Boholanos or Bol-anons are concentrated in Talibon, Tagbilaran, Ubay, and Loon in the province-island of Bohol in the Central Visayas Region. The Boholano dialect is part of the broader Visayan ethnolinguistic group — the biggest in the Philippines. Boholanos speak a variation of Cebuano, with very slight alterations in pronunciation. The “y” sound in Cebuano becomes “j,” “k” becomes “h” at times, and “l” becomes “w” in the second or succeeding syllables. It is believed that the natives of Bohol are descendants of the pintados (“tattooed ones”), the last group of inhabitants to settle in the Philippines.
Sources
National Commission For The Culture And The Arts, http://www.ncca.gov.ph/
California State University, http://class.csueastbay.edu/
Bohol Philippines, http://www.bohol.ph/
Ethnologue, www.ethnologue.com
