a descriptive analysis of bikol direct interrogatives

Jao: Bikol Direct Interrogatives

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A Descriptive Analysis of Bikol Direct Interrogatives

Jonel Nicole A. Jao

This is a description of the direct interrogatives in Standard Bikol.

The direct interrogatives are divided into five types, according to how

they are answered, (1) Yes-no interrogatives, (2) Tag-questions, (3)

Alternative interrogatives, (4) Constituent interrogatives, and (5)

Echo questions. This paper presents the structure of the

interrogatives and describes the possible answers to these

interrogatives.

1.0 Introduction

Although there have been numerous studies about the Bikol language, (i.e. McFarland 1974,

Lobel 2000 & Mintz 1971), the structures of the interrogatives of this language have not been

described thoroughly. McFarland (1974) concentrated on the variations of the dialects’ interrogative

words. Lobel (2000) only listed the respective cases and pluralizations of the question words, while

Mintz (1971) discussed the interrogatives according to intonation change and question words,

samples were given but the structures have not been discussed.

This paper describes some of the structure of the direct interrogatives in Standard Bikol. The

sample sentences given in this paper are written in International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

transcription. The rising intonation mostly used in interrogatives is presented using an upward arrow

sign (↑). This paper also attempts to describe the possible answers to the questions given as samples.

2.0. Interrogatives

An interrogative normally elicits information or draws affirmation or denial from a statement.

It can be classified as direct or indirect. A direct interrogative can occur independently and ends with

a question mark. An indirect interrogative, on the other hand, does not end with a question mark,

and contains a relative clause introduced by words such as if, how, etc., that is dependent on a main

clause (Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics, 1996).

Bikol direct interrogatives may be classified into five types, according to how these questions

are usually answered. These five types are (1) Yes-no interrogatives, (2) Tag-questions, (3)

Alternative interrogatives, (4) Constituent interrogatives, and (5) Echo questions.

Yes-no interrogatives are discussed in section 2.1, tag-questions in section 2.2, alternative

interrogatives in section 2.3, constituent interrogatives in section 2.4 and echo questions in section

2.5.


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2.1. Yes-no interrogatives

Yes-no interrogatives, as implied by its name, is expected to be answered by either yes or no

(Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics, 1996), however there are some cases when the

response is ‘maybe’ or a word similar to it, expressing uncertainty. Yes-no interrogatives are also

known as polar questions (Dryer, 2005).

Changing the intonation of a statement to a rising intonation will make it into an

interrogative sentence. Mintz (1971) has divided these statements into four, according to how they

are answered1; (1) verbal sentences, (2) equational sentences, (3) igwa/may (existential/possessive)

sentences and (4) gusto (want) sentences.

2.1.1. Verbal sentences

A verbal sentence has a verb as its predicate head (Peneyra, 1992). These sentences have a

VP+NP structure and become interrogatives when their intonation is changed into a rising

intonation. Verbal interrogatives are answerable by iyo ‘yes’, and daʔi ‘no’.

In sample (1) nagtindug is the VP and ʔan ʔakiʔ is the NP

(1) nag-tindug ʔan ʔakiʔ↑

ACTFOC.PFV-stand DET child

‘Did the child stand up?’

In sample (2), nagduman sa haruŋ is the VP, where sa haruŋ is the complement of nagduman, and ʔan

dara:ga is the NP

(2) nag-duman sa haruŋ ʔan dara:ga↑

ACTFOC.PFV-go LM house DET maiden

‘Did the maiden go into the house?’

2.1.2. Equational Sentences

Equational sentences have a noun or noun phrases as subject and predicate, the predicate is

usually sentence initial and is followed by the subject. The predicate may also be an adjective (Mintz,

1971). Changing the intonation of an equational sentence into a rising intonation will make it into an

1 Some words such as ‘I have’, ‘don’t have’ or ‘I like’ have specific words in Bikol as well as other Philippine languages. If you’re going to ask ‘Do you have a pen?’ and the answer is ‘no’, instead of baku or da’i which translates to ‘no’, one would answer ‘mayo’ which means ‘I have none’. This will be explained further later.


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interrogative. Questions derived from equational sentences are answerable by iyo ‘yes’, and bakuʔ

‘no’.

Sample (1) is in an NP+NP structure, ʔan ʔakiʔ is first NP and ʔan nagtindug is the second. nagtindug

is a nominalized verb, a verb that functions as a noun.

