Itneg is a South-Central Cordilleran

dialect continuum A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of Variety (linguistics), language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulat ...

found in the island of

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 ...

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 ...

. This language and Ilocano are spoken by the

Itneg people The Itneg (exonym "Tinguian" or "Tingguian") are an Austronesian ethnic group from the upland province of Abra in northwestern Luzon, in the Philippines. Overview The Itneg live in the mountainous area of Abra in northwestern Luzon who desce ...

(sometimes also referred to as the "Tingguian people") in Abra. Several ethnic-Itneg dialects are

taxonomically In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...

part of the neighboring

Kalinga language Kalinga () is a dialect continuum of Kalinga Province in the Philippines, spoken by the Kalinga people, alongside Ilocano. The Banao Itneg variety is not one of the neighboring Itneg languages. Dialects Ronald Himes (1997) divides Kalinga into ...

Locations and dialects

Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...

'' reports the following locations for each of the five Itneg languages. *Binongan Itneg:

Licuan-Baay Licuan-Baay, officially the Municipality of Licuan-Baay ( ilo, Ili ti Licuan-Baay; tgl, Bayan ng Licuan-Baay), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 4,566 people. ...

, Abra. 7,500 speakers. *Inlaod Itneg: a few villages in Peñarrubia,

Lagangilang Lagangilang, officially the Municipality of Lagangilang ( ilo, Ili ti Lagangilang; tgl, Bayan ng Lagangilang), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 14,914 people. ...

Danglas Danglas, officially the Municipality of Danglas, Municipal District of Danglas ( ilo, Ili ti Danglas; tgl, Bayan ng Danglas), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...

, and

Langiden Langiden, officially the Municipality of Langiden ( ilo, Ili ti Langiden; tgl, Bayan ng Langiden), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 3,576 people. Geography L ...

municipalities, Abra. 9,000 speakers. *Maeng Itneg:

Luba Luba may refer to: Geography *Kingdom of Luba, a pre-colonial Central African empire * Ľubá, a village and municipality in the Nitra region of south-west Slovakia *Luba, Abra, a municipality in the Philippines *Luba, Equatorial Guinea, a town ...

Tubo Tubo may refer to: * Tibet, called Tubo or Tufan in Chinese historical texts ** Tibetan Empire (618–842) * Tubo, Abra Tubo, officially the Municipality of Tubo ( ilo, Ili ti Tubo; tgl, Bayan ng Tubo), is a 4th class municipality in the provin ...

, and Villaviciosa municipalities, Abra. 18,000 speakers. *Masadiit Itneg:

Sallapadan Sallapadan, officially the Municipality of Sallapadan ( ilo, Ili ti Sallapadan; tgl, Bayan ng Sallapadan), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 6,389 people. Geo ...

Bucloc Bucloc, officially the Municipality of Bucloc ( ilo, Ili ti Bucloc; tgl, Bayan ng Bucloc), is a 6th class municipality in the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,395 people. Geography According ...

, and

Boliney Boliney, officially the Municipality of Boliney ( ilo, Ili ti Boliney; tgl, Bayan ng Boliney), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 4,551 people. Boliney is bo ...

municipalities, Abra; also in the western border strip of

Kalinga Province ; tl, Lalawigan ng Kalinga) , native_name = , other_name = , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_caption = (from top: left to right) Bum-bag Rice Terraces, Pasil Valley, ...

. 7,500 speakers. Dialects are Masadiit Boliney and Masadiit Sallapadan. *Moyadan Itneg: Abra. 12,000 speakers. However, Ronald Himes (1997) recognizes two dialects for Itneg, namely Binongan (eastern) and Inlaod (western).

References

Languages of Abra (province) South–Central Cordilleran languages {{philippine-lang-stub