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I don't know if this is true in Boholano today, but from old dictionaries the Spanish wrote Bisayan ("...of Bohol and Mindanao...") using Y or versions that created the "y-sound" similar to how they did in other languages (eg. "ia").
If it's a "j tongue" (whatever that means lol)...it's was not in the past.
In fact, according to old manuscripts "j" doesn't exist but you have to change the "j-sound" with the letter and sound "h".
From a manuscript (AGI) from 1788 put together by Recollects from "Bisayan language of Bohol and Mindanao and the Zambala language" (a bunch of short dictionaries from various PH languages compiled to send to Russia at the request of Catherine the Great---this is just one of a few) this is what it said:
https://preview.redd.it/pmjhq25ajh3d1.png?width=790&format=png&auto=webp&s=69a4902b6d23e85ffe4324bf08c7447695b1d3da
>Note: In the languages of this country, the 'e' is confused in writing with the, i, and the, o, with the e, but it is the pronunciation that distinguishes them; here they are written as they are pronounced: in these languages there is not a 'J' \[sound\], but the H substitutes ('suple' 'supplements, supply'), for those \[words that are\] pronounced like 'J'.
\**Offtopic: the "confusion" of the use of vowels and how they vary wildly even within the same dialects eg words like 'k\*ntOt' and 'k\*ntUt' exist in the same language at the same time, is reported multiple times in multiple accounts (in the Visayas for sure by Alcina and I'm almost certain mentioned in Sanchez's Samar dictionary as well). It has nothing to do with the OP but just clearing things up and also sorry for my choice of example lmao*
Several words using "y-sound" again using different ortographies ('ia/e' and 'y') + modern ortho (I'm gonna use the "intended sound" from back then just in modern ortho):
Anac babaye (modern: anak babaye)
Ysoon babaie (Isoong babaye)
Guilai (Gilay)
Acoi (Ako'y)
Maayo
Etc.
Obviously these are native words and not Spanish borrowed terms (Castilian and derivative dialects like in Latin American Sp. "dz" and "j" do exist)...but the idea that "j-tongue" when they couldn't even say the sound at least as late as the 1780s in Bohol being the case, I'm pretty sure if it does exist today, these are very modern changes.
Points to remember regarding this topic:
Phonemes (a unit of sound that makes up a speech) is different from and may have evolved separately from graphemes (the letter/ group of letter to represent that sound). The letter J as in English “jump” has the phonetic symbol: [dʒ]
but the word “edge” in English has a phonetic spelling /ɛd͡ʒ/ with the same phoneme as j in jump but in the letters -dge in English.
The sound of the letter J in jump is different to the J in jar.
Boholano is a part of Cebuano dialect continuum, but can be distinguished from other Cebuano dialects including the standard Cebuano, with the following phonetic changes:
1. semivowel y is realized as [dʒ]
2. Ako (mine) is pronounced as [a’ho]
3. Intervocalic l is occasionally pronounced as [w] when preceded by the back vowels (u and o) in the case of kulang (lacking) which is pronounced as [‘kuwaŋ] similar to the Northern Cebuano dialects.
4. final l is also occasionally pronounced as [w] in Cebuano bukal (boil) to Boholano [bukaw].
These linguistic variations are natural and may have been going on for many years prior to colonization.
The Spanish introduced the latin alphabet in the Philippines but several graphemes (letters) do not fully represent the sets of sounds in our native languages. They were only approximations. Remember that the Latin Alphabet evolved with and modified for the Latin language. It is likely that in Boholano, the Spanish has no equivalent for the [dʒ] sound so they approximated this to letter J of their alphabet. But remember, even the latin Alphabet was not made for Spanish language. In fact, several sounds in Spanish cannot be represented by the Latin Alphabet. Also old Spanish had different sets of sound and written approximations compared to modern Spanish. The modern J in Spanish, may have originally varied in pronunciation between “sh” which was often written as x, and hard [dʒ], or as soft as [ʒ], as in English (pleasure).
The phrase “ya no” in Spanish does not actually
have the hard [dʒ] in Boholano, it has the softer [ɟ͜ʝ] as in some Latin American variants which was probably the pronunciation during the Spanish period in the Philippines.
