Differences between Bikol and Tagalog

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I’ve read somewhere that Bikol is the closest language to Tagalog, and it would be easy for Tagalogs to learn Bikol. Well, here I have written a list of differences between Tagalog and Bikol and judge for yourself if Bikol is easy to learn.

Another reason why I’ve written this post is to kindle interest in Bikol as it is far richer than Tagalog in certain respects. There’s been a lot of studies conducted on Tagalog, but not much about Bikol. I think this is due to the relative ease of accessibility to Tagalog materials, it has more speakers, more literature written in it and that it’s the national language.

I will not discuss here vocabulary differences between Bikol or Tagalog, since vocabulary is easy to borrow from language to language, but rather differences in phonology, morphology and syntax. I will use the KWP orthography for Tagalog (or Filipino). I will use my proposed orthography for Bikol here.

These are just the most notable differences. I will update this list as I come accross others.

Phonology
1. Bikol retains the glottal stop (IPA: ʔ ) in syllable final positions, whether word internally or finally. Tagalog ellides it, resulting in vowel-final syllables.

Tagalog:

SWP Orthography	Opo, hindi nga po naligo si Gemo.
Words’s pronunciation in isolation (IPA)	ʔo:poʔ hindiʔ ŋaʔ po? nali:goʔ si gemoʔ
Natural Speech (IPA)	ʔo:poʔ-# hindi ŋa pu naligo si gemoʔ
English Gloss	Yes, Gemo indeed did not took a bath (polite speech).

In Bikol, the glottal stops in syllable final positions, whether word internally or finally, are not lost when spoken within a group of words.

Bikol:

Proposed Orthography	Ŋanaч naman чiyan kun pirmiŋ baчgoh чan badoч moh чoroчaldaw
Words’s pronunciation in isolation (IPA)	ŋanaʔ na man ʔiyan kun pirmiŋ baʔgo ʔan ba:doʔ mo ʔoroʔaldaw
Natural Speech (IPA)	ŋanaʔ na man yan kun pirmiŋ baʔgo ʔan ba:doʔ mo ʔoroʔaldaw
English Gloss	That’s excessive if your clothes are always new every day.

And since ‘na’, ‘ay’ and ‘at’ are normally unstressed words in Tagalog, their vowels are dropped and consonant component attached to preceeding words ending in vowels or ‘n’.

Tagalog:

Detached	Attached
maganda na talon	magandang talon
dahon na malapad	dahong malapad
palibhasa ay	palibhasay
sapagka at	sapagkat
kaya at	kayat
nguni at	ngunit
datapwa at	datapwat
bagaman at	bagamat
subali at	subalit

2. This second point is not a difference but I am mentioning it in this section so that some people will not look for it in the other sections. I would like to point out something that is normally classified as prefixation in Tagalog, as if this is another instance of a prefix use. For me that is totally wrong. This is instead an entirely different phenomena: a chroneme change (shift or reversal).

Tagalog:

Written Word	Verb (IPA) / English Gloss		Nominal (IPA) / English Gloss (Occupation)
mag-aaral	magʔa:a:ral	will study	magʔaʔaral	student
mag-aasin	magʔaʔasin	will make salt	magʔa:ʔa:sin	salt maker/seller
mag-iitlog	magʔi:ʔitlog	will lay egg	magʔiʔitlog	egg seller
magbabakya	magba:bakyaʔ	will use wooden clogs	magbabakyaʔ	wooden clog maker/seller
magbibigas	magbi:bigas	will husk rice	magbibigas	husked rice seller
magpuputo	magpu:pu:to	will make rice cakes	magpuputo	rice cake maker/seller
magsasaka	magsa:sa:ka	will farm	magsasaka	farmer
manggagamot	maŋga:gamot	will cure	maŋgagamot	doctor, quack doctor
manggagantso	maŋga:gantso	will go defrauding	maŋgagantso	fraudster, cheater, swindler
mangangaso	maŋa:ŋa:so	will hunt with dogs	maŋaŋa:so	hunter
mangangahoy	maŋa:ŋa:hoy	will gather wood	maŋaŋa:hoy	lumberjack, logger
mangingisda	maŋi:ŋisdaʔ	will catch fish	maŋiŋisdaʔ	fisherman
manananggol	mana:naŋgol	will defend	mananaŋgol	lawyer
mamamangka	mama:maŋkaʔ	will go boating	mamamaŋkaʔ	boatman
mambabatas	mamba:batas	will make laws	mambaba:tas	lawmaker, congressman, senator, legislator, city councilor

Please note that this applies only with Tagalog verbs in the irrealis mood & continuative aspect. Bikol does not do this as it uses ‘para-’ and ‘taga-’ affixes to denote occupation. This chroneme change also happens in Bikol, but not for occupation but things, objects, implements, concepts, etc.

Bikol:

Written Word	Verb (IPA)	English Gloss	Nominal (IPA)	English Gloss
tataramon	ta:taramon	’something to be spoken’	tatara:mon	word
kakanon	kakanon	to eat something	kaka:non	food

Tagalog has this as well. Additional examples will be posted later.

Word Formation: Compounding
1. There are a lot more compound words in Tagalog than in Bikol. Compounding is productive in Tagalog.

