Karay-a
Harayan[1]
Kinaray-a, Hiniraya, Binisaya nga Karay-a
Native to	Philippines
Region	Antique, southern and central Iloilo, southern part of Guimaras, southern Aklan, Occidental Mindoro particularly in Ilin Island, western Capiz, some parts of Palawan, and a few parts of Soccsksargen
Ethnicity	Karay-a
Native speakers	1.1 million (2023)[2]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Philippine Central Philippine Bisayan Western Bisayan Karay-a
Writing system	Latin
Official status
Official language in	Regional language in the Philippines
Regulated by	Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino
Language codes
ISO 639-3	krj
Glottolog	kina1250
Area where Karay-a is spoken

The Karay-a language (Kinaray-a, Binisayâ nga Kinaray-a or Hinaraya; English: Harayan)^[1] is an Austronesian regional language in the Philippines spoken by the Karay-a people, mainly in Antique.

It is one of the Bisayan languages, mainly along with Aklanon/Malaynon, Capiznon, Cebuano, and Hiligaynon.

Kinaray-a, Kinaray-a Bukidnon, or Hiniraya, possibly deriving from "Iraya." It was the primary language spoken by the majority of the Panay people whom the first Spanish colonizers encountered upon their arrival and subsequent settlement in Ogtong (now Oton, Iloilo) between the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This was before the linguistic evolution that eventually led to the Hiligaynon language of Iloilo gaining dominance as the common language over Kinaray-a on the island. However, in modern times, Kinaray-a remains in use as a primary language in the province of Antique and the western part of Iloilo province.^[3]

Kinaray-a is spoken mainly in Antique. It is also spoken in Iloilo province as a primary language in the city of Passi, in the municipalities of Alimodian, San Joaquin, Lambunao, Calinog, Leon, Miag-ao, Pavia, Badiangan, San Miguel, Guimbal, San Enrique, Tigbauan, Igbaras, Leganes, Pototan, Bingawan, San Rafael, Mina, Zarraga, Oton, Santa Barbara, Cabatuan, Janiuay, Maasin, New Lucena, Dueñas, Dingle, and Tubungan, and certain villages in Palawan and Mindanao – especially in the Soccsksargen region (particularly the province of Sultan Kudarat) by citizens who trace their roots to Antique or to Karay-a-speaking areas of Panay island. Inhabitants of most towns across the latter areas speak Kinaray-a while Hiligaynon is predominant around coastal areas particularly in Iloilo. It is also spoken in Iloilo City by a minority, particularly in the Arevalo district and few parts of southern Mindoro and parts Capiz and Aklan provinces, as well as Guimaras and some parts of Negros Occidental.^[4]

There has not been much linguistic study on the dialects of Kinaray-a. Speakers both of Kinaray-a and Hiligaynon would however admit to hearing the differences in the ways by which Kinaray-a speakers from different towns speak.^[5] Differences in vocabulary can also observed between and among the dialects.

The differences and the degrees by which the dialects differ from each other depend largely on the area's proximity to another different language-speaking area. Thus, in Antique, there are, on the northern parts, varieties that are similar to Aklanon, the language of Aklan, its neighbor on the north. On the south, in Iloilo towns on the other hand, the dialects closely resemble that of the standard Kinaray-a spoken in San Jose de Buenavista, lowland Sibalom and Hamtic. A distinct dialect of Karay-a is spoken in central Iloilo where a lot of Hiligaynon loanwords are used and some Kinaray-a words are pronounced harder as in rigya or ja ('here') of southern Iloilo and San José de Buenavista area as compared to giya of Janiuay, Santa Barbara, and nearby towns. Two highly accented dialects of Kinaray-a can be heard in Anini-y and Tobias Fornier in Antique and San Joaquin, Leon, and Tubungan in Iloilo.

Some dialects differ only on consonant preference like y vs h. e.g. bayi/bahi ('girl') or l vs r e.g. wala/wara. Some have distinct differences like sayëd/kadë ('ugly') and rangga/gëba ('defective').

Due to geographic proximity and mass media Kinaray-a-speakers can understand Hiligaynon (also known as Ilonggo) speakers. However, only Hiligaynon speakers who reside in Kinaray-a-speaking areas can understand the language. Those who come from other areas, like Iloilo City and Negros Island, have difficulty in understanding the language, if they can at all.

It is a misconception among some Hiligaynon speakers that Kinaray-a is a dialect of Hiligaynon; the reality is that the two belong to two different, but related, branches of the Bisayan languages.

However, most Karay-a also know Hiligaynon as their second language. To some extent, an intermediate dialect of Hiligaynon and Kinaray-a is spoken in Mindanao, mainly in Sultan Kudarat province.

The phonemes /e/ and /o/ are used mostly in non-Karay·a words and were formerly allophonic with /i/ and /u/, respectively. The phonemes /i/ and /u/ may also be pronounced as [ɪ] and [ʊ].^[6] Among some speakers, /u/ may be pronounced as [ə], such as when subâ is uttered as [səˈbaʔ] instead of as /suˈbaʔ/.

