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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Language is a vital tool for communication. According

to Holmes (2016), language is not only a means for communicating

our thoughts and ideas but it also builds friendships, economic

relationships and cultural ties. Moreover, a language celebrates

the uniqueness of cultures in a region or country.

The Department of Education understands the vital role of

language in the education of every learner. Supported by local

and international research, DepEd recognizes the benefits of

teaching children using their native tongue or first language.

Studies have proven that children learn to speak, read, and write

more quickly in their first language and can pick up a second or

third language more easily if taught in their first language. In

the same manner, they tend to acquire other academic competencies

more quickly, particularly in science and math (Llaneta, 2018).

In 2012, through Department Order 94, DepEd instituted

Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) which makes

use of the mother tongue as the language of instruction in Grades

One to Three. UNESCO likewise supports mother tongue instruction

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as a means of improving educational quality by building upon the

knowledge and experiences of the learners and teachers (Nolasco,

2009).

Hiligaynon is one of the major languages declared by Deped

to be used as medium of instruction in the Visayas region,

particularly in Negros Occidental Province. However, given the

variety of around 170 languages spoken in the country, it is not

unusual for a teacher to find herself handling a first grade

class in a public school consisting of learners from different

linguistic backgrounds. On top of this, many teachers likewise

are not equipped with the linguistic knowledge of the grammar of

their own native language as this was not formally taught in

schools before. As a result, many primary grade public school

teachers find it challenging to teach the mother tongue as a

subject due to lack of background knowledge and sufficient

references to aid them in their teaching. Parents also find it

difficult to help their children with their lessons in MTB as

they are faced with terminologies which are not familiar to them.

A common reaction from parents and teachers alike on studying

Mother tongue is that learning the Mother Tongue is like learning

a foreign language.

Considering the present concerns in Mother Tongue teaching,

particularly in the teaching of Hiligaynon as a subject in the

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primary grades, there is a pressing need for more references that

can serve as a guide not only for teachers but to parents as

well. Part of the grammar of Hiligaynon being studied is the

particle. However, due to limited resources, this function word

is not clearly taught and understood. Thus, this study was

conducted to describe the function and usage of Hiligaynon

particles.

Statement of the problem

This linguistic investigation aims to analyze the semantic

functions of Hiligaynon-Visayan particles as revealed in the news

reports and short stories textuality.

Specifically, it focuses on the following:

1. Description of the semantic functions of Hiligaynon

Visayan particles when grouped according to Lexical

classification;

2. Description of the semantic functions of Hiligaynon-

Visayan particles when grouped according to grammatical

classification; and

3. Instructional material on Hiligaynon-Visayan particles

that can be developed.

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Theoretical framework

This study is anchored on the Speech Act Theoretic Semantics

of Daniel Harris (2014). This theory identifies the meaning of an

expression with the type of speech act that the members of a

community are disposed to perform with the expression and

interpret others as performing with it. This approach encompasses

approaches to several broad components of the study of linguistic

meaning, each of which breaks away from contemporary orthodoxy.

One approach is on metasemantics that postulates the idea that an

expression has meaning for a group of speakers in virtue of their

overlapping dispositions to perform speech act of a certain type

with the expression, and to interpret utterances of the

expression as performances of the same type of speech act. The

type of speech act is thus related to an expression as its

meaning for the relevant community. The other approach is

compositional semantics which refers to the matter of the way in

which our dispositions to perform word-sized speech act add up to

our dispositions to perform sentence-sized speech act, and that

fact about this adding-up are intimately connected to combinatory

speech act as predication. The third approach is lexical

semantics that states that a word’s meaning is its character – a

function from possible context to the word’s contents at those

contexts.
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Given the various approaches by which meaning is attached to

a word, Hiligaynon particles may function in varied ways and

carry meaning based on how they are used in context. Particles

may either be lexical or grammatical in function.

Conceptual framework

Language is made up of various word classes, each of which

has specific functions. Some words carry meaning and can stand

alone; however, there are words that must be associated with

another word or phrase to impart meaning. Function words such as

particles belong to this category of words.