(1) ʔan ʔakiʔ ʔan nag-tindug↑

DET child DET ACTFOC.PFV-stand

‘Is the child the one who stood?’

Sample (2) is also in an NP+NP structure, ʔabuga:du and ʔan tu:gaŋ niya are the NPs respectively.

(2) ʔabuga:du ʔan tu:gaŋ niya↑

lawyer DET sibling 3SG

‘Is his sibling a lawyer?’

Sample (3) is in an Adj+NP structure, mahi:gus is the adj while ʔan dara:ga is the NP

(3) ma-hi:gus ʔan dara:ga↑

HAVING.THE.QUALITY.OF-hard.work DET maiden

‘Is the maiden hard-working?’

2.1.3. Existential sentences

Existential sentences indicate existence, such as ‘there is x’. These may be followed by a

locative phrase. Existential sentences may also express possession, such as ‘I have x’. The particles

ʔigwa ‘there is/have’ or may ‘there is/have’ are used to denote existence or possession. Only ʔigwa is

used before personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns and particles, while both ʔigwa and may can

be used before nouns, verbs, and adjectives.

Existential interrogatives are answerable by ʔigwa, literally translated as ‘there is’ or ‘x has’,

and by mayo which means ‘there’s none’ or ‘x doesn’t have’. iyo may also be used to answer ‘yes’.

Compare sample (1) and (2), notice that they are asking the same question, ‘Do you have a pencil?’,

but they used ʔigwa and may respectively to denote possession. ʔigwa appears in sample (1) because it

is followed by a personal pronoun while may appears in sample (2) because it is followed by a noun.

(1) ʔigwa ka-ŋ lapis↑

exist 2SG-LNK pencil

‘Do you have a pencil?’


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(2) may lapis ka↑

exist pencil 2SG

‘Do you have a pencil?’

ʔigwa is used in samples (3) and (4) because it appears before a demonstrative pronoun and particle

respectively. Note that may cannot be used to replace ʔigwa here.

(3) ʔigwa duma-ŋ ta:wu↑

exist over.there-LNK person

‘Is there a person over there?’

(4) ʔigwa dalaŋ na-gadan↑

exist PRT ACTFOC.PFV-die

‘(I heard) there is someone who died?’

In samples (5) and (6) ʔigwa or may may be used because the word that comes after it is a noun and

verb respectively.

(5) ʔigwa-ŋ ta:wu sa haruŋ↑

exist-LNK person LM house

‘Is there someone in the house?’

may ta:wu sa haruŋ↑

exist person LM house

‘Is there someone in the house?’

(6) ʔigwa-ŋ nag-ka~kakan↑

exist-LNK ACTFOC-IPFV~eat

‘Is there someone eating?’

may nag-ka~kakan↑

exist ACTFOC-IPFV~eat

‘Is there someone eating?’

2.1.4. Want sentences

Want sentences express what one likes/wants or does not like/want. The words gustu ‘want’

and habuʔ ‘do not want’ are used to indicate want and does not want respectively. These words

usually appear initially in a sentence. When want sentences are changed into a rising intonation, they


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become interrogatives. Gusto interrogatives are answerable by gustu which literally translates to ‘want

or like’ or habuʔ which means ‘do not want or do not like’. iyo or ‘yes’ may also be used to indicate

that one likes/wants.

(1) gustu ni pi:dru niŋ malau:tuʔ↑

want DET Pedro DET rice

‘Does Pedro want rice?’

(2) gustu-ŋ mag-dala:gan kan sulti:ru↑

want-LNK ACTFOC.IPFV-run DET bachelor

‘Does the bachelor want to run?’

2.1.5. Negative yes-no interrogative

This type of interrogative is a yes-no interrogative with a negative element present in its

structure. It is different from a positive yes-no interrogative because ‘NI 2 questions convey a

backgrounded attitude on the part of the speaker toward the proposition expressed by a positive

answer… (it) conveys a prior belief toward the issue raised by the question… NI questions (also)

display an ambiguity that PI3 questions do not’ (Reese, 2006). In Bikol, the negative element is

usually sentence initial.

2.1.5.1. Negative verbal sentences

daʔi is usually used to express negation in verbal sentences

(1) daʔi nag-duman sa haruŋ ʔan dara:ga↑

NEG ACTFOC.PFV-go LM house DET maiden

‘Didn’t the maiden go into the house?’

