Onhan language

Not to be confused with Ongan languages.

Onhan
Loocnon, Inonhan
Native to	Philippines
Region	Romblon
Native speakers	(86,000 cited 2000) [1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Philippine Central Philippine Bisayan Western Bisayan Onhan
Language codes
ISO 639-3	loc
Glottolog	inon1237
Inonhan language map based on Ethnologue

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.

Geographical distribution

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

• Tablas: the municipalities of San Andres, Santa Maria, Alcantara, Ferrol, Looc, and Santa Fe and some upland sitios in Odiongan.
• Carabao: the sole municipality of San Jose.

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.

Dialects

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.

Grammar

Pronouns

	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

Number	Onhan
	Ordinal	Cardinal
1	Isyá	Una
2	Darwá	Pangalwa
3	Tatló	Pangatlo
4	Ap-at	Pang-ap-at
5	Limá	Pang-limá
6	An-um	Pang-an-um
7	Pitó	Pang-pitó
8	Waló	Pang-waló
9	Siyám	Pang-siyám
10	Púlô	Pang-púlô
100	Isya-kagatús
1000	Isya-kalibó

Literature

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

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.