Cebuano language
Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by Cebuanos and other ethnic groups From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Cebuano (also referred to as Bisaya) is one of the main languages spoken in the Philippines. More than 28 million people speak this language. Cebuano is a member of the "Visayan language family".
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While Tagalog has more speakers than any other language in the Philippines today, Cebuano was the most widely spoken language in the Philippines from the 1950s until the 1980s. Cebuano is by far the most widely spoken of the "Visayan languages".
It is the most spoken language by many people in the Central Visayas, western parts of the Eastern Visayas, some western parts of Palawan and most parts of Mindanao. Cebuano is one of the three main Visayan languages, along with Waray, Hiligaynon and Davaoeño, which are more closely related to it.
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Name
The name of the language comes from the Philippine island of Cebu, suffixed with the Spanish -ano (meaning nature, or a location). In other words, the language is more commonly called Bisaya. However, this can cause confusion among non-native speakers, as there are many other languages called Bisaya even though they cannot be understood by people who speak what linguists call Cebuano. In this sense, Cebuano applies to all speakers of the language who come from Cebu island, regardless of where they live now, as well as to the language they speak.
Some people do not like the term Cebuano. For example, many Cebuano speakers in Leyte, Bohol, and Northern Mindanao (Dipolog, Dapitan, Misamis Occidental, and Misamis Oriental, as well as in coastal areas of Butuan) say that their ancestors were Cebuano speakers who were native to their area, not immigrants or settlers from the Visayas. Also, they want to call themselves as Bisaya and their language Binisaya rather than Cebuano.
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Cebuano numbers
Cebuano has two numeral systems. The native system is mostly used for counting things, like animals or houses. The Spanish system is only used for money and time. It is also used for counting from 11 and up.
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Sample phrases
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References
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