A Descriptive Analysis of Bikol Adjectives

Lapid: Bikol Adjectives

A Descriptive Analysis of Bikol Adjectives Jezelle Irish C. Lapid

This paper is a description of the Bikol adjectives, which tackles their phrase level positions and their formations. This includes the formation by the affixation of verbs and nouns, and the affixation and the use of words to form the different intensifications and diminishing quantities. 1.0 Introduction

In grammar, adjectives are words that belong to a class that modify words. They may be either in root or in complex words. Complex adjectives are those that have their root words attached with affixes. Adjectives have the ability to express differing degrees or intensities of the property denoted by the root system through affixation, reduplication, or the occurrence of specific particles (De Guzman, 1996). Not all languages have adjectives, but some do, including Bikol. It is said that without it, how people speak, write and communicate on those languages which have it won’t be as colorful as what one can make of them as these words slightly change the meaning of the word by adding description and making them more specific. There have been previous works about Bikol adjectives. Mintz, in his Bikol Grammar Notes (1971), discussed the adjective phrase, and the different formations of adjectives. McFarland’s The Dialects of the Bicol Area (1974) tackled the different forms of adjectives in the different areas in Bikol; and Lobel & Tria, who used the word “modifiers”, enumerated them based on the affixes and the words that go with them. This paper describes the different formations of the adjectives and categorizes them based on the affixes that certain words go with and which are then derived into adjectives. Bikol words in this paper are spelled using the IPA. It is to be noted that the term “Bikol adjectives” here is referred to that of the Standard Bikol language. 2.0 Adjective 2.0 Adjective Position

Adjectives can be found before or after the nouns or pronouns that they modify. A linker links them with each other, which is often a word or a clitic. In example (1a) the plural adjective makokosog ‘strong’ comes before the noun dijos ‘god’ and are linked together by the linker ‘na’ , while example (2a) shows the position of the adjective magajon ‘beautiful’ after the noun daraga ‘maiden’, which are connected by the clitic –  attached to the noun. Inversely, both can be found in the opposite position, as shown in (1b) and (2b). 1

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(1a)

mga ma-ko-kosog DET ma-PL-strength ma-PL-strength ‘strong gods’

na LNKR

(1b)

mga dijos na DET god LNKR ‘strong gods’

ma-ko-kosog ma-PL-strength

(2a)

an

daraga=

dijos god

ma-gajon

DET maiden=CL ma-beauty ‘the beautiful maiden’ (2b)

an ma-gajon na DET ma-beauty LNKR ‘the beautiful maiden’

daraga maiden-N

3.0 Adjective Formations

Just like in other languages, Bikol adjectives also come in different forms. Most of them require affixes while others are base adjectives. Bikol adjectives are categorized into three basic forms (Mintz, 1971, p.42; McFarland, 1974, p. 208). These are the ma-formed (madiklom ‘dark’ >  kaw kaw aw ‘tallness’ ) ma- + diklom ‘darkness’ ) ), ha-formed (hala  kaw ‘tall’ > ha- + la  k ) and the unaffixed

adjectives (dakula ‘large’ ) ). There are also other affixes that when attached to certain words imply different meanings (e.g. paraiwal ‘always fighting’> para- + iwal ‘to fight’ ; ; nakakaherak ‘pitiable’ > nakaka- + herak ‘pity’ ). ). An adjective consists of an adjective affix and an adjective base. The basic formula is as follows (Mintz, 1971, p. 43): Adj Adj Af

 

Adj Affix + Adj Ba affixes Ø

(1) mahamis AdjAf AdjBa masweetness ‘sweet’ (2) Ø

dakula












3.1 Word Base to express (Lopez, 1937, p. 41) or Unaffixed Adjectives Adjectives

These adjectives modify another word as roots themselves. They are categorized here based on their color, physical conditions, size, psychological, situational and emotional traits and conditions, moral, ethical or social values and qualities, and shape or form. I call these words as “straight-to-the-point” adjectives since they readily describe other words without any “further ado’s” of affixation. Examples include: asul ‘blue, gadan ‘dead, lapa ‘rotten’, sadit ‘small’, kuripot ‘ungenerous’, bilog ‘circle/circular’.

