The Tagalog Variety of Nueva Ecija

Andrea Genaline P. Abella

MICHAEL WILSON I. ROSERO

Editor

Irma U. Peneyra, Ph.D

Advisor

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the
Degree of Bachelor of Arts
in Linguistics

University of the Philippines

Diliman, Quezon City 1101

March 2012
 The Tagalog Variety of Nueva Ecija Abella

Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION

1.0. GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE LANGUAGE

1.1. THE PROVINCE OF NUEVA ECIJA

1.1.1 History
1.1.1.1. Spanish Era
Nueva Ecija was created as a military comandancia in 1777 by Governor General
Clavería, with the capital, Josean at Baler (now part of Aurora). It was formerly part of the
province of Pampanga. From its humble beginning, its land area grew to cover almost the entire
island of Luzon. Spanish records in the Philippines recognize 2 Spanish countries in the Pacific -
Las Islas Filipinas and Nueva Écija. However, Nueva Ecija was not given recognition as a
separate country from the Philippines by the King of Spain in 1840s due to poverty. From 1777
to 1917, Nueva Ecija’s land was further subdivided to give way to the emergence of other
provinces. The Province of Tayabas (now Aurora and Quezon) including Polillo Islands, the
provinces of Palanan (now Isabela), Cagayan, the province of Nueva Vizcaya, the territory
which became part of the Province of Quirino, and the province of Manila north of the province
of Tondo in 1867, and the District of Morong (now Rizal) were among those created out of
Nueva Ecija.

1.1.1.2. Second World War

It is during World War II when the Imperial Japanese Army conquered the province and
Nueva Ecija was taken in 1942. Hukbalahap (Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon-People's Army
Against the Japanese), under the leadership of Luis Taruc, settled in Sitio Bawit, Barrio San
Julian in the town of Cabiao. The Communist Party of the Philippines triggered the beginning
of the early organized resistance of the Filipino people.

In 1945, combined American and Filipino soldiers liberated Nueva Ecija with the
recognized guerrillas continuing to harass the Japanese at every opportunity. When Filipino
soldiers of the 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th and 26th Infantry Division of the Philippine
Commonwealth Army and the 2nd Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary was re-
invading launches to entering liberated the province of Nueva Ecija and helping recognized
guerrilla resistance fighter units, the Hukbalahap Communist guerrillas and the American
troops against the Japanese Imperial forces during the Invasion of Nueva Ecija.

On January 30, 1945 American Army Rangers, Alamo scouts and Filipino guerrillas
conducted a raid to liberate Allied civilians and prisoners of war in Cabanatuan, this was
successful with over 516 rescued. By January 31, 1945, the liberated civilians and POWs reached
Talavera, the rescue is commemorated in Talavera. The province was named after the old city of
Écija in Seville, Spain.

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In 1896, Nueva Ecija became one of the first provinces to revolt against Spanish rule, and
one of the provinces which declared its independence in 1898.

1.1.2. Subdivision
The province is divided into four congressional districts which consists of 27
municipalities and 5 cities.

Figure 1. Map of Nueva Ecija with its district division

The First District composed of nine (9) municipalities: Aliaga, Cuyapo, Guimba, Licab,
Nampicuan, Quezon, Santo Domingo, Talavera, Zaragoza with a combined population of
475,728) is represented by five (5) Congress members.

The Second District composed of two (2) cities: Muñoz City, San Jose City; and six (6)
municipalities: Carranglan, Llanera, Lupao, Pantabangan, Rizal, Talugtug with a combined
population of 396, 236) is represented by five (5) Congress members.

The Third District composed of two (2) cities: Cabanatuan City, Palayan City; and five
(5) municipalities: Bongabon, Gabaldon, General Mamerto Natividad, Laur, Santa Rosa with a
combined population of 519, 144) is represented by four (4) Congress members.

The Fourth District composed of a city: Gapan City; and seven (7) municipalities: Cabiao,
General Tinio, Jaen, Peñaranda, San Antonio, San Isidro, San Leonardo with a combined
population of 462, 755) is represented by five (5) Congress members.

1.1.3. Location and Topography

This landlocked province is located on the northeastern part of the broad central plain of
Luzon and its terrain begins with the southwestern Candaba Swamp near the Pampanga border,

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levels off, then gradually increases in elevation to rolling hills as it approaches the Sierra Madre
range which forms its forested eastern flank. The Cordillera and Caraballo, which separates it
from the Cagayan Valley, is in the northeast. It extends 45 kilometers from north to south and
88 kilometers from east to west.

The province is drained by four rivers. The Rio Grande de Pampanga cuts through the
province's midsection, the Chico River is along the boundary with Tarlac in the west, the
Damian River is in the north and the Penaranda River is in the south.

1.2. THE TAGALOG LANGUAGE

Tagalog belongs to the Austronesian language family under the Malayo-Polynesian sub-
group. Other languages in this group are Javanese, Indonesian, Malay, Cham (of Vietnam and
Cambodia), Tetum (of East Timor) and Tao language of Taiwan. It is closely related to the
languages spoken in the Bicol and Visayas regions such as Bikol and the Visayan group
including Hiligaynon, Waray-Waray, and Cebuano. It is then became the basis of the national
language of the Philippines, Filipino in 1937. Languages that have made significant
contributions to Tagalog are Spanish and English.

The word Tagalog derived from tagailog, from tagá- meaning "native of" and ílog
meaning "river." Thus, it means "river dweller." Researches of some linguists such as Dr. David
Zorc and Dr. Robert Blust, the Tagalogs originated, along with their Central Philippine cousins,
from Northeastern Mindanao or Eastern Visayas.

1.2.1. Dialects of Tagalog

At present, no comprehensive dialectology has been done in the Tagalog-speaking
regions, though there have been descriptions in the form of dictionaries and grammars on
various Tagalog dialects. The Tagalog homeland, or Katagalugan, covers roughly much of the
central to southern parts of the island of Luzon - particularly in Aurora, Bataan, Batangas,
Bulacan, Camarines Norte, Cavite, Laguna, Metro Manila, Nueva Ecija, Quezon, Rizal, and
large parts of Zambales. Tagalog is also spoken natively by inhabitants living on the islands,
Marinduque, Mindoro, and large areas of Palawan. Among these distinctive regional dialects,
the dialect of Bulacan is sometimes considered to be the purest, showing perhaps fewer signs
than the others of the influence of Spanish, English, or neighboring Philippine languages. But it
is the dialect of Manila that is now generally regarded as standard, in both pronunciation and
grammar, by virtue of its prestige as the dialect of the capital and of its overwhelming
numerical superiority (Shachter and Otanes, 1972).

Some examples of dialectal differences are the preservation of glottal stop found after
consonants and before vowels which has been lost in standard Tagalog. For example standard
Tagalog ngayon (now, today), sinigang (broth stew), gabi (night), matamis (sweet), are
pronounced and written ngay-on, sinig-ang, gab-i, and matam-is in other dialects.

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In Teresian-Morong Tagalog, [ɾ] is usually preferred over [d]. For example, bundók, dagat,
dingdíng, and isdâ become bunrók, ragat, ringríng, and isrâ, as well as their expression seen in
some signages like "sandok sa dingdíng" was changed to "sanrok sa ringríng".

The progressive aspect prefix of -um- verbs is na- is found in many southern dialects. For
example, standard Tagalog kumakain (eating) is nákáin in Quezon and Batangas Tagalog. This is
the butt of some jokes by other Tagalog speakers since a phrase such as nakain ka ba ng pating is
interpreted as "did a shark eat you?" by those from Manila but in reality means "do you eat
shark?" to those in the south.;

Finally, some dialects have interjections which are a considered a trademark of their
region. For example, the interjection ala e! usually identifies someone from Batangas as does
hane?! in Rizal and Quezon provinces.

1.2.2. Literature on the Language

The first written record of Tagalog is in the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, written in
the year 900 and uses fragments of the language along with Sanskrit, Malay, and Javanese.
Meanwhile, the first known book to be written in Tagalog is the Doctrina Cristiana (Christian
Doctrine) of 1593. It was written in Spanish and two versions of Tagalog; one written in the
Baybayin script and the other in the Latin alphabet. Throughout the 333 years of Spanish
occupation, there were grammar and dictionaries written by Spanish clergymen such as
Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala by Pedro de San Buenaventura (Pila, Laguna, 1613),
Vocabulario de la lengua tagala (1835) and Arte de la lengua tagala y manual tagalog para la
administración de los Santos Sacramentos (1850). Poet Francisco Baltazar (1788–1862) is
regarded as the foremost Tagalog writer. His most notable work is the early 19th-century
Florante at Laura.

