An Archival Study on the Linguistic State of Obo Manobo and Kinamiging Manobo

The Manobo language is one of the 175 Indigenous languages in the Philippines. It belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian, Austronesian linguistic family, primarily spoken by the Manobo or Manuvu Indigenous cultural community. Currently, 15 Manobo languages are spoken in Mindanao; two are under the threatened language vitality. This archival research investigates the current status of two threatened Manobo languages, the Obo Manobo and Kinamiging Manobo, particularly on their lexicography, phonology, morphology, and syntax, and literacy materials, utilizing literature and documents available in online data repositories. The results of the study show that there is substantial information about Obo Manobo linguistics. However, Kinamiging Manobo requires extensive research because of the scarcity of lexical, phonological, morphological, and syntactic documentation, as well as the unavailability of literacy materials. This exacerbates the danger of this threatened language once left undocumented. Hence, this study initiates an urgent call for more up-to-date investigations on Obo Manobo linguistics and studies of the lexical items, phonological, and morphological aspects in Kinamiging Manobo for future studies. Moreover, the Kinamiging Manobo linguistic investigation must be prioritized to contribute to the ongoing discourse of indigenous language preservation.