Tagalog	English
asal-hayop	(behavior+animal), bestial conduct
bahaghari	(g-string+king), rainbow
basag-ulo	(break+head), altercation, quarrel
buntong-hininga	(heap+that+breath), sigh
dahongpalay	(leaf+linker+rice), a green-colored poisonous snake
dalantao	(bring+linker+human), pregnant
kapitbahay	(adjoin+house), neighbor
hampas-lupa	(strike+soil), tramp, bum, good-for-nothing
ingat-yaman	(care+wealth), treasurer
pamatid-uhaw	(for cutting+thirst), quencher
urong-sulong	(go backward+go forward), hesitant, wavering

There is a dearth of compound words in Bikol.

Bikol	English
чablondawanih	(woven cloth+linker+legendary first woman), rainbow

2. ‘Tala- -an’ is treated as a cimcumfix in Tagalog, but I consider it as a compounded word talaan+word, and the word is inserted between tala- and -an. ‘tala’ means record, plus the word for what is recorded, plus the locative affix -an.

Tagalog	English
talátinigan	(record+voice+locative suffix), dictionary
taláaklatan	(record+book+locative suffix), catalogue of books
taláarawan	(record+day+locative suffix), calendar or diary
taláupahan	(record+rent+locative suffix), payroll/wages
taláawitan	(record+lyrics+locative suffix), book of lyrics
talátugtugan	(record+melody+locative suffix), book of melodies

3. ’sang-’ is from ‘isa na’ meaning ‘one+linker’. Bikol and Tagalog has both words prefixed before numbers.

Tagalog	Bikol	English
sangdaan	saŋgatos	(one+linker+hundreds), One hundred
sanglibo	saŋriboh	(one+linker+one thousands), One thousand
sampo	sampuloч	(one+linker+tens), Ten

The difference is that ’sang’ is more productive in Tagalog:

Tagalog	English
sambahayan	(one+linker+house+locative affix), household
sambayanan	(one+linker+town+locative affix), town’s populace
sambuhat	(one+linker+lift), synchronized lifting
sandakot	(one+linker+handscoop), a handful
sandali	(one+linker+quick), one moment
sandamak	(one+linker+handbreadth), a handbreadth
sandangkal	(one+linker+handspan), a span from thumb to middle finger
sandipa	(one+linker+fathom), a fathom
sanduguan	(one+linker+blood+locative affix), blood compact
sanlaksa	(one+linker+ten thousands), ten thousand
sanlinggo	(one+linker+week), one week
sansala	(one+linker+wrong doing), prohibition
sansalita	(one+linker+word), one word
sansinukoban	(one+linker+cover+locative affix), universe
santambak	(one+linker+heap), one big heap/pile
santaon	(one+linker+year), one year
santinakpan	(one+linker+cover+locative affix), universe
santuka	(one+linker+beak), one peck
sang-angaw	(one+linker+millions), one million
sang-ayon	(one+linker+agree), conformity
sangkalangitan	(one+linker+sky+locative affix), heavens, firmament
sangkapuluan	(one+linker+archipelago), the whole archipelago
sangkatauhan	(one+linker+people), humanity
sangkatutak	(one+linker+many), a group of very many/numerous members
sangkaterba	(one+linker+many), a group of very many/numerous members
sangkawan	(one+linker+flock), a flock, herd, school
sangyuta	(one+linker+hundred thousands), one hundred thousand

Bikol have a few words implying agreement or oneness.

Bikol	English
saŋhulih	(one+linker+last), agreement to buy at half the price and halve the profit with the original seller once resold.
saŋgawad	(one+linker+assist), be an assistant
saŋgilid	(one+linker+edge), navigation along one of the river banks.
sampaliŋ	(one+linker+turn to one side), slap/smack on the face

4. di-’ is a Tagalog prefix word meaning ‘not’, similar to English ‘in-, im-, non-, un-”. This is absent in Bikol.

Tagalog	Bikol	English gloss
di-kasal	daчih kasal	‘unmarried’
di-karapatdapat	daчih nadadapat	‘unworthy’
di-maganda	bakoŋ magayon	‘not beautiful
di-magkasundo	daчih magkasundoч	‘incompatible’
di-maari	daчih pwedeh	‘impossible’
di-akalain	daчih akalaчon	‘unexpected’
di-tiyak	daчih siguradoh	‘unsure’

Bikol uses 2 words to negate a phrase, bakuч and daчih. Bakuч is preposed before nominals and daчih before verbs.

Word Formation: Affixation – Nominal Morphology
1. It is often indicated that Tagalog has a circumfix ‘papag- -an’ independent of ‘pag–an’. I don’t agree. ‘papag–an’ is ‘pag–an’ in imperfective aspect form, where the first CV is repeated. This is not ‘pa-’ plus ‘pag-’ prefix.

Tagalog	pag–an > IRR: Redup + pag–an > pa+pag–an
Bikol	pag–an > IRR : pag–an > pa: –an

Since ‘pag-’ is nominal form of the verbal prefix ‘mag-’, ‘pag-’ prefix will follow how the ‘mag-’ prefix also is conjugated in Irrealis mood. In Bikol, ‘mag-’ becomes ‘ma:-’ in the imperfective aspect, irrealis mood of the verb. With Tagalog ‘mag-’, the light version of the 1st syllable of the base word is reduplicated. But since ‘pag-’ affixed word is not a verb, the entire word is treated as a base word.

