Part I
One problematic area in the proposed revision of the order of the mass is the use of kan and nin. Several church goers find the changes annoying and cacophonous. After reviewing all those phrases in the proposed revision with kan and nin, and after understanding the rule – kan for specific and nin for non-specific – , the application now seems difficult and confusing.
Bikolano speakers, even without knowing the rule, find no difficulty at all in using kan and nin. This is evident in their daily conversations as well as in written literature such as novenas, translations of religious rites and rituals, prose and poetry.
The Rule
Pasubli daw nin lapis?’ (May I borrow a pencil?) Without much thought, this is the most natural way of expressing it. The marker used is nin, instead of kan.
Pasubli daw kan lapis mo?’ (May I borrow your pencil?) This second example shows when kan is more appropriate than nin. The expression is natural and nothing in the ears say that something is wrong.
But we must ask why nin is appropriate in the first sentence while kan is appropriate in the second? What is the difference between the two?
According to the committee, the rule is: nin is used when the object referred to is general while kan when specific. The same rule is found in the Malcolm Mintz dictionary. Such rule is simple and easily understandable. In the first sentence, lapis could refer to any lapis, while in the second, lapis is specific.
Examine also the following examples. ‘Sa ngaran kan sakong pamilya, boot kong pasalamatan kamo gabos na nakidumamay sa samong kamunduoan.’ Kan is used because it refers to not just any family but to a specific family, that is, my family.
Note that nin and kan are general markers, whether for the genitive, dative, ablative-instrumental cases, etc.