How to read and say Buhi Bikol

Accent marks

Diacritics (tandang panduon) are normally not written in everyday usage, be it in publications or personal correspondence. The teaching of diacritics is inconsistent in Philippine schools and many Bicolanos do not know how to use them. However, diacritics are normally used in dictionaries and in textbooks aimed at teaching the language to foreigners.

Circumflex accent or pakupyâ

It indicates that the final syllable of a word receives stress while there is a glottal stop that follows; udô. This is because it is a combination of the pahilíg and paiwà marks. This mark may only appear at the end of a word that ends in a vowel.

Vowels

In Buhi Bikol, two consecutive vowels are pronounced separately. The vowels a, ë, i, o are native vowels while the vowels e and u are loaned vowels

a

like the u in cut

e

like the e in bed

i

like the i in sit

o

like the au in author

u

like the oo in foot

ë

like the a in afraid

Consonants

b

as in bee

k

as in key

d

as in dough

g

as in gold

h

as in heat

l

as in let

m

as in me

n

as in nice

ng

as in song

p

as in pea

r

as in raw

s

as in sea

t

as in tea

w

as in weak

y

as in you

Some consonants are borrowed from Spanish and English and are used in writing names of places and personal names.

c

like c in scare (before a, o, u)

like c in pencil (before e or i)

f

like f in fine

j

like h in ham

ll

although not a letter in the Philippines but of Spanish influence, pronounced as ly

ñ

like ny in canyon

q

like q in quest (always with a silent u)

v

pronounced the same way as b (see above) like b in elbow.

x

like x in flexible

like ss in hiss (at beginning of a word)

like h as in he in the family name Roxas

z

like s in supper

Common diphthongs

[aw]

balaw 'fermented shrimp or krill'

[aw]

kowaw

[iw]

isiw

[ow]

lowag

[ai]

maray

[ɔi]

kawoy 'wood/tree'

[ui]

baluy 'house'