Tagalog	Bikol	English
pagsayawan > papagsayawan	pagsayawan > pa:sayawan
pagbayuhan > papagbayuhan	pagbabayuhan > pa:babayuhan
paglutuan > papaglutuan	paglutuчan > pa:lutuчan
pagkulahan > papagkulahan	pagkulahan > pa:kulahan

The same relation applies between the Tagalog circumfixes ‘papag–in’ and ‘pag–in’

Tagalog	Bikol	English
pag-aralin > papag-aralin	pagчadalon > pa: чadalon
paglakbayin > papaglakbayin	pagbaklayon > pa:baklayon
pag-awayin > papag-awayin	pagчiwalon > pa:чiwalon
paglaruin > papaglaruin	pagkawaton > pa:kawaton
paghiwain > papaghiwain	paggirison > pa:girison
pagtilarin > papagtilarin	pagtiladon > pa:tiladon

‘papag–an’ and ‘papag–in’ have future meaning since its not in the realis mood. For verbs in realis mood, the noncontinuative aspect is past, while the continuative is present. In irrealis mood, the non-continuative aspect has a neutral tense, but the continuative aspect cannot be present or past since it is not happening now or in the past.

2. Bikol has both para- and taga- prefixes to refer to regular, habitual or professional actions, whereas Tagalog only ‘tagapag-’ or ‘mang-’. ‘Mang-’ is just the irrealis active verb conjugation with reduplication but nominalized through chroneme shifting (see earlier discussion).

Tagalog	Bikol	English
mananahi	paratahiч	seamstress, tailor
manganganta	parakantah	singer (as a solo profession)
tagapagluto	paralutoh	cook, chef
magsasaka	paraчumah	farmer-owner
mangaaway	paraчiwal	fighter
?	parapakiчaram	nosy

Taga- means that the doer is limited/restricted to doing the action of the verb, where it involves other persons doing other parts of the processes or steps.

Tagalog	Bikol	English
tagatahi	tagatahiч	person doing the sewing only, not cutting of fabrics or washing, etc
tagakanta, tagaawit	tagakantah, tagaчawit	singer (in a band, other members do the drums, guitar, etc)
tagaluto	tagalutoч	cook (another is doing the preparation before cooking or serving after cooking)
tagasaka	tagaчumah	farmer (someone else doing the planting, harvesting, husking, financing, selling, etc.)
tagaaway	tagaчiwal	fighter (someone else doing the mediation, refereeing, etc in a fight)

‘Tagapag-’ is derived from ‘taga-’ plus ‘-pag-’, implying a more restricted role in the doing of the nominalized (pag-) action. ‘pag-’ is the nonfinite form of the verbal affix ‘mag-’ added to imply a more direct, active role in doing the action.

What’s the difference between ‘taga-’, ‘tagapag-’, ‘tagapa-’, ‘tagapang-’? Taga- is the affix as discussed above. -pag-, -pa-, and -pang- are the nonfinite forms of the verbal orientation affixes mag-, ma- and mang-, thus the meaning added is the meaning of those verbal orientation affixes. I will discuss these verbal orientation affixes in another post. Both of these are present in Tagalog and Bikol.

Tagalog:

tagalista	tagapalista	tagapaglista	tagapanglista
tagadala	tagapadala	tagapagdala	tagapangdala
tagaulat	tagapaulat	tagapagulat	tagapangulat
tagahukay	tagapahukay	tagapaghukay	tagapanghukay

Bikol:

tagalistah	tagapalistah	tagapaglistah	tagapaŋlistah
tagadarah	tagapadarah	tagapagdarah	tagapaŋdarah
tagaчusip	tagapaчusip	tagapagчusip	tagapaŋчusip
tagakalot	tagapakalot	tagapagkalot	tagapaŋkalot

Although the forms are identical in Bikol, the meanings are not. The Bikol words with ‘tagapag-’ do not have the same meanings as those with ‘para-’.

Thus, both the ‘mang-’ with reduplication and ‘tagapag-’ are present in Bikol as well, except that Bikol does not shift the chroneme in ‘mang-’ to get the ‘profession’ meaning and ‘tagapag-’ has a restricted meaning compared with ‘para-’, and very little meaning difference with ‘taga-’.

3. Kag- prefix in Bikol has no Tagalog counterpart. Its signifies the doer or agent of a completed/finished action if a verb, or owner if a noun. To express this in Tagalog, one has to say use may-, which is also present in Bikol. It means ‘with’.

Tagalog	Bikol	English
maykapal	kaglalaŋ/maylalaŋ	‘creator/ person with creation
mayhandog	kagdulot/maydulot	‘donor/person with donation
may-bahay*	kagharoŋ/mayharoŋ	‘house owner/person with the house’
maylikha	kaggiboh/maygiboh	‘manufacturer, maker, composer/person with the works
maysakit	*kaghelaŋ/mayhelaŋ	xx/person with the sickness, patient

*may-bahay and maybahay are different. Maybahay means ‘housewife’ in Tagalog.

One cannot say in Bikol kaghelang since may- and kag- are not equivalent. may- is used for general possession or possession of anything, while kag- is used for doer of an action or the active agent. Since kag- is absent in Tagalog, Tagalog cannot make such distinction.

4. Bikol has mako- and pako- prefixes, which imply relationship indicated by the rootword. This is absent in Tagalog.

Tagalog	Bikol	English
pamangking lalaki	makoчamaч	‘nephew’
pamangking babae	makoчinaч	‘niece’
apo	makoчapoч	‘granchild’
amain, tiyuhin	pakoчamaчon	‘uncle’
tiyahin	pakoчinaчon	‘auntie’

5. Pagkani- prefix in Bikol, meaning ‘the state of becoming’, is absent in Tagalog. The -ni- component is the same one present in another Bikol prefix mani- ‘to become’. To express the same in Tagalog, one would say ‘pagiging”, which is also possible in Bikol.

