Philippine Normal University National Center for Teacher Education

Faculty of Arts and Languages Taft Avenue, Manila

The Use of Kapampangan Adjectives

Submitted by:

Angelie T. Magdasoc

II- 17 BSE English

Submitted to:

Dr. Arceli Amarles

I. Introduction

A. Historical Background

The province of Pampanga, which belongs in Region III, was the first province in the

island of Luzon inaugurated by the Spaniards. Its name was derived from the Kapampangan

words “Pangpang ilog” which means ‘riverside’, where the early Malayan settled along the Rio

Grande de la Pampanga (Great Pampanga River) before they discovered and spread out into

other Kapampangan constituency.

Even before the arrival and domination of the Spanish in our country, Pampangos were

already in contact with Chinese, Japanese, and Hindu because of trading. Aside from business,

the affairs of Kapampangan to other Asians, especially Chinese, had been extended up to marital

relationships that’s why it is noticeable that Kapampangans are of mixed Asian ancestry. Besides

these, early Chinese and Spanish have also influenced the Kapampangan language. Instances of

these are as follows:

CHINESE ENGLISH

Ampaw Puffed rice or corn

Atse, atsi Elder sister

Bakya Wooden shoes

Biko Sweetened whole-rice cake

Batsoy Chopped entrails of pig sauted with kutsay

Biun Wire-like noodles made from rice flour

Bilog-bilog Balls or rounds of rice dough

Betsin powder

Bukas Tomorrow

Bukut Bent or curved back

Bulong whisper

Source:

SPANISH ENGLISH

Abanico Fan

Abogacia Law, the legal profession

Abogado Lawyer, attorney

Abono Fertilizer, manure

Abrazo Embrace, hug

Source:

The integration of Chinese and Spanish terms in Kapampangan language was due to the

continuous commercial contact as well as colonization of these foreigners in the Philippines.

Pampangan or Kapampangan language is one of the Austronesian languages, and according to

the Dictionary of Languages by Andrew Dalby, it has 1, 850, 000 number of speakers as of 1998.

B. Kapampangan People

Aside from being known as good cooks, Kapampangan people typically possessed lively

attitudes. As you get along with them, you would notice that they are very humorous and joyful.

They always show hospitality, especially to their non-native guests, and appreciation for they

love giving praises, but they also consider criticisms. The last statement became my basis for me

to come up in a decision that I would like to study the use of different Kapampangan adjectives.

C. Aims of the study

This paper aims to describe the different types of adjectives according to how they are

used in a sentence and give appropriate examples of it in Kapampangan language. The position

of these adjectives in a sentence will also be discussed. At the end of the paper, the following

questions are expected to be answered:

1. What are the different Kapampangan Adjectives with respect to types?

2. What are their corresponding meanings to English language?

3. How are the adjectives positioned in Kapampangan utterances?

II. Kapampangan Adjectives Classified into Types

Adjectives are defined as words that refer to the qualities of people, things, or ideas, or which

group them into classes. It is definitely present in all languages and dialects, and is categorized

according to how it was used in a sentence. These categorizations of adjectives namely

Descriptive (adjective of quality), Numerical (adjective of quantity), Predicative, Personal Titles,

Possessive, Demonstrative, Indefinite, Interrogative, Comparative, and Superlative, will be

further discussed and examples of Kapampangan adjectives will be classified.

A. Descriptive Adjectives or Adjective of Quality

Descriptive Adjectives simply describe nouns or noun phrases with respect to their

quality.

Examples: Malagung babai (A beautiful lady)

Aduang bulan a bingut (A two-month old baby)

Maragul a bale (A huge house)

Descriptive Adjectives may also be classified into different forms as written

below.

Colors – Malutu (Red), Matuling (Black), Asul (Blue), Dilo (Yellow), Berdi (Green)

Feelings – Masaya (Happy), Mimwa (Angry), Marine (Shy), Malungkot (Sad)

Sizes – Maragul (Huge), Malati (Small), Payat (Thin), Makapal (Thick), Ditak (Few)

Touch – Masalat (Rough), Mataluras (Slippery)

Shapes – Mabilog (Round), Tatsulok (Triangular), Parihaba (Rectangular)

Qualities – Malagu (Beautiful), Marok (Bad), Machura (Ugly), Maganaka (Kind)

Time – Banwa-banwa (Yearly), Bulan-bulan (Monthly), Aldo-aldo (Everyday)

Age – Matua (Old), Pangane (Eldest), Bunsu/Anak (Youngest)

B. Numerical Adjectives or Adjective of Quantity

As the word itself suggests, numerical adjectives is about getting the number/ quantity of the

noun being talked about. It answers the question ‘how much’ or ‘how many’. Take the sentences

below as an example.

