https://ourislandsourpeople.wordpress.com/capiznon/

Capiznon

Rosario Cruz-Lucero and Ruchie Mark Pototanon

Suggested citation:
Cruz-Lucero, Rosario, and Ruchie Mark Pototanon. 2018. “Capiznon.” With contributions by E. Arsenio Manuel. In Our Islands, Our People: The Histories and Cultures of the Filipino Nation, edited by Rosario Cruz-Lucero. https://ourislandsourpeople.wordpress.com/capiznon.
ETYMOLOGY, LOCATION, POPULATION, AND LANGUAGE

Capiznon is derived from the word kapis, a seashell used to make square panes for windows (and obtained from the mollusk Placuna placenta) and the suffix “non” or “people.” The term refers to the culture, language, and people of Capiz province, one of Panay Island’s four provinces: Iloilo, Capiz, Antique, and Aklan. Capiz is bounded by the Sibuyan Sea on the north, Aklan province on the northwest, Antique province on the west, and Iloilo province on the south and southwest.[1]

As of 2010, the total population of Capiz province is 719,685 persons, of whom 97% are Capiznon, thus numbering about 700,000. The remaining 3% are Ilonggo, Badjao/Sama Dilaut, Manobo, and others. It is the third most populous province in the region. Capiz has 16 municipalities: Cuartero, Dao, Dumalag, Dumarao, Ivisan, Jamindan, Maayon, Mambusao, Pan-ay, Panit-an, Pilar, Pontevedra, President Roxas, Sapian, Sigma, and Tapaz. Its capital is Roxas City.[2]
LANGUAGE

The Capiznon people belong to a larger group called Visayan, and the Capiznon language is a subclassification of the Visayan language. It is closely related to Hiligaynon, 91% of which Capiznon speakers comprehend. It is considered one of four languages constituting the peripheral subgroup of central Visayan languages, the other three being Hiligaynon, Masbatenyo, and Camotes.[3]

Though frequently mistaken to be the same as Hiligaynon, Capiznon has certain features that make it a different language. Capiznon possessive pronouns are formed by the addition of a t-prefix to the Hiligaynon, Kinaray-a, and Aklanon pronouns, thus: t-akon (I), t-aton (We- inclusive), t-amon (we-exclusive), t-imo (you), t-inyo (you plural), t-iya (he/she), and t-ila (they).[4]  These pronouns adopt the nominative and accusative case and are always in the middle or end (not in the beginning) of a sentence. These pronouns are similar in form to those of nearby but more distantly related languages such as Kinaray-a and Aklanon. In Capiznon, the third-person singular pronoun “tiya” (pronounced “cha” or “tsa”) precedes personal pronouns for emphasis, thus forming double pronouns in an utterance. For example “Indi tiya takon” can mean either “it wasn’t me” or “I won’t (do it/like it).” Additionally, some Capiznon words are not Hiligaynon but are similar to Aklanon or Waray, such as yandâ ‘now’, laong ‘to request permission’, bundol ‘dull’, halâ ‘to say’, and gumangkun ‘nephew/niece’.

Words such as gutus ‘to walk’, likot ‘weeds’ or ‘litter’, uyapad ‘ricefields’, pinsan ‘as a whole’, and hinipu ‘youngest child’ have no known cognates among nearby languages. Some words that are found both in Hiligaynon and Capiznon may have different meanings. Libud, meaning ‘to peddle’ in Hiligaynon, means ‘to stroll’ in Capiznon. Tina-i, meaning ‘intestines’ in Hiligaynon, means ‘stomach’ in Capiznon. Palak, meaning ‘to panic’ or ‘to rattle’ in Hiligaynon, means ‘to brag’ in Capiznon.

Languages in Panay island exist in a continuum; thus, varieties of Capiznon exist even among its different speakers. Capiznon with its distinct features is spoken in northeastern Panay, such as Roxas City and the towns of Pan-ay, Panit-an, Ivisan, Pres. Roxas, Maayon, Pilar, and Pontevedra. However, Kinaray-a predominates in Tapaz, Dumarao, Dumalag, Dao, and Jamindan; and Aklanon is spoken in Mambusao, Sigma, and Sapi-an more than Capiznon or Hiligaynon.[5]  The variety spoken in Panit-an is even more distinctive in that the Hiligaynon /l/ is pronounced as /w/ or /y/. Thus, the Hiligaynon magulang ‘elder sibling’ is maguwayng in Capiznon and ulu ‘head’ is uwi.[6]