The Bontoc Igorot

Nouns

The nouns appear to undergo slight change to indicate gender, number, or case. To indicate sex the noun is followed by the word for woman or man—as, a′-su fa-fay′-i (female dog), or a′-su la-la′-ki (male dog). The same method is employed to indicate sex in the case of the third personal pronoun Si′-a or Si-to-di′. Si′-a la-le′-ki or Si-to-di′ la-la′-ki is used to indicate the masculine gender, and Si′-a fa-fay′-i or Si-to-di′ fa-fay′-i the feminine. page 230

The plural form of the noun is sometimes the same as the singular. Plural number may also be expressed by use of the word ang-san (many) or am-in′ (all) in addition to the noun. It is sometimes expressed by repetition of syllables, as la-la′-ki (man), la-la-la′-ki (men); sometimes, also, by the prefix ka together with repetition of syllables, as li-fo′-o (cloud), ka-li′-fo-li-fo′-o (clouds). There seems to be no definite law in accordance with which these several plural forms are made. When in need of plurals in this study the singular form has always been used largely for simplicity.

Pronouns

The personal pronouns are:

I	Sak-ĭn′
You	Sĭk-a′
He, she	Si′-a and Si-to-di′
We	Cha-ta′-ko and Cha-ka′-mi
You	Cha-kay′-yo
They	Cha-i-cha and Cha-to-di′

Examples of the possessive as indicated in the first person are given below:

My father	A-mak′
My dog	A-suk′
My hand	Li-mak′
Our father	A-ma′-ta
Our dog	A-su′-ta
Our house	A-fong′-ta

Other examples of the possessive are not at hand, but these given indicate that, as in most Malay dialects, a noun with a possessive suffix is one form of the possessive.

Scheerer43 gives the possessive suffixes of the Benguet Igorot as follows:

My	k, after a, i, o, and u, otherwise 'ko
Thy	} m, after a, i, o, and u, otherwise 'mo
Your
His	} io
Her
Our (inc.)	'tayo
Our (exc.)	'me
Your	'dio
Their	'cha or 'ra

These possessive suffixes in the Benguet Igorot language are the same, according to Scheerer, as the suffixes used in verbal formation.

The verbal suffixes of the Bontoc Igorot are very similar to those of the Benguet. It is therefore probable that the possessive suffixes are also very similar. page 231

It is interesting to note that in the Chamorro language of Guam the possessive suffixes for the first person correspond to those of the Igorot—my is ko and our is ta.

Verbs

Mention has been made of the verbal suffixes. Their use is shown in the following paradigms:

I eat	Sak-ĭn′ mang-an-ak′
You eat	Sĭk-a′ mang-an-ka′
He eats	Si-to-di′ mang-an′
We eat	Cha-ka′-mi mang-an-ka-mi′
You eat	Cha-kay′-yo mang-an-kay′-o
They eat	Cha-to-di′ mang-an-cha′
I go	Sak-ĭn′ u-mi-ak′
You go	Sĭk-a′ u-mi-ka′
He goes	Si-to-di′ u-mi′
We go	Cha-ka-mi′ u-mi-ka-mi′
You go	Cha-kay′-yo u-mi-kay′-yo
They go	Cha-to-di′ u-mi-cha′

The suffixes are given below, and the relation they bear to the personal pronouns is also shown by heavy-faced type:

I	'ak	Sak-ĭn′
You (sing)	'ka	Sik-a′
He	…	Si′-a or Si-to-di′
We	kami or tako	Cha-ka′-mi or Cha-ta′-ko
You	kayo	Cha-kay′-yo
They	cha	Cha-to-di′ or cha-i′-cha

The Benguet suffixes as given by Scheerer are:

I	'ko or 'ak
You	'mo or 'ka
He	'to
We {	me
	tayo
You	'kayo or 'dio
They	'ra or 'cha

The verbal suffixes seem to be commonly used by the Bontoc Igorot in verbal formations. The tense of a verb standing alone seems always indefinite; the context alone tells whether the present, past, or future is indicated.