Tagalog	Bikol	English
pagiging gwapo	pagkanigwapoh / pagigiŋ gwapoh	‘the state of becoming handsome’
pagiging tao	pagkanitahoh / pagigiŋ tahoh	‘the state of becoming human’
pagiging bata	pagkaniчakiч / pagigiŋ чakiч	‘the state of becoming a child’
pagiging mataas	pagkanihalaŋkaw / pagigiŋ halaŋkaw	‘the state of becoming tall’
pagiging asawa	pagkaniчagom / pagigiŋ чagom	‘the state of becoming a spouse’
pagiging bayan	pagkanibanwaчan / pagigiŋ banwaчan	‘the state of becoming a town’
pagiging ina	pagkaniчinaч / pagigiŋ чinaч	‘the state of becoming a mother’

This is different from pagka- prefix, meaning ‘the state of being’

Tagalog	Bikol	English
pagkagwapo / pagiging gwapo	pagkagwapoh / pagigiŋ gwapoh	‘the state of being handsome’
pagkatao / pagiging tao	pagkatahoh / pagigiŋ tahoh	‘the state of being human’
pagkabata / pagiging bata	pagkaчakiч / pagigiŋ чakiч	‘the state of being a child’
pagkamataas / pagiging mataas	pagkahalaŋkaw / pagigiŋ halaŋkaw	‘the state of being tall’
pagka-asawa / pagiging asawa	pagkaчagom / pagigiŋ чagom	‘the state of being a spouse’

Note that pagigiŋ has a broader meaning in both Tagalog and Bikol, encompassing both pagka- and pagkani- and only Bikol can split the meaning into either.

Word Formation: Affixation – Adjectival Morphology
1. Tagalog has an affix ‘pala-’ meaning’ habitually’. This is expressed in Bikol as ma-in- or -Vr-on‘. Technically they’re different meanings. Both are absent from each other. Note that ‘pala-’ is only affixed to verbs.

Tagalog	Bikol	English
paladasal	maminiчbiч	‘habitually prays’
palabiro	masinubah	‘habitually jokes’
palaimpok	matinimos	‘habitually saves’
palalinis	(?)malininig	‘habitually cleans’
palangiti	mahinuyom	‘habitually smiles’

‘mapa-’, ‘mapag-’ and ‘mapang-’ are used for both nominal words and verb to have the same ‘habitual’ meaning.

Tagalog	Bikol	English
mapagmura		‘habitually curses’
mapagbiro		‘habitually jokes’
mapag-irap		‘habitually sneers’
mapaglakad		‘habitually walks’
mapagtawa		‘habitually laughs’
mapang-away		‘habitually quarrel with someone’
mapang-inis		‘habitually annoy someone’
mapambato		‘habitually stone someone’
mapanira		‘habitually destroys’
mapanuro		‘habitually point someone out’

‘mapa-’, ‘mapag-’ and ‘mapang-’ all imply ’cause the subject to do’ something, whether involuntarity agent subject (mapa-), voluntary agent subject (mapag-, implies habitual action also), or agent subject induces another agent (mapang-).

Tagalog ‘mapa-’, ‘mapag-’ and ‘mapang-’ are not exact semantic equivalents of Bikol para- or Tagalog ‘pala-’. ‘mapa-’, ‘mapag-’ and ‘mapang-’ are combinations of ‘ma-’ adjectival prefix meaning ‘full of’ plus the non-finite forms of the verb. Bikol ma-in-’ has also this same ‘ma-’ adjectival prefix but does not mean the same as ‘ma(pa-,pag-,pang-)’. Bikol para-’ is purely a verb prefix. I am unsure if Tagalog ‘pala-’ shifted in meaning/use from verbal to adjectival.

2. Bikol has ha- as prefix for a special class of adjectives, with the rest of adjectives using ‘ma-. Ha- is affixed only to bases indicating spatio-temporal dimensions. Tagalog has only ma- for all adjectives.

Tagalog	Bikol	English
mataas	halaŋkaw	‘tall’
mababa	hababaч	‘low’
malalim	hararom	‘deep’
mababaw	hababaw	’shallow’
mahaba	halabaч	‘long (spatial)’
matagal	halawig	‘long (temporal)’
maiksi	haliчpot	’short (spatial & temporal)’
malayo	harayoч	‘far’
malapit	haranih	‘near’
makipot	hayakpit	‘narrow’
malapad	halakbaŋ	‘wide’

There are the only exceptions, which follow the other adjectives:

Tagalog	Bikol	English
makapal	mahiчbog	‘thick’
manipis	mahimpis	‘thin’

3. Bikol has a -non suffix, meaning ‘in the nature of’. This is absent in Tagalog.

Tagalog	Bikol	English
x	Bikolnon	‘Bikol+nature, ‘Bikolish’
x	Diyosnon	‘God+nature, godly/divine’
x	dagatnon	’sea+nature, marine’
x	laŋitnon	’sky+nature, heavenly’
x	turognon	’sleep+nature, sleepy/always sleeping,

One cannot say in Bikol tagaturog or tagadiyos, thus -non and taga- are different. When taga- is prefixed to a noun, it denotes a place or spatial location, with the resulting meaning of a person or people residing from or native of a place.

Tagalog	Bikol	English
taga-Bikol	tagaBikol	‘Bikol native/resident’
taga-Manila	tagaManilaч	‘Manila native/resident’

Syntax and Function Words
1. Tagalog has the topic marker ‘ay’, Bikol has ‘чiyoh’ as internal topic marker in equational sentences only but this is not obligatory, for a pause or even nothing can replace it. The pause is the only possible external topic marker.