2.1.5.2. Negative equational sentences

bakuʔ is usually used to express negation in equational sentences

(1) bakuʔ ʔan ʔakiʔ ʔan nag-tindug↑

NEG DET child DET ACTFOC.PFV-stand

‘Isn’t the child the one who stood?’

2 Negative interrogative 3 Positive interrogative


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(2) baku-ŋ ʔabuga:du ʔan tu:gaŋ niya↑

NEG-LNK lawyer DET sibling 3SG

‘Isn’t his sibling a lawyer?’

(3) baku-ŋ ma-hi:gus ʔan dara:ga↑

NEG-LNK HAVING.THE.QUALITY.OF-hard.work DET maiden

‘Isn’t the maiden hard-working?’

2.1.5.3. Negative existential sentences

mayu is used to express negation in existential sentences

(1) ma:yu-ŋ ta:wu sa haruŋ↑

NEG.exist-LNK person LM house

‘Isn’t there someone in the house?’

(2) mayuʔ ka-ŋ lapis↑

NEG.exist 2SG-LNK pencil

‘Don’t you have a pencil?’

2.1.5.4. Negative want sentences

habuʔ is used to express negation in want sentences

(1) habuʔ mu niŋ malau:tuʔ↑

NEG.want 2SG DET rice

‘Don’t you want rice?’

2.2. Tag-questions

Tag-questions are declarative statements modified into questions by adding an interrogative

fragment at the end. Tag-questions are used to elicit assurance or affirmation regarding the

proposition. Often it expresses the bias of the speaker towards one answer (Glossary of Linguistic

Terms, 2004).

Unlike in English where tag-questions are formed whether the proposition to be confirmed

is affirmative or negative and tense or auxiliaries are taken into account (Schachter & Otanes, 1972),

Bikol does not have these variations. Bikol tag-questions usually appear at the end of the proposition.

These tag-questions are bakuʔ and ʔanu.


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(1) ʃa si pi:dru bakuʔ↑

3SG DET Pedro not

‘He is Pedro, is he not?’

(2) saʔa:ga ʔan kasal ni se:lya ʔanu↑

tomorrow DET wedding DET Selya what

‘Tomorrow is the wedding of Selya, right?’

2.3. Alternative interrogative

Alternative interrogatives offer two or more alternative answers present in the inquiry itself.

The alternative conjunction o (‘or’ in English) is used to separate the two options (Schachter &

Otanes, 1972).

(1) ʔanu ʔan gustu muʔ, maŋga o batag↑

what DET want 2SG mango or banana

‘What do you want, mango or banana?’

2.4. Constituent interrogative

Constituent interrogatives are used to elicit information. Interrogative words substitute for

an unknown element X in a sentence. This unknown constituent will be occupied by the answer

afterwards. Constituent interrogatives are also known as wh-questions.

The following is a list of Bikol interrogatives, the orthography, IPA transcriptions and

translations of the interrogative words are presented respectively.

Ano /ʔanu/ what

Arin /ʔarin/ which

Kasuarin /kasuʔarin/ when (in the past)

Nuarin /nuʔarin/ when (in the future)

Haen /ha:ʔin/ where (location)

Saen /saʔin/ where (direction)

Pira /pira/ how many

Gurano /guraʔnu/ how much (price)

Gaano /gaʔnu/ how much (quantity)

Paano /paʔnu/ how (manner)

Siisay /siʔi:say/ who(m)

Niisay /niʔi:say/ whose, who(m)


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Kiisay /kiʔi:say/ whose, who(m)

Tano /taʔnu/ why

Some Bikol interrogatives can be pluralized. Pluralized interrogatives expect plural answers.

ʔanu ʔanuʔanu

ʔarin ʔarinʔarin

pira pira pira

saʔin saʔin saʔin

siʔi:say saʔiri:say

niʔi:say naʔiri:say

kiʔi:say kaʔiri:say

According to McFarland (1974), these interrogatives usually appear as the first element in an

information question. In this section, the question words and their respective sample answers will be

in bold.

2.4.1. ʔanu

ʔanu means ‘what’, it may be an interrogative substitute for an (1) unmarked noun, (2)

adjective, (3) the base of a ma-adjective and (4) a verb base. ʔanu is usually the predicate of an

equational sentence (Schachter & Otanes, 1972).

