First ever term paper

1. Philippine Normal University
National Center for Teacher Education
Faculty of Arts and Languages
Taft Avenue, Manila
The Use of Kapampangan Adjectives
Submitted by:
Angelie T. Magdasoc
II- 17 BSE English
Submitted to:
Dr. Arceli Amarles

2. I. Introduction
A. Historical Background
The province of Pampanga, which belongs in Region III, was the first province in the
island of Luzon inaugurated by the Spaniards. Its name was derived from the Kapampangan
words “Pangpang ilog” which means ‘riverside’, where the early Malayan settled along the Rio
Grande de la Pampanga (Great Pampanga River) before they discovered and spread out into
other Kapampangan constituency.
Even before the arrival and domination of the Spanish in our country, Pampangos were
already in contact with Chinese, Japanese, and Hindu because of trading. Aside from business,
the affairs of Kapampangan to other Asians, especially Chinese, had been extended up to marital
relationships that’s why it is noticeable that Kapampangans are of mixed Asian ancestry. Besides
these, early Chinese and Spanish have also influenced the Kapampangan language. Instances of
these are as follows:
CHINESE ENGLISH
Ampaw Puffed rice or corn
Atse, atsi Elder sister
Bakya Wooden shoes
Biko Sweetened whole-rice cake
Batsoy Chopped entrails of pig sauted with kutsay
Biun Wire-like noodles made from rice flour
Bilog-bilog Balls or rounds of rice dough
Betsin powder
Bukas Tomorrow
Bukut Bent or curved back
Bulong whisper

3. Source:
SPANISH ENGLISH
Abanico Fan
Abogacia Law, the legal profession
Abogado Lawyer, attorney
Abono Fertilizer, manure
Abrazo Embrace, hug
Source:
The integration of Chinese and Spanish terms in Kapampangan language was due to the
continuous commercial contact as well as colonization of these foreigners in the Philippines.
Pampangan or Kapampangan language is one of the Austronesian languages, and according to
the Dictionary of Languages by Andrew Dalby, it has 1, 850, 000 number of speakers as of 1998.
B. Kapampangan People
Aside from being known as good cooks, Kapampangan people typically possessed lively
attitudes. As you get along with them, you would notice that they are very humorous and joyful.
They always show hospitality, especially to their non-native guests, and appreciation for they
love giving praises, but they also consider criticisms. The last statement became my basis for me
to come up in a decision that I would like to study the use of different Kapampangan adjectives.
C. Aims of the study
This paper aims to describe the different types of adjectives according to how they are
used in a sentence and give appropriate examples of it in Kapampangan language. The position

4. of these adjectives in a sentence will also be discussed. At the end of the paper, the following
questions are expected to be answered:
1. What are the different Kapampangan Adjectives with respect to types?
2. What are their corresponding meanings to English language?
3. How are the adjectives positioned in Kapampangan utterances?
II. Kapampangan Adjectives Classified into Types
Adjectives are defined as words that refer to the qualities of people, things, or ideas, or which
group them into classes. It is definitely present in all languages and dialects, and is categorized
according to how it was used in a sentence. These categorizations of adjectives namely
Descriptive (adjective of quality), Numerical (adjective of quantity), Predicative, Personal Titles,
Possessive, Demonstrative, Indefinite, Interrogative, Comparative, and Superlative, will be
further discussed and examples of Kapampangan adjectives will be classified.
A. Descriptive Adjectives or Adjective of Quality
Descriptive Adjectives simply describe nouns or noun phrases with respect to their
quality.
Examples: Malagung babai (A beautiful lady)
Aduang bulan a bingut (A two-month old baby)
Maragul a bale (A huge house)