Hiligaynon-Visayan language is rich with particles. This is

evident in written and oral discourse. News reports and

Hiligaynon literature such as short stories contain particles

that either function lexically or grammatically. Both of which

contribute to the appreciation of Hiligaynon language and its

intelligibility. To better understand the specific functions of

each category, a semantic analysis will be employed to probe

deeper into their usage and function. The analysis will produce a

vivid description of the semantic functions of Hiligaynon-Visayan

particles that can aid language teachers and other language users

in understanding and using Hiligaynon language better.

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To provide a vivid presentation of the direction of the

study, the schematic diagram illustrating the conceptual
framework of the study is presented in the succeeding page.

Schematic Diagram

Hiligaynon-Visayan short stories and online news

report reveal the semantic functions of
Hiligaynon-Visayan Particles
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SPEECH ACT THEORETIC

SEMANTICS

Semantic Analysis of Semantic Analysis of

Hiligaynon Lexical Hiligaynon Grammatical

Particles Particles
Hiligaynon-
Visayan short
ANALYSIS
stories and on-line
news report

Figure 1: A Schematic diagram of the Study

Significance of the study

The result of this study may be beneficial to the following.

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In-Service Teachers. This study will aid primary grade in-

service teachers in enhancing their understanding of the

functions of Hiligaynon particles so they can improve delivery of

instruction as well as become better users of the language.

Pre-service Teachers. This study may be essential to the

BEED pre-service teachers in equipping them with valuable

information on the functions of Hiligaynon particles to prepare

them for future instructional use.

Parents. This study will serve as a reference guide to

parents in assisting their children in learning the mother

tongue.

Future researcher. This study will help the future

researcher’s to know more and guide them when they do their own

study relating to Hiligaynon Visayan language. In addition, it

may also serve as a basis for them to anchor theories that are

relevant to their study.

Instructional Material developers. They will be guided in

making educational materials appropriate for reinforcing teaching

with the use of Hiligaynon Visayan language.

Definition of terms

The following terms are defined for a better understanding

of the study.
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Lexical semantics. Conceptually, the term refers to the

branch of linguistics which is concerned with the systematic

study of word meanings addressing questions on how to describe

meaning of words and how to account for the variability of

meaning from context to context (Geeraerts, 2015).

Operationally, this refers to the study of the meaning of

Hiligaynon particles, both lexical and grammatical.

News report. Conceptually, it refers to any length, usually

presented in a straight forward style and without editorial

comment (thesaurus.com, 2019)

Operationally, it refers to the Hiligaynon news where we get our

Hiligaynon particles as our basis.

Particle. Conceptually, a particle is a word that has a

grammatical function but does not fit into the main parts of

speech (i.e. noun, verb, and adverb). Particles do not change

(teachingenglish.org.uk).

Semantics. Conceptually and operationally, the term refers

to the study of meaning in language. (Leech, 2010)

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Operationally, particle refers to Hiligaynon-

Visayan word that is classified either as lexical particle or

grammatical particle.

Short story. Conceptually, it refers to a fully developed

story which is shorter than a novel and longer than a fable. It

typically takes just a single sitting for reading, it focuses on

the incidents bigger or smaller and evokes strong feelings from

its reader. (literarydevices.net, 2019)

Operationally, it refers to the Hiligaynon short stories

taken from Hiligaynon Magazine published in 2019 where we get our

sources of our Hiligaynon particles.

Chapter II

REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE

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This chapter presents the different studies and literature

that are relevant to this research taken from books, journals,

scholarly articles, and completed number of research.

On Particles

A particle is a word that does not belong to one of the main

classes of words, is invariable in form, and typically has

grammatical or pragmatic meaning, (Richards, et al, 1985).

Particles in English grammar are function words that express

grammatical relationships with other words. Function words

perform definite grammatical functions but lack definite lexical

meaning. According to Brinton, et. al. (2010), particle is a

grammatical function. The grammatical form that can function as

the particle in the English grammar is the p-word which includes

the p-words of phrasal verbs, quasi-modal verbs, and some

determiners.

