Similarities between Mongondow and the languages of the Philippines were already recognized in the first half of the 20th century. Noorduyn (1982) presented phonological and morphological evidence for a close connection between Gorontalo and Mongondow, while the full extent of the subgroup including all other Gorontalic languages was established by Usup (1986). The following table exemplifies the close relationship, listing Greater Central Philippine innovations which are found in Mongondow (representing the Gorontalo–Mongondow languages) and
Tagalog (the northernmost member of the Greater Central Philippine subgroup): ==Reconstruction== The lexicon and phonology of Proto-Gorontalo-Mongondow has been reconstructed by Usup (1986). Proto-Gorontalo-Mongondow pronouns have been reconstructed by Lobel (2011).
Sound changes Initial sound changes from
Proto-Greater Central Philippine: •
*ə >
*o •
*N[-hom.]P >
*N[+hom.]P • in reduplications
*C¹C² >
*C² •
*a >
*o in the first syllable of reduplications == See also ==