1. Sinali yang kapitnang kilong babi y inda para keng abakan.

Mother bought one-and-a-half kilo of pork for lunch.

2. Menikwa yang ditak a pera y Lally keng dara na.

Lally got a little amount of money from her aunt.

C. Predicative Adjectives

Predicative Adjectives are those which follow a linking verb and placed before a noun.

They are not a part of the noun they modify but serve as a complement of a linking verb which

connects it to the subject. As I was translating some English utterances in Kapampangan , I

noticed that the English words ‘is’, ‘are’, ‘was’ and ‘were’, associated as ‘ay’ in Filipino,

doesn’t exist much in Kapampangan language. Let’s take these sentences as instance.

1. Makawili ya ing pamag-aral ning Linguistics para kana qu.

Studying Linguistics for me is fascinating.

2. Maganaka la reng kamag-anak na.

All his relatives are kind.

3. Asaan qung magi yang matagumpe ing programa.

I am expecting that the program will be successful.

The sentence number 1 and 2 did not use any linking verb; instead the adjective

‘makawili’ (translated as ‘fascinating’) and ‘maganaka’ (translated as ‘kind’) were place at the

beginning of the sentence. On the other hand, sentence 2 used a different linking verb which is

‘magi yang’ (translated as ‘will be’) followed by the adjective ‘matagumpe’ (translated as

‘successful’), thus make it a predicative adjective.

D. Personal Titles

Personal titles are considered as adjectives because they describe the position or rank of

the noun. In Kapampangan language, there are just few personal titles. Examples of these are

bapa (uncle), dara (aunt), and maestro (master or professor), then they just adopt the English

terms such as Mr., Mrs., Dr., Miss, and so on.

Examples:

Bapang Roger (Uncle Roger)

Darang Nora (Aunt Nora)

E. Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives are used to show possession or belongingness. They are similar to

possessive pronouns but in this case, they are use to modify a noun or a noun phrase. Examples

of this are kanaku (mine/my), kekatamu (ours/our), keka (yours/your), and karela (theirs/their).

Consider the sentences below.

1. Ikit me ing kanakung ballpen? (Kanaku was used to show possession of the ballpen.)

Have you seen my ballpen?

2. Apin ini ing kekatamung gabun. (Kekatamu was used to show possession of the gabun or land.)

This is our land property.

3. Apin ba ini ing karelang bale? (Karela was used to show possession of the bale or house.)

Is this their house?

4. Keka ya ing malan a ini? (Keka was used to show possession of the malan or shirt.)

Is this your shirt?

F. Demonstrative Adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives are used when there is a need to point out particular things. It is

somehow similar to demonstrative pronouns like this, these, that, those, and there. In

Kapampangan these are ini/deni (this/these) and ita/deta (that/those). Consider the sentences

below.

1. Deni la reng materyales a kailangan para qeng proyektu.

These are the materials needed for the project.

2. Deta retang sapatos mo.

Those are your shoes.

In sentence 1, the demonstrative adjective deni (these) was used to point out the

materyales (materials) while sentence number 2 used deta (those) to point out the sapatos

(shoes).

G. Indefinite Adjectives

Unlike the demonstrative adjectives, indefinite adjectives are used in a sentence when

nothing needs to be specified. In this case, Kapampangans use words such as dacal (many or

several), gang nanu (any), ditac (few), and so on. Take the following sentences as an example:

1. Ditac la reng migboto kaya. (Ditac refers to the number of people who voted.)

Only few had voted her.

2. Dacal a taung minta qing Luneta napun. (Dacal refers to the number of people who went to Luneta.)

Many people went to Luneta yesterday.

H. Interrogative Adjectives

Interrogative adjectives are also similar to interrogative pronouns. However, only three of

the interrogative pronouns can be used as adjectives – which, what, and whose. In

Kapampangan, those are sanu, nanu, and ninu.