Example:

Tagalog	Ang mga bata ay naglalaro ng taguan sa aming bahay.
Bikol	Чan maŋah чakiч *(чiyoh/no pause) nagkakawat nin taraguчan sah samoŋ baloy
English	The children are playing hide and seek at our house.

The asterisk (*) in *iyo means its either unattested or ungrammatical to say with ‘iyo’, while ‘/’ means another possibility.

Tagalog	Sa aming bahay ay naglalaro ang mga bata ng taguan.
Bikol	Sah samoŋ baloy *чiyoh/(pause) nagkakarawat чan maŋah чakiч nin taraguчan.
English	At our house, the children are playing hide and seek.

Iyo as topic marker in equational sentence:

Tagalog	Siya ay ang maganda.
Bikol	Siyah чiyoh/(no pause) чan magayon.
English	She is the beautiful one.

In descriptive sentence, iyo is not obligatory:

Tagalog	Siya ay maganda.
Bikol	Siyah *чiyoh/(no pause) magayon.
English	She is beautiful.

I would depart from Hirano who called ‘ay’ a Topic marker and call ‘ay’ instead as a Focus marker in a thematic equative sentence. It is not a Topic marker, unlike ‘wa’ in Japanese, since all markers in Tagalog (ang, ng, sa, si, sina, ni, nina, kay, kina, etc) are prepositions (placed before) unlike Japanese (ga, o, de, ni, etc) which are postpositions (placed after). Also, it does not appear with the topic if the topic is not word initial. It can’t even be called a Topic-Focus linker since ‘ay’, unlike ‘na’ in Tagalog, cannot appear if the words or phrases being linked is reversed.

Example:

NOM na ADJ	saging na matamis
ADJ na NOM	matamis na saging
English Gloss	sweet banana

TOP ay FOC	siya ay maganda
FOC ay TOP	*maganda ay siya.
English Gloss	She is pretty

‘ay’ then is more a Focus marker, if it appears after the topic. In normal sentences, there is no need to mark the focus since it is at the start of the sentence (VSO or VOS sentence pattern).

2. Bikol have no demonstrative equivalent to ‘ire’ in Tagalog, although in Tagalog, that is rarely used lately. With ire’s continued loss, ito is shifting meaning to mean just ‘close to speaker’.

Tagalog	ire	ito	iyan	iyon/yoon
Bikol	*чidih	чinih	чiyan	чitoh/чidtoh
English	this/these (near me),	this/these (near you and me),	that/those (near you),	that/those (far from you and me)

*чidih is a hypothetical form not found in Bikol.

Tagalog yoon and Bikol чidtoh can mean ‘it’ and refer to things that are not visible.

3. Tagalog has comparative and existential demonstrative forms which are absent in Bikol, but can be expressed using 2 words.

Existential:

Tagalog	nandine	nandito/narito	nandiyan/nariyan	nandoon/naroon
English	in here (near me)	in here (near you and me)	in there (near you)	in there yonder (far from you and me)

Comparative:

Tagalog	ganire	ganito	ganiyan	ganoon
English	like this (near me)	like this (near you and me)	like that (near you)	like that yonder (far from you and me)

For Bikol to do that would require 2 words:

Existential = uya + locative:

Bikol	x	чuyah digdih	чuyah diyan	чuyah duman
Tagalog	*nasa dine	*nasa dito	*nasa ayan	*nasa iyon

Comparative = arog + genitive:

Bikol	x	чarog kaчinih	чarog kaчiyan	чarog kaчitoh/katoh
Tagalog	gaya nire	gaya nito	gaya niyan	gaya niyon

4. Tagalog has additional personal pronouns ‘kata, nita and kanita’ lacking in Bikol, although they are rarely used now.

Minimal:

Person / Clusivity	Nominative		Genitive		Oblique
	Tagalog	Bikol	Tagalog	Bikol	Tagalog	Bikol
1st-Excl	ako	чakoh	ko	koh, niyakoч	akin	sakuyaч, sakoч
1st-Incl	kata	x	nita	x	kanita	x
2nd	ikaw,ka	чikah,kah	mo	moh	iyo	saчimoh
3rd	siya	siyah	niya	niyah	kanya	saчiyah

Augmented:

Person / Clusivity	Nominative		Genitive		Oblique
	Tagalog	Bikol	Tagalog	Bikol	Tagalog	Bikol
1st-Excl	kami	kamih	namin	mih, niyamoч	amin	samoч, samuyaч
1st-Incl	tayo	kitah	natin	tah, niyatoч	atin	satoч, satuyaч
2nd	kayo	kamoh	ninyo	nindoh	inyo	saчindoh
3rd	sila	sindah	nila	nindah	kanila	saчindah

It is not right to call the minimal series as singular since the 1st-inclusive is actually dual in meaning. Bikol lacks 1st Inclusive minimal series ‘kata, nita and kanita’.

Tagalog and Bikol has 1 more pronoun each not in the above list. Tagalog ‘kita’ and Bikol taka are portmanteau personal pronouns, being a combined 1st-Exclusive genitive ‘ko’ and 2nd person nominative ‘ikaw’/ka’ or чikah/ka.

Tagalog	Tinanong kita.
Bikol	Hinapot takah.
English	I asked you.

Tagalog	Mahal kita.
Bikol	Namomoчtan takah.
English	I love you.

