The opening of Preface
This work is a dictionary of Cebuano Visayan, the language of the central part of the Philippines and much of Mindanao. Although the explanations are given in English, the aim of this work is not to provide English equivalents but to explain Cebuano forms in terms of themselves. It is meant as a reference work for Cebuano speakers and as a tool for students of the Cebuano language. There is a total of some 25,000 entries and an addenda of 700 forms which were prepared after the dictionary had been composed.
This dictionary is the product of eleven years work by more than a hundred persons. The work was edited by me and is my responsibility, but the sources are entirely native, and all illustrations are composed by native speakers. The personnel who wrote up the entries are listed in Section 2.1, p. ix. The manuscript went through five versions, the final on an IBM selectric composer. The whole composition was done in Cebu City in five months’ time by Pacifico Briones, Nicolasito Catingan, Florecita Florido, Donata Laingo, and Grace Mendoza. The drafting and splicing were done by Carlito Gubaynon and Felismeno Simplicio.