PUBLICATIONSOF THE

INSTITUTE OF NATIONAL LANGUAGE

Bulletin No. 3 October, 1939

THE INFIXES la, li, lo AND al IN PHILIPPINE LANGUAGES

FELIZBERTO B. VIRAY

MANILABUREAU OF PRINTING

1939

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PUBLICATIONS OF THE

INSTITUTE OF NATIONAL LANGUAGE

Bulletin No. 3 October, 1939

THE INFIXES la, li, lo AND al IN PHILIPPINE LANGUAGES

FELIZBERTO B. VIRAY

MANILABUREAU OF PRINTING

193937902

IN S T IT U T E OF N A T IO N A L LA N G U A G E

J aime C. de Veyra, D irectorCecilio L opez, S e cre ta ry and E x e c u tiv e O fficer F elix S. Salas Rodriguez, M em b er Santiago A. F onacier, M em b er Casimiro F. P erfecto, M em b er I sidro Abad, M em b erZoilo H ilario, M em b erL ope K. Santos, M em b erJ ose I. Zulueta, M em b er

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THE INFIXES la, li, lo AND al IN PHILIPPINE LANGUAGES1

BY

FELIZBERTO B. VIRAYINTRODUCTION

Words in Philippine languages are formed by the com­bination of roots and affixes. The affixes which are pre­fixes, infixes, and suffixes enliven the words of the lang­uages and complete the ideas to be expressed by their being added to the roots of words.

The prefixes are numerous in all the Philippine languages but the infixes and suffixes are few.

The infixes that are so far known are urn, in, and la, li, lo. The infixes la, li, lo take other forms such as ra, ri, ro, ga, gi, go and ya, yi, yo following the operation of the RLD 2 and RGH3 laws in Philippine languages.

Spanish grammarians writing on the languages of the Visayan Islands and Justice Norberto Romualdez in his Bisayan Grammar, have recognized the occurrence of the infixes la, li, lo and their equivalent forms; but those who wrote on the languages of Luzon and Mindanao have made

1 Lecture delivered in the Villamor Hall, October 12, 1939.2 The RLD law is the correspondence of r, I and d in the name

of a thing, e. g., Pangasinan ngaran ‘name’, Magindanaw nalan, Bagobo nadgan; Ibanag langit ‘sky’, Inibaloi dangit, Zambali-Boli- naw rangit.

3 The RGH law is the correspondence of the letters r, g, h and sometimes y in the different languages, either initial, medial or terminal, e. g., Tagalog gamot ‘root’, Iloko ramut, Pangasinan la- mot, Ivatan yamut; Tagalog ugat ‘vein’, Iloko urat, Pangasinan ulat, Ivatan uyat; Tagalog ikog ‘tail’, Tiruray igor, Pangasinan ikol.

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no mention of the existence of such infixes in these lan­guages. So far, we know only of Mr. Louis B. Wolfenson of Johns Hopkins University, and Mr. Julian C. Balma- seda, now special assistant in the Institute of National Language, Manila, who have made studies on these affixes la, li, lo in Tagalog. Professor Frank R. Blake in a foot­note in his A Grammar of the Tagalog Language . . . re­ferred to Mr. Wolfenson’s paper The Infixes la, li, lo in Tagalog. Of the other languages in Luzon and Mindanao we have not come across any study on these affixes.

One of the works of the Institute of National Language is “to make a comparative critical study of all Philippine prefixes, infixes and suffixes” .

This present paper is a comparative study of the infixes la, li, lo and their equivalents and al in the Philippine languages which are being studied and represented in the Institute of National Language, namely: Tagalog, Sebu, Hiligaynon, Samar-Leyte, Bikol, Pangasinan, Pampangan and Ibanag.

DISCUSSION

In our study, we grouped together (1) those languages which have clear infixes la, li, lo or their equivalents per­forming specific functions and the derivatives formed having meanings semantic with those of the roots, and (2) those languages which have the infix al which has been treated as the equivalent of the infixes la, li, lo by the au­thors we have named in the introduction.

I. LANGUAGES WHICH HAVE CLEAR. INFIXES la , l i , lo-

We use the forms la, li, lo because in roots beginning with a vowel, if al, il, ol are used, the al, il, ol become prefixes instead of infixes, e. g., Sebu alagian ‘passage’ (<agi ‘pass’), Hiligaynon ilimnon ‘drinking water or liquor’ (<inum ‘drink’). When a fixed form of these infixes is used, it begins with a consonant instead of a vowel, e. g., Hiligaynon matalotam’is ‘pretty sweet’ (<tam’is ‘sweet’),

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with infix lo; Samar-Leyte sarosakayan ‘small ship’ (<sa- kayan ‘ship’), iroisda ‘object like fish’ (<isda ‘fish’), Bikol karokawatan ‘small toy’ (<kawatan ‘toy’), karokanding ‘small goat’ (<kanding ‘goat’), with infix ro. Another reason is that syllabications in Philippine languages are formed beginning with consonants, e. g., ba, ka, da, etc.

