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