In samples (1) and (2) ʔanu is in the predicate position and is answered with an unmarked noun

(1) ʔanu ʔan b-in-akal mu↑

what DET OBJFOC.PFV-buy 2SG

‘What did you buy?’

siŋsiŋ ʔan b-in-akal ku

ring DET OBJFOC.PFV-buy 2SG

‘I bought a ring’

(2) ʔanu ʔini↑

what this

‘What’s this?’


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lapis ʔini

pencil this

‘This is a pencil’

ʔanu may also be used as a substitute of the base of ma-adjectives and verbs (Schachter &

Otanes 1972, McFarland 1974). In this paper, we shall call them inflected interrogatives.

(3) ma-ʔanu si pi:dru↑

HAVING.THE.QUALITY.OF-what DET Pedro

‘What is Pedro like?’

ma-puti si pi:dru↑

HAVING.THE.QUALITY.OF-white DET Pedro

‘Pedro is fair-skinned’

As a substitute for a verb base, ʔanu may occur with all aspects but only to some verbal affixes. Here

are some samples:

(4) nag-ʔanu si pi:dru↑

ACTFOC-what DET Pedro

‘What did Pedro do?’

nag-tindug si pi:dru

ACTFOC-stand DET Pedro

‘Pedro stood up’

(5) na-ʔanu si pi:dru↑

ACTFOC-what DET Pedro

‘What happened to Pedro?’

na-dapla si pi:dru

ACTFOC-slip DET Pedro

‘Pedro slipped’

(6) in-anu ini ni pi:dru↑

OBJFOC-what this DET Pedro

‘What did Pedro do with this?’


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k<in>akan ini ni pi:dru

<OBJFOC>eat this DET Pedro

‘Pedro ate this’

2.4.2. ʔarin

ʔarin means ‘which’, it occurs as an interrogative counterpart of an (1) unmarked noun, (2)

demonstrative pronoun and an (3) adjective. ʔarin appears as a predicate or modifier in a structure. It

may seem quite similar to ʔanu but ʔarin lays out choices, either stated or implied, unlike ʔanu which

can be answered by anything as long as it falls in its semantic and grammatical category. ʔarin

however, is not used to in reference to people, even though choices are layed out, siʔisay ‘who’ is

used instead (Schachter & Otanes, 1972). Thus in sample (1),

(1) siʔisay si pi:dru, an mataba o an maniwaŋ↑

who DET Pedro DET fat or DET thin

‘Which is Pedro, the fat one or the thin one?’

In sample (2), ʔarin appears as a modifier of palda and is answered with ʔ ini, a demonstrative

pronoun

(2) ʔari-ŋ palda ʔan gustu mu↑

which-LNK skirt DET like 2SG

‘Which skirt do you like?’

ʔini-ŋ palda ʔan gustu ku

this-LNK skirt DET like 1SG

‘This skirt is the one I like’

In sample (3), ʔarin appears as a predicate and is answered with maŋga, an unmarked noun

(3) ʔarin ʔan mas gustu mu, maŋga o batag↑

which DET more like 2SG mango or banana

‘Which do you like better, mango or bananaʔ’

maŋga ʔan mas gustu ku

mango DET more like 2SG

‘I like mango better’


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2.4.3. Time questions

There are two time questions in Bikol, kasu ʔ arin and nu ʔ arin, both are used as the

interrogative counterparts of time adverbs and time adverb phrases (Schachter & Otanes, 1972).

kasuʔarin is used for the past tense while nuʔarin is used for the future tense. kasuʔarin ang nuʔarin

appears in the predicate position becoming the main focus of the sentence and is a pseudo-predicate

as Schachter and Otanes calls it.

The kasuʔarin and nuʔarin in samples (1) and (2) appear as pseudo-predicates. They are in the

predicate position but they are not real predicates

(1) kasuʔarin nagpa-buluŋ sa ʔuspital si pi:dru↑

when PFV-medicine LM hospital DET Pedro

‘When did Pedro get treated in the hospital?’

(2) nuʔarin ma-duman sa maynila si pi:dru↑

when IPFV-go LM Manila DET Pedro

‘When will Pedro go to Manila?’

Samples (1) and (2) may be answered with time phrases. These time phrases are peripherals; particles,

words or phrases that only add information to the sentence, they are ‘extra-nuclear constituents that

are detachable from the sentence’, thus time phrases can occur anywhere in the sentence (Cubar &

Cubar, 1994).

