizing" (affixes which turn other parts of speech into nouns). Benton also describes "non-productive affixes", affixes which are not normally applied to nouns, and only found as part of other pre-existing words. Many of these non-productive affixes are found within words derived from Spanish.

Writing system

Modern Pangasinan consists of 27 letters, which include the 26 letters of the basic Latin alphabet and the Pangasinan digraph ng:

{|class="wikitable" style="border-collapse:collapse;"

|-

| colspan="28" align="center" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" | Majuscule Forms (also called uppercase or capital letters)

|-

|width=3% align="center"|A||width=3% align="center"|B||width=3% align="center"|C||width=3% align="center"|D||width=3% align="center"|E

|Ë|| align="center" width="3%" |F||width=3% align="center"|G||width=3% align="center"|H||width=3% align="center"|I||width=3% align="center"|J||width=3% align="center"|K||width=3% align="center"|L||width=3% align="center"|M||width=3% align="center"|N||width=3% align="center"|NG||width=3% align="center"|O||width=3% align="center"|P||width=3% align="center"|Q||width=3% align="center"|R||width=3% align="center"|S||width=3% align="center"|T||width=3% align="center"|U||width=3% align="center"|V||width=3% align="center"|W||width=3% align="center"|X||width=3% align="center"|Y||width=3% align="center"|Z

|-

| colspan="28" align="center" | Minuscule Forms (also called lowercase or small letters)

|-

|align="center"|a||align="center"|b||align="center"|c||align="center"|d||align="center"|e

|ë|| align="center" |f||align="center"|g||align="center"|h||align="center"|i||align="center"|j||align="center"|k||align="center"|l||align="center"|m||align="center"|n||align="center"|ng||align="center"|o||align="center"|p||align="center"|q||align="center"|r||align="center"|s||align="center"|t||align="center"|u||align="center"|v||align="center"|w||align="center"|x||align="center"|y||align="center"|z

|}

The ancient people of Pangasinan used an indigenous writing system called Kuritan. The ancient Pangasinan script, which is related to the Tagalog Baybayin script, was derived from the Javanese Kawi script of Indonesia and the Vatteluttu or Pallava script of South India.

The Latin script was introduced during the Spanish colonial period. Pangasinan literature, using the indigenous syllabary and the Latin alphabet, continued to flourish during the Spanish and American colonial period. Pangasinan acquired many Spanish and English words, and some indigenous words were Hispanicized or Anglicized. However, use of the ancient syllabary has declined, and not much literature written in it has survived.

Loanwords

Most of the loan words in Pangasinan are Spanish, as the Philippines was ruled by Spain for more than 300 years. Examples are ('place'), (from poder, 'power, care'), (from , 'against'), (, 'green'), (, 'spirit'), and ('holy, saint'). Other loanwords came from English and Ilocano, as the latter is spoken as a second language. Another source of loanwords is Kapampangan, because of the migration of Kapampangans who passed through Agno River from Pampanga and south Tarlac; most Kapampangan loanwords are spoken in the dialects of central Pangasinan and north Tarlac and the most notable loanword is masanting, meaning "beautiful".

Examples

Malinac ya Labi (original by Julian Velasco).

