Bikol, or Bicol, is one of the Bikol languages, which are members of the Central Philippine group of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. Bikol is spoken by about 2.4 million people mainly on the Bicol Peninsula on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, and also on the islands of Catanaduanes, Masbate, Burias and Ticao.
Before the Spanish conquest of the Philippinse in the 1570s, Bikol was written with a syllablic script simliar to the Tagalog one, which was used to some extent until the mid-19th century. The Spanish used the Latin alphabet to write Bikol and one of the earilest Bikol publications was the Vocabulario de la lengua Bicol, compiled by Father Marcos de Lisboa, a Franciscan friar, between 1602 and 1611.
Bikol alphabet and pronunciation
Letters in italics are only used in foreign loan words.
An gabos na tawo ipinangaking may katalinkasan asin parantay sa dignidad
asin derechos. Sinda gabos tinawan nin pag-isip asin conciencia kaya dapat
na makipag-iriba sa lambang saro bilang mga magturugang.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood. (Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
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