INTRODUCTION1
The Bikol region dominates the southernmost peninsula of the island of Luzon and extends into the island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate. The provinces on the mainland include Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon.
Most of the languages spoken in this region are subsumed under the heading ‘Bikol’, and differences are attributed to dialect variation. Some of these dialects, however, are so different from the standard dialect that they may upon further investigation eventually be declared languages in their own right. The languages spoken in these provinces which are not considered to be Bikol are (1) Tagalog, spoken throughout most of Camarines Norte up to a line running roughly NE-SW in the general vicinity of the capital city of Daet, and (2) Masbateño, spoken on the main island of Masbate, which is generally thought to be more closely related to the Visayan languages to the south.
Under the heading ‘Bikol’ the standard dialect is usually attributed to the traditional cultural center of Naga City and its immediate environs. This dialect is spoken without major variation in Camarines Norte southeast of Daet, Camarines Sur, except for a section called Rinconada near Western Albay, Eastern Albay including Legazpi City, and most of Northern Sorsogon. The major influences on this dialect are from the neighboring language areas. Thus, standard Bikol as it approaches Tagalog speaking areas tends to become more similar to Tagalog, as is the case in Camarines Norte and Western Camarines Sur. As it approaches Visayan 2speaking areas, as is the case in Eastern Albay and Sorsogon, it tends to become more similar to Visayan. The dialect of Southern Sorsogon is distinguished from other dialects by its heavy borrowings from Visayan, thought to come mainly from the neighboring island of Samar.
The island of Cantuanduanes is usually classified into two dialect areas, the Northern and the Southern. The Buhi’ dialect is spoken only in a small area around Lake Buhi’ in Camarines Sur. Towns speaking the Rinconada dialect are Baao, Bula’, Iriga, Nabua, and Bato, all located between Pili in Camarines Sur and the Albay provincial line. The Western Albay dialects are spoken in a group of towns between the Rinconada section of Camarines Sur and Legazpi City, including sections of Northern Sorsogon. A significantly different dialect is spoken in each town. This dictionary is based on the standard Bikol dialect spoken in Naga City.
1 Parts of this introduction, especially those which deal with pronunciation and grammar, are taken from the BIKOL TEXT and BIKOL GRAMMAR NOTES where they appear in a fuller form. This dictionary was prepared as the third volume in a series which contains the above texts as the first two parts.