The foregoing observations lead us to believe that the correct forms of these infixes are la, li, lo and generally they are infixed between the first syllable and the root, e. g., Samar-Leyte sarosakayan ‘small ship’ (<sakayan ‘ship’), Bikol karowatan ‘small toy’ (<kawatan ‘toy’). This method of infixing the particles la, li, lo is different from that of infixing um and in which is done by inserting these latter infixes between the letters of the first syllable of the root, e. g., Tagalog s-um-ulat ‘to write’ (<sulat ‘write’), s-in-ulat ‘wrote, written’ (<sulat ‘write’).

Each one of these infixes la, li, lo used alone with a root or with a prefix or suffix or both, forms derivative sub­stantives, adjectives and verbs.

In partially reduplicated roots with these particles in­fixed between the first syllable and the root, an inten­sifying meaning, either augmentative or diminutive, of the derivatives is clearly evident.

SUBSTANTIVES

Sebu: solosingbahan ‘chapel, like a church’ (<singbahan ‘church’), bolobabaye ‘like a woman’ (<babaye ‘woman’), kolokabayo ‘like a horse’ (<kabayd ‘horse’). The diminu­tive meaning of the derivatives is understood by the fact that an object similar to the one indicated by the root is smaller than that indicated by the root.

In the examples given, the vowel of the first syllable of the derivative is the same as that of the infix. This is a variation of the general rule that the vowel of the infix is the same as that of the first syllable of the root. When the vowel of the infix is o and the first syllable of

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the derivative has the same vowel o, a diminutive meaning of a derivative substantive is indicated in Sebu, Hiligaynon and Bikol.

Hiligaynon: polopanday ‘a carpenter of little experience (<panday ‘carpenter’), solosakayan ‘small ship’ (<sakayan, ‘ship’), molomaestro ‘little teacher’ ( < maestro ‘teacher’). Some writers and speakers in Hiligaynon write and pro­nounce the foregoing examples palopanday, salosakayan, malomaestro. When the first syllable of the derivative takes the same vowel as that of the fixed form of the infix, the derivative denotes either a diminutive or similar meaning with that expressed by the root, e. g., gologan- tang ‘small ganta or an object like a ganta’ (<gantang ‘a unit of measure of capacity of three liters’), solosilhig ‘small broom or an object like a broom,’ silhig ‘broom’).

Samar-Leyte: sarosakayan ‘small ship’ (<sakayan‘ship’), darodampog ‘object like cloud’ (<dampog ‘cloud’), karokabayo ‘small horse’ (<kabayo ‘horse’). It seems that ro is the generally used infix in this language.

Bikol: gar amigo ‘small friends’ (<gamigo ‘friend’), piri- pinto ‘small door’ (< pinto ‘door’), orooripon ‘little servant or somewhat a servant’ (<oripon ‘servant’). These ex­amples have infixes ra, ri, ro respectively, each infix having the same vowel as that of the first syllable of the root. But ro is generally used in this language, e. g., karokawatan ‘tiny toy’ (<kawatan ‘toy’), karokanding ‘small goat’ (<kanding ‘goat’). As in Sebu and Hiligaynon, when the first syllable of the derivative has an o vowel with an infix ro, the derivative has a diminutive or similar mean­ing with that indicated by the root, e. g., sorosakayan ‘tiny boat’ (<sakayan ‘boat’), torotindahan ‘small store’ (<tindahan ‘store’), torotampipi ‘small native suitcase’ ( <tampipi ‘native suitcase’) .

ADJECTIVES

The intensifying meaning of derivatives having the in­fixes la, li, lo may be either augmentative or diminutive.

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Sebu: With augmentative meaning, e. g., talahoron ‘re­spectable’ (<tahod ‘respect’), talahaon ‘venerable’ (<taha ‘revere’), bilihon ‘precious’ (<bili ‘price’). With diminu­tive meaning, e. g., molomatam’is ‘a little sweet’ (<tam’is ‘sweet’), polopait ‘a little bitter’ (<pait ‘bitter1), tolotab’ang ‘a little tasteless’ (<tab’ang ‘tasteless’), bolobatan’on ‘still young’ (<bata ‘young, child’).

Hiligaynon: With augmentative meaning, e. g., masa- lakiton ‘very sickly’ (<sakit ‘sick’), maloloy’on ‘merciful’ (<looy ‘mercy’), hiligugmaon ‘kind, lovable’ (<higugma ‘love’), with infixes la, li, lo, each infix having the same vowel as that of the first syllable of the root. With diminu­tive meaning, e. g., aloaslum ‘a little sour’ (<aslum ‘sour’), palopait ‘a little bitter’ (<pait ‘bitter’), matalotam’is ‘a little sweet’ (<tam’is ‘sweet’) with the fixed form of in­fix lo.

Samar-Leyte: With augmentative meaning, e. g., dara- yegon ‘venerable’ (<dayeg ‘revere’), hirigugmaon ‘amiable, lovable’ (higugma ‘love’), boroyboyon ‘fond of accusing’ ( <boyboy ‘accuse’) with infixes ra, ri, ro. Intensifying meaning, e. g., maoroopay ‘pretty good; better’ (ma + <opay ‘good’), harohataas ‘pretty high; higher’ (<hitaas ‘high’) with infix ro.

