Rinconada Bikol or simply Rinconada, spoken in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines, is one of several languages that compose the Inland Bikol (or Southern Bicol) group of the Bikol macrolanguage. It belongs to the Austronesian language family that also includes most Philippine languages, the Formosan languages of Taiwanese aborigines, Malay (Indonesian and Bahasa Malaysia), the Polynesian languages and Malagasy.

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Rinconada Bikol
Rinconada
Pronunciation	/riŋkonɑːdɑ biːkol/
Native to	Philippines
Region	Bicol
Native speakers	230,000 (2000 census)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Philippine Central Philippine Bikol languages Inland Bikol Rinconada Bikol
Dialects	Sinabukid Sinaranəw
Writing system	Latin (Rinconada Bicol alphabet); Baybayin (historical)
Official status
Official language in	Regional language in the Philippines
Regulated by	Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bto
Glottolog	irig1242
Geographic extent of Rinconada based on Ethnologue
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Rinconada is surrounded by and shares common features with other Bikol languages. It is bordered by Coastal Bikol to the north, Buhinon to the east, and West Miraya language immediately to the south. The language's closest relatives outside the Bicol region are Aklanon, Waray-Waray, and to a lesser extent Tagalog, especially the variants used in Batangas and Marinduque.

Rinconada Bikol is the language adopted by the indigenous population of Agta/Aeta (the Negrito) in the surrounding mountainous areas of Mount Iriga (old name is Mount Asog). The Austronesian people that have migrated to the foot of Mount Asog from the lowland Nabua introduced the language to Negritos when they began conducting trade and commerce, thus replacing the native language of the latter. The original language of the Negritos is Inagta, also known to linguists as Mount Iriga Agta, an extinct or nearly extinct language. Inagta is said to have 86% intelligibility with Rinconada Bikol and a lexical similarity of 76%.^[2] Most Negritos, commonly called Agta or Aeta (Ŋod for camaraderie) today, are fluent in Rinconada Bikol, though speak a different variant.

The name Rinconada is derived from the Rinconada District in Camarines Sur where the language originated, developed and is largely spoken. However, the precise origins of how the term Rinconada was assigned to the area are still unclear. Popular wisdom ascribes the name to have come from the Spanish arrinconada, 'cornered', from the root rincón, which means 'corner or small district'.^{[citation needed]} Rinconada might have been given by the Spaniards to the then-newly explored and established colony in the southeastern corner of Luzon Island; natives formerly called the area Sumagang (Sumagaŋ), meaning 'far east'.

Adding credence to the theory of a Spanish origin are the localities of La Rinconada in Spain and La Rinconada in Chile, which was also a former Spanish colony.

This section does not cite any sources. (January 2022)

The language is divided into two main dialects and subdivided into six variants:

This section does not cite any sources. (January 2022)

• The Nabua-Balatan variant features high pitch intonation. It is the direct descendant of Rinconada Bikol but it has lost some features of the original spoken language. Speakers can be found throughout the municipalities of Nabua and Balatan.
• The Iriga variant, on the other hand, has the most speakers. The speakers are concentrated in the district's center, Iriga City, in some of the important barangays of Buhi (West and East Sta. Justina and De Los Angeles), and the urban barangay of Matacon, located in Polangui, Albay. The Iriga variant has a flat intonation and is spoken rapidly.
• The Bato variant, on the other hand, has a distinctive mellow intonation. It is said^{[by whom?]} that regardless of one's mood, the Bato speaker always sounds sleepy, as if they are chanting.^{[citation needed]} The Bato variant is primarily spoken in Bato, Camarines Sur and is also spoken in Agos, Polangui, Albay.
• The Agta variant is the smallest of the group. The speakers are exclusively the indigenous population of Agta/Aeta, the aboriginal people of different tribes surrounding Mount Iriga and Buhi lake. Like Iriga, the Agta variant also has a flat intonation; they speak the language with a distinct form of pronunciation which can be traced to the group's extinct language.
• The variants of Baao and Bula-Pili are considered twins. They have the same accent and only slight differences in vocabulary. Of the two variants, Baao often uses rising intonation, while Bula-Pili is moderately flat but both use high pitch when reasoning. The latter variant is used entirely in Bula and in the southern half of the provincial capital town of Pili. It also has a significant number of speakers in Ocampo and Minalabac in Camarines Sur. The two variants have borrowed some vocabulary from Coastal Bikol; at the same time, Bikol-Partido (a dialect of Coastal Bikol) can be heard with borrowed vocabulary from the two variants.

List of phrases and expressions that are unique to each variant:

Baao variant: Gaorag na!

Nabua – Balatan variant: Labinā kan.

Agta variant: Mayaŋ na ŋod.

Bato variant: Ay tarā?

Bula – Pili variant: Paiŋōrag.

Iriga variant: Labinā man nâ!