Modern Pangasinan with English translation

Words

  1. I – ,
  2. you (singular) – ,
  3. he – (he/she),
  4. we – , , , , , ,
  5. you (plural) – , ,
  6. they – ()
  7. this –
  8. that – ,
  9. here –
  10. there – ,
  11. who – , ,
  12. what –
  13. where –
  14. when – ,
  15. how – ,
  16. not – , , ,
  17. all –
  18. many – ,
  19. some – ()
  20. few –
  21. other –
  22. one – ,
  23. two – , ()
  24. three – , ()
  25. four – , ()
  26. five – , ()
  27. big –
  28. long –
  29. wide – ,
  30. thick –
  31. heavy –
  32. small – , , ,
  33. short – , , , , ,
  34. narrow –
  35. thin – ,
  36. woman –
  37. man – ,
  38. human –
  39. child –
  40. wife – , (spouse)
  41. husband – , (spouse)
  42. mother –
  43. father –
  44. animal –
  45. fish – ,
  46. bird – , (chick)
  47. dog –
  48. louse –
  49. snake –
  50. worm – (germ), (earthworm)
  51. tree – , (plant)
  52. forest – ,
  53. stick – ,
  54. fruit –
  55. seed –
  56. leaf –
  57. root –
  58. bark –
  59. flower – ,
  60. grass –
  61. rope – , ,
  62. skin – ,
  63. meat –
  64. blood –
  65. bone –
  66. fat (n.) – ,
  67. egg –
  68. horn –
  69. tail –
  70. place –
  71. go –
  72. nothing –
  1. feather –
  2. hair –
  3. head –
  4. ear –
  5. eye –
  6. nose –
  7. mouth –
  8. tooth –
  9. tongue –
  10. fingernail –
  11. foot –
  12. leg –
  13. knee –
  14. hand –
  15. wing –
  16. belly –
  17. guts –
  18. neck –
  19. back –
  20. breast – ,
  21. heart –
  22. liver –
  23. drink –
  24. eat – , ,
  25. bite –
  26. suck – ,
  27. spit –
  28. vomit –
  29. blow –
  30. breathe – , , , ,
  31. laugh –
  32. see –
  33. hear –
  34. know – ,
  35. think –
  36. smell –
  37. fear –
  38. sleep –
  39. live –
  40. die – ,
  41. kill – ,
  42. fight – , ,
  43. hunt – , , , (catch)
  44. hit – , ,
  45. cut – ,
  46. split – , , (half)
  47. stab – ,
  48. scratch – , ,
  49. dig –
  50. swim –
  51. fly (v.) –
  52. walk –
  53. come – , , ,
  54. lie – (lie down), (tell a lie)
  55. sit – ()
  56. stand –
  57. turn – ,
  58. fall – (drop),
  59. give – , ()
  60. hold –
  61. squeeze –
  62. rub – , ,
  63. wash –
  64. wipe –
  65. pull –
  66. push –
  67. throw –
  68. tie –
  69. sew –
  1. count –
  2. say – ,
  3. sing – ,
  4. play –
  5. float –
  6. flow –
  7. freeze –
  8. swell –
  9. sun – ,
  10. moon –
  11. star –
  12. water –
  13. rain –
  14. river – , , ,
  15. lake –
  16. sea – ,
  17. salt –
  18. stone –
  19. sand –
  20. dust –
  21. earth –
  22. cloud –
  23. fog –
  24. sky –
  25. wind –
  26. snow –
  27. ice –
  28. smoke –
  29. fire – , (blaze), (flame)
  30. ashes –
  31. burn – ,
  32. road – , (path)
  33. mountain –
  34. red – ,
  35. green – , , birdi
  36. yellow –
  37. white – ,
  38. black – ,
  39. night –
  40. day –
  41. year –
  42. hot – ,
  43. cold – ,
  44. full – (), ()
  45. new –
  46. old –
  47. good – , ,
  48. bad – ,
  49. rotten – ,
  50. dirty – , , ,
  51. straight – ,
  52. round – , ,
  53. sharp – (),
  54. dull – ,
  55. smooth – , ,
  56. wet – ,
  57. dry – ,
  58. correct – , (true)
  59. near –
  60. far –
  61. right –
  62. left –
  63. at –
  64. in –
  65. with –
  66. and –
  67. if –
  68. because – ,
  69. name –
  70. smile – ,
  71. lolo –
  72. lola –
  73. beautiful – , ,
  74. true – ,
  75. wrong –
  76. odor –
  77. delicious – ,
  78. I love you – ,
  1. Good day! - Maabig ya agew!
  2. Good morning! - Maabig a kabuasan!
  3. Good afternoon! - Maabig a ngarem!
  4. Good evening! - Maabig a labi!

Numbers

List of numbers from one to ten in English, Tagalog and Pangasinan

{| class="wikitable"

!English

!Tagalog

!Pangasinan

|-

|one

|/

|/

|-

|two

|/

|, /

|-

|three

|/

|, /

|-

|four

|/

|, /

|-

|five

|/

|, /

|-

|six

|/

|, /

|-

|seven

|/

|, /

|-

|eight

|/

|, /

|-

|nine

|/

|, /

|-

|ten

|/

|, /

|}

Cardinal numbers:

{| class="wikitable"

!Pangasinan

!English

|-

|, ,

|one

|-

|, ()

|two

|-

|, , ()

|three

|-

|, , ()

|four

|-

|, ()

|five

|-

|, , ()

|six

|-

|, ()

|seven

|-

|, ()

|eight

|-

|, ()

|nine

|-

|, (), ()

|tens, ten

|-

|, ()

|hundreds, one hundred

|-

|,

|thousands, one thousand

|-

|, (),

|ten thousands, ten thousand

|}

Ordinal numbers:

Ordinal numbers are formed with the prefix kuma- (ka- plus infix -um). Example: , 'second'.

Associative numbers:

Associative numbers are formed with the prefix ka-. Example: , 'third of a group of three'.

Fractions:

Fraction numbers are formed with the prefix ka- and an associative number. Example: , 'third part'.

Multiplicatives:

Multiplicative ordinal numbers are formed with the prefix pi- and a cardinal number from two to four or pin- for other numbers except for number one. Example: , 'first time'; , 'second time'; , 'fifth time'.

Multiplicative cardinal numbers are formed with the prefix man- (mami- or mamin- for present or future tense, and ami- or amin- for the past tense) to the corresponding multiplicative ordinal number. Example: , 'once'; , 'twice'; , 'thrice'.

Distributives:

Distributive cardinal numbers are formed with the prefixes san-, tag-, or and a cardinal number. Example: , 'one each'; , 'two each'.

Distributive multiplicative numbers are formed with the prefixes magsi-, , or and a multiplicative cardinal number. Example: , 'twice each'; , 'each twice'.

Dictionaries and further reading

The following is a list of some dictionaries and references:

  • Includes translations of English songs like "Joy to the World," and "What A Friend We Have in Jesus."
  • The compilation has 20,000 entries.
  • Traditional folk song.

See also

  • Languages of the Philippines
  • Malayo-Polynesian
  • Pangasinan
  • Tarlac
  • La Union
  • Pangasinan literature

References

  • Pangasinan as a dying language
  • Bansa Pangasinan-English Dictionary
  • Pangasinan Wiktionary
  • Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database
  • Sunday Punch
  • Sun Star Pangasinan
  • Pangasinan Star
  • Pangasinan: Preservation and Revitalization of the Pangasinan Language and Literature
  • Globalization killing Pangasinan language
  • Pangasinan language is alive and kicking (Philippine Daily Inquirer, June 8, 2007)
  • Dying languages
  • Pangasinan-Spanish Dictionary, by Lorenzo Fernandez Cosgata, published in 1865.