Bikol: With augmentative meaning, e. g., saradangon ‘very small’ (<sadang ‘small’), pirioton ‘very tight’ <piot ‘tight’), durodusta’on ‘very dirty’ (<dusta ‘dirty’) with in­fixes ra, ri, ro. With diminutive meaning, e. g., maroma- raot ‘a little bad’ (ma-\-<raot ‘ bad’), barobagsik ‘a little bit fast’ (<bagsik ‘fast’), haroharayo ‘a little bit far, quite far’ (<harayd ‘far’).

The foregoing examples which we have given for deriv­ative adjectives in Sebu, Hiligaynon, Samar-Leyte and Bikol show that where an augmentative meaning is ex­pressed the infix has the same vowel as that of the first syllable of the root; but where a diminutive is expressed the infix takes the vowel o.

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VERBS

The derivatives with infixes la, li, lo express either di­minutive or frequentative action.

Sebu: nagatolotindog ‘standing a little’ (tindog ‘stand’). nagatoloon ‘studying a little’ (<toon ‘study’), nagaoloadto ‘coming or going once in a while’ (<adto ‘come, go’). The diminutive meaning of the derivatives with infix Zo is apparent; but with the same word formation, a fre­quentative meaning may also be expressed depending on the context.

Hiligaynon: nagatoloon ‘studying a little’ (<toon ‘study’), nagailinum ‘drinking a little’ (<inum ‘drink’), nagakalaon ‘eating a little’ (<kaon ‘eat’). Each of the in­fixes la, li, lo has the same vowel as that of the first syllable of the root. The examples given above may also express frequentative or progressive action depending on the con­text. With prefix nagaka- and infix Zo the derivatives denote inchoate action, e. g., naxjakaaloaslum ‘beginning to be sour’ (<aslum ‘sour’), nagafatalotam’is ‘beginning to be sweet’ (<tam’is ‘sweet’), nagakailitum ‘beginning to be black’ (<itum ‘black’).

Samar-Leyte: nagasusurosurat ‘writing a little’ (< surat ‘write’) , nagsosorosilhig ‘sweeping a little’ (<silhig ‘broom’) . Without a prefix, the derivatives with infix ro have clear frequentative meaning, e. g., barobag’id ‘scrape frequently’ (<bagid ‘scrape’), barobalintu’wag ‘repeated somersault’ (<balintu’wag ‘somersault’), barobalyo ‘change money to small denominations frequently’ (<balyo ‘change’).

B ikol: nagsaramba ‘adore God devotedly’ (< samba ‘adore God’), pinagmamaramasdan ‘observe very closely’ (<masdan ‘observe’). The same word formation may also express feigned action, e. g., nagmamaromaluya ‘pretend to be weak’ (ma + <luya ‘weak’), nagmamaromarahay ‘pretend to be good’ (ma + <rahay ‘good’), nagmama- romaisog ‘pretend to be brave’ (ma -(- <isog ‘brave’).

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With prefix ka, infixes la, li, lo and suffix an or on, the derivatives formed in Sebu and Samar-Leyte denote ab­stract substantives, e. g., Sebu kalawad’on or kawalalaon ‘want, nothingness’ (<wala ‘none’) kasulub’an or kasul- ban ‘sadness’ (<subu ‘sad’); Samar-Leyte kadarayawan ‘praiseworthiness’ (<dayaw ‘praise’), kabirilhan ‘precious­ness’ (<bili ‘price’), kaburuton ‘prudence, discretion’ (<buot ‘prudent, discreet’). Hiligaynon forms abstract nouns with prefix ka and suffix an although sometimes the root is partially reduplicated, e. g., kabubuton ‘will, pru­dence’ (<buot ‘will prudent’), kasuguron ‘beginning’ (<su- god ‘begin’).

With infixes la, li, lo and suffix on, the derivatives formed in Sebu, Hiligaynon and Samar-Leyte denote ob­jects of actions, e. g., Sebu kalan’on ‘food to be eaten’ (<kan ‘eat’) , ilimnon ‘water or liquor to be taken’ ( <inum ‘drink’) , buluhaton ‘work to be done’ (<buhat ‘do’); Hiligaynon kalan’onon ‘food’ (<kaon ‘eat’), ilimnon ‘drinking water or liquor’ (<inum ‘drink’), buluhaton ‘work to be done’ (<buhat ‘do’); Samar-Leyte karan’on ‘food to be eaten’ (<kan ‘eat’), turumanon ‘law or obligation to be fulfilled’ (<tuman ‘fulfill’).