1.3. DATA AND METHODOLOGY

1.3.1. Informants
The informants were chosen based on the following criteria: a) they are natives of the
place; b) they are knowledgeable about their native culture; b) they know how read and write;
and d) they are available for the interview. Generally, their ages range from 17-58 years old. The
complete list of the informants can be found in the Appendix.

1.3.2. Data Gathering

Since the study focused on the sentence constructions of the native speakers of Nueva
Ecija Tagalog, data were gathered by listing and recording the sentences the researcher heard
while in public places in Nueva Ecija e.g. public market, basketball court, church, city hall, etc.
Those sentences the researcher thinks peculiar from other Tagalog native speakers were
compiled and became the basis of the survey used by the researcher.

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The informants were asked if those sentences sound natural to them, if they understand
the meaning of those sentences, and if they think the construction of those sentences sound
natural or grammatical.

1.3.3. Methods of Analysis

TTEST was the statistical technique used to analyze the data. This analysis is appropriate
whenever you want to compare the means of two groups whether they are statistically different
from each other. In this study, the difference between the northern (First and Second districts)
and southern (Third and Fourth districts) parts of Nueva Ecija in terms of their acceptability of
the peculiarity of TNE was analyzed.

TTEST Procedure on Tagalog-Novo Ecijano

The TTEST Procedure

Statistics

Lower CL Upper CL Lower CL Upper CL

Variable tag N Mean Mean Mean Std Dev Std Dev Std Dev Std Err
]
accept First and 24 45.438 47.167 48.895 3.1812 4.0931 5.7417 0.8355
Second
District
accept Third and 18 33.58 39.556 45.531 9.0165 12.016 18.013 2.8321
Fourth
District
accept Diff (1-2) 2.3013 7.6111 12.921 6.9177 8.4258 10.781 2.6272

T-Tests

Variable Method Variances DF t Value Pr > |t|

accept Pooled Equal 40 2.90 0.0061

accept Satterthwaite Unequal 20 2.58 0.0180

Equality of Variances

Variable Method Num DF Den DF F Value Pr > F

accept Folded F 17 23 8.62 <.0001

The TTEST Procedure

Statistics

Lower CL Upper CL Lower CL Upper CL

Variable N Mean Mean Mean Std Dev Std Dev Std Dev Std Err

accept 42 41.052 43.905 46.757 7.532 9.154 11.673 1.4125

T-Tests

Variable DF t Value Pr > |t|

accept 41 4.53 <.0001

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1.4. THEORETICAL APPROACH

In this study, the researcher relies mainly on the observations and patterns and
constructions found in both discourse and written data. The discussion that follows explicates
the different grammatical theories used in this study.

1.4.1. Descriptive and Comparative Linguistics

It was only in the sixties, during the rise of generative grammar, that descriptive was
used in a third contrast pair, i.e. in contrast to generative, explanatory, or formal, the
characterizing attributes of the Chomskyan enterprise. Descriptive linguistics, as we all know,
describes the structure of language as it exists today. In contrast with prescriptivism, when the
descriptivist hears a word or sentence that contradicts her model of the language, it is the model
which must be corrected, not the speaker.

While describing a structure of a language at one point in time, it is inevitable to

compare its grammatical features to other languages especially if there shows apparent
evidences of their possible genetic similarities. Comparative linguistics aims to construct
language families, to reconstruct proto-languages and specify the changes that have resulted in
the documented languages. The fundamental technique of comparative linguistics is to compare
phonological systems, morphological systems, syntax and the lexicon of two or more languages
using techniques such as the comparative method.

1.4.2. Contact Linguistics

Contact Linguistics is a critical investigation of what happens to the grammars of
languages when bilingual speakers use both their languages in the same clause (Myers-Scotton,
2002). The field of contact linguistics is not limited to just the study of “interference,” but covers
all the linguistic consequences of contact, including phenomena such as simplification and
various other kinds of restructuring that characterize the outcomes of contact.

Such contact can have a wide variety of linguistic outcomes. In some cases, it may result
in only slight borrowing of vocabulary. In the case of Nueva Ecija Tagalog, it is the form and
function of pronouns, as well as its case determiners that changed that has become peculiar
among the other dialects of Tagalog.

1.4.2. Ergative analysis

Philippine languages have been always described under the mold of nominative-
accusative, patterned to that of English. However, recent studies have shown, as pioneered by
Cena (1977), De Guzman (1979) and Starosta (1982), that Philippine languages favor the patient
orientation, as seen in Tagalog basic constructions. In their studies, Starosta, Pawley and Reid
(1980) claimed that Proto-Austronesian, to which Philippine languages belong, is a mixed
ergative language, in the sense of the patient being the primary choice for the unmarked and
syntactically prominent position. Another view claims that Philippine languages are neither

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ergative nor accusative. Shibatani (1988) proposed that Philippine languages, having the
characteristics of both ergative and accusative, should be treated as a separate type of language.

This study will analyze Tagalog in the tradition of ergative analysis. Dixon (1979, 1994)
proposes that the fundamental difference between accusative and ergative languages is the way
in which primitive grammatical roles are aligned with respect to certain morphological and
syntactic characteristics. The primitives Dixon identifies are: transitive subject (A), transitive
object (O), and intransitive subject (S). S is the sole argument of an intransitive construction and
the most affected entity while A is the source of action and O is the most affected entity in a
transitive construction (Nolasco, 2006). In an ergative language, the case marker that appears
with the subject (S) of an intransitive verb is the same as that which marks the object (O) of a
transitive verb. With this characterization, De Guzman (1988) claimed that the host of
Philippine languages qualifies as such a type of language.

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Chapter 2
TAGALOG-NOVO ECIJANO

2.0. MORPHOSYNTAX OF TAGALOG LANGUAGE

This section will give a brief description of the Tagalog language. This will be the basis
for comparison between the standard variant and Tagalog-Novo Ecijano. By standard, we mean
the variety used and understand by the majority of the speakers of the language.

2.1. ARGUMENT STRUCTURE

Predicate–argument structure (PAS) has been shown to be highly valuable in tasks such
as information extraction (Surdeanu et al., 2003; Miyao et al., 2009). It encodes lexical
information about the number of arguments, their syntactic type, and their hierarchical
organization necessary for the mapping to syntactic structure (Bresnan, 1995). It also encodes
prominence relations among arguments that reflect both their thematic and their aspectual
properties (Grimshaw, 1990).

Tagalog is identified as a verb-initial language, with relatively free word order of verbal
arguments (Kroeger, 1993). Its argument structure is exhibited by its voice marking system, a
morpho-syntactic phenomenon which is common in Austronesian languages and gives
prominence to an element in a sentence (Schachter and Otanes, 1972; Kroeger, 1993). Voice
marking also determines the number of arguments in a clause. In Philippine languages, there
are three ways to determine the argument structure of a Philippine language: a) case marking
system; b) voice affix; and c) pronouns.

2.1.1 Voice Marking System

Voice (called ‘focus’ in most references) is the feature of the verb where a special noun is
co-indexed to an affix in the verb identifying it as the most affected entity. It distinguishes forms
or a system of inflections of a verb to indicate the relation of the most affected entity of the verb
to the action which the verb expresses.

2.1.1.1. Case Markers

Nouns phrases are usually introduced by grammatical markers called case markers.
Case as used in this study pertains to how the arguments of a predicate are formally encoded to
distinguish between S (the only argument of an intransitive construction), A (the most agentive-
type and the source of the action in a transitive construction, O (the most patient-type and most
affected entity in a transitive construction) and obliques (the non-argument type). S, A, and O
may be referred to as the core cases, while any other argument which is not an A, an S or an O is
an oblique.

There are three case markers in Tagalog: ang/si, ng/ni and sa/kay. They are by convention
written as separate preposing words. The S of the intransitive and the O of the transitive
constructions are marked by ang/si, the absolutive case marker as seen in (1). The A of the

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transitive construction is marked distinctly by ng/ni, the ergative marker as in (2). The oblique
case marker sa/kay is predominantly used for goals, recipients, locations and definite objects as
shown in (1) and (2). Another ng/ni-phrase which is also considered as oblique is used to mark
possessions.

1. Humalik ang bata sa matandang babae.

P S OBL
‘The child kissed the old woman.’

2. Hinalikan ng bata ang matandang babae sa pisngi.

P A O OBL
‘The child kissed the old woman.’

Example (1) is an intransitive construction. Its argument, the bata is marked by ang and
identified as both source of the action and the most affected entity. Example 2 is a type of
transitive construction. In (2) the bata is marked ng, identified as the source of action while the
matanda, which is marked by ang is the most affected entity. In both examples, those that are
marked by sa is considered oblique. The entities matanda and pisngi are not completely affected.
In terms of meaning, the source and the most affected entity the kissing action in (1) is the bata.
In 2, the agent deliberately and purposely kisses the old woman.