This section does not cite any sources. (January 2022)

Like other Visayan and Bikol languages, Rinconada Bikol has a short form for the imperative.

e.g.:
The phrase iyəwən mo ('grill it') is often shortened to iyəwā and the command phrase punāsan mo a salmiŋ ('wipe the mirror') can be shortened to punāsa a salmiŋ.

A special form is used when talking to elderly people in a polite manner. The letters "ā/a" after the root word of the verb are replaced by the letters "e/ē" if the statement is politely delivered. The letter "e" or "ē" stands for tābî which means 'please' in English, or po in Tagalog.

Example 1:

iyəw is a root word that means 'grill'.

iyəwən means 'grill it'.

iyəwən mo roughly means 'you, grill it'.

iyəwā is the shortened form of the command 'iyəwən mo'.

iyəwē is the shortened polite form of iyəwən mo tābî ('grill it please').

Example 2:

punas is a root word that means 'wipe'.

punasan means 'wipe it'.

punasan mo roughly means 'you, wipe it'.

punāsa is a shortened form of the command punāsan mo.

punāse is the shortened polite form of punāsan mo tābî ('wipe it please').

Example 3:

īmo is a root word that means 'prepare'.

imōɣon means 'prepare it'.

imōɣon mo means 'you, prepare it'.

imōɣa is the shortened form of the command imōɣon mo.

imōɣe is the shortened polite form of imōɣon mo tābî ('please prepare it').

This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2022)

The vocabulary of Rinconada Bikol is rich in words with short or unstressed /i/. In fact, most root words with /i/ are unstressed. However, not all words with /i/ should be read and pronounced as such since there are several words that have stressed /ī/, especially loanwords, e.g. sīli ('chili'). Native words (root words) with stressed /ī/ are seldom or rare.

The language retains the proto-Philippine schwa vowel /ə/ that has disappeared in most Philippine languages like Cebuano, Tagalog and even the neighboring Coastal Bikol language. In Nabua, Camarines Sur, (where the language is believed to have originated), the vowel also disappeared through normal development and evolution. However, it was preserved by those who moved and migrated to the highland part of Rinconada around Mount Iriga (formerly Mount Asog) due to severe flooding in the lowlands, particularly in Nabua and Bula, thus preserving the vowel which has survived to this day in the Sinabukid dialect.

People who are new to the highland accent may find the Sinabukid dialect sounds like Ilokano, Pangasinense, or Karay-a of Antique province.^{[citation needed]} The vowel can also be heard from the population in towns and cities speaking the Albay Bikol group of languages. The native word for this vowel in Rinconada is gəpə, and this has divided the language into two dialects – Sinabukid or Highland (with /ə/) and Sinaranəw or Lakeside (without /ə/).

Aside from the vowel /ə/, another notable aspect of Rinconada language is the occurrence of the extra consonant phoneme /ɣ/. This consonant bears the sound of mixed letters "h", "y" and "w".^{[clarification needed]} The neighboring language of Buhinon also uses this sound - clear evidence of close ties between the two languages.^[3] This phoneme has neither a corresponding letter in the Philippine alphabet nor an equivalent character on the Philippine standard keyboard. Thus, Rinconada Bikol speakers have no option but to use "h" as an alternative letter. However, in the spoken Sinaranəw dialect, the consonant /ɣ/ and the vowel /ə/ are often replaced by the letters "w" and "o", respectively.

Examples of ⟨ɣ⟩

1. Mimaɣəw – 'will eat breakfast'

   (Mudtū na, mimaɣəw pa sanā ikā?)

2. Baɣəw – 'cold cooked rice'

   (Naŋagnəw na man na kānən na adī, malākabaɣəw!)

3. Taɣəp – process of separating rice from its outside layer after milling; tahip in Filipino/Tagalog.

   (A pagtaɣəp, əsad na gīboŋ dirî dāpat pinagdə̄dəlagan.)

4. Daɣun – plant leaf.

   (Kadakəl ka daɣun ka tanəm ni Tāta Isko.)

5. Taɣob – cover, protect, or conceal.

   (Pakarāyən mo a pagkātaɣob ka bobon ta mauŋkaŋ ikā sīton!)

• The special consonant phoneme /ɣ/ can easily be distinguished from the sound of letters "h", "w" and y" if it is placed before the vowel phoneme /ə/. It can be compared to the letter "j" in the Spanish phrase Dios Mamajes.

For centuries under Spanish rule, Rinconada adopted many words from Spanish. There are a considerable number of Latin loans (sometimes obscured by being subject to Rinconada phonology and grammar), for example: estar ('address or dwelling place', from estar meaning 'stay'), soltēro ('single' but only applicable to male individuals, from soltero), ɣūben ('young' from joven), and ilyābe ('key', from llave).

Older generations tend to use Spanish loanwords more often while younger generations tend to use Tagalog words and rinconadized words from English, especially modern terminology with no counterpart in native Rinconada Bikol vocabulary.