Derivatives with infixes la, li, lo with suffix an denote places of action in Sebu, Hiligaynon and Samar-Leyte, e. g., Sebu alagian ‘passage’ (agi ‘pass’), dalangpan ‘re­fuge’ (<dangup ‘take refuge’), tolon’an ‘place of study’ (<toon ‘study’); Hiligaynon alagian ‘passage’ (<agi ‘pass’), ilimnan ‘place of drinking (tuba)’ (<inum ‘drink’), tolon’an ‘place of study’ (<toon ‘study’)', Samar-Leyte karan’an ‘place of eating’ (<kan ‘eat’), siringbahan ‘place of hearing mass’ (<singba ‘go to church’), surudlan ‘place of entering’ (<sulud ‘enter, inside’).

The agents of actions or occupations indicated by the roots may be expressed by derivatives with infixes la, li, lo and prefix um in Hiligaynon and prefix mag in Samar-

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Leyte, e. g., Hiligaynon umalagi ‘passenger’ (<agi ‘pass’), umiligo ‘guesser’ (<igo ‘guess, hit’), umulutang ‘debtor’ (<utang ‘debt’); but when the root begins with a con­sonant, the prefix um becomes infixed, e. g., kumulumpay ‘grass dealer’ (<kumpay ‘grass’), dumuluong ‘foreigner, transient guest’ (<duong ‘pass’), pumoluyo ‘inhabitant, resident (<puyo ‘inhabit, reside’), Samar-Leyte magsara- yaw ‘dancer’ (<sayaw ‘dance’), magtaranum ‘farmer’ (<tanum ‘plant’), magtarahi ‘tailor’ (<tahi ‘sew’).

In Hiligaynon derivatives are formed with prefix i and infixes la, li, lo which method of word formation is not found in the other languages. The derivatives formed denote the following:

a. Nouns indicating the senses, e. g., itiluluk or itutuluk ‘eyes’ (<tuluk ‘see’), itililaw ‘tongue’ (<tilaw ‘taste’), idulungug ‘ear’ (<dungug ‘hear’), isilinghot ‘nose’ ( < sing- hot ‘smell’), ibalatiag ‘feeling’ (<batiag ‘touch, feel’).

b. Power, capacity or faculty of the mind, e. g., ihilibalo ‘understanding’ (<hibalo ‘understand’), italunpangud ‘at­tention’ (<tanpangud ‘pay attention’), igalahum ‘power, capacity’ (<gahum ‘be able’).

c. Instrument, e. g., ihiliwa ‘knife’ (<hiwa ‘cut’), ilalap- dus ‘whip’ (<lapdus ‘lash’), ipalakpak ‘hammer’ (<pakpak ‘to hammer’).

The infixes ra, ri, ro in Bikol and Ibanag inserted in a number of roots, with or without prefixes form derivatives which have plural meanings, e. g., Bikol karatood ‘friends’ (<katood ‘friend’), kairiba ‘companions’ (<kaiba ‘com­panion’), turukawan ‘seats’ (<tukawan ‘seat’); Ibanag gi- raman ‘fathers’ (<ama ‘father’), girenan ‘mothers’ (<ina ‘mother’). With prefix mag derivatives are formed denot­ing substantives of relation with more than two subjects, e. g,. Bikol magbarayaw ‘more than two persons who are brothers-in-law’ (<bayaw ‘brother-in-law’), magpirinsan ‘more than two persons who are cousins’ (<pinsan ‘cou­sin’), magturugang ‘more than two persons who are

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brothers’ (<tugang ‘brother’); Ibanag mawwaragi ‘more than two persons who are brothers or sisters’ (<wagi ‘brother or sister’), mappiritta ‘more than two persons who are cousins’ (< pitta ‘cousin’) ; darapang ‘soles of feet’ (< da- pang ‘sole of foot’), dapir aping ‘dirts, stains’ <daping ‘dirt, stain’), dalaralaya* lemons’ (<daZayat ‘lemon’).

The infixes ra, ri, ro in Bikol and Ibanag do not only pluralize substantives but also verbs and adjectives in a sentence, e. g.

B ik o l :(1) Kita nagbarangna (<bangna ‘divide’).

We devide (things) among ourselves.(2) Su mga nagiriwal (< iwal ‘fight’) dinarakop (<dakop

‘arrest’) .Those who were fighting were arrested.

(3) K un saradang (<saddng ‘small’) na sira, tarawan(<tao ‘give’) ning tigbirilog (<bilog ‘whole’) an mga tawo.

If the fishes are small, give the people by piece.

Iban ag :(1) Ik kitu na ay dakal.

His dog is big.(2) Darakal ngamin ik kitu.

(Big all the dogs.)The dogs are big.

(3) Da Maria, Jose anni Juan e nattarali (< ta li ‘exchange’)ira tai lapis.

(They) Maria, Jose and Juan exchange pencils.(4) Massirigut (<sigut 'bathe') ittam sangaw nu nabalin

ik kalangat tazn.Let us take a bath after we finish our work.

The foregoing examples show grammatical agreement between the substantives and adjectives and verbs in sen­tences, i. e., the adjectives and verbs agree in number (plural) with the substantives.