2.1.1.2. Voice Affixes

Tagalog has rich verbal morphology which gives prominence to a particular entity in a
clause. Voice marking system is one. In Tagalog, intransitive clauses are those whose verbs take
the –um- or m- affixes which co-indexes to an S, which corresponds to source of action and most
affected entity. This S is preceded by the determiner ang or si. See the examples below:

Table 1. Voice Affixes of Tagalog

Intransitive Transitive
-um- i- (instrument)
m- -in (beneficiary)
-an (location/goal)

3. T-<um>-akbo ang bata.

INT.PERF-<m>-run ABS child
Tumakbo ang bata.
‘The child ran.’

4. M-(p)ag-hanap ka ng maayos
INT.NEUT(m-)-STEM-look.for 2ABS.SG OBL.POSS good
na lugar.
LKR place
Maghanap ka ng maayos na lugar.

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‘Please look for a good place.’

Meanwhile, transitive clauses are those whose verbs whose verbs have –in,- an, and i-
which co-index an O. This O which is the most affected entity is marked by the ang or si, while
A, the source of action is marked by ng or ni.

5. B-<in>-ili ng bata ang mangga sa palengke.

TR.PERF(-in)-buy ERG child ABS mango OBL market
Binili ng bata ang mangga sa palengke.
‘The child bought the mango in the market.’

6. I-b-<in>-ili ng bata ang babae

TR(i-)-<PERF>-buy ERG child ABS woman
ng mangga.
OBL mango
Ibinili ng bata ang babae ng mangga.
“The child bought the mango for the woman.”

7. B-<in>-ilh-an ng bata ang babae ng mangga.

Buy-PERF-TR(-an) ERG child ABS woman OBL mango
Binilhan ng bata ang babae ng mangga.
‘The child bought the woman a mango.’

2.1.1.3. Pronouns
Pronouns are also used to mark the arguments in the clause. They take the place of full
noun phrases in the clause. In most cases, personal pronouns are used to track referents across
clauses but there are instances that demonstrative pronouns are also used.

8. I-t-<in>-umba niya ang bisikleta.

TR(-)-<PERF>-put.down. 3ERG ABS bicycle
Itinumba niya ang bisikleta.
‘He put down the bicycle.’

9. I-t-<in>-umba niya ito.

TR(-)-<PERF>-put.down. 3ERG PROX.ABS
Itinumba niya ang ito.
‘He put it (the bicycle) down.’

Pronouns take the case of the noun phrase they replace. In (8), the third personal
pronoun niya replaces ng bata as the argument of the clause while in (9), the proximal
demonstrative pronoun ito replaces the full noun phrase ang bisikleta and is marked as
absolutive. Table 1 shows the personal pronouns in Tagalog.

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Table 2. Personal pronouns in Tagalog

Person Absolutive Ergative Oblique Topic
SINGULAR
First ako ko (sa) akin ako
Dual kita (nita) (kanita) kita
Second ka mo (sa) iyo ikaw
Third siya niya (sa) kanya siya
PLURAL
First kami namin (sa) amin kami
Dual tayo (nita) (kanita) tayo
Second kayo ninyo (sa) inyo kayo
Third sila nila (sa) kanila sila

Table 3. Demonstrative pronouns of Tagalog

Spatial Orientation Absolutive Ergative Oblique
TAGALOG STANDARD
near speaker ito nito dito
near hearer iyan niyan diyan
far from both iyon noon doon

2.2. CLAUSE STRUCTURE

2.2.1. Clause formation

A meaningful discourse is produced when morphemes combined to form words; words
to form phrases, phrases combine to form clauses. A clause is the basic unit of discourse for
accomplishing the ends in communication.

Clause can express two kinds of ideas: first, ideas of state and activities; and second,
ideas of entities or referents that participate in those states and activities. Those that denote state
and activities are expressed by verbs while entities that we want to talk about are expressed by
nouns. Noun and verb phrases make the basic predication. Other word classes like determiners,
numerals, and clitic particles are discourse markers that enhance the predication (Nolasco, 2010).

Clauses may be unmarked or pragmatically marked Unmarked clauses are simple

declarative clauses which do not perform any specialized function other than to state an idea or
transmit information. Pragmatically-marked clauses are used in more specialized contexts.
They may exhibit variant intonation (as in questions), word order (as in focus or cleft
constructions) or clause structure (as in relative clauses).

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2.2.2. Basic word order

Tagalog, like most of Philippine languages have been analyzed as predicate-initial.
Predicate-initial languages normally have a PAO/POA order for transitive clauses. Take a look
at the following examples (10-12):

Cebuano-Kana
10. Gi-pa-múnit niya kini
PERF-STEM-pick.up 3ERG PROX.ABS
Pinulot niya ito.
‘He picked it up.’

Ilokano
11. In-kabil=na [ø]O diay bisikleta=na
PERF-load-TR(i-)=3ERG PROX.ABS bisikleta=3POSS
Inilagay niya (ang basket) sa bisikleta niya.
’He loaded it in his bicycle.’

Tagalog
12. …ini<la>lagay niya ito sa isa=ng basket
TR.IMPF-<RED>-load 3ERG PROX.ABS OBL NUM=LKR N
Inilalagay niya ito sa isang basket.
‘He is loading it in one of the basket.’

However, recent studies have shown that Tagalog has predicate-medial tendencies. It
allows arguments to occupy the pre-predicate position due to certain pragmatic conditions,
namely: a) setting the scene; b) list of information; c) expressing exclusivity or contrast; and d)
clitic position or movement. This movement is called preposing (Tanangkingsing, 2010; Rosero,
2010). Examples 13 and 14 illustrate this:

Tagalog
13. Siya ay n-(k)a-distrak
3ABS LKR PERF(n-)-STEM-distract
Siya ay nadistrak.
‘He was distracted.’

14. Kanya=ng t-<in>-awag ang bata

3ERG=LKR PERF-call-TR(-in) ABS
Kanyang tinawag ang bata.
‘He calle the child.’

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2.3. TAGALOG-NOVO ECIJANO

2.3.1. Language Identification
Tagalog and Ilocano are the two widely spoken languages in Nueva Ecija. As years
passed by, Tagalog became the predominant language for it has been recognized as the lingua
franca not only in the province, but also in the country. Later generations of the Novo Ecijanos
usually consider Tagalog as their first language.

Tagalog is a member of Central Philippines family of languages within the Austronesian

family and is closely related to the languages spoken in the Bicol and Visayas regions such as
Bikol and the Visayan group including Hiligaynon and Cebuano. It was selected as the basis of
the national language of the Philippines by the National Language Institute in 1937.

However, unlike the ‘standard’ Tagalog variant spoken in most of Tagalog-speaking

areas, the Tagalog of Nueva Ecijia surely has its peculiarities. People from other areas will find
their constructions weird or unnatural and would even deem it ungrammatical. This section
will examine these eccentricities closely.

2.3.2 Nominal Marking System

2.3.2.1. Case Determiners
Determiners are grammatical markers that introduce nouns and noun phrases.
Philippine determiners differ from that of English whose function is restricted only to indicating
definiteness of an entity (e.g. the ball versus a ball). They function to instantiate (or make an
instance of) nouns and establish as referential. In this study, they will be called as case
determiners because they also mark the case of the arguments present in the clause.

As discussed in the previous section, ang/si/sina are absolutive case markers, ng/ni/nina
are ergative case markers and sa/kay/kina are oblique case markers. Absolutive marks the S
(intransitive) and O (transitive) while ergative marks the A.

Examples (15-18) are analyzed as intransitive constructions. They consist of only one
core argument and an oblique. However, speakers of Tagalog-Novo Ecijano mark their
arguments differently. Take a look at the following examples:

Standard Tagalog
15. N-(k)a-galing-an k-<um>-anta si Juan kay Pedro.
PERF(n)-STEM-good-V.STAT(-an) <INT.PERF>-sing ABS Juan OBL Pedro
Nagalingan kumanta si Pedro kay Juan.
‘Juan was amazed by Pedro’s singing.’

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano
16. N-(k)a-galing-an k-<um>-anta ni Juan si Pedro.
PERF(n)-STEM-good-V.STAT(-an) <INT.PERF>-sing ABS Juan OBL Pedro

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Nagalingan kumanta ni Pedro si Juan.

‘Juan was amazed by Pedro’s singing.’

Standard Tagalog
17. N-(k)a-ingay-an ang mga matatanda sa mga bata.
PERF-STEM-noise-V.STAT ABS PL old.PL OBL PL child
Naingayan ang mga matatanda sa mga bata.
‘The adults were distracted by the noise of the children.’