Word Formation: Affixation – Verbal Morphology
1. Magpati- prefix is rarer in Tagalog than in Bikol. The prefix means ‘to let/allow oneself to, without resistance, passively’

magpatihulog	to allow oneself to fall (from a tree, building, other high place)
magpatianod	to allow oneself to drift (in a current or river)

Tagalog ‘magpatiwakal’ ‘to kill oneself’ is most likely not an instance of ‘magpati-’ affix, but of ‘magpa-’ affix, since (1) the base word is most likely tiwakal, and (2) Magpatiwakal has an active meaning and not passive. There exists no base word ‘wakal ‘ in Tagalog now and if ‘wakal’ is the root word, wakal could be related to ‘wakas’ ‘end’, or to Bikol ‘wakay’ meaning ‘(1) to scatter or spread, (2) to eviscerate, disembowel’. Magpatiwakal could mean then ‘to allow oneself to be scattered/spread, by cutting oneself’. Or it can refer to a suicide method, but as of now we plainly do not know.

Instances of magpati- in Bikol includes:

magpatihulog	to allow oneself to fall (from a tree, building, other high place)
magpatiчanod	to allow oneself to drift (in a current or river)
magpatibasaŋ	to leave oneself to chance
magpatiwaraч	to allow one’s possession go to nothing
magpatilagbaч	to let itself become elongated

And since magpati- is in active voice, there is also a passive voice:
чipati-, pati- -on, pati- -an.

Versative Orientation	Lative Orientation	Essive Orientation
чipinatihulog	pinatihulog	pinatihulogan
чipinatiчanod	pinatiчanod	pinatiчanodan
чipinatibasaŋ	pinatibasaŋ	pinatibasaŋan
чipinatiwaraч	pinatiwaraч	pinatiwaraчan
чipinatilagbaч	pinatilagbaч	pinatilagbaчan

2. Bikol can express plural verbs through -Vr- infix in all moods, transitivity, iterativity, aspects, voices, and focus, while Tagalog has a limited plural affix ‘-si-’, productive only with ‘mag’ ( > magsi-) and mangag ( > mangagsi-). These Tagalog forms are very seldom used. Tagalog has no plural forms for ‘ma-’, ‘mang-’, ‘-in’, ‘-an’, ‘-um’ and ‘i-’, thus Tagalog ’si-’ prefix may not have a plural meaning originally. We will compare ‘magsi-’ with Visayan prefix ‘masig-’ in another post.

Singular:

Tagalog	Naglalaro ang bata.
Bikol	Nagkakawat чan чakiч.
English	The child is playing.

Plural:

Tagalog	Nagsisilaro ang mga bata, or frequently, Naglalaro ang mga bata.
Bikol	Nagkakarawat чan maŋah чakiч.
English	The children are playing.

This -Vr- infix appears in all verb conjugations in Bikol. This infix appears also in nouns and adjectives with plural connotations as well:

pagbaraŋaчbaŋaч	division
pagpurustahan	betting game (plural actors)
pagчiribah	company (plural actors)
pagkaчaramigoh	friendship (plural person)
kapagчarakiчan	generation
harababaч	short (plural form)
mararah	dry (plural form)

This cannot be used to mean plural nouns. Maŋah is used for that.

pagbaraŋaчbaŋaч	maŋah pagbaraŋaчbaŋaч
pagpurustahan	maŋah pagpurustahan
pagчiribah	maŋah pagчiribah
pagkaчaramigoh	maŋah pagkaчaramigoh
kapagчarakiчan	maŋah kapagчarakiчan
harababaч	maŋah harababaч
mararah	maŋah mararah

Maŋag- prefix in Tagalog is not a plural affix, its a collective affix meaning ‘to (do) together with, or in company with’, which is also present in Bikol. This is different from abilitative affix (-ka-). Although fully productive, collective affixes are infrequently used, especially in Bikol. Maŋag- affix is not a comitative/sociative/associative affix since its subject has to be a group including the subject, not someone with whom the subject did the action.

Tagalog	Nangagsisilaro ang mga bata, or frequently, Nangaglaro ang mga bata.
Bikol	Naŋaŋagkarawat чan maŋah чakiч, or Naŋaŋagkawat чan maŋah чakiч.
English	The children (as a group) are playing

Note that Bikol and Tagalog reduplicates different syllables.

The affix nag- -an has reciprocal meaning “to (do) to each other” and is not a plural suffix. This is present in both Bikol and Tagalog. -an suffix has reciprocal meaning only if affix together with nag-, if used alone, it has a locative meaning, unless there is a chroneme shift.

Tagalog	Nagsisuntukan sila, or frequently, Nagsuntukan sila.
Bikol	Nagsuruntukan sindah.
English	They punched each other.

Reciprocal and collective meaning can go together as naŋag- -an. This implies 2+ participants, since there has to be person who can do it to each other and together.

Tagalog	Nangagsisisuntukan sila, or frequently, Nangagsusuntukan sila.
Bikol	Naŋaŋagsuruntukan sindah or Naŋaŋagsuntukan sindah.
English	They punching each other and with each other. (a free for all punching)

Verbs with reciprocal affix co-occur with the subjects in the plural (Bikol & Tagalog) and the verbs may or may not be in the plural (Bikol). This is due to number agreement. Collective affix in Bikol is preferrable without the plural infix, but is possible if several groups.

3. Bikol can express action iterativity, making 3 distinctions, Tagalog cannot. In Bikol, action iterativity distinctions are: non-iterative (no affix), occasional iterative (taga- prefix) and continuous iterative (para- prefix).