3.2

Affixed Forms

When affixes are attached with nouns or verbs, they take the characteristics or traits of those words, and together, both form adjectives. 3.2.1

ma- formed adjectives

The prefix ma- attaches to basic adjectives of the following classes: appearance, dimension (except height/length/distance), taste and tint. This adjective group is the most common form among Bikol adjectives. (Lobel & Tria, 2000, p.49) The prefix ma- means, “being that of the {noun}” or “possessing the trait of the {noun} it is attached with”. McFarland (1974, p. 210) described this as a productive affix which combines freely with nominals to also express “having much {noun}”. maAdj P

 

ma + base ma + appearance dimension / Ø height, length and distance taste tint

appearance



e.g. diklom ‘darkness’

dimension



e.g. niwa   ‘thinness’

taste



e.g alsom ‘sourness’

tint



e.g. puti   ‘whiteness’

The prefix ma- attaches to the base form of words that fall under those categories. Height, length and distance do not belong to this group because they occur with a different prefix (Lobel and Tria, 2000, p. 49). Sections 3.2.1.1 to 3.2.1.4 presents each of the categories to












3.2.1.1 Appearance

Included in this group are not just the physical attributes but also the moral traits and values as well. They are under ‘appearance’ because that trait is not only obvious in the outside but also what is being shown. (1) ma-diklom ma-darkness ‘dark’ (2) ma-boot ma-kindness ‘kind’ (3) ma-ati ma-dirt

‘dirty’ (4) ma-kanos ma-ugliness ‘ugly’ (5) ma-tawo ma-person ‘having many people; crowded’

3.2.1.2 Dimension

Dimension refers to a measurable extent. Lobel and Tria (2000, p. 49) included the width, thickness, power and capability here. (1) ma-hib-og ma-thickness ‘thick’ (2)

ma-rikas ma-fastness ‘fast’

(3) ma-taba ma-fatness ‘fat’ (4) ma-himpis ma-thinness (object) ‘thin’ (5) ma-niwa ma-thinness (body)

‘thin’ (6) ma-kulog ma-pain ‘painful’

(7) ma-haldat ma-stingness ‘stingy’ (8) ma-bagsik ma-fastness ‘fast’ (9) ma-lowaj ma-slowness ‘slow’












3.2.1.3 Taste

Taste is the flavor perceived in the mouth. (1) ma-hamis ma-sweetness ‘sweet’

(4) ma-asgad ma-saltiness ‘salty’

(2) ma-alsom ma-sourness ‘sour’

(5) ma-taba 

(3) ma-pait ma-bitterness ‘bitter’

ma-salt-deficiency ‘tasteless’ (6) ma-siram ma-taste ‘tasty’

3.2.1.4 Tint

Tint refers to a shade or variety of color. By adding the prefix ma- to the color word, the meaning becomes ‘a shade of that color’ or ‘somewhat possess that color’. c olor’. The color words here, serving as bases, are not referred to as adjectives but rather, as in their noun class. In the examples below, it is the whiteness and the redness, not the red and white attributions that are extracted by the prefix. (1) ma-puti  ma-whiteness ‘whitish’ (2) ma-pula ma-redness ‘reddish’ 3.2.2 ha- formed adjectives

The prefix ha- attaches to words dealing with height, distance and length (Lobel and Tria, 2000, p. 40). I included the category of depth here since I cannot infer its inclusion in any of the aforementioned categories. However, I later on found out that this category was also mentioned by Mintz (1971, p. 42) as one of the classes the prefix ha- attaches to. The prefix can mean as “characterized by the word it is attached to”. With only those categories as the bases for this prefix, it can be inferred that there is an exclusiveness of the use of the prefix ha-. McFarland












haAdj P

 

height length distance depth

   

ha- + base ha- + height length distance depth e.g. baba ‘lowness/shortness’ e.g. laba ‘longness’ e.g. rayo ‘farness’ e.g. rarom ‘depth’

3.2.2.1 Height

Height is the measure from the top to the bottom of someone or something. (1) ha-baba  ha-shortness ‘short/low’ (2) ha-lakaw ha-tallness ‘tall’ 3.2.2.2 Length

Length refers to the whole extent of an object from its both ends. e nds. (1) ha-laba  ha-length ‘long’ (2) ha-lawig ha-length(time) ‘long’ 3.2.2.3 Distance

Distance is the length of space between two points.














