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Well, I am starting something new today, and it is my intention to do it on the website every Saturday (Philippine time). I am going to be giving Bisaya (Cebuano) mini-lessons every week!
I learned to speak Bisaya back from 2006 through 2011 from a local tutor, and very close friend, Bebe Metillo. Bebe is like a sister to me, and she spent a lot of time and effort in teaching me the language. I can say, the work that I put into it paid off with a happy life in the Philippines, and knowing the language has offered me many opportunities too!
Because I have enjoyed knowing the language so much, I want to help others to learn as well. Even if you don’t take the time to learn to be fluent in Bisaya knowing just a little bit will help you become more accepted into Philippine Society, and help you enjoy your life here. I know it has done that for me!
Bisaya is what they call Cebuano in Mindanao. So, that is what I call it. In the Visayas, there are variations of Cebuano in different regions, but knowing Cebuano, Bisaya will be helpful to you if you are visiting or living anywhere in the Visayas or Mindanao. If you will be in Luzon, you probably should think about learning Tagalog to get the great benefits of knowing the language. Sorry, I don’t speak Tagalog, so I can’t be of help to you there!
If you enjoy these mini-lessons, come back to LiP weekly and pick up a new one! Or you can visit my YouTube Channel (please subscribe, and click on the “bell” logo so you get updates).
It’s awesome you’re doing this Bob!! Following…
Thank you, Dan. I hope it is useful to you!
Just helped this morning greeting my mother-in-law
Well, that is great to hear! Was your mother-in-law surprised? 🙂
yeah
Moving from the homeland to the Philippines, you appreciate greetings in the new land. It is very meaningful!! This this is very useful!!!
That makes me very happy George. I am glad that this will be useful for you. I will be offering short lessons like this every week!
Thanks Bob. Great video!!! Im locked in and subscribed. I planned on moving in August but a cancer diagnosis put that on hold. Im going to try to get to Laguindingan some time in the next couple of months. This will sure help, as Im familiar with the friendliness of the Filipino people once you show you are friendly as well. Thanks again and I look forward to the next vid.
Thank you very much, Bob. I appreciate you subscribing to my channel too! Good luck with the cancer! You can beat it!
Living in Iloilo…I would love to find a teacher of Illongo, specifically Hiligaynon. I am embracing my goal of learning the language of this province first.
Any ideas, Bob?
Yes, it would be a great thing to do, I can attest to that. I am sure you can find a teacher there!
Ask at some Universities. Especially students studying English. You can help them wiht thier English while they help you with your Ilonggo. Good luck.
Jason, children are the best teacher, my husband learned my dialect in a few weeks from the children around him all the time
Just to add a bit of clarity in the 4th paragraph in your post ; “…….there are variations of Cebuano in different regions…” Instead, the languages spoken mostly in the Visayas areas (and categorically described as being Visayan) includes Cebuano (of Cebu), Bol-anon (Bohol), Ilongo (Ilo-ilo) , Waray (Masbate) and Siquijodnon (Siquijor). Some variations are also found in Mindanao like the Surigaonon (Surigao) , areas probably from CDO up to the Butuan area and then a mixture of Ilonggo, Bol-anon and Waray from Lanao up to the Zamboanga peninsula. They do have differences in terms of intonation, word/phrase uses and meaning (imagine one English verb can have at least 8 approximate filipino (tagalog) translations but have 8 different uses altogether. Now, how much more if it is in Visayan?) I am not suggesting perfection here but a safe practice of keen listening first is necessary. A good example would be for us here in Iligan City in describing a thin/fit man or a woman, we usually use the term “niwang”. Cebuanos, however, use the term “da-ut’ (which universally can be interpreted as being “sickly’) which we consider derogatory since we only reserve the term “da-ut” in describing plants, animals or fruits, but not people.
I am aware. However, I am trying to keep things simple, as the people who will be reading and watching are beginniners. You are getting too deep for the audience that will find this useful.
Bob, what a gift!!!
I am grateful…
I agree with you 100%, if you show the Filipino’s that you care enough to try to speak their language they appreciate it and they are definitely more friendly towards you. These “simple” phrases are all you need to break the ice. If you make grammatical mistakes and laugh at yourself, the will laugh back even harder!!!!
Thank you for thinkin* of us for you to do this.
Much appreciated…
You are certainly welome! I hope that it is helpful for many, but even if only one person finds it useful, that is worth it to me!
Thanks Bob!! I’ll be in Cebu, Bohol, camiguin, and Iligan next month…can’t wait !!
Have a super trip!
This is very cool Bob! Bravo!
Thank you