There are two official orthographic conventions currently in use: a four-vowel-grapheme system released by the Komisyon sa Polong Kinaray·a [ceb] in 2016 in coordination with the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF),^[7] and a six-vowel-grapheme system recommended by the KWF in 2018.^[8] The latter builds on Brigadier General Vicente Pangantihon [es]'s introduction of a separate letter ⟨ə⟩ for /ɨ/ through the publication of Karay-a Rice Tradition Revisited,^[9] but using ⟨ë⟩ in ⟨ə⟩'s place. Karay·a writings predating Pangantihon's innovation had not graphemically distinguished between /ɨ/ and /u/.^[10] In 2018, the KWF elaborated,^[8]

Harmonization is not compulsory for older users of the language or individual organizations; it is specifically aimed at helping the Department of Education and teachers to teach any of the native languages. Other organizations are free to adopt their own stylebook in their own publications.

The 2018 Pangantihon–KWF orthography provides for six vowel letters: ⟨a⟩, ⟨e⟩, ⟨ë⟩ (previously ⟨ə⟩), ⟨i⟩, ⟨o⟩ and ⟨u⟩.^[a] They do not form diphthongs with each other and always indicate a separate syllable: there are as many vowels as there are syllables. Informal writing, however, contravenes this orthographic rule such as, for example, when words such as balunggay, kambiyo, lanaw, puwede, ruweda and tuáw are written as *balunggai, *kambio, *lanao, *puede, *rueda and *tuao.

⟨Ë⟩, referred to as malëm·ëk nga ⟨i⟩ and which Pangantihon had originally written as ⟨ə⟩, represents /ɨ/, a phoneme that occurs natively in Karay·a and in some other languages spoken in the Philippines such as Ivadoy, Maranao and Pangasinan. ⟨Ë⟩ is also used for integrated words of relatively recent foreign origin.

Separate glyphs for /e/ and /u/ were introduced with the arrival of the Spaniards; namely ⟨e⟩ and ⟨u⟩.

In line with the KWF's 2018 recommendation,^[7] the alphabet has 23 consonant letters: ⟨b⟩, ⟨c⟩, ⟨d⟩, ⟨f⟩, ⟨g⟩, ⟨h⟩, ⟨j⟩, ⟨k⟩, ⟨l⟩, ⟨m⟩, ⟨n⟩, ⟨ñ⟩, ⟨ng⟩, ⟨p⟩, ⟨q⟩, ⟨r⟩, ⟨s⟩, ⟨t⟩, ⟨v⟩, ⟨w⟩, ⟨x⟩, ⟨y⟩ and ⟨z⟩. Of the above, ⟨c⟩, ⟨ñ⟩, ⟨q⟩ and ⟨x⟩ are used only in names and unintegrated loan words.^[7]

The digraph ⟨ng⟩ constitutes a single letter and represents the phoneme /ŋ/. In the old orthography, which followed the Spanish norms set forth by the Real Academia Española, this phoneme was represented by ⟨n͠g⟩, the tilde stretching over both letters in order to distinguish it from ⟨ng⟩ and ⟨ñ⟩, which represented the Spanish /ŋɡ/ and /ɲ/, respectively.

In contrast to ⟨ng⟩, the digraph ⟨ts⟩, which represents /t͡ʃ/, is not counted as a distinct letter.

Saying Diin kaw maagto? (literally 'Where are you going?') is a common way to greet people. The question does not need to be answered directly. The usual answer is an action like Maninda (literally 'to buy something on the market') instead of Sa tinda (literally, 'to the market'.)

• Are you eating well? – Mayad man pangaën mo?
• Good. – Mayad.
• How are you feeling? – Musta bay pamatyagan mo? or: Ano bay pamatyag mo? (What do you feel?)
• I don't know. – Wara takën kamaan. / Waay takën kamaan (or simply: Maan a. / Ambay a. / Ilam a. – informal, usually an annoyed expression)
• Let's go! – Panaw ta / Halin ta ron! / Dali ron! (usually for hurrying up companions)
• Come together. – Iririmaw kita. / imaw kita. / Iribhanay kita./ Iririmaw tatən
• Why? – Manhaw/Wanhaw? (or: Andët haw/aw?)/ Insa haw? / Insaw? (informal)
• I love you. – Ginagugma ta (i)kaw. / palangga ta (i)kaw.
• My love/sweetheart. – Palangga ko.
• What is your name? – Ano ngaran mo?
• Good morning! – Mayad nga aga!
• Good afternoon! – Mayad nga hapon!
• Good evening! – Mayad nga gabiʔi!
• That one. – Amo kara. (Or simply: Ra/Ra ay.)(or: Amo ran)/ Amo ka di-a.
• How much? – Tag pira?
• Yes. – hə-əd. (Ho-ud)/ (h)ə-əd
• No. – Bukut./Bëkët. (Bëkën)/Indi
• Because. – Bangëd.
• Because of you. – Bangëd kanimo or Tëngëd kanimo.
• About you. – Nahanungëd kanimo or Parti kanimo.
• You know. – Man-an mo (or: Man-an mo man.)
• Hurry! – Dasiga! (lit. 'Fast!') or Dali-a! (lit. 'Hurry!')
• Again. – Liwan/Liwat/Riwan/Liwan (or: Uman ('again') / Umana (command to repeat).)
• Do you speak English? – Kamaan kaw maghambal kang Inglis? or Kama-an kaw mag-Inglis?
• It is fun to live. – Sadya mabuhi / Sadya ang mabuhi.
• Happy – Sadya
• Thank you – Salamat

• Language shift
• Hiligaynon
• Language revitalization

• Taramdan sa Lantipulong Kinaray·a, guide to grammar (Antiqueño dialect)
• Marayum Dictionary