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano
18. N-(k)a-ingay-an ng mga matatanda ang mga bata.
PERF-STEM-noise-V.STAT ABS PL old.PL OBL PL child
Naingayan ang mga matatanda sa mga bata.
‘The adults were distracted by the noise of the children.’

The examples illustrate that although the meaning is the same, speakers of TNE mark
their arguments differently as opposed to the standard Tagalog variant. In TNE, the S (source of
action and the most affected entity) of the intransitive clause is marked by ng/ni/nina. In
standard Tagalog, it is typically marked by absolutive ang/si/sina. Meanwhile, the absolutive
marker ang/si/sina in ST is used to mark the oblique case in TNE.

This is only applicable to intransitive clauses. Transitive clauses are still marked the
same in both ST and TNE as shown in example (20).

Standard Tagalog and Tagalog Novo-Ecijano

19. T-<in>-awag kami ng mga faculty.
<PERF>-call-TR(-an) 3ABS.PL ERG PL faculty
Tinawag kami ng mga faculty.
‘We were called by the faculty members.’

Table 4 and 5 summarize and compare the case marking system of ST and TNE.

Table 4. Case determiners of Standard Tagalog (ST)

INTRANSITIVE
Absolutive Ergative Oblique
Personal si/sina kay/kina
Non-personal ang (mga) sa (mga)
TRANSITIVE
Absolutive Ergative Oblique
Personal si/sina ni/nina kay/kina
Non-personal ang (mga) ng (mga) sa (mga)

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Table 5. Case determiners of Tagalog-Novo Ecijano (TNE)

INTRANSITIVE
Absolutive Ergative Oblique
Personal ni/niya/nila si/siya/sila
Non-personal ng (mga) ang (mga)
TRANSITIVE
Absolutive Ergative Oblique
Personal si/siya/sila ni/niya/nila kay/kina
Non-personal ang (mga) ng (mga) sa (mga)

2.3.3 Pronominal System

As mentioned in the preceding section, pronouns are also used to indicate the prominent
participant or argument in a clause. Pronouns typically replace noun phrases in the clause.
Speakers use pronouns to refer to arguments that have been previously mentioned in the
discourse. They do so to avoid redundancy in speech and mainly for the sake of speaker’s
economy. In most cases, personal pronouns are used to refer to referent once introduced into
the discourse. However, there are instances that demonstratives pronouns replaced the noun
phrases as well as the pronouns. As shown in example (20), the underlined argument batang
lalaking sakay ng bisikleta is replaced by proximate demonstrative pronoun ito.

20. Habang nangunguha, may batang lalaking sakay ng bisikleta ang dumaan. Huminto ito
at itinumba ang bisikleta.
‘While harvesting the fruits, a boy who was riding a bicycle passed by. He stopped and put down
his bicycle.’

2.3.3.1. Personal pronouns

Pronouns also determine the case of the arguments. In TNE, pronouns have forms
different from the standard Tagalog variant. However, similar to its case marking system, only
the intransitive clauses have distinct pronoun forms. Transitive clauses are still marked the
same.

The pronouns used in both transitive and intransitive clauses are in Tables 6 and 7. The
ergative case markers are used to identify the absolutive case, while oblique case is marked by
absolutive markers. The following examples further elaborate this.

Standard Tagalog
21. a. N-(k)a-<ga>ganda-han ako sa kanya.
INT(n-)-STEM-<RED>-beauty-V.STAT(-an) 1ABS OBL 3POSS
Nagagandahan ako sa kanya.
‘I find her beautiful.’

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b. N-(k)a-<ga>-ganda-han siya sa akin.

INT(n-)-STEM-<RED>-beauty-V.STAT(-an) 3ABS OBL 1POSS
Nagagandahan siya sa akin.
‘She finds me beautiful.’

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano
22. a. N-(k)a-<ga>-ganda-han ko siya.
INT(n-)-STEM-<RED>-beauty-V.STAT(-an) 1ABS 3OBL.
Nagagandahan ko siya.
‘I find her beautiful.’

b. N-(k)a-<ga>-ganda-han niya ako.

INT(n-)-STEM-<RED>-beauty-V.STAT(-an) 3ABS 1OBL.
Nagagandahan niya ako.
‘She finds me beautiful.’

In (21), the absolutive is marked by ako and siya. They are identified to be the source of
action and at the same time, the most affected entity. However, in its TNE equivalent in (22), the
S of the intransitive clause is marked by ko and niya, ergative markers of ST but are used to
marked the absolutive.

Table 6. Personal Pronouns of Tagalog – Novo Ecijano (Part 1)

INTRANSITIVE
Absolutive Ergative Oblique
SINGULAR
First ko (ako) ako (sa akin)
ko (sa akin)
Dual kita (ako + iyo)
Second mo (ka) mo (sa iyo)
ikaw (sa iyo)
Third niya
siya (sa kanya)
PLURAL
First namin (kami) kami (sa amin)
Dual tayo
Second ninyo (kayo) kayo (sa inyo)
Third sila (sa kanila)

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Table 7. Personal pronouns of Tagalog-Novo Ecijano (Part 2)

TRANSITIVE
Absolutive Ergative Oblique
SINGULAR
First ako ko (sa) akin
Dual kita (nita) (kanita)
Second ka mo (sa) iyo
Third siya niya (sa) kanya
PLURAL
First kami namin (sa) amin
Dual tayo (nita) (kanita)
Second kayo ninyo (sa) inyo
Third sila nila (sa) kanila

These irregularities make no sense to those who speak the mainstream Tagalog at first.
However, a closer look and repetitive use of this type of construction will enable to understand
but will still consider it weird.

2.3.3.2. Demonstrative pronouns

What is true to pronouns and case markers is also the same with demonstrative
pronouns.

Table 8. Comparison of demonstrative pronouns

of Standard Tagalog and Tagalog-Novo Ecijano
Spatial Orientation Absolutive Ergative Oblique
TAGALOG STANDARD
near speaker ito nito dito
near hearer iyan niyan diyan
far from both iyon noon doon
TAGALOG NUEVA ECIJA
near speaker nito ito
near hearer niyan iyan
far from both noon iyon

Standard Tagalog
23. Bagay ito=ng damit na ito diyan.
MOD PROX.ABS=LKR dress LKR PROX.ABS MID.ABS
Bagay itong damit na ito diyan.

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‘This dress fits that well.

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano
24. Bagay nito=ng damit na ito iyan.
MOD PROX.ABS=LKR dress LKR PROX.ABS MID.ABS
Bagay nitong damit na ito iyan.
‘This dress fits that well.’

2.3.4. The Morphosyntax of Tagalog-Novo Ecijano

It has been shown that Tagalog-Novo Ecijano has its own way of marking its arguments,
which is different from the standard Tagalog. In this section, we will address the different
morphosyntactic processes of Tagalog-Novo Ecijano and explore the oddities of the language.

2.3.4.1. The Tagalog-Novo Ecijano Intransitives

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano is not entirely different from the standard Tagalog. It is only
irregularity can be found in the intransitive n-/m- + ka + verb + an. As shown in the discussion
above, even though they use the same form as standard Tagalog, TNE speakers use different
forms of grammatical markers to identify the grammatical relations.

The following discussion will deal with the morphological derivation that TNE verbs
undergo and how it influences the argument structure of the clauses.

2.3.4.1.1. Morphological Derivation

Stem-based hypothesis predicts that a word with multiple affixes will have layered
structures. Nolasco (Grammar Notes on national language) claimed that stem-based analysis is a
neater approach to word-formation and word analysis. It shows the formal and functional
relationship between words with the same root.

Examine the following examples:

Structure 1:
nagandahan

n- kagandahan

-an kaganda

ka- ganda

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The word nagandahan can be analyzed in several ways. The first structure illustrates the
layered structure of the word nagandahan as n- + kagandahan. The stative verb affix n- is attached
to the stem kagandahan, which was further divided into kaganda + an, whose stem is divided into
ka + ganda. Nagandahan is a stative verb and sentence (25) is a kind of intransitive construction.

Standard Tagalog
25. N-(k)a-ganda-han ako sa kanya
PERF-STEM-beauty-V.STAT S OBL 3OBL
Nagandahan ako sa kanya.
‘I find her beautiful.’

Structure 2:
nagandahan

m- kaganda

kaganda -an

The second structure shows the layered structure of the word nagandahan as n- + kaganda
+ an. The word maganda is affixed by the voice affix –an.

Standard Tagalog
26. a. M-(k)a-ganda siya.
V.STAT-STEM-beauty 3ABS
Maganda siya.
‘She is beautiful.’

b. N-(k)a-ganda-han ako sa kanya

PERF-STEM-beauty-V.STAT 3ABS OBL 3OBL
Nagandahan ako sa kanya.
‘I find her beautiful.’