For example, in sample (1), if Pedro got treated in the hospital the other day, we can put kan saroŋ

ʔaldaw, ‘the other day’,

(here) nagpa-buluŋ (here) sa ʔuspital (here) si pi:dru (or here)

PFV-medicine LM hospital DET Pedro

and the response will still be grammatical.

In sample (3) below, nuʔarin is not a peripheral, but a part of the predicate acting as a complement

of a deleted verb more likely to be ‘to occur on’. It would appear that it is an equational sentence.

Notice that the subject of this sentence, instead of an actor, is an event ʔan kasal ‘the wedding’,

compare to sample (1) and (2) above where si pi:dru is the subject. Thus in (3) the answer to the

question will fill the nuʔarin slot and cannot occur elsewhere.


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(3) (occur on) nuʔarin ʔan kasal ni se:lya

when DET wedding DET Selya

‘When (will) the wedding of Selya (occur)?’/’When is the wedding of Selya?’

saʔa:ga ʔan kasal ni se:lya

tomorrow DET wedding DET Selya

‘The wedding of Selya (will occur) tomorrow’/’Tomorrow is the wedding of Selya’

For specific times of a day, (i.e. 9:00 am), ʔanuŋ ʔu:ras ‘what time’ is used.

2.4.4. Locative questions

There are two locative questions in Bikol, haʔin and saʔin.

haʔin asks ‘where is the location of something/someone’ or ‘where does something/someone

exists’. haʔin is an interrogative substitute to locative noun phrases, nasa + N, where N is a location.

haʔin usually appears as the predicate in an equational sentence.

In sample (1), haʔin appears as the predicate of the sentence and is answered by nasa haruŋ, a locative

noun phrase

(1) haʔin ʔan aʔki ku↑

where DET child 1SG

‘Where is my child?’

nasa haruŋ ʔan aʔki mu

LM house DET child 2SG

‘Your child is in the house’

saʔin asks ‘where an action is done or will be done’. It is the interrogative counterpart for

directional complements and locative adverb phrases.

The answers in samples (2) and (3) are peripherals, thus they can occur anywhere (cf. 2.4.3).

In sample (2) saʔin is an interrogative substitute for the directional complement sa daʔet

(2) saʔin nag-duman ʔan saimo-ŋ namomotan↑

where ACTFOC.PFV-go DET 2SG.REFL-LNK lover

‘Where did the one you love go?’


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nag-duman ʔan sako-ŋ namomotan sa daʔet

ACTFOC.PFV-go DET 1SG-LNK lover LM Daet

‘The one I love went to Daet.’

In sample (3), saʔin is an interrogative substitute for the locative adverb phrase sa haruŋ

(3) saʔin nag-ka~kakan nin maŋga ʔan ʔakiʔ

where ACTFOC-IPFV~eat DET mango DET child

‘Where is the child eating a mango?’

nag-ka~kakan nin maŋga ʔan ʔakiʔ sa haruŋ

ACTFOC-IPFV~eat DET mango DET child LM house

‘The child is eating a mango in the house.’

In sample (4), saʔin is already a part of the predicate acting as a complement of a deleted verb more

likely to be ‘to take place in’. It would appear that it is an equational sentence. Notice that the subject

of this sentence, instead of an actor, is an event ʔan kasal ‘the wedding’, compare to sample (2)

above where ʔan saimo-ŋ namomotan is the subject. Thus in (4) the answer to the question will fill the

saʔin slot and cannot occur elsewhere.

(4) (take place in) saʔin ʔan kasal ni se:lya

where DET wedding DET Selya

‘Where is Selya’s wedding?’/‘Where will Selya’s wedding occur?’

sa da:et ʔan kasal ni se:lya

LM Daet DET wedding DET Selya

‘The wedding of Selya (will take place in) Daet’/’The wedding of Selya is in Daet’

2.4.5. Number questions

The number questions in Bikol are pira and guraʔnu

pira is ‘how many’, it can appear as a predicate of an equational sentence or as a modifier. It

is an interrogative substitute for quantity in cardinal numbers.


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In sample (1), pira appears as a predicate and substitutes for the cardinal number pitu.

(1) pira ʔan gustuŋ mag-ʔinum↑

how.many DET want ACTFOC.IPFV-drink

‘How many wants to drink?’

pitu ʔan gustu-ŋ mag-ʔinum

seven DET want-LNK IPFV-drink

‘Seven (people) wants to drink’

In sample (2), pira appears as a modifier of ta:wu and substitutes for the cardinal number pitu.

