This presentation discusses common errors in the use of Cebuano language in news reporting in the Philippines. It provides examples of mistakes made in translating English words and phrases directly into Cebuano without considering contextual meaning. Key points addressed include using the correct verb-subject-object structure in Cebuano sentences, omitting unnecessary details like ages, and only identifying someone as a "suspect" once they have been named. The goal is to help journalists properly utilize Cebuano linguistic rules and nuances to accurately and clearly convey news stories.

1. SLIDE 1 (Cover slide)
The title of this presentation is true. So with the sub-title. There were numerous errors in the write-ups of almost all
Cebuano news programs on radio and television, as well as in print in Cebu. Some of the errors are persistent until
today. I had prepared this presentation for the class three years ago and i am expecting that the mistakes here have
already been corrected by the concerned editors.
In the original presentation, i have included actual audio recording of the broadcasts where the errors were spotted.
Unfortunately, the audio files can not be played in the presentation above due to technical limitation.
SLIDE 2 (Paghubad/No literal translation)
The prime rule when translating articles into Cebuano is to refrain from translating the original words literally. My
experience is to get the idea or the message of the sentence and spin from there. Make your own sentence out of the
idea in the original phrase.
In the slide's example, i extracted a portion of the lead paragraph of a sports article in SunStar SuperBalita published
years ago. I highlighted the word-- "Mopatid".
SLIDE 3
I knew exactly that the word refers to "kicks off" in original story also published in SunStar Daily. The Cebuano
writer in SuperBalita literally translated "kicks off" into "Mopatid". It's wrong. "Kick", in Cebuano is "patid". But
"kicks off" means "to start" as in to begin the race or event.
SLIDE 4
The correct translation should had been "Magsugod or Mosugod karong Dominggo ang..."
SLIDE 5 (Paghubad/Relax the Cebuano rule for Numbers)
Numbers are already complicated in itself, at least in the broadcast news. There are exact Cebuano words for the
numbers in English. However, Cebuanos are also used to speak numbers in Spanish. For numbers One to Ten, the
Cebuano words are commonly spoken, alternately with the Spanish equivalent whichever is pleasant to the ears.
Example: "Sais puntos ang nahimo ni..." is preferred than saying "Unom ka puntos ang nahimo ni...".
SLIDE 6
However, Cebuano words for numbers above 10 are not favored because of its complexity (composed of three words)
and Cebuanos preferred to say the numbers in English or Spanish.
Example: "Napulo'g usa can be easily said as "eleven" or "onse".
SLIDE 7
The same condition can be applied for bigger numbers beginning from 20.

2. SLIDE 8
A 3-digit number can be written in Cebuano for 7 words. That's wordy. In broadcast news, the more is not the merrier.
The standard number of words in broadcast is only 17 words per paragraph, enough to be understood by a Grade 6
pupil. While there are exact Cebuano words for numbers but most often, using it in the news complicates the audience
listening ability. Sound is passing. The audience has a very limited span of time to grasp the message in the broadcast.
Why complicate things when it can be delivered instantly?
SLIDE 9
Most often, Cebuanos speak the Spanish equivalent for big numbers.
SLIDE 10
Numbers are more complicated when it is about the year and in Cebuano. It will take time for the audience to know
what year it is when read in Cebuano. Again, relax the rule.
SLIDE 11
You can read it anyway in Spanish or in English. The rule in news casting for numbers is when the numbers are
written in digit form, it must be read in English.
SLIDE 12 (Position/Designation first before name)
The same rule in English news writing applies when it comes to names and ranks or positions of the news sources.
The designation and rank must come first before the name of the person.
SLIDE 13
"...hepe sa kapolisan sa Dakbayan sa Sugbo--" refers to "Cebu City Police Director". The name is then preceded with
the rank--"Sr. Supt."
SLIDE 14 (Abusing "ar". "er" as suffixes)
I listed down in this slide some English words that are often suffixed with "ar" or "er" thinking it will make the words
as Cebuano words. There are few broadcasters who are still into this abuse. Members of the Akademiyang Bisaya
would definitely disagree to this practice. Most of these English words have a Cebuano equivalent. Check the next
slide.
SLIDE 15
The Cebuano language is very abundant of words. Almost every word in the English dictionary can be translated.
SLIDE 16 (Retain the English words)
I am making these words in the slide as exception to the rule. Not all English words in the Cebuano News should be
translated just to make it appear it's a Cebuano. My personal stand is to retain the English words in its original