Sentence (26a) is a type of intransitive construction where in the most affected entity is
denoted by siya. Its morphological derivation is m- + kaganda. If you attach a verbal affix –an, the
result is still an intransitive type, with ako as the most affected entity and the source of action, as
shown in (26b).

Structure 3:
nagandahan

n- kagandahan

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ka- gandahan

ganda -an
The third structure can be analyzed as ganda + verbal affix –an. The stem-forming affix
ka- is affixed and then replaced by the m-/n-.

The third analysis of nagandahan would be m- + [gandahan + ka]. The following examples
illustrate this. Sentence (27) is a type of transitive construction, which mo is the source of action
while the ang lakad is the most affected entity. When ka- is attached, and then replaced by m-/n-,
it now becomes the sentence (28).

Standard Tagalog
27. Ganda-han mo ang lakad mo.
beauty-TR.INF(-an) A O walk 2POSS
Gandahan mo ang lakad mo.
‘Walk beautifully.’

28. N-(k)a-ganda-han ko ang lakad ko.

PERF-STEM-beauty-V.STAT 1ERG ABS walk 1POSS
Nagandahan ko ang paglakad ko.
‘I succeeded in making my walk beautiful.’

In terms of meaning, sentences (27)-(28) had a deliberate effort in making his/her walk
beautiful. In contrast, sentences (26a) and (26b) show that the action is somewhat beyond
control and there is no other way but for the experiencer to feel that way.

Standard Tagalog
29. a. N-(k)a-lakas-an ko ang suntok ko sa kanya.
INT.PERF-STEM-strong 1ERG ABS punch 1ERG OBL 3OBL
Nalakasan ko ang suntok sa kanya.
‘I punched him quite hard.’

b. N-(k)a-huli-han ko siya ng baril.

INT.PERF-STEM-catch-V.STAT 1ERG 3ABS OBL gun
Nahulihan ko siya ng baril.
‘I caught him carrying a gun.’

Sentences (28)-(29a-b) are of transitive types. They have transitive A and O. These types
have the same form as TNE intransitive forms as can be seen in the examples below.

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano

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30. N-(k)a-ganda-han ko siya.

PERF-STEM-beauty-V.STAT 1ABS 3OBL
Nagandahan ko siya.
Nagandahan ako sa kanya (ST).
‘I find her beautiful.’

31. N-(k)a-<sa>-sarap-an mo ba ito?

PERF-STEM-<RED>-taste.good-V.STAT 1ABS QMKR PROX.OBL
Nasasarapan mo ba ito?
Nasasarapan ka ba dito? (ST)
‘Do you think it tastes good?’

32. Nagagalingan niya si Kobe kaysa kanya

PERF-STEM-<RED>-play.well-V.STAT 3ABS OBL Kobe COMPR 3OBL
Nagagalingan niya si Kobe kaysa kanya.
Nagagalingan siya kay Kobe kaya kanya. (ST)
‘She thinks Kobe plays better than him.’

In sentence (30), the most affected entity and the one who undergoes the action of
finding someone beautiful is ko. It is the same with sentences (31) and (32) in which mo is the
one who thinks the food tastes great and niya who thinks Kobe plays better than the other player.

2.3.4.1.2. Tagalog Statives versus Tagalog-Novo Ecijano Intransitives

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano can be analyzed similar to standard Tagalog stative constructions
that use stative verbs such as gusto, ayaw, kailangan, mahal, pwede.

33. Gusto kita.

V.STAT.like 12ABS
‘I like you.’

b. Mahal kita.
V.STAT.love 12ABS
‘I love you.’

34. Nababastusan kita.

INT-ka-<IMPF>-vulgar-V.STAT 1ABS/2OBL
Nababastusan ako sa iyo.
Nababastusan ako sa iyo.

However, pseudo-verbs like gusto, ayaw, mahal, and kailangan do not occur in TNE
intransitive construction. Constructions like *Nagugustuhan kita, *Namamahalan kita do not exist.

2.3.4.1.3. The Pragmatics of Tagalog-Novo Ecijano

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The researcher based her findings on the ergative analysis of the language; the
arguments of the standard Tagalog are classified as into three core arguments – the absolutive
or the topical arguments, the ergative or the agentive pronouns, and the oblique or the patient
pronouns. In this section, it is shown that TNE employs different markers to identify the core
arguments. The ergative case markers mark the absolutive case, while absolutive case markers
mark the oblique case.

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano verbs undergo different morphological derivation. This results to

reinterpretation of the Tagalog construction and meaning. Take a look at the following
examples:

Standard Tagalog
35. I-k-<in>-a-lungkot ko ang pag-ka-matay niya
TR(i-)-<PERF>-sadness 1ERG ABS NOM-STEM-die 3POSS
Ikinalungkot ko ang pagkamatay niya.
‘I was saddened by his death.’

36. N-<ka>-lungkot ako sa pag-ka-matay niya

INT.PERF(n-)-STEM-sad 1ABS OBL NOM-STEM-die 3POSS
Nalungkot ako sa pagkamatay niya.
‘I was saddened by his death.’

Sentence (35) is a type of a transitive construction while (36) is an intransitive type. In

(35), the source of action is ko, and his death being the reason for the sadness. In (36), the source
of action ako is also the reason for his sadness. The action is beyond control unlike (35) in which
the source of action has choice whether to feel sad or not.

In Tagalog-Novo Ecijano, speakers tend to analyze their TNE intransitives similar to the
standard Tagalog transitives. Taking Nagagandahan ko siya as example, ko is interpreted as the
source of action and siya is the most affected entity. In terms of meaning, ko has more control
over the feeling, asserting that he finds someone as beautiful.

It can also be observed that TNE constructions are limited only to stative verbs. It can be
used in words evaluative or subjective words like gusto, ganda, sarap, bastos, galing. However,
constructions like *Nababaliwan ko na ito, *Nagugutuman ko na are not possible. Dynamic verbs
and emotive expressions like gusto, galit, tuwa, and others are also prohibited.

Table 9. Comparisons of standard Tagalog and Tagalog-Novo Ecijano Sentences

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano Standard Tagalog
Bagay mo ‘yang suot mo. Bagay sa iyo iyang suot mo.
Hindi ko nababagayan sakanya yung role Para sa akin, hindi bagay sa kanya ang role
niya. niya.
Sige pa, nakukulangan ko masyado yung Sige pa, nakukulangan pa ako sa sagot mo.

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sagot mo.
Nayayabangan ko si Pedro masyado e. Nayayabangan ako kay Pedro masyado e.

2.3.5. Type of Clauses Where TNE Intransitives Appear

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano intransitive construction is a special type of Tagalog intransitive
clauses spoken only in some areas of Nueva Ecija. This section discusses the type of clauses in
which TNE intransitive can occur. TNE variants can be found in: a) question; b) relative clauses;
c) negation; and d) focus constructions. It cannot occur in imperative constructions

2.3.5.1. Question Clause

Question clauses make use of the interrogative pronouns ano ‘what’, sino ‘who’, kalian
‘when’, saan ‘where’ and question words bakit ‘why’ and paano ‘how’. Tagalong-Novo Ecijano
constructs their question very much the same as standard Tagalog does.

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano
37. Sino ang pinaka-n-(k)a-galing-an mo=ng banda?
QW ABS SUPER-PERF-STEM-good-V.STAT 1ABS=LKR band
Sino ang pinakanagalingan mong banda?
Kaninong banda ka pinakanagalingan? (ST)

38. Ano na nga yung n-(k)a-ganda-han mo=ng kanta?

QW PRT PRT ABS PERF-STEM-beauty-V.STAT 1ABS=LKR band
Ano na nga yung nagandahan mong kanta?
Aling kanta ka nagandahan? (ST)

2.3.5.2. Relative Clause

A relative clause is a type of clause which modifies nominals. This pragmatic type of
clause is similar to attributive modifiers; the only difference is that the modifier is not a word
but an entire clause. Tagalog relativization, however, perform functions other than modifying a
nominal. It is also a lexical process involving nominalization with a voice affix. A relative clause
is a derived noun phrase apposed to its head noun and a voice affix works as a nominalizer.

39. Siya yun=g bata=ng n-(k)a-<ku>-kulit-an mo

3OBL DIST.OBL=LKR child=LKR PERF-STEM-<RED>-mischief-V.STAT1ABS
Siya yung batang nakukulitan mo.
Siya yung bata na nakukulitan ka.

2.3.5.3. Focus construction

Focus constructions are clauses where one of the participants of a state or activity is
moved to the front of the clause. The functions of “focus” constructions are to signal exclusivity
or to express contrast.