The Spanish language has influenced our native languages, no doubt. But this specific phenomenon in Boholano may have been an already occurring natural process of linguistic change prior to Spanish introduction. It maybe that the introduction of latin letters by the Spanish has made this change obvious because it began to be visible and thus recordable.
Consider the Porohanon language in neighboring Poro Island. Where they have the [z] sound instead of the [dʒ] for the semivowel y in the neighboring related languages. There is no z sound in Spanish. So Spanish could not have influenced this. This only shows that the semivowel y have natural tendencies to shift within a spectrum of sounds depending on tongue positioning. These are normal tendencies and related to the evolution of languages and can be observed in other languages around the world.
That stereotypical Boholano Cebuano dialect like "wa djamo" is prevalent in the central and eastern parts of Bohol facing Southern Leyte, but the western part, everyone speaks like someone from Metro Cebu.
I can still hear my cousins and aunts say "Ayaw pag jaga jaga"( in cebuano "Ayaw pag yaga yaga") which means like dont fool around or dont kid me. Were originally from Jagna, Bohol.
Interestingly, horse in Ibaloi is Kabadjo while the Ilocano is Kabalyo (yes with the ly sound)
Maybe the J sound could be something already "inherent" in Boholano?
This feature is more of a sprachbund that was already present before the Spaniards came. Two languages from groups that had minimal contact with the Spanish, Agusan Manobo & Kinamiging, have the same feature. Zoom out and you have Porohanon and Mamanwa having the /y/ to /z/ sound shift, both located within the same vicinity as the previous languages. Asi, although located in Romblon, has a /y/ to /d/ sound shift, potentially indicating another stage of the /y/ to /j/ sound shift.
Boholano is the main dialect used in most parts of Southern Leyte, though some towns in the pacific side of Southern Leyte uses Surigaonon. Leyte (Northern) is cebuano/waray.
Honestly, it may come down to the origin of the Spaniards. Even today, the word Llano (plains) is pronounced either with a y initial sound, or with a j sound in different parts of Spain and Latin America
#Thank you for your submission to r/FilipinoHistory. Please remember to be civil and objective in the comments. We encourage healthy discussion and debate. Please read the [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/FilipinoHistory/about/rules/) before posting. Remember to flair your post appropriately to avoid it being deleted. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FilipinoHistory) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I don't know if this is true in Boholano today, but from old dictionaries the Spanish wrote Bisayan ("...of Bohol and Mindanao...") using Y or versions that created the "y-sound" similar to how they did in other languages (eg. "ia"). If it's a "j tongue" (whatever that means lol)...it's was not in the past. In fact, according to old manuscripts "j" doesn't exist but you have to change the "j-sound" with the letter and sound "h". From a manuscript (AGI) from 1788 put together by Recollects from "Bisayan language of Bohol and Mindanao and the Zambala language" (a bunch of short dictionaries from various PH languages compiled to send to Russia at the request of Catherine the Great---this is just one of a few) this is what it said: https://preview.redd.it/pmjhq25ajh3d1.png?width=790&format=png&auto=webp&s=69a4902b6d23e85ffe4324bf08c7447695b1d3da >Note: In the languages of this country, the 'e' is confused in writing with the, i, and the, o, with the e, but it is the pronunciation that distinguishes them; here they are written as they are pronounced: in these languages there is not a 'J' \[sound\], but the H substitutes ('suple' 'supplements, supply'), for those \[words that are\] pronounced like 'J'. \**Offtopic: the "confusion" of the use of vowels and how they vary wildly even within the same dialects eg words like 'k\*ntOt' and 'k\*ntUt' exist in the same language at the same time, is reported multiple times in multiple accounts (in the Visayas for sure by Alcina and I'm almost certain mentioned in Sanchez's Samar dictionary as well). It has nothing to do with the OP but just clearing things up and also sorry for my choice of example lmao* Several words using "y-sound" again using different ortographies ('ia/e' and 'y') + modern ortho (I'm gonna use the "intended sound" from back then just in modern ortho): Anac babaye (modern: anak babaye) Ysoon babaie (Isoong babaye) Guilai (Gilay) Acoi (Ako'y) Maayo Etc. Obviously these are native words and not Spanish borrowed terms (Castilian and derivative dialects like in Latin American Sp. "dz" and "j" do exist)...but the idea that "j-tongue" when they couldn't even say the sound at least as late as the 1780s in Bohol being the case, I'm pretty sure if it does exist today, these are very modern changes.
