1.12 Correct and incorrect speech

A happy consequence of the low regard which Cebuano speakers have of their own language is that the doctrine of correctness has never gained foothold. Dialectal differences are purely local, not social, and speakers regard whatever forms they are familiar with as correct. We have followed the same principle in this dictionary: no attempt is made to prescribe which forms or usages are appropriate, but rather we try to show which forms and usages occur. The various meanings of a given form are listed in such a way that their relation is readily discernible: meanings which are derived by extension or specialization from an original meaning are listed under subheadings of the original-meaning.

Occasionally annotations such as ‘slang’, ‘euphemism’, ‘humorous’, ‘coarse’, and the like, are given. These annotations signal only that Cebuano speakers tend to regard these forms as such and that they occur only in styles of speech appropriate to these forms. We use the following terminology: Biblical, literary, metaphorical, humorous, euphemism, coarse, colloquial. The designation BIBLICAL indicates a form confined to liturgical language or the Bible; LITERARY indicates a form confined to high-flown styles, not ordinarily spoken; METAPHORICAL indicates a meaning recognized as metaphorical in some way (not necessarily confined to literary style); HUMOROUS, a meaning commonly given to a form, but not the primary meaning, which gives the feeling of an oft-repeated joke; EUPHEMISM, a form that is used to avoid saying s.t directly, the meaning of which is readily understood but not as jarring as if it had been said directly; COARSE, a form that clearly would jar the hearer and that is confined to speech used in anger or used as a sign of intimacy or disrespect; SLANG indicates a form confined to intimate speech among people of similar occupations or life styles; COLLOQUIAL indicates forms avoided in formal discourse or writing, but commonly used in normal speech even among non-intimates.