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40. Ikaw, n-(k)a-<ga>-galing-an ko sumayaw.

2OBL PERF-STEM-<RED>-good-V.STAT 1ABS <INT.INF>-dance
Ikaw, yung nagagalingan kong sumayaw.
Sa iyo ako nagagalingang sumayaw.

2.3.5.4. Negation
Negation clauses are formed by adding negator words such as ayaw and hindi. In the
case of TNE, only the negator ‘hindi’ is applicable in this construction. More often than not,
when ‘ayaw’ is used, the sentence would appear as ungrammatical.

41. a. Hindi ko bagay yun=g m-aikli ang buhok.

NEG 1ABS fit OBL=LKR V.STAT-short ABS hair
Hindi ko bagay sa kanya yung maikling buhok.
Sa tingin ko, hindi bagay sa kanya ang maikli ang buhok.

b. *Ayaw ko siya=ng m-(k)a-ganda-han.

Hindi ako nagagandahan sa kanya.

2.4. SUMMARY
This section discussed the Tagalog-Novo Ecijano argument structure in
comparison with the standard Tagalog variant. Tagalog, a language which has a relatively free
word order, also exhibits voice marking system. Voice marking is a morpho-syntactic
phenomenon which is common in Austronesian languages and gives prominence to an element
in a sentence. There are three ways to determine the argument structure of a Philippine
language: a) case marking system; b) voice affix; and c) pronouns.

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano is still very much like the standard Tagalog. However, there are
specialized forms that are spoken in some areas of Nueva Ecija. The verbs undergo different
morphological derivation, thus the meaning and interpretation is also different. In Tagalog-
Novo Ecijano constructions, the ergative case markers mark the absolutives (the transitive most
affected entity and the intransitive source of action), while absolutive case markers mark the
oblique case.

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano intransitives can be considered as special forms of Tagalog

intransitives that are spoken in the northern parts of Nueva Ecija, the areas adjacent Ilokano,
Pangasinan and Kapampangan-speaking areas. These forms occur also in other pragmatically
marked constructions such as: a) questions; b) relative clauses; c) negation; d) focus
constructions.

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Chapter 3
TAGALOG-NOVO ECIJANO AND NEIGHBORING LANGUAGES

3.1. CONTACT LINGUISTICS

Such contact can have a wide variety of linguistic outcomes. Contact situation can be
classified into three kinds: a) those involving language maintenance; b) those involving
language shift; and c) those that lead to the creation of new contact languages.

Language maintenance refers simply to the preservation by a speech community of its

native languages from generation to generation. Preservation implies that the language changes
only by small degrees – the phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and core lexicon remain
relatively intact.

It may involve varying degrees of influence on the lexicon and structure of a group’s
native language from the external language with which it is in contact. This kind of influence is
referred to as “borrowing” which refers to “the incorporation of foreign features into a group’s
native language by speakers of that language.” (Winford, 2002)

Structural diffusion also occurs where languages are spoken in close geographical
proximity.

Table 10. Borrowing situations (Winford, 2002)

Degree of contact Linguistic results
Casual Lexical borrowing only
Moderate Lexical and slight structural borrowing
Intense Moderate structural borrowing

Table 11. Convergence situations (Winford, 2002)

Type of contact Linguistic results
Contiguous geographical location Moderate structural diffusion
Intra-community multilingualism Heavy structural diffusion
Intense pressure on a minority group Heavy structural diffusion
Intense inter-community contact (trade, exogamy) Heavy lexical and/or structural diffusion

The other type of contact situation is called the language shift. In other situations,
contact between linguistic groups can lead to language shift, the partial or total abandonment of
a group’s native language in favor of another.

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Table 12. Language shift (Winford, 2002)

Type of shift Linguistic results
Rapid and complete (by minority group) Little or no substratum interference in TL
(target language)
Rapid shift by larger or prestigious minority Slight to moderate substratum interference in
TL
Shift by indigenous community to imported Moderate to heavy substratum interference
language

In addition to language maintenance and shift, there are the so-called contact languages
that resulted from contact situations. These are bilingual mixed languages, pidgins and creoles.

Table 13. Language creation (Winford, 2002)

Type of creation Characteristics
Bilingual mixed languages Akin to case of maintenance, involving incorporation of large
portions of an external vocabulary into a maintained
grammatical frame.
Pidgins Highly reduced lingua francas that involve mutual
accommodation and simplification; employed in restricted
functions such as trade
Creoles Akin to cases of both maintenance and shift, with grammars
shaped by varying degrees of superstrate and substrate, and
influence, and vocabulary drawn mostly from the superstrate
source

In some cases, it may result in only slight borrowing of vocabulary. In the case of Nueva
Ecija Tagalog, it is the form and function of pronouns, as well as its case determiners that
changed that has become peculiar among the other dialects of Tagalog.

In the following section, the possibilities of language contact and the influences of the
neighboring languages on Tagalog of Nueva-Ecija will be explored.

3.2. LINGUISTIC SITUATION OF NUEVA ECIJA

Figure 2 shows the languages spoken in and around Nueva Ecija, namely: Tagalog
(standard), Tagalog-Novo Ecijano (Nueva Ecija, Aurora), Kapampangan (Tarlac), Pangasinan,
and Ilokano (Pangasinan). These languages (Ilokano, Kapampangan and Pangasinan) are in
constant contact with the Tagalog spoken in Nueva Ecija. This study delimits its analysis to only
structural ‘borrowing’ and does not concern with other types of influences.

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3.2.1. The Neighboring Languages of Tagalog-Novo Ecijano

This paper looks into the possibility that the neighboring languages of Tagalog-Novo
Ecijano might have something to do with the morphosyntactic oddities of the dialect. These
languages are not very different from each other. Ilokano, Pangasinan and Kapampangan are
ergative languages. Like other Philippine languages, they are verb-initial. They are expected to
follow the same grammatical pattern as Tagalog.

Figure 2. The linguistic map of Nueva Ecija in comparison to its neighboring areas

3.2.1.1. Kapampangan
Kapampangan is one of the Central Luzon languages within the Austronesian language
family. Its closest relatives are the Sambal languages of Zambales province and the Bolinao
language spoken in the town of Bolinao, Pangasinan. It is primarily spoken in the provinces of
Pampanga and in the southern towns of the province of Tarlac (Bamban, Capas, Concepcion,
San Jose, Gerona, La Paz, Victoria,and Tarlac City). It is also spoken in isolated communities
within the provinces of Bataan (Abucay, Dinalupihan, Hermosa, and Samal), Bulacan Baliwag,
Bulacan (San Miguel, San Ildefonso, Hagonoy, Plaridel, Pulilan, and Calumpit), Nueva Ecija

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(Cabiao, San Isidro, Gapan City and Cabanatuan City), and Zambales (Olongapo City and
Subic).

3.2.1.2. Pangasinense
One of the twelve major languages in the Philippines, Pangasinense is spoken by more
than one and a half million Pangasinan people (indigenous speakers) in the province of
Pangasinan alone. It is the official regional language in the province of Pangasinan, with a total
population of the province of 2,434,086 (National Statistics Office: 2000 Census).

Pangasinan is closely related to only four small Southern Cordilleran languages: Ibaloy,
Karaw, and Kalanguya on one hand, and Ilongot on the other (Himes 1998). Dialectical
diversity in Pangasinan is minimal (Rubino 2002). Most Pangasinenses speak two or three other
languages: Ilocano, Filipino, and English. Many returning overseas workers speak a diasporic
language as well. Currently, Pangasinan is barely the dominant language in its own province,
accounting for 48 percent of the province’s population in the 2000 census. At least one-third of
communities in the province are linguistically mixed between Pangasinan and Ilocano, with the
result that most residents of those places are fully bilingual (Ilocano was spoken by 47 percent
of the province’s population in 2000).

3.2.1.3. Ilokano
Like all its sister languages, Ilokano is an Austronesian language of the Philippine type
spoken by about ten million people. It is a member of the Cordilleran language family. Due to
the migration of the Ilocanos southward and eastward, much of northern Luzon is heavily
influenced by Ilocano language and culture. La Union and Pangasinan provinces are dominated
in most areas by Ilocano speakers speaking the southern dialect. The southern dialect has
minimal lexical differences from the northern one, but a major phonological difference – the
addition of a high back unrounded vowel represented in the orthography by the letter 'e'. As
this sound exists also in Pangasinan, we might be able to attribute this difference as a remnant
left behind by ethnic Pangasinenses who are now mother tongue speakers of Ilocano.