Of the languages covered by our study, we found as having clear infixes la, li, lo the following languages: Sebu,

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Hiligaynon, Samar-Leyte, Bikol and Ibanag. This fact is significant because the languages having these infixes la, li, lo or their equivalents save Ibanag are spoken in neigh­boring places (see map).

These infixes la, li, lo, with or without other affixes form derivatives in Sebu, Hiligaynon, Samar-Leyte and Bikol which express intensifying meaning of substantives, ad­jectives and verbs. The same word formation which ex­presses diminutive action may express frequentative action depending on the context.

When these infixes la, li, lo are used with prefix ka, and suffix an or on, they form derivatives denoting ab­stract substantives in Sebu, and Samar-Leyte; with suffix on, they form derivatives which denote objects of actions in Sebu, Hiligaynon and Samar-Leyte; and with suffix an derivatives are formed which denote places of action in Sebu, Hiligaynon and Samar-Leyte.

These infixes la, li, lo with prefix um in Hiligaynon and prefix mag in Samar-Leyte form substantives denoting agents of actions or occupations.

With prefix i, these infixes la, li, lo form derivatives in Hiligaynon which denote (1) nouns indicating the senses, (2) power, capacity or faculty of the mind, and (3) in­strument.

In Bikol and Ibanag, the infixes ra, ri, ro pluralize sub­stantives, adjectives and verbs. It is interesting to note that in a sentence the adjectives and verbs agree in num­ber with the substantives. However, this use of these infixes is only found in Ibanag and Bikol but not in Sebu, Hiligaynon and Samar-Leyte.

Generally the vowels of these infixes are the same as those of the first syllables of the roots. There are two exceptions: (1) There seems to be a fixed form for these infixes which is with a vowel o; (2) When the infix has o vowel, sometimes the first syllable of the derivative takes the same vowel which derivative generally denotes diminu­tive quality.

13MAP OF THE PH ILIPPIN ES

o

aN ote.— The portions of the map inclosed by broken lines show thef places Where the

languages with infixes la, li, lo are spoken. Hiligaynon is spoken, in the islands of Panay and in Negros Occidental; Sebu in the islandsi of Sebu, Bohol and in Negros O rien tal; Sam ar-Leyte in the islands of Samar, Leyte, and in the southern part of M asbate; Bikol in the Bikol peninsula and in the northern part of M asbate; and Ibanag in the Province of Cagayan.

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I I . LAN G U AG ES W H IC H H A V E IN F IX a l

The other part of this paper is about the infix al in Tagalog, Sebu, Hiligaynon, Iloko, Samar-Leyte, Bikol, Pan- gasinan, Pampangan and Ibanag.

None of the grammarians in the Tagalog, Iloko, Panga- sinan, Pampangan and Ibanag languages save Frank R. Blake in his Grammar of the Tagalog Language have re­cognized the existence of the infixes la, li, lo. Recently, Mr. Wolfenson and Mr. Balma/eda have written papers finding equivalents for these infixes la, li, lo in Tagalog, the latter finding al as their equivalent.

Mr. Louis B. Wolfenson in his The Infixes la, li, lo in Tagalog, published in the Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. XXVII, 1906, pp. 142-146, makes the follow­ing observations on these infixes:

“The diminutive force in these cases may be due to the reduplication of the root; for in both Tagalog and Bisayan there are instances of diminutive reproduction, e. g., mabuti- buti ‘pretty good,’ and Bisayan tawotawo ‘little man.’ But it is perhaps more likely that the diminutive force is due to the combination of the partial reduplication and the infixed particle.

“The infixes la, li, lo are found not only in Bisayan, but occur also in Tagalog in a considerable number of words, although they are not recognized as such by the Spanish grammarians, e. g., salaysay, ‘explain’ from the root saysay explain, clear up, with infixed la; bulitiktik ‘be very full,’ from butiktik ‘be replete with,’ with infixed li; and dalotdot ‘dig a little,’ which is probably derived from dotdot ‘stir with the finger,’ with infixed io.

“The force of these particles in Tagalog is for the most part very indistinct, the meaning of the derivative with pre­fixed particle being often the same as that of the word or root from which it is formed, as in the cases of the first two examples cited above. There are, however, some traces of diminutive force as in dalotdot ‘dig little,’ and giliginto ‘the (little) golden eyes that form on soup,’ properly ‘the little golden ones,’ or ‘the goldfish ones,’ from ginto ‘gold,’ which

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must be compared with the Bisayan formations like tolo- tigolong ‘oldish’ and karokabayo ‘little horse,’ etc., mentioned above.

“In Tagalog then, just as in Bisayan, a number of words containing the infixes la, li, lo are found, the words con­taining these infixes being treated as roots in the various grammars and dictionaries of Tagalog. In general the par­ticles seem to have little or no force, although in some in­stances traces of a diminutive meaning are apparent.”

Mr. Julian Balmg^da, in a lecture which he had before the Balagtasiana on December 28, 192$, discussed the in­fix al in Tagalog; and in a paper submitted to the same body on February 24, 1934, he criticized Mr. Wolfenson’s The Infixes la, li, lo in Tagalog mentioned above. The two papers of Mr. Balmaseda show apparently that he believes that al is the correct form in Tagalog of the infixes la, li, lo.

