CEBU, Philippines – A Cebuano version of the originally English-to-Tagalog digital storybook "The Cowboy Inting and the Carabao Butud" is now out! Now we can read and learn one of the widely used dialects in the Visayan region of the Philippines!
Set in the sugarcane-filled landscape of Negros Island, the story introduces the readers to Butud, a young carabao who gets the saddest news of his life one day when his best friend, a boy named Inting, says they can't play together anymore - because Inting is already going to school!
The digital app takes the Diglot Weave approach - a technique in vocabulary learning where words from another language are gradually inserted into the English narrative.
It features delightful illustrations by Dwight Gaston, a touch of Filipino music, audio narration, and even a vocabulary list that readers can review anytime.
The digital storybook is made by Esturya, a collaborative project between two local companies in Bacolod City - Akubo Software and 7th Films Production House. The project aims to help Filipino immigrants teach their children about the native national culture by introducing facets of the Philippines, one fun-filled app at a time.
Besides Cebuano and Tagalog, "Inting and Butud" also comes in Ilonggo - all now available at the App Store.