5. Descriptive Adjectives may also be classified into different forms as written
below.
 Colors – Malutu (Red), Matuling (Black), Asul (Blue), Dilo (Yellow), Berdi (Green)
 Feelings – Masaya (Happy), Mimwa (Angry), Marine (Shy), Malungkot (Sad)
 Sizes – Maragul (Huge), Malati (Small), Payat (Thin), Makapal (Thick), Ditak (Few)
 Touch – Masalat (Rough), Mataluras (Slippery)
 Shapes – Mabilog (Round), Tatsulok (Triangular), Parihaba (Rectangular)
 Qualities – Malagu (Beautiful), Marok (Bad), Machura (Ugly), Maganaka (Kind)
 Time – Banwa-banwa (Yearly), Bulan-bulan (Monthly), Aldo-aldo (Everyday)
 Age – Matua (Old), Pangane (Eldest), Bunsu/Anak (Youngest)
B. Numerical Adjectives or Adjective of Quantity
As the word itself suggests, numerical adjectives is about getting the number/ quantity of the
noun being talked about. It answers the question ‘how much’ or ‘how many’. Take the sentences
below as an example.
1. Sinali yang kapitnang kilong babi y inda para keng abakan.
Mother bought one-and-a-half kilo of pork for lunch.
2. Menikwa yang ditak a pera y Lally keng dara na.
Lally got a little amount of money from her aunt.
C. Predicative Adjectives

6. Predicative Adjectives are those which follow a linking verb and placed before a noun.
They are not a part of the noun they modify but serve as a complement of a linking verb which
connects it to the subject. As I was translating some English utterances in Kapampangan , I
noticed that the English words ‘is’, ‘are’, ‘was’ and ‘were’, associated as ‘ay’ in Filipino,
doesn’t exist much in Kapampangan language. Let’s take these sentences as instance.
1. Makawili ya ing pamag-aral ning Linguistics para kana qu.
Studying Linguistics for me is fascinating.
2. Maganaka la reng kamag-anak na.
All his relatives are kind.
3. Asaan qung magi yang matagumpe ing programa.
I am expecting that the program will be successful.
The sentence number 1 and 2 did not use any linking verb; instead the adjective
‘makawili’ (translated as ‘fascinating’) and ‘maganaka’ (translated as ‘kind’) were place at the
beginning of the sentence. On the other hand, sentence 2 used a different linking verb which is
‘magi yang’ (translated as ‘will be’) followed by the adjective ‘matagumpe’ (translated as
‘successful’), thus make it a predicative adjective.
D. Personal Titles
Personal titles are considered as adjectives because they describe the position or rank of
the noun. In Kapampangan language, there are just few personal titles. Examples of these are

7. bapa (uncle), dara (aunt), and maestro (master or professor), then they just adopt the English
terms such as Mr., Mrs., Dr., Miss, and so on.
Examples:
Bapang Roger (Uncle Roger)
Darang Nora (Aunt Nora)
E. Possessive Adjectives
Possessive adjectives are used to show possession or belongingness. They are similar to
possessive pronouns but in this case, they are use to modify a noun or a noun phrase. Examples
of this are kanaku (mine/my), kekatamu (ours/our), keka (yours/your), and karela (theirs/their).
Consider the sentences below.
1. Ikit me ing kanakung ballpen? (Kanaku was used to show possession of the ballpen.)
Have you seen my ballpen?
2. Apin ini ing kekatamung gabun. (Kekatamu was used to show possession of the gabun or land.)
This is our land property.
3. Apin ba ini ing karelang bale? (Karela was used to show possession of the bale or house.)
Is this their house?
4. Keka ya ing malan a ini? (Keka was used to show possession of the malan or shirt.)
Is this your shirt?

8. F. Demonstrative Adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives are used when there is a need to point out particular things. It is
somehow similar to demonstrative pronouns like this, these, that, those, and there. In
Kapampangan these are ini/deni (this/these) and ita/deta (that/those). Consider the sentences
below.
1. Deni la reng materyales a kailangan para qeng proyektu.
These are the materials needed for the project.
2. Deta retang sapatos mo.
Those are your shoes.
In sentence 1, the demonstrative adjective deni (these) was used to point out the
materyales (materials) while sentence number 2 used deta (those) to point out the sapatos
(shoes).
G. Indefinite Adjectives
Unlike the demonstrative adjectives, indefinite adjectives are used in a sentence when
nothing needs to be specified. In this case, Kapampangans use words such as dacal (many or
several), gang nanu (any), ditac (few), and so on. Take the following sentences as an example:
1. Ditac la reng migboto kaya. (Ditac refers to the number of people who voted.)
Only few had voted her.
2. Dacal a taung minta qing Luneta napun. (Dacal refers to the number of people who went to Luneta.)