(4) ha-rani ha-nearness’ ‘near’ 3.2.2.4 Depth

Depth is the distance or the surface from top to bottom of specified points. (1) ha-rarom ha-depth ‘deep’ (2) ha-babaw ha-shallowness ‘shallow’ 3.2.3 Para-

When attached to a base, the word becomes a something that means having the habit of whatever is connoted in the verb, or simply as the “habit of the (verb)”. Simply put, it transforms a verb into an adjective. (1) para-iwal para-to fight ‘always fighting’ (2) para-pa ad i para-to pray ‘prayerful, always praying’ 3.2.4 Nakaka-












(2) nakaka-istorbo=  nakaka-annoy=CL ‘annoying child’

aki child

3.2.5 Maki- and –non

When affixed to certain nouns, the resulting adjective is one which also possesses the meaning “characterized by a {noun}”. Although both have the same meaning, they are attached separately. It is to be noted that maki- forms usually connote a “fondness of the root word” or in negative sense, “being overly fond of the {noun}” (Lobel & Tria, 2000, p. 50). (1) maki-amigo maki-friend ‘friendly’ (2) maki-babae maki-woman ‘womanizing’ (3) diyos-non god-non ‘god-like; divine’ 4.0 Pluralization

Pluralization in Bikol is expressed through insertion of an /r/ and/or repetition of a part of the word, and/or the addition of the word ma   a a. Sections 4.1 to 4.3 explain further the different ways of pluralizing Bikol adjectives. 4.1 Insertion and Repetition

In ha- formed and unaffixed adjectives, these processes can go together. The infix –rV-












(2) ha-rajo ha-farness ‘far’

(b) Ø AfAdj P = =



ha-ra-rajo ha-PL-farness ‘far ones’

base + Pl -rV- + base

(1) hoben ‘young’



ho-ro-ben ‘young ones’

(2) dakula ‘many’



da-ra-kula ‘many ones’

(c) maAdj P

= = =

ma + base + Pl C1 V 1C2 V 2 + Pl C1 V 1C1 V 1C2 V 2

(1) ma-gajon ma-beauty ‘beautiful’



ma-ga-gajon ma-PL-beauty ‘beautiful ones’

(2) ma-pula ma-redness ‘red’



pu-pula ma- puma-PL-redness ‘red ones’

4.2 Addition of the Plural Marker

ma  a a

a Adjectives can also take their plural forms just by adding the plural marker ma  a . Some  a colors also take this kind of pluralization. The word ma  a can mean ‘the many’ or shows that it

follows a plural adjective.












(2) maa

nakaka-herak

PL nakaka-pity ‘pitiable ones’ (3) maa

maki-amigo

PL maki-friend ‘friendly ones’ (4) maa

dijos-non

PL god-non ‘god-like; divine ones’ Concerning the pluralized adjective that does not follow a modified word, in its underlying structure, there really is a word being modified. That is why, looking at the examples (2-4) below, the English translation comes with the word ‘ones’ pertaining to more than one thing because there really is something being described; although it is not directly mentioned within the given Bikol adjective plural phrase. For the remaining of the adjectives presented in this paper that do not follow directly a modified word, it is to be noted that there really is and the English translations with the word “ones” indicate such. A further discussion on this issue is also presented in section 5.2.1.1. Adj (Pl.) (1) an



maa

DET PL ‘the dry leaves’ (2) an

(article) + mga + adjective + (modified word) mara=ng

dahon

dry

leaf

CLITIC

maa pobre (ones)

DET PL poor ‘the poor ones’ or ‘the ones who are poor’












4.2.2

Pluralized color adjective

It was discussed previously that most color adjectives take their plural forms by repeating the first syllable of the root such as with examples (1) and (2). However, in some cases, such adjectives use the word mga for its pluralization, such as in example (3) (Lobel and Tria, 2000, pg. 53-54). Color adjective

= = = =

ma-formed color adj + PL ma- + color + Pl C1 V 1C2 V 2 + Pl C1 V 1C1 V 1C2 V 2

(1) ma-asul  ma-blueness ‘bluish’

ma-a-asul ma-PL-blueness ‘bluish ones’

