Pronunciation
Like any language, Hiligaynon has basic rules for pronunciation, but there are also some exceptions. Let's start with the basics.
a - ŏ - dog
e - ā - rain
i - ē - weeds
o - ō - boat
u - ū - pool
Here are some basic examples:
Kag (sounds like cog) - and
Basta (sounds like pasta) - as long as
Sabad (saw-bod) - annoying
Perme (pear-may) - always
Pamankot (puh-mawn-coat) - ask
Itlog (eat-lohg) - egg
Milok (me-lohk) - eyelash
Linog (lee-nohg) - earthquake
Sulod (soo-lohd) - enter
The Letter G
In english, we have the hard G (like in "goat") and the soft G (like in "giraffe"). Filipino languages use the hard G, like in "good" and "games".
The word galing (which means unfortunately), would sound like gah-leeng.