tanan

Tanan is a word found in several Philippine languages, most notably Cebuano, Hiligaynon, and Waray. In these languages, tanan means “all” or “every” and functions as a determiner or pronoun to indicate totality. It is used to refer to the entire set within a category, such as all people or all things, and can be employed to express inclusivity in statements.

As a universally used quantifier, tanan typically accompanies the noun it modifies or can stand on its own to reference the whole group. Its exact grammatical behavior can vary between dialects, but the core meaning remains consistent across the Cebuano-Hiligaynon-Waray linguistic area. The term is common in everyday speech and appears in both informal conversation and more formal contexts where totality needs to be expressed.

Linguistically, tanan is part of the broader Austronesian language family and shares cognates with related languages that convey a similar sense of totality. The word’s form is concise and resilient across dialects, contributing to its wide recognition among speakers of Visayan languages.

In summary, tanan serves as a simple, widely used term for totality in several Philippine languages, encapsulating the idea of “all” or “every” within everyday communication. It exemplifies how a single short word can express a comprehensive notion across multiple linguistic varieties.