Singular:

Tagalog	x
Bikol	Nagkakawat чan чakiч. (Non-iterative)
English	The child is playing (one complete action).

Tagalog	x
Bikol	Nagtatagakawat чan чakiч. (Occasional Iterative)
English	The child plays every now and then (with significant interval).

Tagalog	x
Bikol	Nagpaparakawat чan чakiч. (Continuous Iterative)
English	The child plays again and again (non-stop or insignificant interval ).

Plural:

Tagalog	x
Bikol	Nagkakarawat чan maŋah чakiч. (Non-iterative)
English	The childen are playing (one complete action).

Tagalog	x
Bikol	Nagtatagakarawat чan maŋah чakiч.(Occasional Iterative)
English	The children play every now and then (with significant interval).

Tagalog	x
Bikol	Nagpaparakarawat чan maŋah чakiч.(Continuous Iterative)
English	The children play again and again (non-stop or insignificant interval ).

This is fully productive in all verb conjugations even with collective and reciprocal meanings, and even in nonfinite forms of the verb.

4. Standard Bikol has imperative mood apart from indicative mood through the suffixes -ih and -ah, Standard Tagalog has not. Tagalog dialects close to Bikol and Bisayan languages have, like Quezon Tagalog and Marindoque Tagalog. I do not know if Mindoro Tagalog and Batangas Tagalog dialects have them as well.

Tagalog	Bigyan mo ako ng kanin.
Bikol	Taчuhan moh чakoh nin malutoч or Taчuhih чakoh nin malutoч.
English	Give me (cooked) rice.

Tagalog	Kainin mo ang kanin.
Bikol	Kakanon moh чan malutoч or Kakanah чan malutoч.
English	Eat the (cooked) rice.

5. Both Tagalog and Bikol has active affixes (mag-, ma-, maŋ-, maŋag- and mani-(Bikol only)/magiŋ-) and passive affixes (-in, -an, чi- and -um-). But in Tagalog, majority of verbs either conjugates for -um- or mag- only. In Bikol, both conjugations are possible.

Others have called this a verbal case system, but I think this is not correct, as ‘case’ normally is applied to verb arguments, not the verb itself, and that Tagalog & Bikol has real case markers, called prepositions. Verb Orientation system would be a better term.

Tagalog	Umiyak (*Nagiyak) ang bata.
Bikol	Huminibiч (Naghibiч) чan чakiч.
English	The child cried.

Tagalog	Umupo (*Nagupo) ang bisita.
Bikol	Tuminokaw (Nagtukaw) чan bisitah.
English	The guest/visitor sat down.

Tagalog	Dumating (*Nagdating) kami kahapon.
Bikol	Чuminabot (Nagчabot) kamih kasuhapon.
English	We arrived yesterday.

Tagalog	Nagtanim (*tumanim) ako ng saging.
Bikol	Nagtanom (Tuminanom) чakoh nin batag.
English	We planted a banana.

Tagalog	Nagtanong (*tumanong) siya sa guro.
Bikol	Naghapot (Huminapot) siyah sah paratukdoч.
English	He/she asked the teacher.

* indicates that this form is unattested and/or ungrammatical.

Both -um- and mag- are fully productive in Bikol, although the irrealis imperfective forms are the same in both. Here is an example for the verb ‘tanom’ ‘to plant’.

		Mag-	-um-
Irrealis	Perfective	magtanom	tumanom
	Imperfective	matanom	matanom
Realis Mood	Perfective	nagtanom	tuminanom
	Imperfective	nagtatanom	minatanom

There is syncretism in the irrealis imperfective forms of mag- and -um-. The mag- irrealis imperfective conjugation is irregular and should have been *magtatanom. Such pattern or rule exists in Tagalog (magtatanim). The -um- irrealis imperfective and realis imperfective conjugations are irregular and should have been *tumatanom and *tuminatanom. The correct irrealis imperfective conjugation exists in Tagalog (tumatanim) but as -um- realis imperfective conjugation.

What is the distinction between mag- and -um-? Mag- is active voice, -um- is deponent passive voice, that is, it is active in meaning (syntax) but has a passive form (morphology). Passive voice is indicated in Bikol and Tagalog by morphology and never by syntax. In Tagalog, there is only very limited verbs that can be conjugated for both, but it is fully productive in Bikol.

Both Bikol and Tagalog doesn’t have dedicated reflexive affix or dedicated comitative affixes. Abilitative affix -ka- and -ki- affix can have comitative meanings, but that is not their primary meaning.

6. Bikol has the prefix mani- ‘to become’, which is unproductive and almost absent in Tagalog, if only for the sole occurence of ‘manibago’.

Tagalog	Bikol	English
maging tao	manitahoh	‘become a man’
maging ina	maniчinaч	‘become a mother’
maging anak	maniчakiч	‘become a child’
maging bayan	manibanwaчan	‘become a town’
maging bago	manibaчgoh	‘become new, feel new’

“Maging bago” is also manibago in Tagalog. That’s the only word with mani- prefix in Tagalog. Bikol also uses the verbal auxilliary magiŋ.

This prefix is related to pagkani- (pagkanibaчgoh) and pani- (panibaчgoh). See above discussion of pagkani-.

