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 Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region, covering ...

, Isabela, and

Nueva Vizcaya Nueva Vizcaya, officially the Province of Nueva Vizcaya ( ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Vizcaya; gad, Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya''; tl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Vizcaya ), is a landlocked province in the ...

. 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 The Tagalog people ( tl, Mga Tagalog; Baybayin: ᜋᜅ ᜆᜄᜎᜓᜄ᜔) are the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines, numbering at around 30 million. An Austronesian people, the Tagalog have a well developed society due to their ...

, 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, 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 f ...

, Yogad,

Isneg The Isnag people (also referred to as the Isneg and Apayao) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to Apayao Province in the Philippines' Cordillera Administrative Region. Their native language is Isneg language, Isneg (also called Isnag), a ...

, 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, Phili ...

, Solana, Cabagan, San Pablo, Tumauini, Sta. Maria, Sto. Tomas,

Ilagan Ilagan, officially the City of Ilagan ( ibg, Siudad nat Ilagan; ilo, Siudad ti Ilagan; fil, Lungsod ng Ilagan), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popul ...

Gamu Gamu, officially the Municipality of Gamu ( ilo, Ili ti Gamu; tl, Bayan ng Gamu), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 30,655 people. While not a commercially ...

, Naguilian, and Reina Mercedes,

San Mariano, Isabela San Mariano, officially the Municipality of San Mariano ( ilo, Ili ti San Mariano; tl, Bayan ng San Mariano), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 60,124 pe ...

. There are also several speakers of the Ibanag language in

Abulug Abulug ( ibg, Ili nat Abulug; ilo, Ili ti Abulug; tl, Bayan ng Abulug), officially the Municipality of Abulug, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,579 people. Go ...

Aparri Aparri ( ilo, Ili ti Aparri; tl, Bayan ng Aparri), officially the Municipality of Aparri, is a 1st class municipality in the province of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,839 people. It sits at the mouth of ...

, Camalaniugan,

Lal-lo Lal-lo, officially the Municipality of Lal-Lo ( ibg, Ili nat Lal-lo; ilo, Ili ti Lal-lo; tl, Bayan ng Lal-lo), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 48,733 peop ...

, and

Tuao Tuao, officially the Municipality of Tuao ( ibg, Ili nat Tuao; ilo, Ili ti Tuao; tl, Bayan ng Tuao), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 63,970 people. Etymol ...

. Most of the speakers can speak Ilocano, the lingua franca of

Northern Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, as well.

Displacement

Ibanags speak the same language under the same name. However, due to several factors including the use of

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

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