(2) ma-pula  ma-redness ‘reddish’

ma- pu pu-pula ma-PL-redness ‘reddish ones’

(3) abo-hon gray-very ‘very gray’

= =

unaffixed color adjective and not ma-formed + PL mga + unaffixed color adjective and not ma-formed



mga abo-hon PL gray-very ‘very gray ones’

(4) lila-hon  purple-very ‘very purple’

mga lila-hon PL purple-very ‘very purple ones’

4.3 Combination of the insertion and repetition, and the addition of Plural Marker

ma  a a














5.0 Intensification Intensification

The adoption of the word intensification rather than of comparison is in order to include not only the degrees of comparison but also those of the other forms of adjectives or its combination with other words which in the Philippine languages express an idiomatic intensification of the sense conveyed by the adjective without the presence of comparison (Lopez, 1937, p.42). 5.1 Equality

Equality may be expressed in several ways, either by attaching the prefix siring ka- or by using the word pareho. Here, two objects are compared to as being of the same quality. It is to be noted that the first is the one being compared to the second object, which infers that the second one serves as the standard (Lobel &Tria, 2000, pp. 54-55). 5.1.1 Siring ka-

This is found after the introduction of the first object. The prefix ka- is attached to the adjective base and must always come with siring. Siring ka- can mean as “as (trait) as”. (1) siri ka-puti siring ka-whiteness ‘as white as’












(3)

pareho

ka-dakula 

pareho ka-many ‘as many as’ 5.2 Contrastive

The contrastive category is divided into two degrees: the comparative and the superlative. In comparative degree, two different objects are being compared differently. The comparative words mas and pa and the marker ki sa are used to describe such differences. Superlatives are formed by the addition of the affix pinaka- . When it comes with emphasis, either of the suffix – on, or the words maray and garo are used. 5.2.1 Comparative Comparative

Comparatives are made by the use of comparison words that accompany the adjectives in the sentence: the pa and the mas , which can also come together. The marker ki sa introduces the object being compared to the first one. Pa and mas are used on the adjective describing the first object. An adjective with either pa or mas can exist alone in a sentence even if there is no direct comparison involved with another object. 5.2.1.1 Comparative word

mas

The word mas , a word said to be borrowed from the Spanish, (Mintz, 1971, p.147) is found before the adjective. This is the most commonly used comparative marker. Mas can mean as ‘more or greater in the {trait}’ it follows.












a mas makosog sainda becomes ‘from those who are translated in English, the phrase sa ma 

stronger than them’. The word ‘those’ has an underlying word which, based from the sentence, can be ‘those people’, or it can also a lso be ‘from the ones’. (2) Iniligtas

mo

an

maa

Save-PST you DET PM ‘You saved the weak (ones)’ maa

sa

ma-luja,

ma-weakness

mas ma-kosog

LM PM more ma-strength ‘from those who are stronger than them.’ (3) mas more ‘better’

sainda. them

ma-rahaj ma-goodness

5.2.1.2 Comparative word pa

The word pa is found after the adjective and followed by either the referent, or the marker ki sa . However, this is not used as commonly as mas . Pa can also mean as ‘more or greater in the trait it follows’ but with more conviction and implies the feeling of ‘competition’ between two things. (1)

An

saiya

ma-halnas

pa












An adjective with only pa pa can exist alone in a sentence even if there is no direct comparison involved with another object (although underlying it, there really is something being compared to). (3) Maraj

pa

si

padri

pirmi=

ma-sagana (kisa iba).

Good pa DET Father always=CL ma-abundance(than others) ‘How fortunate Father is (comapared to others), he is always abundant.’ 5.2.1.3 Combination of mas and pa

The two can come together in a sentence. When these two are used, they pertain to “undoubtedly greater in the {trait}”. (1) Mas

ma-gian

pa

mas ma-lightness pa ‘That (object) is lighter than (2) Mas ma-rahaj pa mas maray(good) pa ‘Hatred is better than life.’

sinda

sa

saro=

hinaos.

that

LM

one=CL

ki sa than

buhay an pagkamoot life DET hatred

breath

5.2.2 Superlative

Superlatives are formed by the addition of the affix pinaka-. A collective plural (Lopez,