3.2.2. Comparison of Tagalog-Novo Ecijano with its Neighboring Languages

Kapampangan, Ilokano and Pangasinan, like other Philippine languages, mark their
verbs for voice and arguments for case. Kapampangan and Pangasinan have three cases –
ergative, absolutive and oblique – while Ilokano only has formal case marking for core
arguments and oblique.

Unlike Tagalog, these languages have two forms of pronouns in absolutive case – the
disjunctive and enclitic absolutive pronouns (See Appendix). Disjunctive or independent
pronouns do not attach to any word and they can stand as predicates. On the other hand,
enclitic pronouns must attach to the preceding word, whether a noun or a verb. When attached
to a noun, they can indicate possession; to a verb, they indicate the agent of the verb.

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 The Tagalog Variety of Nueva Ecija Abella

Among these languages, only Kapampangan has influence on the formal structure of
Tagalog variant spoken in Nueva Ecija.

Kapampangan is an ergative language, its case marking system is formally

ergative/absolutive: agents or experiencers of transitive clauses appear in one form (ergative),
while patients of transitives and the single core arguments of intransitive both appear in
absolutive. Below are some examples (Mithun, 1984):
Kapampangan (Mithun, 1984)

42. Ikit da ka
see-PERF 3ERG.PL 2ABS
‘They saw you.’

43. Tinerak ka
dance-PERF 2ABS
‘You danced.’

44. Malumud ka
drown 2ABS
‘You’ll drown.’

It is also typical in Kapampangan to combine enclitics as shown in (45)-(46).

Kapampangan

45. Ikit ku ya > Ikit ke

see-PERF 1ERG 3ABS see-PERF 1ERG/3ABS
Nakita ko siya.
‘I saw him.’

46. a. Nyang kai adakap ne

sometime later manage.to.catch-PERF 3ERG/3ABS
Maya-maya pa, nahuli niya ito.
‘Sometime later, he managed to catch her.’

b. Nyang kai adakap ne

sometime later manage.to.catch-PERF 3ERG/3ABS
ning matying ing pau
ERG monkey ABS pau
Maya-maya pa, nahuli ng matsing ang pagong.
‘Sometime later, the monkey caught the turtle.’

Philippine languages use either one of the following case marking devices: a) voice affix;
b) pronouns; and c) case markers. Kapampangan employs them in altogether in one clause as

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 The Tagalog Variety of Nueva Ecija Abella

can be seen in (46b). Kapampangan clitic fusion might have influenced the Tagalog intransitive
forms of Nueva Ecija (see sentences (47a) and (47b)) whose formal structure is similar to
Kapampangan sentences (46a-b).

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano
47. a. N-(k)a-<ba>-bastus-an kita.
INT-ka-<IMPF>-vulgar-V.STAT 1ABS/2OBL
Nababastusan ako sa iyo.

b. Bagay mo
MOD ABS/2OBL
Bagay sa iyo.

3.3. SUMMARY
Using the TTEST procedure, data shows that those sentence constructions of Tagalog are
generally accepted in Nueva Ecija. Moreover, the percentage of acceptance is significantly
higher in the first and second district of Nueva Ecija in comparison to the percentage of
acceptance in the third and fourth district.

However, among these languages, only Kapampangan has influence on the formal
structure of Tagalog variant spoken in Nueva Ecija. It is apparent in its enclitic combination.

It is viable since these two districts with higher percentage of acceptance are
geographically adjacent to provinces such as Tarlac and Pampanga where majority of the
people speak Kapampangan. Tagalog-Novo Ecijano has undergone moderated to intense
degree of contact resulting to slight to moderate structural and lexical borrowing.

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 The Tagalog Variety of Nueva Ecija Abella

CONCLUSION

This paper is an attempt to explain the peculiarities of the Tagalog variety spoken in the
area of Nueva Ecija. These peculiarities in the language confuse other speakers from the other
Tagalog-speaking areas and find Tagalog-Novo Ecijano unnatural, ungrammatical and weird. It
is the task of this study to determine what makes TNE odd.

In this study, the researcher discussed the Tagalog-Novo Ecijano argument structure in
comparison with the standard Tagalog variant. Tagalog, a language which has a relatively free
word order, also exhibits voice marking system. Voice marking is a morpho-syntactic
phenomenon which is common in Austronesian languages and gives prominence to an element
in a sentence. There are three ways to determine the argument structure of a Philippine
language: a) case marking system; b) voice affix; and c) pronouns.

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano is still very much like the standard Tagalog. However, there are
specialized forms that are spoken in some areas of Nueva Ecija. The verbs undergo different
morphological derivation, thus the meaning and interpretation is also different. In Tagalog-
Novo Ecijano constructions, the ergative case markers mark the absolutives (the transitive most
affected entity and the intransitive source of action), while absolutive case markers mark the
oblique case.

Tagalog-Novo Ecijano intransitives can be considered as special forms of Tagalog

intransitives that are spoken in the northern parts of Nueva Ecija, the areas adjacent Ilokano,
Pangasinan and Kapampangan-speaking areas. These forms occur also in other pragmatically
marked constructions such as: a) questions; b) relative clauses; c) negation; d) focus
constructions.

Contact with the neighboring languages spoken around Nueva Ecija such as
Kapampangan, Ilokano, Pangsinan, might have influenced the formal structure of Tagalog-
Novo Ecijano. Using the TTEST procedure, the data show that those sentence constructions of
Tagalog-Novo Ecijano are generally accepted in Nueva Ecija. Moreover, the percentage of
acceptance is significantly higher in the first and second district of Nueva Ecija in comparison to
the percentage of acceptance in the third and fourth district.

Among the three languages, only Kapampangan has influence on the formal structure of
Tagalog variant spoken in Nueva Ecija which is apparent in its enclitic combination.

It is viable since these two districts with higher percentage of acceptance are
geographically adjacent to provinces such as Tarlac and Pampanga where majority of the
people speak Kapampangan. Tagalog-Novo Ecijano has undergone moderated to intense
degree of contact resulting to slight to moderate structural and lexical borrowing.

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 The Tagalog Variety of Nueva Ecija Abella

REFERENCES

Bresnan, John. 1995. Lexicality and Argument Structure. Paper presented at h Paris Syntax and
Semantics Conference.

De Guzman, Videa P. 1988. Ergative Analysis for Philippine languages: An Analysis. In McGinn
(ed.).

Dixon, R. M. W. 1979. Ergativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hopper, Paul and Sandra Thompson. 1980. Transitivity in Grammar and Discourse. Language
56.

Grimshaw, Jane. 1990. Argument structure. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

Kroeger, Paul. 1998. Clitics and clause structure in Tagalog. In Bautista (ed.), Pagtanaw: Essays
on language in honor of Teodoro A. Llamzon, pp. 53-72. Linguistics Society of the
Philippines, Manila

Myers-Scotton, Carol. 2002. Contact Linguistics: Bilingual Encounters and Grammatical

Outcomes. Oxford University Press.

Nolasco, Ricardo. 2005. What Philippine Ergativity Really Means. Paper presented at Taiwan-
Japan Joint Workshop on Austronesian Languages, Taiwan: National Taiwan University.

_________________. 2006. Ano ang S, A, at O sa mga Wika ng Pilipinas? Paper read at the 9th
Philippine Linguistics Congress, January 2006. University of the Philippines-Diliman,
Quezon City.

_________________. 2010. Grammar Notes on the National Language. (unpublished)

Rosero, Michael Wilson. 2011. Multiple Motivations for Preposing in Philippine Languages.
Paper presented at the 11th Philippine Linguistic Congress, Quezon City: University of
the Philippines Diliman.

Schachter, Paul and Fe Otanes. 1972. Tagalog reference Grammar. Berkeley: University of
California Press.

Shibatani, Masayoshi, ed. 1988. Passive and voice. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Winford, Donald. 2003. An Introduction to Contact Linguistics. Blackwell Publishing.