Example:

Bawas-bawāsan mo man ŋanî a pagkātiŋ mo lalô na kin arāni na a eksam. ('Limit your habit of escaping class sessions especially when examination is approaching near').

The Tagalog word bawas-bawāsan is inâ-ināan in Rinconada and the word lalô is used in favor of the native word orog. The words kātiŋ and eksam are rinconadized words of the English cutting (cutting classes or leaving the room during school hours without permission), and exam (examination) respectively. However, the native word for cutting classes is ləəm.

The angry register is unique to Bicol languages as it cannot be found in other Austronesian languages inside and outside the Philippines. It is generally used only among same-age speakers or by older speakers to younger listeners, as usage by younger speakers in addressing their elders would constitute great disrespect. On occasion, the angry register is used in sarcasm or humor, but the majority of its usage is in anger.^[4]

Rinconada Bikol has contributed much to this unique feature of spoken Bicolano languages.^{[citation needed]}

Examples:

This section does not cite any sources. (January 2022)

Sainigin is a group of selected words for babies and newborns. It is used by parents to communicate with their babies easily and to train them how to talk, hence, an introductory language. It is often described as language for babies and commonly called sainigin or "baby talk". Words are limited to two syllables and feature basic commands. Several letters are absent such as "r", "g", "s", "j", and "h". Sainigin literally means 'talking or acting like a baby'.

This section does not cite any sources. (January 2022)

Numbers and words (in the native alphabet) are as follows:

There are no written records to indicate that Rinconada has native words for two-digit numbers (11–99). On the other hand, there is also no proof that the language has no indigenous words for those numbers. It is intriguing that Rinconada has native words for three-digit numbers (e.g. sanggatos for 100) but not for two-digit numbers. Utilization and adaptation of foreign terminology during the 333 years of Spanish colonization could be one of the reasons why the native terminology may not have been passed to the new generations. Noting that an established language needs a complete numbering system in words, thus the reconstruction of words for 11 to 99 is necessary but needs to follow and retain the indigenous or original structural form of Rinconada's orthography.

Although properly considered separate languages, speakers of Rinconada Bikol or Rinconada can communicate with Albay Bikol speakers with ease and without code-switching. A student from Ligao City (West Miraya speaker) studying at a university in Iriga City can understand Rinconada (any variant) and can be understood by Rinconada speakers as well. The same thing will happen if a local tourist from Rinconada visits the Cagsawa Ruins in Albay or visits Donsol, Sorsogon (East Miraya speaker) for the annual whale shark sightings. The difference between Rinconada and Albay Bikol (both are included in the Inland Bikol group) is comparable to German and Yiddish or Portuguese and Galician, while the differences between variants are comparable to those between English US, English British and English Australian. The mutual intelligibility of Rinconada and Albay Bikol is 80% to 85%, while intelligibility between variants is 95% to 98%.^{[citation needed]}

Rinconada Bikol is a minority language in the Bicol region despite having hundreds of thousands of speakers. It is currently not used in commercial media (print, radio, television) despite the fact that there are numerous prominent Rinconada speakers in the music and entertainment industry, media, and Philippine politics. It is not among the recognized regional languages in the Philippines and remains unknown to many Filipinos as it is poorly documented, researched and promoted.^{[citation needed]}

Currently, the major obstacle to the diffusion of the usage and teaching of Rinconada is the lack of written material in Rinconada Bikol language, namely books, newspapers, software, magazines, etc. Thus, Rinconada, along with other Inland Bikol languages and the minor indigenous languages of Bicol region, remains essentially a spoken language.

Due to the everyday exposure of younger generations to Filipino/Tagalog and English in mass media and on social networking sites, native words that are rarely used are now disappearing and being replaced by their counterparts from other languages. If it cannot be stopped by any means, this trend is more likely to continue and might endanger the language in the near future.^{[citation needed]}

Rinconada is spoken by the majority in Bula, Baao, Nabua, Balatan, Iriga and Bato in Camarines Sur (politically the fifth district of Camarines Sur province except the municipality of Buhi, where the majority speaks Buhinon). The language is dominant and the lingua franca in the southern half of the provincial capital town of Pili, the west barangays of Ocampo, and the far west barangays of Buhi; it can also be heard in neighboring places such as the northern barangays of Polangui and Libon in Albay.

Figure:

Based on the population of towns and cities with a concentration of Rinconada Bikol speakers, the total number is 479,208 or almost half a million. This number is based on the population of the fifth district of Camarines Sur (Rinconada) and neighboring towns of Polangui and Pili, in which Rinconada Bikol is their de facto daily language. Moreover, the total number does not include speakers outside the Rinconada area. Some linguists place the native speaker population at an estimated 600,000 because there are many speakers outside the region who have left in search of better job opportunities. An example of this are the Filipinos enlisted in the US Navy who are from Nabua, Camarines Sur, comprising 10% of all Filipino US Servicemen. Most of these Rinconada speakers now reside mostly in San Diego, California.^[6]