All languages contain particles and they come in various

forms and function. Several studies have been made that focus on

the deeper understanding of the use of particles. One study was

made on the pragmatic analysis of discourse particles in Filipino

Computer mediated communication. Palacio (2016) investigated the

discourse-pragmatic (DPs) functions of discourse particles in

digital genres particularly in Facebook, since DPs are commonly

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used by Filipino youths when posting and commenting online. Using

both qualitative and quasi-quantitative methods, results revealed

a surprising number and interesting types of combined English and

Filipino relational DPs having several micro-functions.

Generally, they serve as a device that can let the interlocutors

convey their emotions, relationships, and attitudes towards the

receiver of their message. Discourse particles have crucial and

prominent implications in the way Filipinos, particularly the

youth, express their message, gain understanding of the received

message, and establish speaker-receiver relationships and

attitudes on Facebook.

According to Wolfenden (1971), lexical items in the

dictionary are root base forms having a set of features. Some

Hiligaynon words are inflectable and some are not. Independent

uninflected words distinguished from substitutes and bases are

labeled particles in this grammar. Some particles are lexical

fillers which add semantic information to phrases and clauses;

others are grammatical markers which signal syntactic

constructions.

On the basis of their semantic content, the Lexical

Particles may be loosely grouped in five classes: The Temporal,

Modal, Limiting, Verbal, and Emphatic. The Temporal Particles

relate an incident to time or to some state of completion. The

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Modal Particles represent the incident in terms of its truth

values.Limiting Particles limits the incident in some way. The

Verbal Particles are so classified because they usually co-occur

with the verbs or act like verb themselves at time and Emphatic

Particles adds degrees of emphasis to statements.

A study was made on the different functions of the particle

Huwag in Tagalog. It describes in detail the semantic functions

of huwag using Kaufmann's approach to the speech act theory.

Schachter and Otanes (1972) as cited by Matsushita (2015)

define huwag as something that expresses a negative

desire. They continue on to say that the particle

primarily has two functions: to negate imperatives,

hortatives and optatives and to add the meaning of

negative desire to statements. Examples of huwag used in these

two cases can be seen below:

To negate imperatives, hortatives and optatives

Huwag mo =ng basa-hin iyan =g

liham.

PROB 2SG.ERG=LNK read-TR.PFV ABS.that=LNK

letter

'Do not read that letter.'

Huwag tayo =ng um -alis.

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PROB 2+1.ABS=LNK INTR.PFV-leave

'Let's not leave.'

Huwag ko kaya =ng tawag-in ang duktor.

PROB 1SG.ERG so =LNK call-TR.PFV ABS

doctor

'Maybe I shouldn't call the doctor.

To add the meaning of negative desire to statements

Huwag ka =ng wala=ng pera.

PROB 2SG.ABS=LNK none=LNK money

'Don't be penniless.'

Huwag sana=ng g<in>a. gamit ni Pedro ang kotse.

PROB hopefully=LNK <TR.IPFV>~REDUP.use ERG

Pedro ABS car

'I hope Pedro isn't using the car.'

Aside from these two, Schachter and Otanes (1972) list down two

more unclassified functions of huwag observed which are those

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used in short sentences or alone and those used along with hindi

in what they call a 'double negative'. An example of each can

also be seen below.

Huwag!; Huwag na!; Huwag muna!

PROB PROB already PROB yet

'Don't!; Nevermind!, Don't do it yet!'

Huwag na hindi ka mag -pahinga.

PROB LNK NEG 2SG.ABS INTR.INF-rest

'Don't you not rest.'

The classification provided by Schachter and Otanes (1972)as

cited by _______ (___) for the functions of huwag, however, seem

not only incomplete but awkward in that some of the sentences

they have provided are generally barely or not acceptable to

Tagalog speakers.

Prohibitive formation in five other Philippine languages

(Pangasinan, Ilkano, Itawis, Ibanag and Cebuano) aside from

tagalog have been reviewed by the study of _______(___). Based on

these reference grammars, it can be said that the information of

prohibitives or negative imperatives in Filipino Languages can be

divided into three main classifications: those that do not differ

from negative declarative sentence formation aside from

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intonation (Pangasinan, those that use (Itawis, Ibanag) and those

that mark the prohibitives with negative particles and a

morphological change in any of the constituents in a sentence

usually the verb (Cebuano). The second classification, which also

includes Tagalog, has so far been the most common way of marking

prohibitives in Filipino languages observed.