9. Many people went to Luneta yesterday.
H. Interrogative Adjectives
Interrogative adjectives are also similar to interrogative pronouns. However, only three of
the interrogative pronouns can be used as adjectives – which, what, and whose. In
Kapampangan, those are sanu, nanu, and ninu.
1. Nanung pamangan ing buri mu?
What food do you prefer?
2. Sanu kareni ing saken mu?
Which of these is your car?
3. Kaninu yang bag ini?
Whose bag is this?
I. Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
Comparative adjectives in English are usually formed by adding the suffix –er (e.g.
prettier and bigger), by using the word ‘more’ (e.g. more intelligent and more adorable), or by
changing the word (as in good changed to better) while superlative adjectives are formed by
adding –est (e.g. prettiest and biggest), by using the word ‘most’ (e.g. most intelligent and most
adorable), or by changing the spelling (as in better changed to best). On the other hand,
Kapampangan language has a different way of forming its comparative and superlative
adjectives. According to my informant, a 70-year old native Kapampangan speaker named

10. Corazon Tolentino, comparative adjectives in their language are formed by using the word ‘mas’
and the word ‘peka or pinaka’ to form superlatives.
Positive Comparative Superlative
Malagu (beautiful) Mas malagu (more beautiful) Peka malagu (most beautiful)
Mabayat (heavy) Mas mabayat (heavier) Peka mabayat (heaviest)
Marok (bad) Mas marok (worse) Peka marok (worst)
III. Position of Adjectives in a Sentence
Same as with English, adjectives in Kapampangan may also occur in different positions in a
sentence. It may be placed before the noun, but unlike in English it’s unusual for it to be placed
after the linking verb. Let us observe the following instances.
a. Before the noun
1. Many students were absent in Mrs. Manzano’s class.
Dacal la reng estudyanting e linub quing klase nang Mrs. Manzano.
You can notice in the above example that the indefinite adjective dacal precedes the noun
being describe which is estudyante. Apparently, it is the same with its English translation.
However, some Kapampangan utterances may not follow this rule. Let us consider the example
below:
2. Have you seen my child?
Ikit me ing anak qu?

11. In here, the possessive adjective qu (my) comes after the noun anak (child), which is
actually differing on its English translation. However, this sentence may also be put up as ‘Ikit
me ing kanakung anak?’, which therefore follows the first pattern.
b. After the linking verb
1. Manyaman ing buro ampo ing sisig da reng Kapampangan.
The Kapampangan’s buro and sisig are delicious.
Notice that the order of the two sentences is different. It is because in a normal
conversation, Kapampangan do not use linking verbs so adjectives usually begin the sentence.
IV. Conclusion
Philippines indeed have a very rich language collection. Kapampangan in particular, is a
very interesting topic to be studied. Some people get fun of the Kapampangans when they are
having their conversations using their language, maybe because of their manner of delivery and
that some of its terms sound amusing for those who are not familiar with it. Their innate
wittiness influenced me to choose Kapampangan adjective as my subject in this paper.
Kapampangan adjectives could be associated with English adjectives in terms of how it
was used in a sentence. The classifications namely, Descriptive, Numerical, Predicative, Personal
Titles, Possessive, Demonstrative, Indefinite, Interrogative, Comparative, and Superlative
adjectives are also applicable in Kapampangan language, however, its position in a sentence is
always before the noun because in a typical conversation, Pampangos do not use linking verbs
such as ‘is’, ‘are’, ‘was’, and ‘were’.

12. BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. Books
Samson Fr., V. (2011). Kapampangan dictionary. Angeles City: The Juan D. Nepomuceno
Center for Kapampangan Studies, Holy Angel University.
Brown, K. & Ogilvie S. (2009). Concise encyclopedia of languages of the world. First Edition.
Retrieved October 8, 2013, from http://books.google.com.ph/books?.
B. Websites
Adjectives. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2013, from
http://www.englishleap.com/grammar/adjectives
Camiling A., & Camiling T. (n.d.). History of pampanga. Andro Pampanga. Retrieved October
8, 2013, from http://www.andropampanga.com/history.htm
Pampangan. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2013, from http://www.ethnologue.com/language/pam
Types of adjectives. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://advancegrammar.blogspot.com/2009/07/types-of-
adjective.html
Types of adjectives. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2013, from http://fos.iloveindia.com/types-of-adjectives.
html
C. Informants
Magdasoc, Eva Marie T. – 43 years old, a native speaker from Macabebe, Pampanga.
Tolentino, Corazon C. – 70 years old, a native speaker from Macabebe, Pampanga.