Ilocano
Introduction
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Ilocano, also known as Ilokano and Iloko, is the third largest language of the Philippines.  The name Ilocano come from i- "from" + looc" bay" + -ano Spanish "native of", thus "people of the bay."
StatusIlocano is spoken as a first language by some 8 million people in Northern Luzon and in various parts of the Philippines (Ethnologue), and as a second language by another 1-2 million speakers in the northern areas of Luzon. Many ethnic groups from the northern regions of the country are more proficient in Ilocano than in Tagalog, the national language. At present, Ilocano remains a regional langauge with no status. Its use in education is limited to the early elementary grades. Ilocanos became the first Filipino ethnic group to emigrate in large numbers to North America, forming sizable communities in Hawai'i, California, the Pacific Northwest, and Alaska. It is taught in some schools in Hawaii and California. |
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Structure
Sound System |
Sound system Vowels Syllable structure |
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Like Tagalog, Ilocano uses prefixes, suffixes, infixes, circumfixes and reduplications to mark grammatical categories that are normally expressed by inflections in Indo-European languages. Noun phrase Verb phrase An interesting feature of verbs in Ilocano and in other Malayo-Polynesian languages is its focus system. This means that the role or relationship of the noun marked by the absolutive marker is reflected in the verb. There are six main types of focus: actor, object, location, beneficiary, instrument, and reason. All of the focuses, with the exception of the actor focus, are naturally transitive. Here is an example, using the Ilocano root -digos- "bathe."
Syntax
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Ilocano vocabulary is basically Malayo-Polynesian. Like other Malayo-Polynesian languages, Ilocano has borrowed words from Spanish, English, Min Nan Chinese (Hokkienese), Arabic, and Sanskrit.
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Writing |
Prior to the arrival of Spanish missionaries, Ilocano, along with other languages of the Philippines, was written in a syllabic script based on the Brahmi script of India. This script, called Baybayin, was used until the 17th century when it was gradually replaced by the Latin alphabet that is still in use today. The syllabary on the left is an example of the Ilocano script, taken from the 1621 Ilocano version of Doctrina Cristiana by Father Belarmino. Take a look at Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Ilocano.
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Resources
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How difficult is it to learn Ilokano? Since Ilocano is related to Tagalog, a Category II language in terms of difficulty for speakers of English, it is reasonable to assume that it is also belongs in this category. |
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