3. spelling and pronunciation IF the so-called Cebuano translation awkwardly sounds (with hard accent) like the
original English word. (read the examples ALOUD)
Reading "pirslab" and "obertaym" on-the-air makes one broadcaster sounds awful if not amateurish. Why not read it
as "first love" and "overtime" anyway. Some Visayan writers don't agree with me on this instance but i would strongly
recommend my adaptation for us to sound awesome.
SLIDE 17 (Collective Nouns don't need "mga")
I listed here some collective nouns that are already plural in meaning but singular in form. Collective noun is one of
the oddities in the English language. It is also true in Cebuano. One hint to identify a collective noun in Cebuano is to
know what or which group it refers to. Collective noun doesn't need the quantifier "mga" preceding it.
Example: mga kapolisan (wrong), mga polis (right)--Simply, ang kapolisan...
mga katawhan (wrong), mga tawo (right) --Simply, ang katawhan...
SLIDE 18
Like i said that this presentation is about errors in the use of Cebuano in the news, the lines in this slide is a quote
from a broadcast in one of the TV programs in Cebu. Omit "mga" and it's good.
SLIDE 19
The 5Ws and 1H elements in the news lead have also its Cebuano equivalent but unfortunately the latter are often
times used in a wrong way by some broadcasters.
SLIDE 20 (Inappropriate Use of Words)
The first example that is using "diin" is correct while the second example shows "diin" is preceded by "kung". Let me
clear, there is no "kung" in Cebuano but it's "kon" or "kun". But again, "kung diin" is not appropriate because you can
simply say: ... diin gisugdan kini sa pag-bendisyon... without the "kung".
The "kung diin" phrase among the young reporters on TV in Cebu is an influence of the Tagalog's "kung saan",
translated literally (in English) as "if where".
SLIDE 21
In one of the seminars i attended, a veteran ABC broadcaster from the U.S. specifically stated that words and phrases
like Meanwhile, While, In another news used as transitional words in the beginning of a paragraph are meaningless
and should not be in the script.
He explained that "In another news" used to indicate that the next news article is different from what it succeeded
serves no purpose since the audience knows exactly that the next article is no longer related to the previous item.
The "Meanwhile" in the beginning of the paragraph, he said, means nothing. It is being abused as a transition word.
The speaker suggested to change the level of the voice during transition rather than uttering useless and meaningless
words in the news.

4. SLIDE 22
"While" has its purpose if used correctly. #1-it indicates an action is taking place while another has occurred at the
same time. #2-it is used to compare between two subjects. It should not be used in the beginning of the paragraph if it
won't mean for the two purposes mentioned above.
Example: Samtang... Gipatay sa anak ang iyang amahan didto sa Quinto Limbo kagabii.
SLIDE 23 (Always use the V-S-O form)
We are told to write the news in active voice (subject-verb-object format). The examples in this slide are news stories
of the same event presented on-air by two rival news programs in Cebu. Which do you think is correct as far as the
Cebuano sentence structure is concerned?
SLIDE 24
When we write in English, the S-V-O format is a must.
SLIDE 25
When translated into Cebuano in the same S-V-O format, the translated sentence becomes awkward. Why? Simply
because the Cebuano language doesn't work like the English language.
SLIDE 26
We always start our sentence with a verb not the subject. So the format for the Cebuano sentence is Verb-Subject-
Object (V-S-O). Also, don't agree on the present practice by some news programs where the verb of the sentence is at
the end, like:
Killer sa usa sa ka polis nadakpan. (wrong)
Nadakpan ang killer sa usa ka polis. (right)
SLIDE 27
This a good example of a V-S-O formatted news item delivered in one of the TV news programs in Cebu. READ
ALOUD and feel the intensity of the action words placed at the beginning of each sentence.
SLIDE 28
This is an example of a passive sentence where the object becomes the subject but is the one receiving the action.
SLIDE 29 (Age Doesn't Matter)
During the news gathering process, it is a must to obtain all the personal details of the subjects involved in the story.
But not all details are necessary in the news. The age of the victim may not be necessary in the story.
SLIDE 30

5. Editing out the age still makes the story the same in thought. Age may be necessary in rape cases where you have to
emphasize the age gap between the suspect and the victim. A license plate of the vehicles involved in collision may not
be necessary in the story unless the vehicle has eluded from the authorities and there is a need to publicize its license
plate.
SLIDE 31 (Nailhan na ang Suspetsado)
This has been the mistake of several broadcasters and even writers in the print media.
SLIDE 32
A "suspetsado", means suspect in English which is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "one who is suspected
(as of a crime)". It means someone is already identified and is believed to have committed the crime. So, it is wrong
to say-- Ang wa' mailhing suspetsado... since a "suspetsado" is already an identified person.
SLIDE 33
This paragraph of a news article is correct since it uses "lalake" instead of "suspetsado" in the phrase "wa' mailhing
mga lalake"...
SLIDE 34
Here the suspects have names,except for the minor. You can use any of these when the perpetrators of the crime is
unknown: wa' mailhing kawatan, wa' mailhing tulisan, wa' mailhing snatchers.... etc.
SLIDE 35 (Don't translate everything!)
Like in numbers, you can relax the rule by not translating everything. "Malversation of Public Funds" is a title of a
case. It can be retained in its original form.
SLIDE 36
However, you can opt to translate it.
SLIDE 37 (Ceblish)
There are times, our story is more pleasant and more comprehensible if some English words are to be retained.
SLIDE 38
Especially, in Entertainment News when English words sound cute.
SLIDE 39
Or you may still opt to translate it but retain the movie title.
SLIDE 40

6. Another common mistake among the present generation is the inappropriate use of the word "KAY" in the middle of
the sentence. "Kay" is always joined with "tungod" to mean "because of". The "Kay" after "pinulongan" can be omitted
without affecting the meaning of the sentence:
"... apan kulang ug mabaw pa diay kaayo kini tungod kay ang atong naandan nga pinulongan nasagolan naman diay
og mga banyaga."
SLIDE 41
"Matod pa" makes your news vague and unreliable, if not doubtful. Omit the "pa" to suggest credibility in the news.