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Itawis (also ''Itawit'' or ''Tawit'' as the
endonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
) is a Northern
Philippine 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 ...
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 Ibanag tongue, while remaining quite different from the prevalent Ilocano spoken in the region and the Tagalog-based Filipino national language.


Background

Itawis is spoken by the Itawis people 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 ...
who inhabit the provinces of
Cagayan Valley Cagayan Valley ( ilo, Tanap ti Cagayan; fil, Lambak ng Cagayan), is an administrative region in the Philippines, located in the northeastern section of Luzon Island. It is composed of five Philippine provinces: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nue ...
. Their range is from the lower Chico and Matalag rivers. The language is said to have rooted in the town of Tuao. In many towns by these rivers, Itawis are found with the Ibanags, and speak Ibanag as well, as an example of linguistic adaptation. Speakers of Itawis and Ibanag can easily understand each other because of the close relationship of their languages. The Itawis are linguistically and culturally very closely related to the Ibanag. The Itawis language is classified as a Malayo-Polynesian language, a subset of the Austronesian language superfamily. During the pre-colonial period of the Philippines, words were borrowed from Spanish to stand in place for words that did not exist in the Itawis language. One such word is , which means 'table', for the Itawis people did not eat on tables, which were later introduced by the Spanish. In the town of
Rizal, Cagayan Rizal, officially the Municipality of Rizal, is a 5th class municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 19,077 people. Rizal, being on the border of Cagayan and Apayao provinces, h ...
, a language called
Malaueg Malaweg (Malaueg) is spoken by the Malaweg people in the northern part of the Philippines. As per ''Ethnologue'', it is a dialect of the Itawis language.Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendice ...
is spoken by a group of people of the same name. It is not yet clear whether Malaueg is a distinct language or not because its proximity to Itawis may possibly make it a dialect of the latter.


Linguistic notes

Unlike most other Philippine languages, Itawit and its relatives use the
consonant In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced wit ...
s , , , and (spelled ). For example, ('fan'), ('maid'), ('goat'), and ('pig'). The Itawit language has a fast, somewhat soft tone. Speakers usually shorten sentences by shortening words; however, shortening every word is not possible. For a non-fluent, non-native, or a beginner learner, all words in a sentence should be said fully and completely. In a gesture of respect, Itawits usually use the name or status of a person at the end of a sentence. Example: 'Where is the bathroom?' (asking an elderly woman): 'auntie' is used in Itawit for an elderly woman or a family friend); 'elder sister' is used in Itawit as a sign of respect. The Itawit sentence structure is similar to English. Example: 'Ifan went to get some water from the fridge.' : :
tating word Tating is a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. See also *Eiderstedt, Eiderstedt peninsula References External links

Nordfriesland {{Nordfriesland-geo-stub ...
Ifan [] went to get [word that states a place] water from fridge. The format is a noun, verb, adjective/place/noun sequence. If the speaker is referring to a person, who they are referring to is unclear unless the specification word is used. The Tagalog equivalent would be , both meaning 'that person'. After , the name of the person referred to is used, but in a gesture of respect, the status and name are given.


Interrogative words

When asking a question, Itawits usually start with a person's name or status and then the question itself. If asking someone familiar, Itawits also usually end it with , , or (state person's name or status). *'What': ( in some dialects) *'When': (sometimes shortened to ) *'Where': (+) *'Who': *'Why': *'How':


Classification


Dialects

Linguists classify Malaueg and Rizal as dialects of the Itawis language.


Phonology


Vowels


Consonants

Gaddang is also one of the Philippine languages which is excluded from - allophony.


Examples

Comparison to Ibanag


References

*Tharp, James A. and Mateo C. Natividad. 1976. ''Itawis-English wordlist with English-Itawis finderlist''. New Haven, CT: Human Relations Area Files.


External links


Itawis language word list from the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary DatabaseOrtograpiya itáwit (2016)
by
Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino , logo = , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF).svg , seal_width = , seal_caption = , formed = 1937 (first formation)1991 (reformed) , preceding1 ...
(KWF) {{Languages of the Philippines Cagayan Valley languages Languages of Cagayan Languages of Apayao