After listing a number of words which are among the about a hundred words in Tagalog which we found as having al, Mr. Balmaseda gives seven uses of al which are the following: (1) Extends the meaning or force of the root, e. g., kalahig ‘rake’, kahig ‘scratch as in chicken scratching on the ground’; (2) determines or gives a par­ticular meaning to the root, e. g., kalahati ‘one-half’, kahati ‘a party to a division, 25 centavos or | of 50 centavos; (3) repeats the meaning and action of the root, e. g., balugbog ‘to give blows upon one’s spinal region’, bugbog ‘to beat with a club’; (4) gives a synonimous meaning, e. g., sa- langit ‘to get in or go out of a small passage,’ singit ‘groin, inginal region’; (5) increases or augments the size of the root, e. g., palapag ‘floor of a building’, papag ‘bamboo bed for one person only’; (6) decreases the size of the thing named by the root, e. g., balanga ‘small pot for cooking’, banga ‘jar for drinking water’; and (7) gives a contrasting meaning, e. g., salabat ‘a band about the body passing over one of the shoulders’, sabat ‘to die’.

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Mr. Louis B. Wolfenson adds the group of words with prefix halo as containing the particle lo by stating that the prefix halo contains perhaps the infix Io. Mr. Balmaseda seconds Mr. Wolfenson by asserting that the infix al is also present in derivatives with prefixes mala, pala, kala and sola, the al of the prefixes being the infix al of the derivatives. The obvious incorrectness of the foregoing conclusions lies in the fact that an infix is inserted in a root and not in an affix.

Mr. Wolfenson begins his study of -the infixes la, li, lo, by studying derivatives containing these particles in Sebu and Samar-Leyte. Then he proceeds to find their equiv­alents in Tagalog. With Bisayan examples in his mind he constructs most of his Tagalog equivalents in the Bisayan method of word formation with these infixes, the result being that most of his examples are not Tagalog.

Like Mr. Wolfenson, Mr. Balmaseda seeks to find the equivalents of the infixes la, li, lo in Tagalog. He col­lected practically all the words containing al in Tagalog and contends that the correct form of the particles la, li, lo in Tagalog is al. A large number of the words which he considers as derivatives, with infix al, have no semantic relation with his supposed roots.

The infix al is a particle which has come in a number of words in the Philippine languages. Unlike the infixes la, li, lo whose presence are easily noticed by the change or variation of meaning they give to the roots, the infix al seems to be present in words which have distinct meanings from those of the roots or words of the same spelling minus the letters al that only by a study of the semantic relation of the derivatives and the roots can its presence be ascertained.

The infix al has other forms such as ar, ag, and ay in the different Philippine languages following also the operation of the RGH and RLD laws. Sometimes more than one form exist in a language such as in Iloko in which the ar, ag, and ay forms all exist.

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For the purposes of our study we have included only words which show the effect of the addition of the infix al to the root leaving the ar, ag, ay because they are but other forms of the infix al.

The infix al inserted between the initial consonant and the other part of the root, a derivative with indistinct in­tensifying meaning, is formed, e. g., Tagalog balanga ‘small pot for cooking’ (<banga ‘jar for drinking water’), palapag ‘floor of house’ (<papag ‘bed for a single person’) ; Iloko saleksek ‘to fill by overcrowding’ (<seksek ‘conjest, insert’), talaytay ‘walk on a rope or bamboo’ (<taytay ‘bridge’); Pangasinan kalawit ‘hook with handle’ (<kawit ‘a curbed instrument in the form of a hook’), galapgap ‘remove the entire coating of anything’ (<gapgap ‘take a slice of a thing’) ; Pampangan kalangkang ‘something noisy tied to a dog’s neck’ (<kangkang ‘howling of dog’).

We have also a number of words with infix al whose meanings are the extension of those indicated by the roots, e. g., Tagalog salabat ‘band around the body strung over one of the shoulders’ (<sabat ‘tie’), palatpat ‘piece of stick placed vertically on the roof where nipa roofing is tied’ (<patpat ‘piece of stick’); Sebu balokad ‘remove foetus out of mother’s womb’ (<bokad ‘opening of flowers’), balitbit ‘carry heavy things’ ( < bitbit ‘carry with the hand’); Hiligaynon talangban ‘deep cave’ (<tangub ‘depression’), talankan ‘pot for cooking’ (<tanuk ‘boil bananas, camotes, et. in a pot’); Iloko kalapkap ‘inference, conjecture’ (<kap- kap ‘grope in the dark by feeling or touching’), kal-laisa ‘union of a man and woman’ (<kaisa ‘oneness’); Bikol dalogoan ‘dog’s teeth stained by blood-like spots’ (<dogo ‘blood’), balakbak ‘bark of banana, abaca and the like’ (<bakbak ‘skin or remove bark’); Pangasinan palawpaw ‘fictitious, superficial’ (<pawpaw ‘surface of a pot of rice which is removed and given to cats’), palaway ‘clear open space’ (<paway ‘outside’); Pampangan balusbus ‘winnow’ (<busbus ‘hole’), taluktuk ‘point, summit’ (<tuktuk ‘peck, knock’), Ibanag dalurug ‘place a thing or person on the

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side of another’ (<durug ‘two or more persons sleeping side by side’), palappang ‘fell branches of trees’ (<pap- pang ‘cut nails off finger or toes, or hair’) .