(2) pira-ŋ ta:wu ʔan ma-duman

how.many-LNK people DET ACTFOC.IPFV-go

‘How many people will go?’

pitu-ŋ ta:wu ʔan ma-duman

seven-LNK people DET ACTFOC.IPFV-go

‘Seven people will go.’

guraʔnu is ‘how much’ but it asks the price instead of the quality or quantity of a thing. It

appears as a predicate of an equational sentence. It is an interrogative substitute for price.

In samples (1) and (2), guraʔnu appears as a predicate of an equational sentence and is answered with

piso, a price.

(1) guraʔnu ʔan lapis

how.much DET pencil

‘How much is the pencil?’

piso ʔan lapis

peso DET pencil

‘The pencil is one peso’


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(2) guraʔnu ʔini

how.much this

‘How much is this?’

piso ʔiyan

peso that

‘That’s one peso.’

2.4.6. gaʔnu

gaʔnu is an interrogative counterpart of demonstrative pronouns ʔa:rug kaʔini, kaʔi:yan and

kaʔidtu. In the older community, si:riŋ is used instead of ʔa:rug. These demonstrative pronouns have

the meaning of ‘similar to this/that’. ʔa:rug kaʔini may be directly translated as ‘like this’. gaʔnu

appears before a word consisting of ka- and an adjective base (Schachter & Otanes, 1972). The ka-

here means ‘to what extent or degree’ (i.e. how tall, how sharp, how strong).

In sample (1), ga ʔ nu appears in the ga ʔ nu plus ka+adj structure and is answered with the

demonstrative pronoun ʔa:rug kaʔini

(1) gaʔnu ka-laŋkaw an sampaluk↑

how degree.of.being-high DET tamarind

‘How high is the tamarind (tree)?’

ʔa:rug kaʔini ka-laŋkaw an sampaluk

like this degree.of.being-high DET tamarind

‘The tamarind (tree) is like this high’

In sample (2), ga ʔ nu appears in the ga ʔ nu plus ka+adv structure and is answered with the

demonstrative pronoun ʔa:rug kaʔini

(2) gaʔnu ka-halu:y nag-lakaw ʔan sulti:ru↑

how DEGREE.OF.BEING-slow ACTFOC.PFV-walk DET bachelor

‘How slow did the bachelor walk?’

ʔa:rug kaʔini ka-halu:y nag-lakaw ʔan sulti:ru like this DEGREE.OF.BEING-slow ACTFOC.PFV-walk DET bachelor

‘The bachelor walked like this slow’


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2.4.7. paʔnu

paʔnu is the interrogative counterpart for (1) pa-adjective and the (2) adverb of manner

(Schachter & Otanes, 1972).

In sample (1), paʔnu is answered with the pa-adjective pakurahaw and an adverb of manner luway

respectively.

(1) paʔnu t<in>araman ni se:lya si pi:dru

how <OBJFOC.PFV>reprimand DET Selya DET Pedro

‘How did Selya reprimand Pedro?’

pa-kurahaw na t<in>araman ni se:lya si pi:dru

MANNER.OF-shout LNK <OBJFOC.PFV>reprimand DET Selya DET Pedro

‘Selya reprimanded Pedro in a shouting manner.’

luway na t<in>araman ni se:lya si pi:dru

calm LNK <OBJFOC.PFV>reprimand DET Selya DET Pedro

‘Selya reprimanded Pedro calmly.’

2.4.8. People questions

siʔi:say, kiʔi:say, and niʔi:say are placed in people questions because they are interrogative

substitutes for people.

siʔi:say ‘who, whom’ is an interrogative counterpart for si + proper name, ʔan + human noun

and nominative personal pronouns, ʔaku, ʔika, ʃa, kami, kita, kamu, sinda. It usually appears as a

predicate in an equational sentence.

(1) siʔi:say an saiya-ŋ aki-ŋ lalaki↑

who DET 3SG-LNK child-LNK male

‘Who is his son?’

si pi:dru an saiya-ŋ aki-ŋ lalaki

DET Pedro DET 3SG-LNK child-LNK male

‘Pedro is his son’


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niʔi:say means ‘whose, whom’, it is commonly used as the interrogative counterpart of the ni

+ personal name, kan + human noun, and genitive personal pronouns, ku, mu, nyamo, mi, nyato, ta,

nindo, ninda. The answers of niʔi:say represents the possessor of an object or the non-focus actor of

an object focus verb.

