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A number of Philippine languages (Tagalog, Ilonggo, etc.) have a root
<i>bantay </i>'guard'. Compare for example Cebuano <i>bantay</i>
‘watch s.th., keep watch over’, <i>bantayan</i> ‘guardhouse, guard post’
(Wolff 1972 <i>Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan</i> p. 110)<br><br>
I have seen two etymologies for this stem, and I am wondering whether
specialists in Philippine languages consider one to be more likely than
the other.<br><br>
<b>1.</b> In a 1970s unpublished work, Zorc proposed a
Proto-Philippines etymon *baNtay 'guard, watch'. However, I have
not seen this reconstruction (or any higher level reconstruction)
proposed in a published work. <br><br>
<b>2.</b> Prior to this, in 1948 Arsenio Manuel (<i>Chinese
Elements in the Tagalog Language</i>) proposed Philippines <i>bantay
</i>< Hokkien <i>bang-tai </i>'watchtower, lookout, watch'. I do
not have direct access to Manuel's work. However I have looked in
the <font size=2>Barclay & Douglas Amoy dictionary and supplement,
and have <u>not</u> found the compound <i>bang-tai </i>listed anywhere,
only the roots <i>bang </i>(vowel a with macron) 'hope, expect' and
<i>tai </i>(vowel a with circumflex) 'platform, pedestal'. So is
<i>bang-tai </i>a bona fide Hokkien compound, or something which Manuel
'constructed'? <br><br>
Thanks much. Some languages of central and southeastern Sulawesi,
Indonesia, have a form <i>bantaya </i>or <i>bantea </i>(see data below)
which I think can be traced back as a borrowing from the Philippines. I
was just wondering where it goes from there.<br><br>
David Mead<br><br>
<br><br>
</font>Wolio <i>bantea </i>"guesthouse for patrolling
officials".(Anceaux 1988)<br>
Kulisusu <i>bhantea </i>"1. guard post; 2. small house for holding
traditional ceremonies"<br>
Muna <i>bhantea </i>"temporary forest hut, shed, storing place,
shelter".(Van den Berg 1996)<br>
Moronene <i>bantea </i>"hut, tent" <br>
<font size=2>Pamona <i>bantaya</i>, <i>bantayangi </i>"</font>feast
hut, temporary shelter for guests at a feast" (Adriani 1928)<br>
(Note that all these languages reflect only the derived form
<i>bantay-an</i> as an unanalyzed whole, they do not have a corresponding
stem <i>bantay </i>or <i>bante</i>. Paragogic vowel in Pamona
<i>bantayangi </i>is also highly suggestive of borrowing.)<br><br>
<br><br>
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