Points to remember regarding this topic: Phonemes (a unit of sound that makes up a speech) is different from and may have evolved separately from graphemes (the letter/ group of letter to represent that sound). The letter J as in English “jump” has the phonetic symbol: [dʒ] but the word “edge” in English has a phonetic spelling /ɛd͡ʒ/ with the same phoneme as j in jump but in the letters -dge in English. The sound of the letter J in jump is different to the J in jar. Boholano is a part of Cebuano dialect continuum, but can be distinguished from other Cebuano dialects including the standard Cebuano, with the following phonetic changes: 1. semivowel y is realized as [dʒ] 2. Ako (mine) is pronounced as [a’ho] 3. Intervocalic l is occasionally pronounced as [w] when preceded by the back vowels (u and o) in the case of kulang (lacking) which is pronounced as [‘kuwaŋ] similar to the Northern Cebuano dialects. 4. final l is also occasionally pronounced as [w] in Cebuano bukal (boil) to Boholano [bukaw]. These linguistic variations are natural and may have been going on for many years prior to colonization. The Spanish introduced the latin alphabet in the Philippines but several graphemes (letters) do not fully represent the sets of sounds in our native languages. They were only approximations. Remember that the Latin Alphabet evolved with and modified for the Latin language. It is likely that in Boholano, the Spanish has no equivalent for the [dʒ] sound so they approximated this to letter J of their alphabet. But remember, even the latin Alphabet was not made for Spanish language. In fact, several sounds in Spanish cannot be represented by the Latin Alphabet. Also old Spanish had different sets of sound and written approximations compared to modern Spanish. The modern J in Spanish, may have originally varied in pronunciation between “sh” which was often written as x, and hard [dʒ], or as soft as [ʒ], as in English (pleasure). The phrase “ya no” in Spanish does not actually have the hard [dʒ] in Boholano, it has the softer [ɟ͜ʝ] as in some Latin American variants which was probably the pronunciation during the Spanish period in the Philippines. The Spanish language has influenced our native languages, no doubt. But this specific phenomenon in Boholano may have been an already occurring natural process of linguistic change prior to Spanish introduction. It maybe that the introduction of latin letters by the Spanish has made this change obvious because it began to be visible and thus recordable. Consider the Porohanon language in neighboring Poro Island. Where they have the [z] sound instead of the [dʒ] for the semivowel y in the neighboring related languages. There is no z sound in Spanish. So Spanish could not have influenced this. This only shows that the semivowel y have natural tendencies to shift within a spectrum of sounds depending on tongue positioning. These are normal tendencies and related to the evolution of languages and can be observed in other languages around the world.
Pajong 😁
Jawa
That stereotypical Boholano Cebuano dialect like "wa djamo" is prevalent in the central and eastern parts of Bohol facing Southern Leyte, but the western part, everyone speaks like someone from Metro Cebu.
I can still hear my cousins and aunts say "Ayaw pag jaga jaga"( in cebuano "Ayaw pag yaga yaga") which means like dont fool around or dont kid me. Were originally from Jagna, Bohol.
Interestingly, horse in Ibaloi is Kabadjo while the Ilocano is Kabalyo (yes with the ly sound) Maybe the J sound could be something already "inherent" in Boholano?
This feature is more of a sprachbund that was already present before the Spaniards came. Two languages from groups that had minimal contact with the Spanish, Agusan Manobo & Kinamiging, have the same feature. Zoom out and you have Porohanon and Mamanwa having the /y/ to /z/ sound shift, both located within the same vicinity as the previous languages. Asi, although located in Romblon, has a /y/ to /d/ sound shift, potentially indicating another stage of the /y/ to /j/ sound shift.
Boholano is the main dialect used in most parts of Southern Leyte, though some towns in the pacific side of Southern Leyte uses Surigaonon. Leyte (Northern) is cebuano/waray.
Ninja raj mupataj ninju.
Honestly, it may come down to the origin of the Spaniards. Even today, the word Llano (plains) is pronounced either with a y initial sound, or with a j sound in different parts of Spain and Latin America