‘Get your best flour.’ Adjectives can also express its superlative degree by means of suffixation and the use of special words. They emphasize and intensify the characteristic of the adjectives into a much higher degree. These include the –on formed superlatives, or the addition of the words gáyo, maráy and abang. 5.2.2.2 –on

This affix, which means ‘very’, is attached at the end of the positive degree of the adjective. Positive degree is defined as the ‘normal’ form of the adjective, where there are no modifications to indicate comparisons with another. Adj Adj Emph

  

Adj + superlative ____C# ____V# -on / _____C#/ -on _____V#/-hon

(1) ma-tarum-on ma-sharpness-on ‘very sharp’ (2) ma-kusog-on ma-strength-on

(4) da-ra-kula -on da-PL-bigness-on ‘very big ones’ (5) ha-rani-hon














(2) pula= 

maraj

red=CL ‘very red’

maraj

5.2.2.4 gajo Gajo is found after the adjective linked either by the particle na or –ng. Gayó can also mean “very, plus a feeling of amazement.

Adj P  Conector 

Adj Af + Adj Ba + connector + excessiveness + amazement na / ____C#/na ____V#/-ng

(1) ma-rikas ma-fastness

na LNKR

gajo gajo












5.2.2.6 Use of –on with either maraj or gajo

An adjective in its –on form (superlative form) can use either maray or gayo at the same time. This indicates a characteristic to the highest degree- “better than the best” or the “bestest”. na maraj (1) ma-gajon-on ma-beauty-very LNKR very ‘really really (very very) beautiful’

(2) ma-gajon-on na gajo ma-beauty-very LNKR very ‘really really (very very) beautiful’ 5.2.3 Excessiveness

Excessiveness of the adjectives is expressed by the use the words grabe and sobra.












(3) Sobra

na

ma-rahaj

sobra LNKR ma-goodness ‘so much goodness; so good’ 5.2.4

Negation

The adjectives in Bikol can express negativity by placing the words bako and bako gajo before the adjective. 5.2.4.1 Bako Bako, which means “not”, shows negation when added before the adjective. It is linked with the adjective by a clitic –ng since it ends in a vowel.

(1) bako=

ma-gajon

bako=CL ma-beauty












(1) med o ma-lipot medyo ma-coldness ‘quite cold/slight cold/a bit cold’ 5.2.5.2 Dikit

In one of my interviews with my informant, I asked her to translate the Tagalog med  o maganda ‘slightly pretty’ in Bikol. She said that it’s med  o magajon but for her, the use of dikit is

more correct (which implies that med  o is used/accpeted in Bikol). Having said that, I included it here. This is the same as med  o. However, its meaning may be a little different. It means “closely related to the {adjective}” and is connected by the linker ning. (1) ma-gayon

ni

dikit

ma-beauty LNKR dikit ‘close to pretty’ or ‘almost pretty’












(1) ma-taba-taba ma-fatness-REDUP ‘quite fat’ (2) ma-gajon-gajon ma-beauty-REDUP ‘quite beautiful’ Below is an example that shows feigned actions, particularly dealing with afflictions. These words are usually verbalized by the addition of the affix mag- + -an (Mintz, 1971, p. 150). (1) buog ‘deaf’



buog- buog ‘feigning deafness’

(1a) mag-buog-buog -an an aki.














b. Magajon magkanta an daraga. Beautiful sing DET maiden ‘The maiden sings beautifully.’ Seeing the first example, the adjective magajon is followed by a noun daraga with the determiner an . In the second one, the adjective magajon is also followed by a noun daraga , which comes with the word magkanta . Magkanta in that sentence acts as a gerund, meaning, a word in verb form but functions as noun. In the third example, the adjective magajon describes the word a s a verb. magkanta , which in that case acts as












one term for that describing word. However, in some cases there is the presence of adverbs most particularly the adverbs of time. It is admitted that the author’s linguistic knowledge is not yet sufficient to cover up the complicated problems dealing with adjectives and adverbs. It is therefore recommended that works on Bikol adjectives be further studied and improved in the future.

ABBREVIATIONS

A Descriptive Analysis of Bikol Adjectives

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