In sample (2) niʔi:say is an interrogative representing the possessor pi:dru

(2) haruŋ niʔi:say ini↑

house whose this

‘Whose house is this?’

haruŋ ni pi:dru ini

house DET Pedro this

‘This house is Pedro’s’

In sample (3), niʔisay is used as an interrogative representing the non-focus actor (pi:dru) of the

object focus verb gini:bu

(3) g<in>i:bu niʔi:say an sombrero na ini

<OBJFOC.PFV>make who DET hat LNK this

‘Who made this hat?’

g<in>i:bu ni pi:dru an sombrero na ini

<OBJFOC.PFV>make DET Pedro DET hat LNK this

‘Pedro made this hat.’

kiʔi:say means ‘whose, who or whom’, it is the interrogative counterpart for all ki + personal

name, sa + human noun and oblique personal pronouns, sakuʔ, sakuyaʔ, saʔi:mu, saʔi:ya, samuʔ,

samu:ya ʔ , satu ʔ , satu:ya ʔ , sa ʔ indu, sa ʔ inda. There are several possible structures for ki ʔ i:say

interrogatives, some are illustrated below.

(4) kiʔi:say ni pi:dru k<in>aʔo an kwarta

who DET Pedro <OBJFOC.PFV>give DET money

‘To whom did Pedro give the money to?’

sa ʔakiʔ ni pi:dru k<in>aʔo an kwarta

LM child DET Pedro <OBJFOC.PFV>give DET money

‘Pedro gave the money to the child.’


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In sample (5), kiʔi:say appears as a predicate and is answered with ki + the personal name pi:dru

(5) kiʔi:say an sapatos na ini

who DET shoes LNK this

‘To whom do these shoes belong to?’

ki pi:dru an sapatos na ini

DET Pedro DET shoes LNK this

‘These shoes belong to Pedro.’

In sample (6), kiʔi:say appears as a possessive modifier of sapatos and is answered with ki + the

personal name pi:dru

(6) kiʔi:say na sapatos ini

who LNK shoes this

‘Whose shoes are these?’

ki pi:dru na sapatos ini

DET Pedro DET shoes this

‘These shoes are Pedro’s’

2.4.9. taʔnu

taʔnu means ‘why’, it is the interrogative counterpart of ta + reason/s. taʔnu may have come

from the word ta ‘because’ and ʔanu ‘what’ thus forming ‘because of what’. taʔnu can come alone

but usually it is followed by the particle ta.

If taʔnu comes alone, the clause after taʔnu can be deleted and be implied. However if we use taʔnu

ta, the ta in taʔnu ta requires a clause to come after it.

(1) taʔnu ta nag-ŋi:rit ʔan sulti:ru↑

why PRT ACTFOC.PFV-laugh DET bachelor

‘Why did the bachelor laugh?’

nag-ŋi:rit ʔan sulti:ru ta na-dapla ʔan dara:ga

ACTFOC.PFV-laugh DET bachelor because ACTFOC.PFV-slip DET maiden

‘The bachelor laughed because the maiden slipped.’


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tadʔaw ta is taʔnu and daw merged together. daw is a particle which gives the meaning of ‘I

wonder…’, it can be a direct question marker or simply an indication of a rhetorical question, as if

one is ‘wondering out loud’ (Lobel & Tria, 2000).

(2) taʔ-daw ta na-aŋgot kamo↑

why-PRT PRT ACTFOC.PFV-angry you

‘Why did you get angry?’

1.5. Echo questions

In an echo question, ‘the expected answer is the complete or partial repetition of something

already said by the person addressed’ (Schachter & Otanes, 1972), ‘it is a question that occurs in the

turn after a repairable utterance, and repeats the portion felt by the speaker to need repair.’ (Glossary

of Linguistic Terms, 2004)

When asking the repetition of the whole previous utterance, one can ask, ʔanu ‘what?’, ʔanu

an sinabi mu ‘What did you say?’ or in informal situations, ha ‘huh?’ (Schachter & Otanes, 1972).

