Wiktionary:About Bikol Central

This page lists several considerations for Bikol Central entries to supplement Entry layout and other general policies.

About the language
Bikol Central (or simply Bikol) is a Austronesian language in the Philippines, natively spoken in the majority of Camarines Sur (except in the Rinconada district), the eastern part of Albay (including Legazpi and Tabaco), the northeastern part of Sorsogon, and the northern part of Burias Island. It is one of the many Bikol languages, many of which are not mutually intelligible. Bikol Central's closest relatives are Tagalog and the Visayan languages; all three form part of the Central Philippine group.

There are many Bikol Central dialects, many of which are mutually intelligible. Major dialects are as follows:


 * Canaman Bikol (standard Bikol)
 * Naga Bikol
 * Daet Bikol
 * Partido Bikol
 * Virac Bikol
 * Tabaco–Legazpi–Sorsogon Bikol (TLS)
 * Burias Bikol

Unless otherwise marked, entries or senses without a dialect label is assumed to be in Canaman dialect and used throughout all Bikol Central dialects. As of 2022, Naga, Daet, Partido, and TLS are supported.

While the many Bikol languages and dialects are often referred to under the umbrella term Bikol, other major Bikol dialect groups (e.g. Albay Bikol, Iriga Bicolano, Northern Catanduanes Bikol) are treated as their own languages in Wiktionary. Some Bikol-influenced Visayan languages such as Masbatenyo and Sorsogon are also considered part of the Bikol umbrella, but are considered their own languages grouped under Visayan.

Spelling
Spelling for Bikol Central entries generally follow the standardized spelling used in Tagalog, but with slight modifications. One main difference is that headwords can have a circumfixed vowel in the middle of the word.

Bikol Central can be written in Latin script or Basahan (a regional variant of Baybayin), but Wiktionary only supports Latin script for Bikol entries.

Resources

 * J. del Rosario Britanico (1985), Bikol-English Dictionary
 * Vocabulario de la lingua bicol (reference: R:Vocabulario de la lengua bicol).
 * Diksiyonaryo.ph (reference: R:Pambansang Diksiyonaryo) - the official dictionary by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF or the Commission of the Filipino Language), which also regulates Bikol Central. Generally covers Tagalog (which is also the language the definitions are in), but they also have many Bikol entries, marked with Bik (though it can refer to any of the other related but mutually unintelligible Bikol languages like Rinconada).