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KINARAY-A

FELICIA M. FLORES

(photo courtesy of Felicia M. Flores)

About Me and My Language

I am a graduate student at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa in the College of Education with a special focus on Curriculum Studies. As a public high school teacher, teaching Social Studies for first year high school in the Philippines, I was curious about methodology and content, as well as how to make topics in Philippine history interesting and relevant in a way that would allow my students to relate with. Coupled with my interest in history is cultural development work, a passion that allowed me to work in the revitalization and popularization of the Kinaray-a language.

Kinaray-a is one of the oldest language in Panay Island, Western Visayas, Philippines. Panay Island has five provinces: Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Guimaras Island and Antique. Kinaray-a is the first language in Antique, and surrounding interior towns of Iloilo, namely San Joaquin, Miagao, Oton Barotac Viejo, Barotac Nuevo, Malay in Aklan, Tapaz in Capiz and some towns in Guimaras island.

breach

A view of Punta Nasog, Casay, Anini-y, Antique province.

(photo courtesy of Felicia M. Flores)

Kinaray-a, however, despite the number of speakers, is relegated to a marginalized status against Hiligaynon (also called Ilonggo). Hiligaynon is the language used in the City of Iloilo, the capital of the Province. Since the city is the commercial center and where most universities in the region are located, Ilonggo is used as the medium of communication. The current trend of the people to go to the city to find job and to study has an impact on Kinaray-a. The more the people are exposed to the city and urban centers, the more they tend to adapt the city’s language. This tendency is perceived to have an impact on the Kinaray-a language.

Your first name:	Felicia
Your last name:	Flores
e-mail:	floresflc_63 at yahoo dot com
Preferred name(s) of your language:	Kinaray-a
Alternative names:	Karay-a, Bisaya (general term)
Language classification:	Austronesian > Malayo-Polynesian > Philippine > Greater Central Philippine > Central Philippine > Bisayan > West > Kinarayan click here for the SIL Ethnologue classification
Geographical areas where spoken:	Antique and Iloilo Provinces in Panay (Western Visayas); also Palawan, Mindoro, Mindanao, Manila click here for a map from SIL Ethnologue
Approximate number of native speakers:	~ 150,000
Approximate number of fluent speakers:	~ 150,000-200,000
Other languages spoken in area/country:	Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), Cebuano, Tagalog (Filipino)
Official language(s) in your country:	Filipino and English
Language(s) used in school as a child:	Filipino and English
Language(s) used by teachers today:	Kinaray-a, Filipino, and English
Do the representatives of neighboring ethnic groups learn to speak your language:	Yes.
Please specify:	A portion of Hiligaynon population who come to the Kinaray-a provinces learn the language, but those who stay in town centers do not necessarily.
Does you language have a widely accepted writing system?	Yes, but it is under revision.
What materials are written?	stories, songs, unpublished dictionary, Bible (SIL), newsletters, advertisements

NUMBERS:
one	sara
two	darwa
three	tatlo
four	apat
five	lima
six	anüm
seven	pito
eight	walo
nine	siyam
ten	napulo / pulo

*The Kinaray-a data was provided by Felicia M. Flores and organized by graduate student Emerson Odango during the Fall 2009 semester at UHM.