When asking for the repetition of a specific information from the previous utterance, one

may begin the question with an interrogative word, selecting the interrogative substitute used for the

particular thing the speaker wants repeated (Schachter & Otanes, 1972). Thus when the speaker

utters this sentence,

nag-duman sa haruŋ ʔan dara:ga kan saro-ŋ aldaw

ACTFOC.PFV-go LM house DET maiden last one -LNK day

‘The maiden went to the house the day before yesterday’

one may ask any of these, depending on the information he wants repeated:

for the action, sample (1)

(1) nag-ʔanu (sa haruŋ) ʔan dara:ga (kan saro-ŋ aldaw)↑

ACTFOC.PFV-what LM house DET maiden last one-LNK day

‘What did the maiden do (in the house the day before yesterday)?’

for the directional complement, sample (2)

(2) saʔin (nag-duman ʔan dara:ga kan saro-ŋ aldaw)↑

where ACTFOC.PFV-go DET maiden last one -LNK day

‘Where (did the maiden go the day before yesterday)?’


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for the actor, sample (3)

(3) siʔi:say (an nag-duman sa haruŋ kan saro-ŋ aldaw)↑

who DET ACTFOC.PFV-go LM house last one -LNK day

‘Who (went to the house the day before yesterday)?’

for the time adverb, sample (4)

(4) kasuʔarin (nag-duman sa haruŋ ʔan dara:ga)↑

when ACTFOC.PFV-go LM house DET maiden

‘When (did the maiden go to the house)?’

Stating the original utterance and just substituting the specific information to be repeated is also

possible, thus if the speaker uttered the sentence,

saʔa:ga ʔan kasal ni se:lya

tomorrow DET wedding DET Selya

‘Tomorrow is the wedding of Selya.’

one can ask,

(1) saʔa:ga ʔan anu ni sel:ya

tomorrow DET what DET Selya

‘Tomorrow’s the what of Selya?’

(2) saʔa:ga ʔan kasal niʔi:say

tomorrow DET wedding who

‘Tomorrow’s the wedding of who?’

Inflected interrogatives may also be used for echo questions,

(1) gustu mu kan ma-ʔanuŋ babaʔi

like 2SG DET HAVING.THE.QUALITY.OF-what woman

‘You like what kind of woman?’


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3.0. Conclusion

This paper has described the basic direct interrogatives in Bikol. Bikol direct interrogatives

are divided into five types, according to how they are answered, (1) Yes-no interrogatives, (2) Tag-

questions, (3) Alternative interrogatives, (4) Constituent interrogatives, and (5) Echo questions.

All statements can be changed into yes-no interrogatives by changing its intonation to a

rising tone. The negative element in negative yes-no interrogatives usually appear as the first element

in the sentence, but why this is so, it has not been stated since it is not the main focus of this paper.

In constituent interrogatives, the interrogative word is usually sentence-initial, with exceptions such

as niʔi:say. Constituent interrogatives can be answered by replacing the interrogative word itself, in

the same position but some questions like saʔin, kasuʔarin and nuʔarin which appear as peripherals

can be answered in any position. Inflected interrogatives can be further studied in the future, only

ʔanu has been tackled in this paper as the data are limited, but other interrogative words can be used

as roots such as saʔin as mentioned by McFarland in 1974.

Abbreviations:

1SG – 1st person singular pronoun

2SG – 2nd person singular pronoun

3SG – 3rd person singular pronoun

ACTFOC – actor focus

Adj – adjective

DET – determiner

IPFV – imperfective

LM – locative marker

LNK – linker

NP – noun phrase

OBJFOC – object focus

PFV – perfective

PRT – particle

REFL – reflexive

VP – verb phrase

References:

Bussmann, H. (1996). Routledge dictionary of language and linguistics. London: Routledge.

Cubar, N., & Cubar, E. (1994). Writing Filipino grammar: Traditions and trends. Quezon City: New Day

Publishers.

Dryer, M. S. (2005). Polar questions. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from

http://linguistics.buffalo.edu./people/faculty/dryer/dryer/DryerWalsPolarQNoMap.pdf

Glossary of linguistic terms. (2004). SIL International. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from

http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/Index.htm

Lobel, J. W. & Tria, W. J. (2000). An satuyang tataramon: a study of the Bikol language. Naga City: Lobel

and Tria Partnership, Co.

McFarland, C. D. (1974). The dialects of Bikol area. Yale University. Unpublished dissertation.

Mintz, M. W. (1971). Bikol grammar notes. In H. McKaughan (Ed.), PALI Language Texts: Philippines.

Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press.


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Peneyra, I. U. (1992). A grammatical sketch of the Tausug language. The Archive: A Journal Devoted to

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a descriptive analysis of bikol direct interrogatives

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