Cuyonon love poem
Salamin
Kung anono imong akikita sa salamin
Ay ang pinakamatinlong composo
Peru madaling madura
Sa uri, ingguguegma ta Kaw
→ French poem ←
Cuyonon language
My love poem translated into Cuyonon (Cuyo, Cuyono, Cuyunon, Kuyonon, Kuyunon), an Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, and Western Bisaya language spoken in the Cuyo archipelago and as far away as Palawan, where it serves as a lingua franca.
Its number of speakers was high in Palawan, but now Cuyonon is more and more replaced by Tagalog, brought by many newcomers (especially in the cities).
Nearly 70 languages are currently spoken in Palawan. Of the eight regional languages, Cuyonon is the most important.
Today, speakers are generally the older people, while younger prefer Tagalog, considered more modern.
The vitality of Cuyonon is declining, and today it is considered an endangered language.
Cuyunon people
The Cuyunons, indigenous to the Cuyo Archipelago, represent the first ethnic group in Palawan, island to which they emigrated.
Their origins are locadated to Borneo, an island they left a millennium ago for Panay, which they left 800 years ago.
Their total number, including the entire diaspora, is approximately 250,000, with the vast majority who live in the province of Palawan.
There, intermingling with Spanish, Indian, Chinese, Malay, and Arab traders, as well as with other Palawan populations, makes their group quite heterogeneous.
Aklanon