Meaning of b

b

Hiligaynon

The letter "B" in Visayan has the same sound as in English. Being a labial it has a natural affinity with "M" and if the prefix pan-is joined to any word beginning with a "b", that "b" is changed into "m", e.g. búhat becomes pamúhat instead of panbúhat; búnak becomes pamúnak and the verbal noun and adjective formed from the latter is mamumunák; báwì-pamáwì-mamamáwì, etc. Very frequently the prefixes ha- and hi- produce the same change, e.g. bilí-hamilí; búlbul-himúlbul, etc.