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Waray is a member of the Visayan branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language family
spoken by people in the provinces of Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Leyte (in
particular,TaclobanCity)andBiliran.AsWarayisthelanguageofthechurchthroughout
theRasternVisayasregion,themostreadilyavailableliteratureofWarayisreligious
in nature.

WarayissharedbythenativesinhabitingthesisterislandsofLeyteandSamar,who
arealsocalledtheWarays.ItisthemediuminthenorthernpartofLeyteprovince;
municipalitiesinthenorthwesternpartoftheprovincespeakCebuanoandatthe
southwestend,Binol-anonisspoken.TheformalnamefortheWaraylanguageas
qualifiedbytheWarayliteratieldersoftheSanghiransangBinisaya(Councilforthe
Visayan Language) is Lineyte-Samarnon, or Binisaya. Initially deemed colloquial,
“Waray” has become the official name.

Spoken Waray has distinctions in vocabulary and nuances of tone and accent between
thoseversionsspokenineachprovince.Thus,theWarayusedinEasternSamaris
calledestehanon,whilethatinNorthernSamarisnortehanon,andthatofSamarinthe
west is westehanon. In terms of origin and local identity, the people are also referred to
by these terms.

Waray-Waray has the basic Central Philippine-type phonology, with 16
consonants and three vowels, and both stress and length are contrastive. Its
orthographyismostlyregular,exceptthatitdoesnotrepresentstress,length
or the glottal stop. The language is also most readily distinguishable from other
CentralPhilippinelanguagesbythe“s”→/h/soundchangethathasaffected
a small number of grammatical morphemes in all areas of Samar south of the
Sta. Margarita-Matuguinao-Las Navas-Gamay line and all of Leyte Waray.

JoycieAlegreisafacultymemberoftheDivisionofHumanitiesattheUniversityofthe
PhilippinesVisayas.ShehaswrittenapaperontheWaraycultureofthePhilippinesbased
onextensivefieldresearchthatdelvesintothevariousdomainsoftheirlife,includingtheir
unique language.

WAYOFTHEWARAY

A SACRED AND SENTIMENTAL TONGUE

TACLOBAN TRANSFORMS

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS INTACLOBAN

By Joycie Alegre

THURSDAY

The Day of Valour

Araw ng Kagitingan,

also known as the Day of

Valour, commemorates the

greatness of Filipino fighters

during World War II

APR

9

MONDAY

National Heroes Day

A day to honour and

remember the country's

National heroes, people

whoseactsofcourage

enabled the Philippines to

strengthen as a nation

AUG

31

THURSDAY

Amun Jadid

Commonly known as the

Islamic New Year, this day

leads into Muharram, the first

month of the Islamic calendar

andatimeofremembrance

OCT

15

FRIDAY

Christmas Day

In this predominantly

Christian country, the

Christmas season is

celebrated with gusto around

the archipelago; official

observance begins as early as

December 16

DEC

25

FRIDAY

Good Friday

An important religious

occasion for Catholics, it is

marked by fasting and Easter

mass services

APR

3

ASIAN Geographic...

showcasing the region’s

past, present and future.

Through the years, ASIAN Geographic

and its team of international writers

and photographers have been

winning awards the world over. From

our humble beginnings in 1999, we

have gone from strength to strength

to become the region’s leading

geographical magazine.

Intriguing

Enticing

Informative

Educational

FRIDAY

Independence Day

One of the most significant

dates in Philippine history,

this holiday sees the locals

participating or observing

nationwide parades

JUN

12