26/06/2024
When I arrived in Cebu in 1991 to join the Sinulog Street dancing, someone asked me, “Taga asa diay mo d**g? I proudly replied, "Taga Bohol mi sir." To my surprise, this guy suddenly asked, "Nakasakay namo og kabajo nga naggujud og tartanilja nga nagpijudpijud ag tijan?" The entire crowd were laughing at his exaggerated delivery as he mocked the Bol-anons on the way we prononce "YA as "JA". It builds up my curiosity but I do not have the answers then. Fortunately, in 2014, approximately 23 years after, a Bol-anon lawyer, former NBI director, gives me the answer. Here is the reason. Interestingly among Spanish speaking citizens, only members of the Royal family pronounce "LLO as JO" like "CABALLO as CABAJO while the commoners or common folks in Spain pronounced LLO as YO like Caballo as Cabayo!
What is the conclusion that can be drawn here? The Spanish missionaries who were assigned in the province of Bohol who teach our ancestors to speak the Spanish language come from "royal blood" families that's why we learn from them to pronounce LL as J. Now, we apply it to all other words in Binisaya like MAAJO instead of MAAYO, TABLIJA instead of TABLIYA. On the other hand, those missionaries who were assigned in Cebu who teach them the Spanish language were just commoners. This explains why they pronounce LLO as YO like CABALLO as CABAYO and MAAYO as MAAYO. Therefore, sa mga Sugbuanon nga ganahan manghinaway sa mga Bol-anon kabahin sa among paglitok sa "YA as JA," sorry, mga commoners ra man jud ang bloodline sa inyong mga Spanish teachers! Unya, kaming mga Bol-anon, royal bloodline among teachers! Busa, ayaw mo panghinaway kay mga commoners ra inyong mga teachers!😃
Fast forward. I used to serve as the legal officer of DAR-SPLIT Project. This was my side-hassle during the pandemic while being a full-time professor also at UB since all our classes were done online. Interestingly, I used to attend at several regional conferences in Cebu. On one occasion, we had a conference at Marco Polo Hotel and I told my colleagues who were also pretty young professionals about this story. They were filled with awe about this information and the funny part is, every time we meet each other at the corridor, all of them will shout in chorus, “Dia ra ang Royal blood!” I smiled and politely directed them, “Padaplin mo mga commoners!” Right then, the corridor collapsed with our thundering laughter! 😃 😃😃We really enjoy each other’s company and our teasing and bullying then were all gravitated to this story.
Trivia 101: Why do Boholanos have a "J" tongue?
Famous phrase such as "Wa jamo"
Antonio Pigafetta - An Italian scholar and explorer from the Republic of Venice. He traveled with the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan together with his crew by order of the King Charles I of Spain on their voyage to the West Indies and Philippines. He was instrumental in the translation of the Cebuano (also known as Visayan language) to Spanish language by his account of events of their voyage as written in his famous journal.
Its origin can be traced way back from the Spanish period. Bohol was one of the major colony settlements during that time as evidenced by the many stone structures built all around the island that we still see today.
The Spanish language has certain letters that are pronounced differently from the English alphabet, for example letter J is pronounced as H in Spanish (i.e. Jaime), double "LL" pronounced as Y (i.e. llave - keys, llantas - tire rims). Interestingly Y is pronounced as J. Spanish word like playa meaning beach is pronounced as "plaja" . The most famous phrase that Boholanos are being quoted for is the phrase "Wa jamo", the word "jamo" is derived from the Spanish phrase "ya no" pronounced as "ja no" meaning "no longer" and it also means "nothing more". Even to this present day, Boholanos are still pronouncing "Y "as "J" including the Visayan vernacular words and phrases.
So every time you hear a Bol-anon pronounced "J" in their words and sentences, think of it as a Spanish cultural influence deeply embeded in the Boholano tongue.
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