But in the majority of cases derivatives with infix al have similar or practically the same meaning as those of the roots, e. g., Tagalog kalahati ‘one-half’ (<kahati ‘a party to a division who usually receives one-half’), ba- lugbog ‘to give blows to a person especially on his back, (<bugbog ‘to beat a person with a club’) ; Sebu palungpong ‘cluster of fruits, flowers’ (<pungpong ‘cluster’), baloskay ‘mix a liquid with another’ (<boskay ‘mix liquids’); Hili- gaynon balisbis ‘lemon’ (<bisbis ‘lemon’), saloksok ‘thrust a weapon in the girdle’ (<soksok ‘thrust a dagger in a girdle; insert’) ; Samar-Leyte dalandan ‘float with the cur­rent’ (<dandan ‘carried by the current’); Iloko karaykay ‘rake’ (<kaykay ‘sweep’), saluksuk ‘insertion, concealment’ (<suksuk ‘conceal, bide’); Pangasinan kalasikas ‘search person or thing’ (<kasikas ‘search for a thing’), dalait ‘joint two pieces of cloth together’ (<dait ‘sew’); Pam- pangan talampakan ‘sole of foot’ (<tapak ‘sole of foot’); salitsit ‘hissing sound’ (< sit sit ‘whisper’); Ibanag taletay ‘bridge’ (<tetay ‘bridge’).

In general, therefore, the infix al performs these func­tions: it gives to the derivative (1) indistinct intensifying meaning, (2) extension of the meaning of the root, (3) similar or practically the same meaning as that of the root.

But al can only be used with the words in which it is present which are but few in all the languages studied. This peculiar circumstance has lead some people to believe that al is not an infix but a part of the root, and that the words containing it are distinct roots from those without them.

In the languages having the infixes la, li, lo, confusion arises whether al or la is used in a derivative. It is clear that al is used when the vowel of the first syllable of a root is i or u, e. g., Sebu palungpong ‘cluster of fruits, flowers’

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(<pungpong ‘cluster’ ) , Hiligaynon balisbis ‘lemon’ (<bisbis ‘lemon’ ). But where the vowel of the first syllable is a, the difficulty of determining whether al or la is used arises. We advance that the function performed by the infix as we have already indicated provides a good test.

The foregoing facts show that infix al is present in all the languages studied, namely: Tagalog, Sebu, Hiligaynon, Iloko, Samar-Leyte, Bikol, Pangasinan, Pampangan, Bikol and Ibanag. On the other hand, the infixes la, li, lo and their equivalents are present only in Sebu, Hiligaynon, Samar-Leyte, Bikol and Ibanag.

We tender the expression of our gratitude for informa­tion given us on sundry specific points of this study to the members of the technical staff of the Institute of National Language.

R E F E R E N C E S

1. Agudo, Hortensia, Preliminary Study of the Affixes in Ibanag.Institute of National Language. Manila. Typewritten.

2. Balmaseda, Julian C., Ang tipik na “al” sa wikang Tagalog.Consisting of a lecture delivered before and a paper sub­mitted to the Balagtasiana. Manila. Typewritten.

3. Bergano, Diego, Arte de la lengua pampanga. Tercera edicion.Conforme a la hecha en el convento de Nuestra Sra. de el Loreto de el pueblo de Sampaloc, ano 1736. Manila. Tip. del Colegio de Santo Tomas. 1916.

4. Bergano, Diego, Vocabulario de la lengua pampanga en ro­mance. Compuesto por el M. R. P. lector Fr. Diego Bergano. 2a ed. Reimpreso: Manila. Impr. de Ramirez y Giraudier. 1860.

5. Bermejo, Julian, Arte compendiado de la lengua cebuana, sa-cado del que escribio, el r. p. fr. Francisco Encina. Tambo- bong Pequena. Tipo.-lit. del asilo de huerfanos. 1894.

6. Blake, Frank R., A Grammar of the Tagalog Language, thechief native idiom of the Philippine Islands, by Frank R. Blake. . . New Haven, Conn. American Oriental Society. 1925.

7. Bugarin, Jose, Diccionario ibanag-espahol, compuesto en loantiguo por el R. P. Fr. Jose Bugarin, reducido a mejor forma

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por el R. P. Fr. Julian Velinchon, reducido en metodo mas claro, en suplemento y dado a luz por el R. P. Fr. Ramon Rodriguez. Manila. Imp. Amigos del Pais. 1854.

