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Structured Phonological Variation in Bol-anon Binisaya: Palatal Alternation and Intervocalic /l/ Deletion in Bohol, Philippines

Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study examines synchronic phonological variation in Bol-anon Binisaya across geographic and socio-demographic groups in Bohol, Philippines. Drawing on variationist sociolinguistics, lexical diffusion theory, and geolinguistic approaches to language change, the article investigates the distribution of two major phonological processes: the alternation between the innovative palatal glide [y] and the conservative voiced palatal affricate [dʒ], and the deletion or transformation of intervocalic /l/. Data were collected from 120 native Bol-anon Binisaya speakers using a friend-of-a-friend social network approach designed to reduce the Observer’s Paradox. Participants were stratified by district, age cohort, and socio-economic background. The findings show that the [y]/[dʒ] alternation remains a site of structured heterogeneity, with province-wide distributions close to equilibrium but strong geographic differentiation. District 2, shaped by maritime mobility and regular contact with Metro Cebu, shows the highest preference for the innovative [y] variant, whereas District 3 retains the conservative [dʒ] variant more strongly. By contrast, intervocalic /l/ deletion has largely stabilised as a community norm, with reduced forms such as bay from balay and dagan from dalagan reaching near-categorical use in several speaker groups. The study demonstrates that phonological change in Bol-anon Binisaya is not random but socially and geographically patterned. It also shows how mobility, regional contact, and local identity jointly shape the development of an island dialect under conditions of modernisation and urban influence.
Source: Dialogica
DOI: 10.5709/dialogica-02.01.2026-03
Language: English
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7166345281
FWCI:
Cites: 8
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Related to: 10