Onhan is a regional Western Bisayan language spoken, along with the Romblomanon and Asi languages, in the province of Romblon, Philippines.[2] The language is also known as Inunhan and Loocnon.

  • The Onhan language has three variants – those spoken in the municipalities of Santa Maria and Alcantara use /l/ instead of /r/. Example: kararaw is kalalaw, and other speakers change /r/ or /l/ to /d/ as in run or lun to dun.
Onhan
Loocnon, Inonhan
Native toPhilippines
RegionRomblon
Native speakers
86,000 (2000)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3loc
Glottologinon1237
Inonhan language map based on Ethnologue

Specifically, Onhan is spoken on the following islands within Romblon:

As a variant of the Kinaray-a language, some speakers are found on the island of Boracay in Aklan province as well as parts of the island of Panay, specifically in the following municipalities: Malay, Nabas and Buruanga. In the provinces of Oriental and Occidental Mindoro, migrant Onhan speakers from Tablas Island brought the language to the following municipalities: San Jose, Magsaysay, Bulalacao, Mansalay, Roxas, and some parts of Bongabong. As such, it is very much related to Kinaray-a and Kuyonon.

Grammar

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Pronouns

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  Absolutive1
(emphatic)
Absolutive2
(non-emphatic)
Ergative Oblique
1st person singular ako takon nakon, ko akon
2nd person singular ikaw, kaw timo nimo, mo imo
3rd person singular imaw nana ana
1st person plural inclusive kita taton naton, ta aton
1st person plural exclusive kami tamon namon amon
2nd person plural kamo tinyo ninyo inyo
3rd person plural sanda nanda anda

Numbers

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Number Onhan
1 Isyá
2 Darwá
3 Tatló
4 Ap-at
5 Limá
6 An-um
7 Pitó
8 Waló
9 Siyám
10 Púlô
100 Isya-kagatús
1000 Isya-kalibó
First Una
Second Pangalwa
Third Pangatlo
Fourth Pang-ap-at
Fifth Pang-limá
Sixth Pang-an-um
Seventh Pang-pitó
Eighth Pang-waló
Ninth Pang-siyám
Tenth Pang-púlô

Literature

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The New Testament was translated into Bisaya-Inunhan by Eldon Leano Talamisan and published in 1999.

The Harrow (Ang Singkaw), an official publication of Romblon State University, publishes Inunhan poems, stories and other genres of literature.

References

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  1. ^ Onhan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Quadra-Balibay, Angie (2020-02-06). "UP scientists, linguists develop online dictionary to save endangered Filipino languages". GoodNewsPilipinas.com. Retrieved 2024-02-01.