The Ibanag (also Ybanag and Ybanak or Ibanak) are an
ethnolinguistic minority numbering a little more than half a million people, who inhabit the provinces of
Cagayan,
Isabela, and
Nueva Vizcaya. They are one of the largest ethnolinguistic minorities in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
Etymology
The
endonym "Ibanag" comes from the prefix ''I-'' which means "people of", and ''bannag'', meaning river. This toponym-based name is similar to the unrelated etymology for the
Tagalog people, which is derived from ''taga-'' ("person from") and ''ilog'' ("river")
Language
The Ibanag language (also Ybanag) is spoken by about 500,000 speakers in two of the northeasternmost provinces of the Philippines, Isabela, and Cagayan. It is closely related to
Gaddang,
Itawis
Itawis (also ''Itawit'' or ''Tawit'' as the endonym) is a Northern Philippine language spoken by the Itawis people, closely related to the Gaddang speech found in Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya. It also has many similarities to the neighboring Ib ...
, Agta,
Atta Atta or ATTA may refer to:
* Atta Halilintar, Indonesian YouTuber, singer and entrepreneur
* ''Atta'' (ant), a genus of ants in the family Formicidae
* ''Atta'' (novel), a 1953 novel by Francis Rufus Bellamy
* Atta flour, whole wheat flour made ...
,
Yogad
Yogad is an Austronesian language spoken primarily in Echague, Isabela and other nearby towns in the province in northern Philippines. The 1990 census claimed there were around 16,000 speakers.
Classification
Anthropologist H. Otley Beyer desc ...
,
Isneg, and
Malaweg.
It is spoken especially in
Tuguegarao City
Tuguegarao ( or ), officially the City of Tuguegarao ( ibg, Siyudad nat Tugegaraw; itv, Siyudad yo Tugegaraw; ilo, Siudad ti Tuguegarao; fil, Lungsod ng Tuguegarao ), is a 3rd class component city and capital of the province of Cagayan, P ...
,
Solana,
Cabagan, San Pablo, Tumauini, Sta. Maria, Sto. Tomas,
Ilagan,
Gamu,
Naguilian Naguilian may refer to the following places in the Philippines:
*Naguilian, Isabela
*Naguilian, La Union
Naguilian, officially the Municipality of Naguilian ( ilo, Ili ti Naguilian; fil, Bayan ng Naguilian), is a 1st class municipality in the p ...
, and
Reina Mercedes,
San Mariano, Isabela. There are also several speakers of the Ibanag language in
Abulug,
Aparri,
Camalaniugan,
Lal-lo, and
Tuao. Most of the speakers can speak Ilocano, the
lingua franca of
Northern Luzon, as well.
Displacement
Ibanags speak the same language under the same name. However, due to several factors including the use of
Filipino as the national lingua franca and Ilocano as a regional one, the use of
Ibanag language
The Ibanag language (also ''Ybanag'' or ''Ibanak'') is an Austronesian language spoken by up to 500,000 speakers, most particularly by the Ibanag people, in the Philippines, in the northeastern provinces of Isabela and Cagayan, especially in ...
has now diminished but remains strong with Ibanags living overseas. Thus while there may still be Ibanags around, the language is slowly being displaced. In addition to this, many if not most Ibanags speak
Ilocano, which has over the years, supplanted Ibanag as the more dominant language in the region.
References
External links
Bansa.org Ibanag Dictionary
{{Authority control
Ethnic groups in Luzon