Lim and Borlongan (2011) also made a study on the Tagalog

particles in Philippine English particularly on the case of Ba,

Na, No, and Pa. Their paper reports on corpus-based case analyses

of ba, na and pa when these enclitic particles are inserted in

Philippine English texts. The corpus exploration made also

furthers on Bautista’s (2011) initial investigation of ‘no in

Philippine English, because she has considered the focal word to

be a pragmatic particle in the variety of English in the

Philippines. The analyses made for this paper were on ICE-PH with

the aid of Wordsmith Tools 5.0. Ba was shown to alternate with

auxiliary inversion in Philippine English yes-no questions and

intensify the interrogative force of wh-questions where auxiliary

inversions necessarily take place. Na and pa also allow for

alternatives variants in the expression of various meanings in

Philippine English, continuity, recentness, tentativeness, and

urgency, among others. Lastly, ‘no was seen to be functioning in

place of the very frequent English tag questions in Philippine

English, which are morphosyntactically more complicated.

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Desiderio (2017)conducted a study on the semantic

classification of Kapampangan clitic particles. It serves as a

preliminary investigation of Kapampangan particles that can be

categorized as 1) non-pronominal 2) adverbial/modal second-

position clitics. It focused on classifying these particles

semantically and describing their structure through restriction

rules which are based on their usage of discourse through

examination of written text gathered and collected from newspaper

articles. Clitic particles were also observed to form (clusters)

which are two or more particles adjacent to each other and

combining meaning. The research identifies two main types of

clitic particle clusters in Kapampangan: 1) free and, 2) bound

clusters. Free clusters have constituents that are able to

function as separate morphemes while bound clusters have

constituents considered as a singular morphemes which usually

have novel, distinct meanings derived from the original meanings

of their constituent particles. The research asserts that these

particles and clusters somewhat reflect the attitude,

perspective, reaction, etc. of speakers towards different

scenarios, situations, and information. They can be used to

describe time and location, express emotions and feelings, give

judgment, speculation, doubts, etc. One form may also have

different semantic functions. Ultimately, they encode disparate

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meanings depending on the environments they occur in and the

words they are collocated with (Desiderio, 2017).

Moreover, Palacio (2016) made an investigation on the

phenomenon on the discourse-pragmatic function of particles in

digital genres, particularly on Facebook, since discourse

particles(DPs) are commonly used by different universities in

Metro Manila, Philippines. Using both qualitative and quasi-

quantitative methods, results revealed a surprising number and

interesting types of combined English and Filipino rational DPs

having several micro functions. Generally, they serve as a device

that can let the interlocutors convey their emotions,

relationships, and attitudes towards the receiver of their

message. Discourse particles have crucial and prominent

implications in the way Filipinos, particularly the youth express

their message, gain understanding of the received message, and

establish speaker-receiver relationships and attitudes on

Facebook. (Palacio, 2016).

Teaching in Mother tongues

In 2009, the Department of Education (DepEd) recognized the

benefits of teaching children using their mother tongue or first

language. Researches from both local and international found out

that children learn to speak, read, and write more quickly in

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their first language, and acquire second and third language more

easily if taught in their first language (Llaneta, 2018).

Through the Department Order 94, DepEd instituted Mother

Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE), with the following

major languages as languages of instruction in 2012-2013:

Tagalog, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Iloko, Bikol, Cebuano,

Hiligaynon, Waray, Tausug, Maguindanaoan, Maranao, Chabacano,

Ivatan, Sambal, Aklanon, Kinaray-a, Yakan, and Sinurigaonon. The

children are taught in English and Filipino as subjects focusing

on oral fluency, starting in the first grade. Both Filipino and

English languages are introduced from fourth grade onward as

languages of instruction.

Calinawagan(2016)conducted a study on multilingual,

multicultural and multidisciplinary approach to MTBMLE which will

be used as a model for Northern Philippines. She gave three

possible classroom scenarios a teacher may face. First, a strong

community language as its mother tongue and the majority of its

students communicating in this language; this scenario is more

common in rural areas. She recommended that the teacher use a

monolingual teaching-learning process in the mother tongue and

knowledge will be transferred through a lingua franca, and then

English. Second scenario, there are more students whose mother

tongue is the regional lingua franca-for instance, Ilokano in

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Northern Luzon- and the other students use their own

community/indigenous languages as their mother tongue. In one

classroom in a public elementary school, the students could have

different mother tongues- Maranao, Kankanay, Pangasinan, Ilokano.

