This work is a dictionary of Cebuano Visayan, the language of the
central part of the Philippines and much of Mindanao. Although the
explanations are given in English, the aim of this work is not to
provide English equivalents but to explain Cebuano forms in terms of
themselves. It is meant as a reference work for Cebuano speakers and as
a tool for students of the Cebuano language. There is a total of some
25,000 entries and an addenda of 700 forms which were prepared after
the dictionary had been composed.
This dictionary is the product of eleven years work by more than a
hundred persons. The work was edited by me and is my responsibility,
but the sources are entirely native, and all illustrations are composed
by native speakers. The personnel who wrote up the entries are listed
in Section 2.1, p. ix. The manuscript went through five versions, the
final on an IBM selectric composer. The whole composition was done in
Cebu City in five months’ time by Pacifico Briones, Nicolasito
Catingan, Florecita Florido, Donata Laingo, and Grace Mendoza. The
drafting and splicing were done by Carlito Gubaynon and Felismeno
Simplicio. The proofreading and editing was done by me together with
Mrs. Elizabeth Say, Mrs. Fe Cuenca, Richard Quiñanola, and my wife Ida
Wolff. In the earlier stages of gathering, transcribing, and indexing
materials a huge number of people participated, too numerous to mention
by name. The entire dictionary through the final composed product was
compiled from notes on index cards in the course of twenty-six months.
My thanks go especially to the staff listed above and on p. ix for
their cooperative spirit. Without their willingness to work overtime,
this dictionary could not have been completed.
The work was supported from 1963 to 1966 by funds from Cornell
University faculty research grants; 1966–7 by Office of Education
contract No. 1-7-002672-2040; 1967–1968 by a Cornell University
faculty research grant; 1968–1969 by a grant from the American
Council of Learned Societies and by a grant from the Cornell University
Philippine Project; 1969–1971 by Office of Education Contract No.
0-9-097718-3350. My trip to the Philippines was financed in 1966–1969
and again in 1970–71 by a Fulbright-Hayes faculty research grant.
Without these sources of funds this dictionary could not have been
completed.
This dictionary by no means exhausts the Cebuano language, and we hope
in future years to produce an expanded and improved version with
illustrations. To this end we welcome and would be most grateful for
suggestions for corrections and additions.