Wikipedia. Nueva Ecija. Wikipedia.com. Retrieved December 10, 2011 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nueva_Ecija

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 The Tagalog Variety of Nueva Ecija Abella

APPENDIX
TAGALOG-NOVO ECIJANO SENTENCES
Sentences Remarks Municipality District
Bagay mo ‘yang suot mo. “Bagay sa iyo ang suot mo.” Licab 1st
dapat. Sto. Domingo
Cabanatuan 3rd
Sta. Rosa 3rd
Gapan 4th
Cabiao 4th
San Isidro 4th
Hindi ko nababagayan Maligoy ang pnagungusap. Munoz 2nd
sakanya yung role niya. Mahirap iinterpret
San Isidro 4th
Bagay naman niya e. “Bagay naman sakanya.” Sta. Rosa 3rd
Cabiao 4th
San Isidro 4th
Nagagandahan ko siya. “Nagagandahan ako sa San Antonio 4th
kanya.” San Isidro 4th
Ikaw, nagagandahan mo “Nagagandahan ka ba sa Cabanatuan 3rd
siya? kanya?” San Isidro 4th
Nagagalingan mo ba siya Mahirap iinterpret San Isidro 4th
kumanta?
Nasasarapan mo ba to? “Nasasarapan ka ba ditto?” San isidro 4th
Nayayabangan ko si Pedro Wrong grammar at pangit Talavera 1st
masyado e. pakinggan.
Mahirap iinterpret San Isidro 4th
Ikaw kaya yung naaartehan pangit yung construction san Leonardo 4th
ko! pero naiintindihan
Mahirap iinterpret San Isidro 4th
Ako ang naaartehan mo. Naartehan ka sa akin Sta. Rosa 3rd
Mahirap iinterpret Cabanatuan 3rd
San Isidro 4th
Mas nagagalingan ko si Must be ‘Nayayabangan ako Sta. Rosa 3rd
Kobe kaysa kay Lebron. kay Kobe’ Cabanatuan 3rd
‘Nalalampasan ko si Kobe in
terms of yabang’
Mahirap iinterpret San Isidro 4th
Ikaw, nagagalingan ko. Sa halip na “ko”, dapat ay “sa Guimba 1st
akin”
Parang barok. San Jose 2nd
“Nagagalingan ako sa iyo” Sta. Rosa 3rd
Mahirap iinterpret

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San Isidro 4th

Saang bagay ko naman siya
pwedeng magalingan?
Wala naman.
Mas bagay ko kasi yung Naiintindihan ko pero Cabanatuan 3rd
maikli yung buhok. weird sa akin Sta. Rosa 3rd
Bagay sa akin ang maikling Cabiao 4th
buhok. San Isidro 4th
Nababastusan kita. “Nababastusan ako sa iyo” Licab 1st
ang dapat.
Walang sense. Carranglan 2nd
Chaka pakinggan Carranglan 2nd
Di maganda pakinggan. Munoz 2nd
Pangit yung construction Cabanatuan 3rd
hindi mali Sta. Rosa 3rd
naririnig pero medyo hindi san Leonardo 4th
natural
Mahirap iinterpret San Isidro 4th
Di mo ba sila naiingayan? “Naiingayan ka ba?” ang Licab 1st
dapat.
Gets pero may something. Cabanatuan 3rd
Iba na meaning
Mahirap iinterpret San Leonardo 4th
San Isidro 4th
Bakit yata nasisikipan ko Bakit kaya nasisikipan ako Sta. Rosa 3rd
yung damit ko ngayon? sa damit ko ngayon San Leonardo 4th
Magagalit ka ba kung Masakit sa tainga, mahirap San Jose 2nd
napapangitan kita? intindihin.
Pangit yung construction Cabanatuan 3rd
hindi mali
Mahirap iinterpret San Isidro 4th
Kailan ba kita nagandahan?
Sige pa, nakukulangan ko “Nakukulangan ako sa Licab 1st
masyado yung sagot mo. sagot mo” ang dapat. Carranglan 2nd
May sense pero hindi Sta. Rosa 3rd
madalas gamitin
Siya yung pinaka- Awkward San Isidro 4th
nahuhusayan mo sumayaw
diba?
Pinakanagagalingan ko Hindi normal. Abnormal Cabanatuan 3rd
tumugtog ang E-heads. siya. sta. Rosa 3rd
Awkward San Isidro 4th

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 The Tagalog Variety of Nueva Ecija Abella

Ayaw ko dun uminom, dun Magulo ang huling Talavera `1st

nila napapangitan yung pangungusap.
crowd e. Maligoy ang pnagungusap. Munoz 2nd
Hindi naririnig madalas.
Magulo ang buong Munoz 2nd
pangungusap. Llanera 2nd
Hindi naiintindihan
Magulo Sta. Rosa 3rd
Mahirap iinterpret San Antonio 4th
San Isidro 4th
Ayaw ko sayo, nakukulitan “…masyado ako Carranglan 2nd
kita masyado. nakukulitan sa iyo.” dapat. Cabiao 4th
Mahirap iinterpret
San Isidro 4th
Ano na nga yung Hindi natural Sta. Rosa 3rd
nagagandahan mong kanta? Mahirap iinterpret San Isidro 4th

Acceptability of Tagalog-Novo Ecijano Among the Towns of Nueva Ecija

Naturalness Understandability Grammaticality
First District
Guimba Natural Understandable Grammatical
Aliaga Natural Understandable Grammatical
Zaragosa Unnatural Understandable Ungrammatical
Licab Natural Understandable Ungrammatical
Cuyapo Natural Understandable Grammatical
Sto. Domingo Natural Understandable Grammatical
Talavera Natural Understandable Grammatical
Second District
Rizal Natural Understandable Grammatical
Carranglan Natural Understandable Grammatical
Talugtug Natural Understandable Grammatical
San Jose Natural Understandable Ungrammatical
Munoz Natural Understandable Grammatical
Lupao Natural Understandable Grammatical
Llanera Natural Understandable Grammatical
Third District
Palayan Natural Understandable Grammatical
Bongabon Unnatural Understandable Ungrammatical
Sta. Rosa Unnatural Understandable Ungrammatical
Cabanatuan Unnatural Understandable Ungrammatical

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Fourth District
Gapan Natural Understandable Grammatical
San Antonio Natural Understandable Ungrammatical
Cabiao Natural Understandable Ungrammatical
General Tinio Natural Understandable Grammatical
San Isidro Unnatural Not understandable Ungrammatical
San Leonardo Unnatural Understandable Ungrammatical

TTEST Procedure on Tagalog-Novo Ecijano

The TTEST Procedure

Statistics

Lower CL Upper CL Lower CL Upper CL

Variable tag N Mean Mean Mean Std Dev Std Dev Std Dev Std Err
]
accept First and 24 45.438 47.167 48.895 3.1812 4.0931 5.7417 0.8355
Second
District
accept Third and 18 33.58 39.556 45.531 9.0165 12.016 18.013 2.8321
Fourth
District
accept Diff (1-2) 2.3013 7.6111 12.921 6.9177 8.4258 10.781 2.6272

T-Tests

Variable Method Variances DF t Value Pr > |t|

accept Pooled Equal 40 2.90 0.0061

accept Satterthwaite Unequal 20 2.58 0.0180

Equality of Variances

Variable Method Num DF Den DF F Value Pr > F

accept Folded F 17 23 8.62 <.0001

The TTEST Procedure

Statistics

Lower CL Upper CL Lower CL Upper CL

Variable N Mean Mean Mean Std Dev Std Dev Std Dev Std Err

accept 42 41.052 43.905 46.757 7.532 9.154 11.673 1.4125

T-Tests

Variable DF t Value Pr > |t|

accept 41 4.53 <.0001

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 The Tagalog Variety of Nueva Ecija Abella

Kapampangan Pronouns
Person Absolutive Absolutive Ergative Oblique
(Independent) (Enclitic)
SINGULAR
1st yaku, ku ku ku kanaku, kaku
Dual ikata kata, ta ta kekata
2nd ika ka mu keka
3rd iya, ya ya na keya, kaya
PLURAL
1st (inclusive) ikatamu, itamu katamu, tamu tamu, ta kekatamu,
kekata
1st (exclusive) ikami, ike kami, ke mi kekami, keke
2nd ikayu, iko kayu, ko yu kekayu, keko
3rd ila la da, ra karela

Pangasinan Pronouns
Person Absolutive Absolutive Ergative Oblique
(Independent) (Enclitic)
SINGULAR
1st siak ak - k (o) ed siak
Dual sikata ita, ta - ta ed sikata
2nd sika ka - m (o) ed sika
3rd sikato -a to ed sikato
PLURAL
1st (inclusive) sikatayo itayo, tayo - tayo ed sikatayo
1st (exclusive) sikami kami mi ed sikami
2nd sikayo kayo yo ed sikayo
3rd sikara ira, ra da ed sikara

Pronouns of Ilokano
Person Absolutive Absolutive Ergative Oblique
(Independent) (Enclitic)
SINGULAR
1st siak ak - k (o) kaniak
Dual data, sita -ta - ta kadata
2nd sika -ka - m (o) kaniam, kenka
3rd isuna -a -na kaniana, kenkuana
PLURAL
1st (inclusive) datayo, sitayo -tayo - tayo kaniatayo, kadatayo
1st (exclusive) dakami -kami -mi kaniami, kadakami
2nd dakayo -kayo -yo kaniayo, kadakayo
3rd isuda -da -da kaniada, kadakuada

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The Tagalog Variety of Nueva Ecija Abella

39