This could be problematic. The DepEd chose Iloko as the language

of instruction, but teachers encounter difficulties because not

all the students speak Iloko. Some are more fluent in Filipino,

especially in urban areas. In this case, the teacher should use

the regional lingua franca as the medium of instruction, but

allot a special time to the speakers of other languages using

regional lingua franca as a bridge to learning other languages.

Synthesis of the Studies

Acquisition of language is a complex process. Knowing a

language involves understanding the basic elements that make up a

language. In studying the grammar of the language, one encounters

the use of particles which aid in making sentences more

meaningful and intelligible. Various languages make use of

particles inherent to their culture and language. The function

and usage of these particles are dependent on the culture of each

linguistic community and is arbitrarily used by the native

speakers. Gaining knowledge of the functions of these particles

will help in better understanding and use of the target language.

The related studies and literature cited in this chapter have

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provided salient background information and reference that will

guide the researchers in finding answers to the objectives of the

present study. They likewise provide essential information on the

role of particles in the appreciation of the target language.

Chapter III

LINGUISTIC RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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This chapter covers the research methodology employed in the

study, the sources of data, data gathering procedure and analysis

of data.

Research Design

This study focused on the description of the functions of

particles in Hiligaynon-Visayan Language. The research design of

this study is Semantic Analysis. Semantic analysis refers to

analyzing the meanings of words, fixed expressions, whole

sentences, and utterances in context (Goddard, 2010). This method

describes the process of understanding natural language – the way

that humans communicate based on meaning and context

(expertsystem.com).

Sources of Verbal Data

The sources of data are 5 news reports taken from TV Patrol

news report aired on January – February 2020 and five short

stories taken from the Hiligaynon Magazine published in 2019.

News reports are selected as textuality because among the myriad

of program formats shown on television, the news program is the

most widely used. According to sociologist Gaye Tuchman (1978),

news is the social construction of reality and is a social

resource whose construction limits an analytic understanding of

contemporary life.
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Data-Gathering Process

Five news report taken from TV Patrol Negros aired on January to

February 2020 will be transcribed for analysis. Five Hiligaynon

short stories published in 2019 are chosen as textuality. From

these verbal data, Hiligaynon particles are to be identified and

analyzed based on their category and functions.

Analysis of Data

The data are to be analyzed using four phases:

Phase 1: Classification of Particles

From the collected data, the researchers will first classify

particles according to its category, namely: Lexical particles

and grammatical particles.

Hiligaynon-Visayan Particles
A. Lexical Particles English Translation/Meaning

B. Grammatical Particles English Translation/Meaning

Phase 2: Categorizing Lexical Particles

The lexical particles will then be analyzed according to

their various functions, namely: Temporal, Modal, Limiting,

Verbal, Emphatic, And Locational.

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Hiligaynon-Visayan Lexical Particles

Type of Lexical Description Hiligaynon- Usage/Function
Particle Visayan Lexical
Particles

Phase 3: Categorizing Grammatical Particles

The grammatical particles taken from the data will then be

analyzed according to their usage: Phrase introducers, Phrase

ligatures, and Intra-sentence relators.

Hiligaynon-Visayan Grammatical Particles

Type of Description Hiligaynon- Usage/Function
Grammatical Visayan
Particle Grammatical
Particles

Phase 4: Development of Instructional Material on Hiligaynon

Particles

From the findings of the study, an instructional material

shall be developed as a reference guide for primary grade

teachers teaching MTB, for BEED pre-service teachers who will be

handling this subject in the future, for College teachers

handling subject related to the teaching of Mother tongue, and

for parents of children in the primary grades.

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References

Brinton, Laurel J. & Donna M. Brinton. 2010. The linguistic

structure of Modern English, 2nd edn. Amsterdam: John
Benjamins Publishing Company.

Richards, Jack, John Platt and Heidi Weber. 1985. Longman

dictionary of applied linguistics. Harlow, Essex,
England: Longman