8. Calderon, Sofronio G., Diccionario ingles-espanol-tagalog.Manila. J. Martinez. 1915.

9. Carro, Andres, Vocabulario iloco-espahol, trabajado por variosreligiosos del orden de N. P. S. Agustin, coordinado por el M. R. P. Predicador Fr. Andres Carro. 2a ed. Manila. Est. tip.-lit. de M. Perez, hijo. 1888.

10. Cuartero y Medina, Mariano, . Arte del idioma bisaya-hiligainoque se habla en Panay y en algunas islas adyacentes, por el Sr. D. Fr. Mariano Cuartero . . . Manila. Estab. tip. del Colegio de Santo Tomas a cargo de G. Memije. 1878.

11. Desmond, Henry, Elements oj Tagalog Grammar. Manila.Catholic Trade School. Copyright 1929.

12. Diccionario espanol-ibanag: o sea, tesauro hispano-cagayan, sa-cado de los manuscritos antiguos, y nuevamente corr. y anadido en gran parte por los religiosos dominicos en aquella provincia. Se publica con la autorizacion de N. M. R. P. provincial Fr. Pedro Payo. Manila. Impr. de Ramirez y Giraudier. 1867.

13. Encina, Francisco, Gramatica bisaya-cebuana del P. FranciscoEncina, reformada por el m. r. p. fr. Nicolas Gonzales de S. Vicente Ferrer. Manila. Imp. de “Amigos del Pais” . 1885.

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15. Fernandez Cosgaya, Lorenzo, Diccionario pangasinan-espariol,compuesto por el M. R. P. Fr. Lorenzo Fernandez Cosgaya, aumentado, ordenado y reformado por el M. R. P. Vicario Provincial y Foraneo, Fr. Pedro Villanova. Manila. Est. tip. del Colegio de Santo Tomas, a cargo de B. Salo. 1865.

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17. Gamboa-Mendoza, Virginia, Preliminary Study of the Affixes inPampangan. Institute of National Language. Manila. Type­written.

18. Garces, Pilar, Preliminary Study of the Affixes in Sebu. In­stitute of National Language. Manila. Typewritten.

19. Guillen, Felix, Gramatica bisaya para facilitar el estudio deldialecto bisaya-cebuano; escrita por el r. p. fr. Felix Guillen. Malabon, Estab. tipo. lit. del Asilo de huerfanos. 1898.

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20. Jaucian, Fe, Preliminary Study of the Affixes in Bikol. In­stitute of National Language. Manila. Typewritten.

21. Lisboa, Marcos de, Vocabulario de la lengua bikol, compuestapor el M. R. P. Fr. Marcos de Lisboa. Reimpreso a espensas del exmo. ilmo. sr. dr. d. fr. Francisco Ganiza. Manila. Est. tip. del Colegio de Santo Tomas. 1865.

22. Lopez, Cecilio, Preliminary Study of the Tagalog Affixes. Pub­lications of the Institute of National Language. Manila. Bureau of Printing. Vol. II, November, 1937.

23. Lopez, Francisco, Gramdtica ilocana compuesta por el P. Pre-dicador Fr. Francisco Lopez. Corregida y aumentada por el P. Carro. Malabon. Establ. Tipo. lit. del Asilo de la Consolacion. 1895.

24. Lozano y Mejia, Raimundo, Gramdtica hispana-visaya-pana-yana, por Raimundo Lozano. Valladolid. L. N. de Gaviria. 1892.

25. Nepomuceno y Siriban, Vicente, Gramatica castellana expli-cada en el lenguaje espahol e ibanag. Manila. Imp. de I de los Reyes. 1894.

26. Pellicer, Mariano, Arte de la lengua pangasinan o caboloan;corregido y aumentado y llevando en si mismo el compendio. Manila, I. F. Imp. del Colegio de Sto. Tomas. 1904.

27. Romualdez, Norberto, Bisayan Grammar and Notes on BisayanRhetoric and Poetics and Filipino Dialectology. “Pag Paaha- yag” Co. Takloban. 1908.

28. Salas, Felix Rodriguez, Afijos para formar sustantivos. In­stitute of National Language. Manila. Typewritten.

29. Sanchez de la Rosa, Antonio, Diccionario espahol-bisaya paralas provincias de Samar y Leyte, compuesto por el r. p. Fr. Antonio Sanchez de la Rosa. Manila. Imp. y lit. de Santos y Bernal. 1914.

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32. Vera, Roman Maria de, Gramdtica hispano-bicol segun el me-todo de Ollendorff. Manila. Impr. de Santos y Bernal. 1904.

33. Vilches, Manuel, Gramdtica Visaya-Cebuana. Manila. Impr.de Ramirez y Giraudier. 1897.

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34. ViraYj Felizberto B., Preliminary Study of the Affixes in Hili-gaynon. Institute of National Language. Manila. Type­written.

35. ViraYj Felizberto B., Preliminary Study of the Affixes inPangasinan. Institute of National Language. Manila. Typewritten.

36. Wolfenson, Louis B., The Infixes la, li, lo in Tagalog.Reprint from the Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1906, v. 27, p. 142-146.

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The DIRECTOR.23

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