7. Bikol has an alternative affix for -in- (realis mood), which is pig- for passive verbs. Tagalog does not have that.

Kuminakan	> *Pigkumakan (not possible)
Kinakan	> Pigkakan
Чikinakan	> Чipigkakan
Kinakanan	> Pigkakanan

Register or Speech Level
Bikol has a a speech level or register not found in any Philippine language. Its called “angry register” by Jason Lobel but is a misnomer since one does not have to be angry to use it. One can use it if irritated, or wants to intimidate, antagonize, shock, to illicit laughter, to spice up a conversation, or to put people down or outside their normal place. I would call it Palanit, and the other register Palumhok. Palanit register can also use words that imply vulgar, unpolished behavior, or apply words normally descriptive of animals. Both palanit and palumhok describe the speaker’s attitude towards the thing, or emotions at that moment. The following are just a few of the examples in Bikol.

Palumhok	Palanit	English
чakiч	buldaŋ	child, kid
чalinawnaw	malsuk	eye center (iris & pupil)
чapon	daklag, batikal, tapok	throw
чayam,dayoч	damayoч, gamadyaч	dog
bagas	lamasgas	husked rice
bagyoh, чuran	bagrak, bagwak	rain, typhoon
batay	tuчmak	step on something
bitis	samiŋkil	legs
kakan	gutok, sibaч, lamon	eat
kamot	kamulmog	hand
kurahaw	kagrat, kagsiŋ	shout
kuyamad	kusmad, kuspad	lice eggs
kwartah	samagtak, sagtak, sagrak	money
dagaч	bugaчgaч	land
daplaч	sukamaŋ	fall flat on the face
guraŋ	gusgus	old person
gutom	guslok	hungry
halas	lasulas	snake
haliч	lantuчag, lantot	go away, leave
haroŋ	biray	house
hibiч	ŋuraŋaw	cry
higdaч	чulmoŋ	lie down
higdaчan	чulmoŋan	bed
чintsik	tugalsik	Chinese
laчag	bugtak	put, place
lakawlakaw	baraybasay	walk
laboy	lapuk	mud
lubot	lusabot	behind, ass
maчan, mansay	чagimadmad
matah	чamamatak	eye
mataŋaч	gabsok	midnight
muroч	guramoy	fingers, toes
ŋipon	ŋisloч	teeth
ŋisih	ŋakŋak, pusŋak	laugh
ŋusoч	buŋaŋaч, ŋuraspak, ŋurapak	mouth
ŋuyaч	sakabsakab	chew
чorig	tukaчrig	pig
padiч	lamasdiч	priest
sukah	sukalkag	vomit
taliŋah	taliŋogŋog	ear
taram	yamutam, yamyam	talk
tugaŋ	kabugtoч	brother/sister
tukaw	lapigaч	sit
turog	tiplaч, tupsok, tuspok	sleep
чuran	dunag, bagwak	rain
чutak	чalimantak	mind, brain
burat	lusrat, lasŋaw	drunk, intoxicated
kawat	hamlaч	play
buŋog	lusŋog	deaf
nasuloч	natuprod	burnt

Paŋsahayop are words normally applied to animals but could be applied to humans. These words hit harder when used.

Paŋtahoh	Paŋhayop	English
kagat	taчkab	bite
чinom	raчraч	drink
kakan	habhab	eat
kukoh	kukud	nail
duŋoч	чuŋos	nose
barayboh	balukag	body hair
giчtil	kirag	flirt
darah	lalay, tabag	carry
taram	чuŋaч	talk
ba:gaч	hasaŋ	lungs
ŋabil	tukaч	lips
matabaч	lumbalumbah, чorig	fat
maniwaŋ	чatitiчras, tabilih	thin
kublit	чanit	skin
чagisis	kagiskis, kiskis	dry, scaly skin
kakanon	bahog	food
sabaw	sagmaw	soup
taramtaram	purakputak

Palanit is different than vulgar language or ‘rapsak’. The following are rapsak words and are mostly tabooed so I am indicating their respective replacement words “Panaŋliч”.

Palumhok (Rapsak)	Palanit (Rapsak)	English Gloss	Panaŋliч
pipiч, pitaч, buray, putay	lamasdak	vagina	kinabuhay
pisot, pikoy, butoч	himutoч	penis	kinabuhay
lapit, bayag	lamaчyag	testicles	sugok
kitoч	sagbat	fuck	durog
laчtog	x	erect	tanos
bulbul	x	pubic hair	buhok, barayboh

Palanit words are not cuss words since cuss words are called ‘raway’ or ‘mudah’. I will not list curse words here.

Bikol speech register is the opposite of the 9 register levels in Basa Jawa (Javanese) which are more oriented towards politeness & respect: krama inggil (honorific – talking to people of higher status), krama madya (intermediate – talking to people of same social status/age) & ngoko (ordinary – talking to people of lower status, or familiar/related people). The 9 levels in descending order are mudha-krama, kramantara, wreda-krama, madya-krama, madyantara, madya-ngoko, basa-antya, antya-basa, ngoko-lugu.

Summary
Because of these, it can be said that Bikol is far richer, more expressive than Tagalog in verbal, adjectival, and nominal morphology and speech levels. But Tagalog is richer in compounding, topic/comment markings, and function words. But those Tagalog characteristics are easy to borrow, being words. Tagalog will have a harder time borrowing those Bikol features, even the speech register which need a whole lot of words. Tagalog is Bikol lite, Bikol is Tagalog plus.

These differences say a lot about their common protolanguage, Meso-Philippine. Next we will investigate features in Visayan languages which are absent in Bikol, and note if they are absent in Tagalog as well. Visayan languages are another set of languages belonging to Meso-Philippines.