1. Nanung pamangan ing buri mu?

What food do you prefer?

2. Sanu kareni ing saken mu?

Which of these is your car?

3. Kaninu yang bag ini?

Whose bag is this?

I. Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives in English are usually formed by adding the suffix –er (e.g.

prettier and bigger), by using the word ‘more’ (e.g. more intelligent and more adorable), or by

changing the word (as in good changed to better) while superlative adjectives are formed by

adding –est (e.g. prettiest and biggest), by using the word ‘most’ (e.g. most intelligent and most

adorable), or by changing the spelling (as in better changed to best). On the other hand,

Kapampangan language has a different way of forming its comparative and superlative

adjectives. According to my informant, a 70-year old native Kapampangan speaker named

Corazon Tolentino, comparative adjectives in their language are formed by using the word ‘mas’

and the word ‘peka or pinaka’ to form superlatives.

Positive Comparative Superlative

Malagu (beautiful) Mas malagu (more beautiful) Peka malagu (most beautiful)

Mabayat (heavy) Mas mabayat (heavier) Peka mabayat (heaviest)

Marok (bad) Mas marok (worse) Peka marok (worst)

III. Position of Adjectives in a Sentence

Same as with English, adjectives in Kapampangan may also occur in different positions in a

sentence. It may be placed before the noun, but unlike in English it’s unusual for it to be placed

after the linking verb. Let us observe the following instances.

a. Before the noun

1. Many students were absent in Mrs. Manzano’s class.

Dacal la reng estudyanting e linub quing klase nang Mrs. Manzano.

You can notice in the above example that the indefinite adjective dacal precedes the noun

being describe which is estudyante. Apparently, it is the same with its English translation.

However, some Kapampangan utterances may not follow this rule. Let us consider the example

below:

2. Have you seen my child?

Ikit me ing anak qu?

In here, the possessive adjective qu (my) comes after the noun anak (child), which is

actually differing on its English translation. However, this sentence may also be put up as ‘Ikit

me ing kanakung anak?’, which therefore follows the first pattern.

b. After the linking verb

1. Manyaman ing buro ampo ing sisig da reng Kapampangan.

The Kapampangan’s buro and sisig are delicious.

Notice that the order of the two sentences is different. It is because in a normal

conversation, Kapampangan do not use linking verbs so adjectives usually begin the sentence.

IV. Conclusion

Philippines indeed have a very rich language collection. Kapampangan in particular, is a

very interesting topic to be studied. Some people get fun of the Kapampangans when they are

having their conversations using their language, maybe because of their manner of delivery and

that some of its terms sound amusing for those who are not familiar with it. Their innate

wittiness influenced me to choose Kapampangan adjective as my subject in this paper.

Kapampangan adjectives could be associated with English adjectives in terms of how it

was used in a sentence. The classifications namely, Descriptive, Numerical, Predicative, Personal

Titles, Possessive, Demonstrative, Indefinite, Interrogative, Comparative, and Superlative

adjectives are also applicable in Kapampangan language, however, its position in a sentence is

always before the noun because in a typical conversation, Pampangos do not use linking verbs

such as ‘is’, ‘are’, ‘was’, and ‘were’.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. Books

Samson Fr., V. (2011). Kapampangan dictionary. Angeles City: The Juan D. Nepomuceno

Center for Kapampangan Studies, Holy Angel University.

Brown, K. & Ogilvie S. (2009). Concise encyclopedia of languages of the world. First Edition.

Retrieved October 8, 2013, from http://books.google.com.ph/books?.

B. Websites

Adjectives. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2013, from

http://www.englishleap.com/grammar/adjectives

Camiling A., & Camiling T. (n.d.). History of pampanga. Andro Pampanga. Retrieved October

8, 2013, from http://www.andropampanga.com/history.htm

Pampangan. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2013, from http://www.ethnologue.com/language/pam

Types of adjectives. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://advancegrammar.blogspot.com/2009/07/types-

of-adjective.html

Types of adjectives. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2013, from http://fos.iloveindia.com/types-of-

adjectives.html

C. Informants

Magdasoc, Eva Marie T. – 43 years old, a native speaker from Macabebe, Pampanga.

Tolentino, Corazon C. – 70 years old, a native speaker from Macabebe, Pampanga.